South Park - TV Fanatic

South Park Season Finale Review: OMG They Killed Kenny!

eric@tvfanatic.com (Eric Hochberger) — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 23:52:22 EST

The South Park season fifteen finale opened with a Cops-esque show, White Trash Trouble, in which Kenny's parents were arrested and he and his siblings were sent to foster care.

That's when we met one of the ridiculous headshot social workers. Personally, I don't care if his jokes were merely rehashed Catholic priest jokes. The absurd jabs at Penn State got me every time.

Then, back at school, we got another set of recycled jokes, with a series of self-inflicted yo mama jokes by Cartman when he learned he was now "The Poor Kid." Again, whether they were self-admittenly as old as the 1950s, they had be laughing straight until the pre-credit roll bit.

The only thing that surprisingly didn't work for me were the agnostic jokes. Sure, the bit about the Dr. Pepper was pretty funny, but the rest fell flat.

At least the scenes at the exact opposite of Hawaii, Greeley, brought in some sweet sibling bonding as Kenny brought back Mysterion to protect his sister, Karen.

I enjoyed that not only did Mysterion save the day, but he did it with the power of a PBR, trying things back to the beginning. We really are all just one PBR away from being in White Trash Trouble.

No, it wasn't one of the craziest episodes, nor one of the witty satires, but it featured two tightly knit story lines and plenty of laughs throughout.

It was a fine way to end a pretty strong season. Now, I hope Stone and Parker really enjoy their time off, especially since they have at least five more seasons to deal with this exhaustive schedule.

The only question I have, considering the ridiculously random ending with Kenny's death: will he be back next season and all is reset? I do seem to remember Kenny dying once or twice before...

South Park: Renewed For Three More Seasons!

steve@iscribelimited.com (Steve Marsi) — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 15:59:44 EST

Just when fans started to worry that Comedy Central might pull the plug on an animated classic of our time, the network struck a deal to bring back South Park for three more seasons.

The renewal will keep the animated hit on until 2016 and through a 20th season.

“Comedy Central has been our home for 15 years and we love working there,” said SP co-creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone. “South Park is a blast and we can’t wait to make more.”

“The collective genius of Matt and Trey knows no bounds,” said Comedy Central president Michele Ganeless. “Week after week and season after season they continue to surprise and delight South Park fans.”

We'll drink to that. Between now and 2016, and hopefully beyond, TV Fanatic will be with you after every episode, immediately after it airs, with reviews, commentary and South Park quotes.

South Park Review: Natalie Portman's Vagina

eric@tvfanatic.com (Eric Hochberger) — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 08:55:03 EST

Wow. Based on the preview clip, I already knew we were going to be in for a crazy South Park. When Cartman suggested the group use a "A History Channel Thanksgiving" for its report, I was merely expecting some History Channel mocking.

Let's face it, the same network that brought us Pawn Stars (huge fan!), MonsterQuest (yes, it's a real show), and Ice Road Truckers deserves a little mocking after totally selling out its namesake. Where, exactly, is the History in those programs?

I loved the various degrees from DeVry and the The University of Phoenix, along with Kyle's sarcasm quickly making him an expert in History. It was all in good fun, even if a little mild by South Park standards.

Then Natalie Portman spread her legs.

Yeah. Apparently Stone and Parker must have recently seen Thor, mixed in with a little Green Lantern (don't worry, it was just the little planet no one cares about), and just turned up the ridiculous dial.

A space Pilgrim, Standish, in the vein of Thor was sent to Earth, as it all became an absurd battle for stuffing against the space Indians. I'm not even sure how to touch that without you guys accusing me of going through menopause. I should just move on.

So I'm just going to leave the comments open to the real fans and ask you to submit your favorite South Park quotes as well. Go to it!

South Park Preview: "A History Channel Thanksgiving"

eric@tvfanatic.com (Eric Hochberger) — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 17:54:17 EST

South Park is no stranger to some pretty out there Thanksgiving episodes. "Helen Keller: The Musical" anyone?

