South Park - General Discussion

[ganesh]

^Which I don't really think is a problem. It's not like I don't watch a show and only go to online to talk about it. I don't think live tweeting during a show is that big of a deal. However, I do agree with their point that the commentary is bigger than the quality of the entertainment is true, and very true of current pop stars. 

 

I would have liked to see more Randy/Lorde at the concert jawing with the other stars than with the kids because I think the first two scenes of them + Cartman's thing got the point across. I think the Wendy Williams show wasn't really necessary.

 

The whole hologram subplot is great. The entire Randy plots this season has been some of their best stuff. 

 

So everyone in the family knows Randy is Lorde but the sister?

[Amarsir]

I was a little disappointed that Mr. Garrison seemed to be erasing actual biology information from the board. I miss the days when we glimpsed his lesson plans and they were all about The Facts Of Life or something else ridiculous.

Edited December 4, 2014 by Amarsir

[JellyFishQueen]

What happen to Mr. Garrison actually? He only seem to be getting few sentences lately.. I miss the days when he was part of the story major. To much Randy centric these days. I actually can seen Mr. Garrison being Lorde instead of Randy ya know?

[Ubiquitous]

Was there any continuity to previous episodes this season? I didn't catch any specific reference.

Yes.  Randy apparently is doing concerts as Lorde b/c his son squandered all his money on Terrance & Phillip's crappy "freebie" video game.

 

I loved how the drum music followed Randy everywhere, plus we saw an actual drummer.

Wait, there was an actual drummer with Randy in the bathroom? I thought he was practicing playing drums with his penis.

 

People still play Magic: The Gathering? Yu-Gi-Oh! made more sense to me, as least when the anime was on. What saves the episode? Cocks fighting with cards instead of talons, and the Amazingly Randy.

The best part was roosters randomly drawing cards from a deck being better than playing it the way it's sppsd to be played.

 

When Randy seemed to cut off his own penis, I initially thought it was real and there was going to be a "Randy accidentally cuts off his own dick" subplot.

That's exactly what I thought had happened.

[Lantern7]

Ubiquitous . . . yes, there was a drummer in the bathroom with Randy, which made it funnier.

[Galileo908]

I for one thought we got a little burnt out on Garrison plots back then, so I think it's kinda refreshing that another character took his place.

 

That being said, I miss Chef. Both as Isaac Hayes and for being the only person in South Park that had some semblance of sanity. He was always the guy the kids went to for advice, and now they have no one. These days the only "sane" characters seem to be Sharon and Mrs. Cartman.

[cheatincheetos]

I for one thought we got a little burnt out on Garrison plots back then, so I think it's kinda refreshing that another character took his place.

 

That being said, I miss Chef. Both as Isaac Hayes and for being the only person in South Park that had some semblance of sanity. He was always the guy the kids went to for advice, and now they have no one. These days the only "sane" characters seem to be Sharon and Mrs. Cartman.

And the occasional Mimsy as the voice of reason...

[niklj]

This episode was kind of slow, not too many funny moments--a lot of repetition of the same joke without any variety.

 

I wonder if these final episodes will be Kyle's version of "You're Getting Old." The living room scene where he gets disillusioned kind of had that same serious tone.

[OnceSane]

Still burning over Ike calling him a Grandpa, Kyle teams up with some heavy hitters in the entertainment industry to create the most extravagant televised Holiday Spectacular ever. He's sure that this event will be just the thing to bring families together again. Meanwhile, multiple holograms are still on the loose in South Park.

[JellyFishQueen]

I might be the minority but I found this ep to be borning. Ironic as it is I thought cartman was just rehasing humor. Come on! This is cartman! He needs to be more evil then a floating screen effect from Superman.

