Time Warped

Infobox television
show_name = Time Warped
caption =
rating =
format = Historic Satire
runtime = 21 to 22 minutes
creator = Trey Parker
starring = Chet Martin Juan Swartz Ichabod Jones Imon Welfare Tawdry Teal Jeffry
country = United States
network = FOX
first_aired =
last_aired =
num_episodes = 2|

"Time Warped" was a failed historic satire TV series created by future "South Park" creator Trey Parker in 1995. The series consisted of two pilot episodes - a musical version of Aaron and Moses's quest to free the Hebrews and a prehistoric love story between a Homo erectus and an Australopithecus.

Origins

After seeing their student film, "Cannibal! The Musical", FOX executive Brian Graden wanted Matt Stone and Trey Parker to create a show that was "Cannibal!" on a weekly basis (before that, however, they created a short Christmas Card for Brian called "The Spirit of Christmas"). Thus, Trey came up with "Time Warped"-"a musical romp through time". The show starred many of the actors from "Cannibal", such as Dian Bachar, Jason McHugh and Toddy Walters. When the first pilot was completed, Brian thought it would work better as a FOX Kids show. After making a kid-friendly pilot, FOX Kids passed on the show.

Opening sequence

The opening was different for the two pilots.

"Aaron" opening

An announcer (Trey Parker) introduces the show's logo as "Time Warped - In Color". He then introduces Chet Martin, with an image of Chet coming toward the camera in a desert. He follows with an introduction to the Time Warped players. Each player is introduced with three images, followed by an image of Chet Martin in the foreground with the player acting out a scene in the background. The names of the players are fake:

*Imon Welfare (Ian Hardin )
**Image 1:As Shannon Wilson Bell(from "Cannibal the Musical") /As an Ancient Greek/ As Moses (from this episode)
***Image 2: As the second of four ancient Greeks.

*Juan Schwartz (Trey Parker)
**Image 1: As Alferd Packer from "Cannibal"/Also as Packer/As Aaron (from this episode)
***Image 2: As a Chinese assassin stabbing Jason McHugh.

*Towdry Teal (Toddy Walters)
**Image 1: As Polly Pry from "Cannibal"/A Japanese Geisha/A woman tied to train tracks
***Image 2: The woman from the track and one of several townspeople staring at Chet Martin.

Also featuring:Peeny Bunsinger (Dian Bachar)
*As a confederate soldier

Ichabod Jones (Matt Stone)
*As a pilgrim.

The opening concludes with the announcer saying "Time Warped- A Musical venture through time" and an image of a cavemen examining Chet Martin and the camera.

"Rom and Jul" opening sequence

Another announcer (also Parker) opens the show as "Time Warped - Your Favorite Show" and starts singing a song about how Time Warped is your favorite show. Images of the cast flash by, featuring them in costume and other fake names:

*Jeffry (Dian Bachar): As Napoleon
*Ian (Ian Hardin): As Sherlock Holmes
*Toddy (Toddy Walters): As a 30's pilot.
*Carlos (Matt Stone): As a Victorian flute player

The song ends with the same caveman image from earlier.

Plot

"Episode 1: Aaron"

Chet Martin introduces the show with the prospect of sibling envy. We then transfer to ancient Egypt, where Aaron is riding a camel in the middle of a desert, where he sings with excitement about being chosen by God to give his message to the pharaoh of Egypt. After his song, Moses, Aaron's brother, runs across the desert to tell him that God spoke to him through a burning bush and told him to speak to the pharaoh and bring Aaron with him. Aaron, feeling that he should have been God's messenger, asks how they can prove to the pharaoh that he spoke to God, which Moses answers with a stick that he throws on the ground that transforms into a snake. Aaron agrees and they set off to stand up to the pharaoh. At the pharaoh's palace, Aaron, the better speaker, triumphantly tells the pharaoh of Moses's encounter with God, excluding the detail about the bush. When the pharaoh asks for proof, Aaron tell Moses to bring out the stick. Moses reveals that he forgot the stick and tries to convince the pharaoh of the Lord's magic through parlor tricks. They are kicked out promptly and find that an angry crowd of slaves have just been sentenced to double the work due to the pharaoh's displeasure with Aaron and Moses. Moses tells Aaron to talk with them. When Aaron tries to talk, he is stoned by the slaves. Moses is again instructed by the Lord to have Aaron tell the pharaoh of the plagues that will descend upon Egypt if the pharaoh doesn't release the slaves. This is spoiled when Moses, after the pharaoh asking the form the Lord takes, tells him that he is a great bush. Aaron and Moses are again thrown out. Aaron then sings a song to the Lord about why he chose an idiot like Moses to be his messenger.

As Egypt is run with plague, Moses and Aaron speak to the pharaoh again. The pharaoh's wife pleads with him to listen to them, which works, and the pharaoh tells Moses to tell the Lord he gives up. After Moses and Aaron leave, the plaque stops. As the duo speak to the slaves about their triumph, one slave asks about where they will go now that they are free. Having no idea, Moses leaves to ask God, which leaves Aaron alone to be stoned by the slaves again. Meanwhile, the pharaoh tells his wife that he has changed his mind. Aaron finds Moses roasting a marshmallow on the burning bush. The bush then says to Moses that they have to tell the pharaoh that the first born children will be killed unless the slaves are really freed. After Aaron, with anger and annoyance, tells the pharaoh, he tells Moses that he is sick of the unfair treatment he has had and leaves Moses on his own.

When plague once again rages on Egypt, Moses tries to speak to the Pharaoh (with Aaron secretly watching in the shadows), but fails miserably. After the Pharaoh sings a song about how better he thinks he is compared to everyone, Aaron realizes that, no matter how much better someone is at performing a skill, no one is greater than God. Aaron tells off the pharaoh and the pharaoh finally lets the slaves free. The slaves, along with some of the pharaoh's guards, start their journey to salvation.

In a closing segment, Aaron reveals to Moses that he was adopted, which Moses thinks is a joke.