But this year, Stone and Parker look to be upping the ante as South Park rewrites history with aliens being involved in the American holiday.

So just how do the Kyle and Cartman react when they see "A History Channel Thanksgiving" special? Well, exactly as expected, but watch the following clip anyways to see for yourself:

South Park Thanksgiving Clip

South Park Review: RIP, Clyde Frog

eric@tvfanatic.com (Eric Hochberger) — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 00:05:56 EST

With the ridiculousness that is the Occupy movement, it was only a matter of time before Matt Stone and Trey Parker gave the protestors the South Park treatment.

This movement was paralleled by our fourth graders through the use of a Presidential Physical Fitness examination, making Cartman the "1%" and the rest of his class the 99%, all while giving an easy direct link to the Obama administration.

While South Park is never a stranger to satire nor stating its politically incorrect views, I can't remember the last time Stone and Parker were so direct. They gave Cartman some pretty ridiculous quotes, such as:

I'll tell you why you're protesting, because you all think it's wrong to be pissed at a black president... | permalink

Aside from Cartman insinuating that people were blaming Wall Street and not the President because in our society "black people are incapable of doing anything wrong," the show had plenty more to mock about the protests.

One of my favorite bits was them mocking how liberally the word Occupy has been placed on everything from their Occupy Red Robin to the even more ridiculous Occupy the Rest Room. Personally, I've seen people holding Occupy signs designed for street corners.

Then there were the fifth graders that just had to mess things up when they couldn't just allow a single party 99% and had to break it down into 83%, 0.17%, and even a few little 5 percenters. Doesn't that just perfectly exemplify the flaw of the whole movement?

Meanwhile, throughout it all, our racist little Cartman was just trying to figure out who was killing off his toys, one by one, seemingly part of the 1% liberal Jew persecution. Of course, there was the clever, messed up ending reveal when it was just our little man growing up. Are we going to end up with two cynical fourth graders now?

Overall, I thought it was a great satire loaded with laughs and it did something South Park hasn't done to me in awhile: shocked me. But I'm sure you guys will still find a reason to hate my review and make me feel like the one percent. Let me go find my Clyde Frog to complain to. At least he thinks I'm cool. Oh wait. RIP Clyde Frog. You will be missed...

South Park Preview: "1%"

eric@tvfanatic.com (Eric Hochberger) — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 12:32:45 EST

Wow, it's like Trey Park and Matt Stone have been reading my reviews. Or watching the news. Because the duo is finally taking on an easy topic ripe for the South Park treatment: Occupy Wall Street.

So just how will the fourth graders relate to the protests that are spreading around the world? Well, when Cartman falls into the 1% of the Presidential Physical Fitness test, the 99% become the cool kids and start making fun of him.

Just watch the clip as Cartman takes solace with Clyde Frog and his other toys, with lines like "It's not your fault Eric, how can they blame you for what is clearly President Obama's fault," and tell me you aren't excited for this satire:

South Park Clip: "1%"

South Park Review Take 2: A Reader's Take on "Broadway Bro Down"

matt@tvfanatic.com (TV Fanatic Staff) — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 14:32:11 EST

Not everyone loved TV Fanatic staff writer Eric Hochberger's review of last night's South Park episode.

Some left unnecessarily cruel and vulgar comments on the write-up, while others replied in a more constructive manner. Take, for instance, reader Matthew Hewson. He actually penned his own review in response. We've posted it below.

If you've been watching for the past few seasons, you may have been wondering (up until a couple of weeks ago, at least) exactly how much more life can be left in a show that's now running into its 15th year. After a return to form with "Bass to Mouth," my hopes were high for the next installment of Trey and Matt's lovechild, and I'm happy to say that they don't disappoint.

"Broadway Bro Down" focuses largely on Stan's father, Randy Marsh, and if past experience is anything to go by, this is usually a strong basis for a hilarious half hour. Even if you weren't a fan of the largely Randy-centric "Creme Freche" and "Over Logging" episodes, you were still be in for a treat here, via a rare show of compassion from Stan's sister, Shelly, and some much-needed closure following the breakup and subsequent makeup of their parents that formed the mid-point of the season.