[Princess Sparkle]

I think I damn near died from Sharon muttering "whatever keeps you from doing cock magic."  It was just muttered so low, but it was so freaking funny to me.  That, and the line reading from Stan on "Why did you rub your clit?"  And Randy's defenses of his bad behavior always kill me - his defense of "Someone told me to!" reminded me of his defense on saying the N-word "Well, what was I supposed to do, it was for $20,000!  Stan, remember, Daddy only said that word because he thought he was going to win money!"

[Galileo908]

Even though I should've expected it, I was shocked to see that Hologram Robin Williams was added to the "Washington Redskins Go Fuck Yourself Holiday Special" (great callback to boot). Speaking of which, I loved how the livetweet bar at the bottom of the screen was nothing but hatetweets for CartmanBrah. (ETA: did anyone else notice "@cockmagic4life?")

 

At first I shuddered at Iggy Azalea with Elvis. Then I was horrified at Kurt Cobain singing into a shotgun. But then none of that beat the horror of Cosby singing "Baby It's Cold Outside." This show continues to amaze me with that.

 

So...what gets rid of PewDiePie? Then again, we in the real world are still trying to figure that out. And here I was expecting Mr. Hankey to save the day.

Edited December 11, 2014 by Galileo908

[Lantern7]

Anybody else feel that the focus was scattered? Or maybe it's because I was expecting Mr. Hankey and I got PewDiePie instead. Or maybe I'm a Grandpa, unable to deal with the rampaging continuity.

 

ETA: Seriously, this PewDiePie is a big deal? Then again, I'm the one that watches abridged versions of anime, so who am I to judge?

[Galileo908]

I think all the mass confusion was Trey & Matt pretty much saying "we painted ourselves into a corner here, so we're just gonna bombard you with everything at once."

[benteen]

Anybody else feel that the focus was scattered? Or maybe it's because I was expecting Mr. Hankey and I got PewDiePie instead. Or maybe I'm a Grandpa, unable to deal with the rampaging continuity.

 

ETA: Seriously, this PewDiePie is a big deal? Then again, I'm the one that watches abridged versions of anime, so who am I to judge?

 

No, scattered is a good word.  It was a mess and I was surprised we didn't get a Randy as Lorde resolution.  But it was fun nonetheless.

 

I kept expecting them to summon Mr. Hankey at the end.

 

Cartman going "Transcendence" had me laughing.

Edited December 11, 2014 by benteen

[mariah23]

Anybody else feel that the focus was scattered? Or maybe it's because I was expecting Mr. Hankey and I got PewDiePie instead. Or maybe I'm a Grandpa, unable to deal with the rampaging continuity.

 

ETA: Seriously, this PewDiePie is a big deal? Then again, I'm the one that watches abridged versions of anime, so who am I to judge?

Apparently his You Tube Channel has over 6.6 billion views and he has 32 million subscribers.  Really.

[Lantern7]

I kept expecting them to summon Mr. Hankey at the end.

You and Kyle both. He looked legit surprised when PewDiePie showed up.

 

Seriously, what's the lesson for the episode/season? That Cartman doesn't care if he get bad attention? We already knew that.

 

One reason to rewatch: check out the Twitter handles. Lots of references dropped from past seasons. Also, notice how Angelina Jolie is scratching herself, like she did at the end of "Lice Capades."

[TyranAmiros]

I think the lesson of the season is that there are a lot of things that push us apart and make us suspicious of each other, and thus spend less time together, but at the end of the day, we can all agree that "Customer Service" has no idea what's going on.  And don't underestimate the lengths Cartman will go to to get his own bathroom!

[Amarsir]

Well I apologize for any concerns I had that they would drop the ball in part 2. The climax may not have been particularly brilliant, but it was definitely a culmination. I only regret they couldn't work in Handicars.  (Or they did and I missed it.)

 

Speaking of which, I loved how the livetweet bar at the bottom of the screen was nothing but hatetweets for CartmanBrah. (ETA: did anyone else notice "@cockmagic4life?")

