25 SHOCKING SECRETS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT SOUTH PARK

TV Guide reveals the twisted truth about Stan, Kyle, Cartman, Kenny and their outrageously funny creators

B Y S T E F t M C D O N A L D

Don't let those childish construction-paper cutouts fool you. South Park is one of the most sophisticated shows on TV these days -- and cable's highest-rated series. Since its debut on Comedy Central last summer, the raucous animated series, which airs on Wednesdays at 10 P.M./ET, has become an instant cult hit. T-shirts and other merchandise featuring those four foulmouthed third-graders Kyle, Stan, Cartman and Kenny are flying out of stores. Episodes will soon be available on home video, and a video game is in development, as is a South Park album featuring duets between Isaac Hayes, the voice of Chef, and artists such as Fiona Apple and Beck. The show's twentysomething creators, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, are in high demand. They're starting work on a South Park movie script as well as the prequel to "Dumb & Dumber." Their independent live-action feature film, "Orgazmo," will be released later this year, and they will appear in "BASEketball," an upcoming film by David Zucker ("Airplane!"). TV Guide caught up with them in Los Angeles to get the inside scoop on South Park. Here's what we found.

1. IT ALL BEGAN WITH A HOMICIDAL SNOWMAN. By now fans know that an animated short, "The Spirit of Christmas," inspired South Park. But it was preceded by an earlier version made while Parker and Stone were at University of Colorado at Boulder. It's about four little boys trying to stop a snowman on a killing spree in the snow-blanketed mountain town.

2. OH, MY GOD! THEY'VE KILLED KENNY! Why has that boy in the hood died in every episode except one? "We just like to kill him," says Stone. "And we really like the line 'Oh, my god, they killed Kenny!'"

3. PARKER AND STONE WRITE WHAT THEY KNOW. "I'm Stan, and Matt is Kyle," says Parker. Cartman, they say, is a little bit of everyone ("He's the garbage in everyone's soul," according to Stone).

4. SOME PARENTS MAKE GOOD ROLE MODELS. Like Parker, Stan has a father who's a geologist and a mom who is, as Trey puts it, "normal." But, he explains, "There's this side of my mother that I use for Cartman's mom. No matter how bad things are, she would always just bake cookies." Stone's parents, however, are nothing like Kyle's. "Kyle's father wears a yarmulke, and my dad is a big, tall Irish guy," he says. "And my mom's not reactionary like Kyle's. My family's cool but really boring."

5. DURING COLLEGE, PARKER COPIED FROM HIS TEACHER, NOT OTHER STUDENTS. Mr. Garrison, the kids' teacher, is based on Parker's British-literature professor. "He talked just like that," says Parker. "And [just like Mr. Garrison], everyone was a 'big silly' to him. He said 'Chaucer's kind of a big silly.' I just sat in the back and tried to get his voice down."

6. ISAAC HAYES IS CHEF. Parker admits that he and Stone weren't sober when they conceived of the soul-singing school-cafeteria chef. Later, when it came to casting him, they agreed they had to have '70s icon Isaac Hayes. Their backup choice: Barry White.

7. A BROKEN HEART IS GOOD FOR CREATIVITY. The love of Stan's life, Wendy Testaburger, is drawn from Parker's former fiancee, who left him for someone else. Parker concedes that he gets nervous around girls, though unlike Stan, he has never puked in one's presence.

8. MAKING KENNY'S BLOOD IS SIMPLE. When it comes to creating Kenny's blood for his death scenes, animators use an ink dot from a Sharpie red marker that they scan into the computer.

9. TERRANCE AND PHILLIP ARE CANADIAN. "That's why they talk that way," says Parker, "and that's why they look different."

10. WOULD THE MR. HANKEY SHOW HAVE MADE AS BIG A SPLASH AS SOUTH PARK? "Our show was going to be called The Mr. Hankey Show, starring a happy little piece of poo," says Parker. "But then we were persuaded [by then FoxlabTV executive Brian Graden] to focus more on the four little boys and the town."

11. SISTERS ARE GOOD SOURCES FOR JOKES. Like Stan, Parker has an older sister named Shelley who wore orthodontal headgear and bullied him when they were kids. A photo of Stone's sister Rachel made a cameo in the pilot, framed on a table in Cartman's house.

12. THE GUYS AREN'T CHARLES DICKENS FANS. Pip, the British student who the other kids can't stand, is named for the character from Great Expectations.

13. DO-IT-YOURSELF IS THE CHEAPEST WAY TO GO. Originally, the duo voiced characters because they couldn't afford actors. Now Stone does Kyle, Kenny, Jesus, Jimbo, Terrance, Pip and Big Gay Al. Parker does Stan, Cartman, Mr. Garrison, Officer Barbrady, Mr. Mackey, Phillip and Mr. Hankey.

14. IT WILL ALWAYS BE WINTER IN SOUTH PARK. The kids don't take off their parkas, and the snow never melts. "When we started doing the show, we could never figure out how to animate the kids walking," says Stone. "We figured if we kept snow up to their knees, you'd never have to see them walking."

15. KENNY SPEAKS HIS OWN LANGUAGE. What is mumbling Kenny actually saying? Stone says that he improvises dialogue in the sound booth, but admits that many of his words would be bleeped out if they could be deciphered.

16. IS THE FORCE WITH KENNY? There are 20 different mouths for each character, excluding Kenny, whose face has yet to be seen. But that may change. "In a very special episode you'll see Kenny's face," says Parker. "It'll be like Darth Vader in 'The Empire Strikes Back.'"

17. HEY, ELTON, PARKER COULD BE THE NEXT BERNIE TAUPIN. Chef's songs are written by Parker, who studied music theory in college.

18. EVEN SOUTH PARK GETS CENSORED. Believe it or not, this outrageous show has limits: A scene in which Shelley throws matches on Stan was cut at the request of Comedy Central for fear that kids might imitate the act.

19. LOOKING SIMPLE IS COMPLICATED. In the pilot more than 5,000 actual construction-paper cutouts were used, and each action was individually filmed. Now each episode is computer-generated.

20. FOOD IS FUNCTIONAL. To give a scene texture, food is scanned into a computer. Mr. Hankey's stains were made with chocolate. Jelly and cake have been used on Cartman's face.

21. CARTMAN'S WEIGHT VARIES. In order to fit Cartman under a school desk, the animators shave some inches off his chubby frame.

22. GUEST STARS AREN'T TAKEN SERIOUSLY. ER's George Clooney played a gay dog; Jerry Seinfeld declined the role of a turkey. What will they offer dream guest, Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway?

23. SOUTH PARK SPARES NO ONE. Kathie Lee Gifford, Sally Struthers and Barbra Streisand are among those who have been targets so far. "We like to make fun of famous people," says Stone.

24. CHEESY POOFS AREN'T REAL. Cartman's favorite snack isn't a local delicacy. The show simply couldn't get legal clearance to use Cheetos.

25. THE KIDS WILL ALWAYS BE IMMATURE. The gang won't grow up, their creators say, but if they did, Stan might have a TV show. Kyle might be a scientist, a banker or a slumlord. Cartman would sell insurance. Kenny? Well, it's obvious, isn't it?