The Official South Park Thread

[Dan's Brain]

Holy frig.

You don't expect 22 minutes of television to be one long poo joke, but still build to that kind of emotional climax. It definitely feels like Matt and Trey know something or have decided something that they're not telling us. I doubt sincerely that that was the last episode of South Park, but I think that they've signaled that the end is nigh.

I quite liked the episode itself.

Nice premise, done weird, as is the South Park way. The old guys trying to save the britches was delightfully odd, and Parker's acting was in top form with Stan and Randy.

[Andrew]

Apparently it's the first part of a two part episode, so we've got a cliffhanger. A quick check on Wikipedia doesn't mention the show being signed on past the current season but seven more are supposedly coming so even if it is ending, we're not there quite yet.

As for the episode, I thought it was fantastic. At first I thought they were just going to run with "tween music sucks" jokes the whole time, which I feared would be similar to the Jersey Shore episode: fun at first, but too much of the same joke done the same way to carry an entire episode. The joke didn't get old though and I love how they expanded on it and went after cynicism with self-referential humour along the way. Clever commentary combined with toilet humour has been the show's bread and butter for so long and its ability to meld the two together is what's made it so successful. It definitely worked here.

It's rare that they attempt to have a "serious" storyline ("Kenny Dies" is really the only other one that comes immediately to mind) in the middle of their usual antics. The show hasn't had to go down that path to be successful but it's an interesting change of pace and it's got me interested to see how they're going to resolve it, no doubt with a bit of meta humour and social commentary thrown in with Stan's cynicism. If this is the last season, I think they're ending on a high note and with fifteen seasons and over 200 episodes under their belt, that's an impressive feat. We'll have to see what happens as far as the future of the show is concerned but I'm looking forward to seeing how this two parter is wrapped up.

[Oznogrd]

I really want to see the end of this. Its one of the more emotionally charged but real epiosdes of South Park ever. I watched it this morning and have been churning it in my head all day. And all I can think of: even with the turd jokes...

This episode is fucking brilliant. Not my favorite, and not the funniest, but possibly the most they've ever gotten me emotionally invested with the South Park characters. This may very well be the best thing Trey and Matt have ever written.

I have no idea where this is going to go from where they left it. I wish they'd give us the 8th episode now and give us 15 this year.

[Andrew]

This episode is fucking brilliant. Not my favorite, and not the funniest, but possibly the most they've ever gotten me emotionally invested with the South Park characters. This may very well be the best thing Trey and Matt have ever written.

I couldn't agree more. It's something a bit different for South Park but it's definitely worked.

[el badman]

I kept expecting something totally absurd at the very end, but since that didn't happen, that was certainly an unusual episode by South Park standards. Good stuff though, hopefully we don't have to look too much into it and they'll still be coming up with new material for a good while.

[Andrew]

I haven't been able to find anything about the show being extended beyond this season so it may well be the last. I guess all we can say for sure at the moment is that a conclusion to the latest episode and six more are scheduled.

[benji]

Why would anyone think this is the end of South Park? Why would you read something elaborate into it? You guys know they're contracted until 2013 right?

They throw these together in a week and make millions to finance their other projects (Book of Mormon, etc.) as well as give themselves a platform every week when it is on.

When you write the same series for years you wish to and want to change them every so slightly to keep things fresh and explore new ideas. Comedy Central will pay them anything to keep it going no matter what and Mohammed aside barely interfere. It's like the Simpsons and Family Guy.

Are we really forgetting that once they officially killed off Kenny for good and tried new sidekicks? Yes, they wound up bringing Kenny back, but he didn't die every episode anymore.

When they apply themselves, they're great moral storytellers, that's all this is.

Yes, I'll inject some politics. They're libertarians. Which means they follow logical paths of consequences. (Actually, they're probably the former because they do the latter.) Everything Randy has transformed into leads to this. They're critics of Family Guy and The Simpsons and so on in their character development and Flanderization. I don't doubt they're aware of the pages about how Randy went from brilliant Geologist to moron who latches onto everything. (Hell, they've tweaked Cartman and both Stan and Kyle over the years on this.)

And Trey's been through a divorce. Stan is his avatar. These guys put everything else in their lives into this show, I wouldn't doubt this being another thing they want to explore through the show.

It's why it's a good show.

[Andrew]

Why would anyone think this is the end of South Park? Why would you read something elaborate into it? You guys know they're contracted until 2013 right?

I did not, I couldn't find anything except that they're signed through Season 15. Good to know.

[benji]

For those who don't believe they love money, they basically confirmed on The Daily Show that it was something different they had wanted to try and that they do indeed love piles of money. (And I assume, top hats and monocles. As all of us divine right haters do.)