The livetweet bar was FILLED with references.  Beside cockmagic4life, there was glutenKillz and cisginger, and then a bunch of older references like ShakeWeightFan, stepOneUnderPants, and cheezedOut.  Plus there were jokes in the actual tweets like "too soon" during the Cosby bit.

 

ETA: Seriously, this PewDiePie is a big deal? Then again, I'm the one that watches abridged versions of anime, so who am I to judge?

Last I saw he makes over $7 million a year via YouTube, making him the highest paid channel on there.  So that's a genuine big deal, though not the kind of money other mediums make.

Edited December 11, 2014 by Amarsir

[niklj]

#iamsoconfused

 

I was trying to understand the REAL message behind this episode but am coming up with nothing. Usually it's pretty clear what they are trying to really say about something, but this one was really, really weird and messy, and it was kind of a cop-out to have the characters repeating how confused they were to make it seem like they were doing it on purpose.

 

Wouldn't watch this episode again, barely finished it as it was.

[ganesh]

I think they were saying that people watch tv and interact differently nowadays and that's the new paradigm. I don't live tweet, for example, but I get why people might enjoy that. I don't necessarily think it's isolating. 

 

I wanted the episode to be more about Randy/Lorde. 

 

The Tupac/Michael Jackson just capping the producer in the background on tv was pretty dark but funny to me. 

[Amarsir]

It doesn't really make sense in the context of a 2-parter. There was no conclusion to Lorde or the holograms, unless killing a producer we'd barely met is supposed to count as closure. The problem of not getting Pewdiepie was eclipsed by Cartman so the original problem would be the solution. We had no idea how Shelley ended up feeling about Randy/Lorde, since that was played as a joke. (Albeit a decent one.)

However, this entire season most of us have been cheering the inter-episode continuity and hoping for more. And there's no question they went over-the-top on that. So as a season-ender I was entertained by that, even if it doesn't relly function as an episode.

[Spartan Girl]

WOW.  You have to hand it to Trey and Matt for cramming all those pop culture references along with almost every storyline they've used this season: Bill Cosby, the police shooting/choking, that Johnny Depp movie Transcendence, and even a reference to the late Robin Williams as a hologram.  I let out a sigh of relief when Hologram Kurt Cobain just shot out a Christmas sign out of his rifle, but yeesh.  I shudder to think what they might have done with Robin Williams.

 

All in all, the continuity was interesting this season.  Definitely the standout episodes were Handicar, the virtual reality episode, and of course The Magic Bush.

[ganesh]

I'm wondering if the episode wasn't scattered on purpose as a way to show how our attention is all over the place. I mean, I'm watching Sleepy Hollow, typing this, and eating. 

[Writing Wrongs]

I feel like a "grandpa" er, I guess "grandma" because each season I become more and more disconnected with the episodes. I don't really keep up with pop culture stuff, so I had no idea about PewDiePie, I don't know who Lorde is, I don't know about freemium stuff or this hologram thing. The last thing I "got" was the Game of Thrones parody only after I decided to give the series a watch.

 

I still find it funny for what it is, but maybe I'm getting too old for this show. Sigh.

[niklj]

WOW.  You have to hand it to Trey and Matt for cramming all those pop culture references along with almost every storyline they've used this season: Bill Cosby, the police shooting/choking, that Johnny Depp movie Transcendence, and even a reference to the late Robin Williams as a hologram.  I let out a sigh of relief when Hologram Kurt Cobain just shot out a Christmas sign out of his rifle, but yeesh.  I shudder to think what they might have done with Robin Williams.

 

Thinking about it now, I guess the show being a mess WAS the point. They were making fun of how all these shows now are not greenlit for any other reason than being something that people will talk about in social media, leading to pointless integration and general messes of shows making it to air ('Eaten Alive' anyone?) The proof was in the pudding by the way all the hashtags on this episode began trending around the U.S. So yes, the idea that it's not about the content anymore but the discussion, as someone put it. This was the real version of the Go F*ck Yourself Christmas Special.

