Pinkeye (South Park)

Pinkeye (South Park)

"Pinkeye" is the seventh episode of the first season of the animated television series South Park. It originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on October 29, 1997, and was the show's first Halloween episode. In "Pinkeye", Kenny is killed and through a freak accident, he is brought back to life as a zombie and starts terrorizing South Park residents, who believe the rise of the living dead is an epidemic of "pinkeye".

The episode was written by series co-founders Trey Parker and Matt Stone, along with writer Philip Stark. It was directed by Parker and Stone, and was rated TV-MA in the United States, and 12 in the United Kingdom. The episode was the first of a new slate of South Park episodes Parker and Stone made after Comedy Central agreed to permanently pick up the show. The duo was not happy with the episode, particularly the ending, and was surprised by the positive response it received from fans. Parker said he also wanted the episode to convey, in part, that Halloween is a positive holiday for children.

"Pinkeye" received generally positive reviews and has been described as one of the classic episodes of South Park. It was viewed by 1.75 million households the week it aired, an unusually high amount for Comedy Central at the time. The episode introduced the recurring character Principal Victoria when Cartman dresses as Adolf Hitler. Victoria removes Cartman's costume and attempts to dress him as a ghost, but inadvertently makes Cartman resemble a member of the Ku Klux Klan. The costumes initially worried Comedy Central executives, but the negative feedback received was minimal.