The episode begins with Randy ripping on one his colleague, Nelson, following the admission that he was forced to spend the evening with his wife at a Broadway show instead of watching the football game. As it turns out, the only reason men have ever endured Broadway musicals is not to please their wife, but rather because of the promise of hour-long post-musical blow jobs, thanks to some subtle and not-so-subtle autosuggestion on the part of the male song writers.

Almost as shocking as this revelation is the fact that Randy has managed to make time for his on and off (more usually off) career as a geologist.

Having treated Sharon to see the musical Wicked some twenty-something times, and having reaped the rewards as many times over, Randy decides that it's time to expand his horizons, and the pair jet off to NYC to see the real Broadway, leaving Stan and Shelly with "The Vegans," a family of meat-detesting, life preserver-wearing stereotypes whose son Larry has been a vegan, by choice, since the day he was born. Shelly's defense of Larry in front of his parents leads to a nice story arc in which the pair fall for one another, showing a far less abrasive side of Shelly than what we typically see.

Back to the A-story, and Randy has decided to take it upon himself to write and produce his own musical, much to the disgust of his peers in the industry, who aren't happy at his show's "lack of subtext." It turns out that Lloyd Webber, Elton John, Stephen Schwartz and Stephen Soundheim are all big-time bros who, when not writing musicals, spend their time hanging out in Hooters knocking back the brewskis. A bro-down between Randy and Schwartz leads to friendship between the writers, and the renaming of Randy's musical from "Spooge-drenched blow job queen" to the slightly more classy (and subtext-laden) "Woman in White."

The show comes to a tidy close with Randy having gatecrashed a performance of Wicked, having learned that his daughter and her boyfriend Larry have gone to see the show that night, and the admission to Sharon that all musicals are just an easy way for men to get great blow jobs from their wives and girlfriends. I won't go into much more detail, but suffice to say that Spider-Man is also involved, presumably a jab at the problems that beset the Broadway musical of the same name.

The whole episode feels like an allegory of Matt and Trey's experience of the Broadway scene when creating their own musical, The Book of Mormon, and the plug at the end of the episode makes no secret of that fact.

I'm absolutely fine with this, as there are many laugh-out-loud moments along the way, and dare I say, this may be the best episode of series 15 to date. I did find the overuse of the word 'Bro' a little annoying after the 215th time, but blowjob is mentioned in equal measures and yet I didn't find it to detract from the story, so go figure. A notable gem from near the end of the episode is when Randy calls a man in the theatre a "F*cking pervert" for having visited Wicked with his young granddaughter, and the musical numbers throughout are as good as any we've come to expect from the show.

Credit must also go out for the great portrayal of Elton John.

Some people may criticize South Park for no longer being on the cutting edge of comedy, for failing to offend at every opportunity in perhaps the same way as episodes past. I am not one of those people, and for the moment, am enjoying the direction that Matt and Trey are taking the show. For me, an episode should be about good comedy and laugh-out-loud moments in greater measure than an intent to cause offense, not that the latter would go amiss every once in a while!

For me, a solid 4.5 stars out of five for episode 11.

South Park Review: A Broadway Bro Down

eric@tvfanatic.com (Eric Hochberger) — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 23:29:28 EST

What do you get when Tony-award winner Robert Lopez stops by to write a South Park episode with his fellow Book of Mormon co-creators, Matt Stone a Trey Parker? A "Broadway Bro Down" of course!

I knew I was in for a weak half hour when the episode opened insulting my Dolphins and praising Tim Tebow. I mean, seriously, Miami makes for way too low hanging fruit for these guys.

From there, Randy quickly discovered what pretentious men around the world have known for years: Broadway musicals lead to blow jobs. But Randy was let in a little secret the rest of us never learned and that's why. It's not a nice evening out with your woman. It's the subtext.