[Amarsir]

I feel like a "grandpa" er, I guess "grandma" because each season I become more and more disconnected with the episodes. I don't really keep up with pop culture stuff, so I had no idea about PewDiePie, I don't know who Lorde is, I don't know about freemium stuff or this hologram thing. The last thing I "got" was the Game of Thrones parody only after I decided to give the series a watch.

 

I still find it funny for what it is, but maybe I'm getting too old for this show. Sigh.

Maybe the show's keeping you young by filling you in on all these references.

[amensisterfriend]

I still love this show and am not among those who think the later seasons are all inferior to the earlier ones (some of the later seasons are actually among my very favorites), but this season was pretty hit and miss for me. Like many of you, I loved the effort to continue certain storylines beyond just one or even two episodes, but the actual execution was lacking to me. I stopped finding the Randy/Lorde stuff interesting and funny after the first time it popped up. 

[amensisterfriend]

I just spent an Amazon gift certificate (and more!) on South Park DVDs: Season 8 (I'm obsessed with You Got Served, Cartman's Incredible Gift, Woodland Critter Christmas, Goobacks, Douche and Turd, Pre-School, etc.), Season 14 (as a former Facebook addict, I can't NOT own You Have 0 Friends, and I love the four Coon episodes and even Poor and Stupid more than is rational), and, of course, A Little Box of Butters, which includes Butters' Very Own Episode, Professor Chaos, The Simpsons Already Did It, Raisins, You Got F'd In The A, AWESOM-O, Stupid Spoiled Whore Video Playset, Marjorine, Cartman Sucks, The Ungroundable, The Coon, Butters' Bottom Bitch, and The Tale of Scrotie McBoogerballs...in other words, it's a must own :) No one in my real life would get how excited this purchase makes me, so I had to share it with you guys! 

Edited March 13, 2015 by amensisterfriend

[Ubiquitous]

Last night, they played the "Who is Cartman's mom?" eps. Dang, I forgot how fu ny that was!

[Lantern7]

From E3: The follow-up to The Stick Of Truth: The Fractured But Whole. Maybe we'll get a three-part arc out of this as well.

[Lantern7]

Bumping up because South Park got an Emmy nomination, and this was the episode that was submitted.

[Lantern7]

Heads up . . .  Comedy Central has a "Christmas In July" thing happening this Saturday, and they'll be showing off old-school episodes of South Park.

[Spartan Girl]

Well, I'm pretty sure they'll take on Trump running for president this season.

[numbersix]

According to Comcast, Comedy Central should be airing Over Logging right now (head out Californee way), but instead Jared Has Aides is on. Sick coincidence or twisted programmer? Hard to tell with these guys.

[Spartan Girl]

According to Comcast, Comedy Central should be airing Over Logging right now (head out Californee way), but instead Jared Has Aides is on. Sick coincidence or twisted programmer? Hard to tell with these guys.

It's just their way of being timely to current events....

The whole Jared real life scandal is sick and horrific, but I'm sure Trey and Matt are laughing their asses off now.

[Spartan Girl]

New season starts September 16!

[Lantern7]

I think there's a SP marathon going on now on Comedy Central. There will also be one on Wednesday, leading to the season premiere.

[OnceSane]

There is a new principal at the helm of South Park Elementary. He forces the boys to confront the damage they've done through their history of racism and unconscious bias. It is the most stunning and brave South Park ever.

Edited September 14, 2015 by OnceSane

[amensisterfriend]

Here's a fun challenge: You can keep just four seasons of South Park. Which four do you pick---and why?! 

[Lantern7]

Here's what I got from the CC site:

It isn’t the same old South Park in an all-new episode premiering Wednesday, September 16 at 10:00 P.M. ET/PT on Comedy Central

——–

NEW YORK, September 14, 2015 – The boys express their utmost respect for Caitlyn Jenner in the season premiere of “South Park” titled “Stunning and Beautiful” on Wednesday, September 16 at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT on Comedy Central.

