South Park Review: "Bass to Mouth"

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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.

Bass to Mouth Picture

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?

Bass to Mouth Review

Editor Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
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User Rating:

Rating: 4.3 / 5.0 (144 Votes)

Eric Hochberger is the programmer of TV Fanatic, so please forgive his mediocre writing. His programming is far better. Follow him on Twitter and/or email him. Just don't request threaded comments. They're coming.

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