Clearly, so many aspects of the episode were meta. I'm sure Stone and Parker (and probably to an extent Lopez) were probably considered a little too "bro" compared to their established Broadway composers. And I'm sure they really were lectured at first for not putting enough "subtext" in their show. Not so much in terms of blow jobs, but you get the idea. But no how matter how clever an episode of South Park gives is, we watch it for the comedy, don't we?

There were definitely some fun theater references, including the most appropriate costume Randy could have grabbed to sabotage a play, Spider-Man, but was the one-note joke of the blow job really enough to sustain the full half hour of laughs? For me, not so much.

Oh, and then there was the B story of the vegan family. Sure, it seemed to tie-in nicely with the Broadway adventure at the end, but it still felt undeveloped and, well, not that funny. And the life jackets? That connection felt a little forced and too convenient.

Maybe the episode just needed a little more Kyle, Kenny and Cartman, and a little less Stephen Sondheim, Andrew Lloyd Weber, and Elton John. The installment was clever in concept, but just not that funny.

But, bros, what did you think? And you know where to go to view and submit your favorite South Park quotes from the episode.

South Park Preview: "Broadway Bro Down"

eric@tvfanatic.com (Eric Hochberger) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 15:22:44 EST

Below, Matt Stone and Trey Parker speak on tackling a subject close to home in this week's South Park: Broadway. And who better to tell the story than the man with the most addictive personality on the show, Randy Marsh?

Stan's father becomes Broadway's biggest fan when his co-workers tell him what's so great about musicals? So what is it? Watch the following clip from "Broadway Bro Down" and begin guessing:

South Park Clip: "Broadway Bro Down"

South Park Review: "Bass to Mouth"

eric@tvfanatic.com (Eric Hochberger) — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 10:19:20 EST

What, exactly, was the target of Matt Stone and Trey Parker's vengeance this week?

It seemed like quite a bit when South Park took on WikiLeaks, our nation's celebrity gossip obsession, and the recent outcries over cyber bullying, all in one fell swoop - while simultaneously resurrecting a character from nine season ago, to boot.

After watching "6 Days to Air," I would have killed to have been in the writers' room just to see the path that led Stone and his team to realize the similar names between Lemmiwinks and Wikileaks and to resurrect one of the most ridiculous characters ever.

Okay, not kill. That sounds a little harsh in an episode about child suicide. But definitely throw-under-a-bus cripple to be in there.

On to the adventure! First, it was nice to see Stan completely back in his element, effectively undoing everything from the midseason finale and premiere. His change from finding the gossip funny to a serious problem when his addiction to (butt) crack came up? Classic.

Joining back up with Lemmiwinks and his animal ghost brethren, Frog King, Sparrow Prince and Catata "Bass to Mouth" Fish, was not only a great source of nostalgia for me, but equally hilarious the second time around. The bit where the animal ghosts infer Lemmiwinks emotions while he simply acted like a gerbil? Never gets old.

Even the songs were a fun throwback to the "Ballad of Lemmiwinks," which I still idiotically sing with my cousin to this day. Okay, maybe it was just my nostalgia that made me enjoy their scenes so much. But isn't that what still watching South Park for 15 straight years is all about?

And has anyone else noticed what a chef Cartman has become this season? First making "ass burgers" and then laxative-laden cupcakes? Just why all the knocks on Arby's horsey sauce? That stuff is totally delish.

I definitely thought the cyber bullying satire was perfectly timed. CNN, and I'm sure other networks, have been constantly obsessing over this silliness. It was good to see Stone and Parker give it a healthy little mocking through Cartman and the faculty.

Fun during his adventure? The literal throwing under the bus, the Selena Gomez beating, Mr. Mackey's actually writing "mkay" during the suicide note and his fully-baked revenge plan.

Then, of course, there was the whole WikiLeaks parody. While a little late by South Park standards, the blonde hair on WikiLeaks and his relationship to Lemmiwinks more than made up for any lack of timeliness.

Overall, I thought it was a good episode made much stronger by its ties and throwbacks to past South Park installments. What did you all think? And more importantly, best poo nickname: Poopy Pants Pete, Mushman Melman, or Soft Serve Simons?