[jettdaking!]

this season might really be their last, with mysteries like "why Kenny dies" and "who Eric Catman's father is" being revealed. it's good to see the mid-season finale episode to be a little serious, so the show can end in a "epic drama" kind of way instead of a "sitcom" way. South Park was my first favorite cartoon, and it should end in a really epic way

[Andrew]

As benji noted, they're signed through 2013.

[ixcuincle]

All new South Park returns today.

http://www.southparkstudios.com/news/39 ... ss-release

NEW YORK, October 3, 2011 Cartman thinks he has Aspergers Syndrome in an all-new episode of "South Park" titled, "Ass Burgers," premiering on Wednesday, October 5 at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT on Comedy Central.

Cartman finds a unique way of coping with Asperger's Syndrome. Even Kyle and Kenny are on board. Meanwhile, Stan can't seem to get his life back to normal no matter what he tries. Will anything ever be the same in South Park again?

[Andrew]

Keen to see how they wrap up that storyline. Good to have it back.

[Its_asdf]

I thought the episode itself was alright, I was waiting for the aspergers part of the episode to have a bigger punchline.

I'll take it though, an alright SouthPark episode is usually better than 90% of the TV shows out there anyway. I'm just going to assume this was a warm-up episode for Parker and Stone to get back into the swing of things.

[Andrew]

I'm with you. There was the usual cleverness and it wouldn't be South Park if it didn't go for a particularly cynical ending but it kind of felt like standard fare after they tried something a bit different in part one. I'm not sure what I'd have liked them to do differently, like you say maybe it's just a warm-up for a strong finish.

[Oznogrd]

no one's making anything of the fact that kinda just canonically made stan an alcoholic?

Didnt like the jump at the end where everything was fucked and his friends are just suddenly hanging out again. I want storyline dammit! You made this complex universe changing event that tons of people relate to, then you just bail? Bah

They didnt have enough on the Asperger's thing. They should've been able to get on society as a whole for it being the diagnosis du jour but they didnt really.

But as was said: still better than 95% of shit out there.

[Andrew]

Yeah, that was kind of depressing. I suppose it fit the story they were trying to tell but the whole was just a bit too cynical for my taste.

[Oznogrd]

Yeah, that was kind of depressing. I suppose it fit the story they were trying to tell but the whole was just a bit too cynical for my taste.

Leading up to it i was ok with the stan drinking because it so absurd with matrix-esque resistance movement. But that last little stop at the drawer for a shot to make it through the day was a little to close to real for me.

[Andrew]

Yeah, I'm with you. I have to admit I cringed a bit when the Matrix parody began, thinking "Oh here we go, another conspiracy angle", but it was actually clever and funny, almost a parody of their own tendency to do those types of stories as much as it was a Matrix shoutout.

[benji]

Aliens or ninjas or whatever fuck you.

The documentary Six Days to Air was pretty good.

[Andrew]

Once again, I wasn't really feeling the newest episode (The Last of the Meheecans). It wasn't bad, decent plot that poked fun at illegal immigration with some funny moments such as Randy's Darth Vader "NOOOOO!" and the boys' various dirty jokes but for me it was still kind of ordinary on the whole.

[Oznogrd]

Is that an issue that is well known enough outside of the States to be funny?

guessing the plot was mainly spawned by a bunch of illegals claiming they were going to strike to protest immigration laws being passed

I thought a few bits here and there were great but for the most part it isn't one i'm going to tell people " you have to watch this one"

[el badman]

Wow, I couldn't disagree more, but maybe it's because I live in a bordertown...I thought it was absolutely hilarious, even if quite predictable. Butters as Mexico's messiah is just an instant classic.

[Andrew]

Is that an issue that is well known enough outside of the States to be funny?

Probably, it's something that's come up a fair bit in pop culture, late night talk shows and the like, so I'd say there's an awareness of it.

Wow, I couldn't disagree more, but maybe it's because I live in a bordertown...I thought it was absolutely hilarious, even if quite predictable. Butters as Mexico's messiah is just an instant classic.

It could be that the issue resonates more with you and the episode is funnier as a result, but for me I think it's just that South Park has been on for fifteen seasons and over 200 episodes. As such, there's been a lot of really funny stuff over the years and the envelope has been pushed a long way in the past, so it's difficult for them to top what they've done. The show is still entertaining, they make good points and deliver the funny stuff but for me it just doesn't have the same impact as it once did and is a little past its prime.

[Andrew]

I was a big fan of last week's episode, which I finally got around to watching today while I had lunch. I thought the first half of the ep was a bit ordinary but as soon as it brought in Lemmiwinks, The Frog King, The Sparrow Prince and Catatafish, it picked up for a pretty funny second half. For some reason, I found Kyle's Flat What reaction to Catatafish to be hilarious.