One of the TV shows I have in iTunes is a vintage episode of the animated series "South Park." It's entitled "Roger Ebert Should Lay Off The Fatty Foods."
It's an effective lampoon of the original "Star Trek" series throughout, as Mr. Garrison's entire third-grade class suddenly find themselves craving repeated field trips to an evil planetarium. Well, not exactly Mr. Garrison's entire third-grade class: Eric Cartman, everyone's favorite overweight little bigot, is campaigning to be the next mascot for Cheesy Poofs snacks in a TV commercial. And, as is to be expected, you wouldn't believe some of the things he does to get ahead.
This episode is a bit more cleverly crafted than some of the others, perhaps because of its thorough "Star Trek" lampoon. The character of Dr. Adams and his Planetarium (he pronounces it "Planet,-arium," because of a rare bone disease) bring opportunities for references Trekkies get about mind control and how Starfleeters succumbed in certain episodes to diabolical uses of it, uses that only Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock could combat. And speaking of Mr. Spock as applies to this episode, the school counselor, Mr. Mackey, pays direct homage to everyone's favorite Vulcan with the "mind probe" whose scene they lift practically word-for-word from "Trek," although with additional, hysterical dialogue thrown in.
Meanwhile, there's Cartman going straight to the top in Cheesy Poofdom, showing off unabashed, in fact, crazy-as-a-bug talents, such as singing the jingle ("III LOOOVE CHEEEESY POOOOFS, YOOOOU LOOOOVE CHEEEEESY POOOOOFS...IF WEEE DIDN'T EEEEAT CHEEEEESY POOOOOFS, WEEEE'D BEEEE...LAAAAAAAME!!! I'M TALKIN' NIGHT COURT IN IT'S FIFTH SEASON LAAAAAAME....HHHH..."), and, well, you get the idea.
BTW, the title refers indirectly to a fake constellation pointed out at the Planet,-arium...I mean Planetarium.
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