There is a new principal at the helm of South Park Elementary. He forces the boys to confront the damage they’ve done through their history of racism and unconscious bias. It is the most stunning and brave South Park ever.

 

 

How long has it been since South Park Elementary had a change in faculty? Maybe somebody found out about Principal Victoria ordering the "code red" for Wendy to beat the shit out of Cartman.

[Spartan Girl]

I had a feeling they'd do Caitlyn Jenner. I wonder how this will play out...

[OnceSane]

Thanks, Lantern7! I don't know why tvdb had the other description.

[Princess Sparkle]

I think I'd go with (in no particular order):

 

• Season 4 - my most consistently rewatched season.  It also has some of my all-time favorite episodes: Helen Keller the Musical, Cartman Joins Nambla, Do the Handicapped Go to Hell/Probably, etc.  
• Season 8 - there are some really, really great episodes in there.  Passion of the Jew, You Got F'd in the A, Awesome-O, The Jeffersons, The Goobacks, Stupid Spoiled Whore, Woodland Critter Christmas. 
• Season 10 - it's one of the strongest seasons of the past 10 years (and, omg, I remember watching the first run of these eps).  The Return of Chef, Smug Alert, Cartoon Wars, Manbearpig, the Go God Go two-parter are all fantastic.  
• Season 11 - picking the last one was hard, and while there are some clunkers in this season (Lice Capades is particularly painful), the ones that are on are so freaking funny.  The Imaginationland episodes are in my top-5 favorite of all time, With Apologies to Jesse Jackson still holds up well, I call people my "acoutabilibuddy" because of Cartman Sucks, and the Fantastic Easter Special is so twisted, but so, so funny.

 

Special mentions: Season 5, because The Entity & Scott Tenorman Must Die are two episodes that still make me laugh so hard that I cry.  This most recent season had some fantastic episodes, and in season 13, Margaritaville and Fatbeard are pretty great as well.  

[amensisterfriend]

I love your list, Princess Sparkle---and your screen name, by the way :) 

 

picking the last one was hard, and while there are some clunkers in this season (Lice Capades is particularly painful), the ones that are on are so freaking funny.

 

Ha---yeah, I feel this way about nearly every season :) For me the highs nearly always way, way outweigh the lows, though. I'm just not a huge fan of the some of the grosser/raunchier stuff on this show (or other shows, for that matter!) and a few episodes are disgusting enough to wear out my fast forward button, but the cleverness, wit and satire makes many South Park episodes among my favorite half-hours of any show ever. It's one of the sadly few comedies that I find genuinely funny! 

 

, Cartman Joins Nambla

 

This is among the 15 or so South Park episodes I've watched often enough to practically memorize it by now. Other ones include Rainforest Shmainforest, Fat Camp, The Entity, Krazy Kripples, Casa Bonita, All About Mormons, The Jeffersons, Goobacks, Pre-School, Cartman's Incredible Gift, Ginger Kids, Cartman Sucks, The Ungroundable, All the Coon episodes, Poor and Stupid, The Poor Kid...that's already more than 15, isn't it?! That's a shame, because there are at least 15 more I'd love to include here. 

 

Attempting to answer my own question re. seasons:

 

1) Season 8 

 

there are some really, really great episodes in there.  Passion of the Jew, You Got F'd in the A, Awesome-O, The Jeffersons, The Goobacks, Stupid Spoiled Whore, Woodland Critter Christmas.

 

Yes! I think this has emerged as the most consistently amazing season for me. There are so many episodes I really, really love and only a couple that I don't. In addition to all the ones you mentioned, Cartman's Incredible Gift is an underrated gem IMO. As a huge crime show/mystery buff, I love when South Park takes some shots at the crime solving genre (and crime solving in real life) :) I tried to get a friend of mine who used to claim to be psychic to watch that episode, but to no avail. I also adore Pre-school. Yup, this settles it...if my apartment is ever on fire, this is the DVD set I'm grabbing on my way out the door! 

