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“Prehistoric Ice Man”
South Park episode
The Ice Man cometh
Episode no.	Season 2 Episode 31
Written by
Production no.	218
Original airdate	January 20, 1999
Season 2 episodes
South Park - Season 2 April 1, 1998 – January 20, 1999
Terrance and Phillip in Not Without My Anus Cartman's Mom Is Still a Dirty Slut Chickenlover Ike's Wee Wee Conjoined Fetus Lady The Mexican Staring Frog of Southern Sri Lanka City on the Edge of Forever Summer Sucks Chef's Chocolate Salty Balls Chickenpox Roger Ebert Should Lay Off the Fatty Foods Clubhouses Cow Days Chef Aid Spookyfish Merry Christmas, Charlie Manson! Gnomes Prehistoric Ice Man
← Season 1	Season 3 →
List of South Park episodes

"Prehistoric Ice Man" is the 31st episode of Comedy Central's animated series South Park. The episode is the last of the second season and originally aired on January 20, 1999. It is a parody of the 1984 film Iceman.

The boys watch Australian Outback Guy on TV, and are inspired by it to go hunting for crocodiles themselves. On their journey, Kyle falls down a hole. When trying to rescue him, Stan spots a frozen man in the hole. The boys pull his body out, and the frozen mass is given to Dr. Mephisto, the genetic engineer. Stan and Kyle start arguing over who found the man, and what to name him. Stan prefers "Gorak", but Kyle suggests "Steve"; they start a major argument over this. They each declare Cartman as their new best friend.

At Mephisto's laboratory, Mephisto and Kevin thaw the ice and discover that Steve/Gorak is wearing Eddie Bauer clothes, not seen since the year 1996, nearly 32 months before.

They discover that the ice actually preserved the man and that he is alive. Mephisto treats him as a Neanderthal and is unable to understand him, even though he speaks perfect english. To make his research more lucrative, some mysterious federal agents persuade Mephisto to display the unfrozen man to the public, recreating his natural habitat for him by building a completely "1996-oriented" room. Unfortunately the "ice man" has a serious temper and hates his treatment.

Seeing this, Stan and Kyle are upset at the ice man's inhumane treatment, so they set him free, but keep arguing over what the ice-man should be called, and they agree to fight each other the following day. The next day, Larry (the ice-man's real name) discovers that his wife remarried and has two children who are, ironically, 8 and 13 years old. Frustrated, Larry realizes he cannot live in this world. He attempts to refreeze himself, but with little success. Kyle, however comes up with a solution: for Larry to take the train and go to live in Des Moines, Iowa, which is supposedly "two years behind" everywhere else.

Turmoil erupts at the train station - Stan and Kyle have a fistfight while putting Larry on the train, and the FBI wants to recapture Larry to "take over Sweden", aided by the Australian Outback Guy from the beginning of the episode. But their attempts prove futile; he escapes in a helicopter. Stan and Kyle reconcile, because they would rather be best friends with each other than with Cartman.

Kenny dies by getting pulled under the conveyor belt in front of Steve's "exhibit". Stan then begins the trademark saying "Oh my God, they killed Kenny!" But all Kyle says is, "What? I'm not talking to you." Additionally, the line is altered two other times in the episode.

• When Kyle falls down the hole Stan says "Good job Cartman, you killed Kyle!" which Kenny responds to with a muffled version of Kyle's line.
• When Steve/Gorak is thawed out, Stan proclaims "Oh my God, they revived Gorak!" prompting Kyle's usual response.

• The plot of this episode loosely patterns the 1992 movie Encino Man.
• The "Australian Outback Guy" parodies Steve Irwin, star of The Crocodile Hunter.
• Marilyn Manson appears in this episode, singing "Stinky Britches".
• Mephisto repeatedly uses the phrase "frightened and confused" with regard to Larry. This is a reference to the phrase often uttered by the recurring Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer character, played by Phil Hartman, on Saturday Night Live.
• The "1996" room has a Fargo film poster and an Independence Day film poster on the wall, a Re-elect Clinton sticker, the Hunchback of Notre Dame bed covers, probably in reference to the 1996 Disney film, and is constantly fed music by Ace of Base, even though that music reached its apex in popularity in 1994. Internet access of 1996 is lampooned as well, since the stability and speed of Internet service providers has improved exponentially since 1996. Larry is also visibly surprised when a 1999 news report says that the Atlanta Falcons are playing in the Super Bowl.
• Cartman somehow thinks the Iceman relates to the plot of Grease.
• Kyle comes up with the name "Steve" due to Larry's perceived resemblance to the Six Million Dollar Man.

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Prehistoric Ice Man (South Park episode)

All uses of the word "Butthole" were bleeped out in syndication