The pilot episode that starred a character named Eric Cartman, aired in what year?
1997
Title: Eek, a Penis!
Passage: "Eek, a Penis!"  is the fifth episode in the twelfth season of the American animated series "South Park".  The 172nd episode of the series overall, it originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on April 9, 2008.  In the episode, Mrs. Garrison seeks to become a man again through the help of a new medical procedure, and Cartman helps teach struggling inner-city school children how to succeed by cheating.  This episode is a parody of the 1988 film "Stand and Deliver", with Eric Cartman playing a role similar to that of Edward James Olmos's character.
Title: Eric Cartman
Passage: Eric Theodore Cartman, often referred to as just Cartman, is a main character in the animated television series "South Park", created by Matt Stone and Trey Parker, and voiced by Trey Parker.  Cartman, generally referred to by his surname, is one of four central characters in "South Park", along with his friends Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, and Kenny McCormick.  Cartman first appeared, originally named Kenny, in prototypical form in a 1992 animated short "Jesus vs. Frosty", and a 1995 animated short "Jesus vs. Santa", and first appeared on television in the pilot episode of "South Park", "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe", on August 13, 1997.
Title: Cartman Gets an Anal Probe
Passage: "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe" is the first episode of the American animated television series "South Park".  It first aired on Comedy Central in the United States on August 13, 1997.  The episode introduces child protagonists Eric Cartman, Kyle Broflovski, Stan Marsh and Kenny McCormick, who attempt to rescue Kyle's younger brother Ike from being abducted by aliens.
Eric Cartman Cartman Gets an Anal Probe