 

 

2. Season 7: I just love this one---L'il Crime Stoppers (see above re. my love for the genre AND for making fun of said genre), Cancelled, Christian Rock Hard, All About Mormons, and Casa Bonita are all favorites of mine. I even enjoy Red Man's Greed and Toilet Paper way more than I should :) 

 

3. Season 4: What Princess Sparkle said :) 

 

4. Season 14: A weird choice, I realize---I just love the Coon trilogy (complete with the exaggeratedly raspy 'Batman' voice), You Have 0 Friends (I'm a recovering Facebook addict!), and Poor and Stupid so very much. 

 

The fifth spot is pretty much a seven-way tie. 

 

I don't love S6 all that much for some reason---Kenny being really dead and the search for his replacement didn't really work for me, and there just happen not to be any of my personal favorites in this season except maybe Asspen---but I recently rewatched Jared Has Aides and am now wondering if Jared will appear again in this newest season given what we now know about him. 

[Lantern7]

Just saw a clip from CC. The episode title is now "Stunning and Brave." Sorry if this drives you insane, OnceSane. Anyway, here's the clip:

 

Neat that Cartman doesn't stray too far from the Patriots. On the other hand, I'm slightly dreading the episode. The episode where Garrison transitions still makes me numb when I think about it, especially the opening scene.

[Princess Sparkle]

I have to agree with you; Cartmans Incredible Gift is an underrated classic! The montage of the detective realizing that the right hand was a left hand flipped over is freaking hilarious. The psychic detectives "threatening" each other with "DUH NUH NUH NUH!" and that "seasons change!" song kill me too. And that they think it's all copycat killers, even with Kyle's evidence.

Season 7 is another great one that almost made it on my list. Christian Rock Hard and All About Mormons have so many great moments, and All About Mormons has one of my all-time favorite lines:

Stan: "You just try and trick stupid people like my dad!"

Randy: "...YEAH!"

Stan/Randy episodes are always gold to me. The visual of Stan with his eyes closed and head in his hand over something Randy has done never fails to make me laugh.

[amensisterfriend]

The visual of Stan with his eyes closed and head in his hand over something Randy has done never fails to make me laugh.

 

Heh---well, as well all know, it isn't easy to find out that your father is in the Hare Club for Men. :) 

 

I don't even want to know what this says about me, but I tend to really, really love Cartman-centric episodes. I also almost always adore Butters-centric episodes (which, come to think of it, often involve a lot of Cartman as well). When it comes to minor characters, I really love the goth kids for some reason.  Mrs. Cartman amuses me as well. And, sadly, I'm often anxious and over-caffeinated enough to relate to Tweek.  

 

How about your favorite and/or least favorite minor characters? This discussion is making me want to rewatch my favorites even more often than usual! 

[Princess Sparkle]

He's probably a more major-minor character (how's that for a description?), but Randy is probably my favorite non-main character. His little asides always kill me.

"Stan, how could you give them the rabbit?"
"WHAT? You told me to!"
"That's not how we're choosing to remember this!"

"Stan, where were you? Your mother was worried sick and I was watching tv!"

Mister Slave is pretty great as well. In the Stupid Spoiled Whore episode has a moment that always cracks me up; it's when Wendy comes to talk to Mr Slave and he's all tied up, and in that genuine voice of his asks "What's wrong Wendy? Do you need help with your math homework?"

Edited September 16, 2015 by Princess Sparkle

[Spartan Girl]

I don't know if he counts as a minor character but I really loved Chef and I still miss him. He was the only halfway sane adult in that crazy town.

Though Craig seems to be starting to fill that void as the voice of reason quite nicely.