Since it’s been a while since I’ve posted a review, I thought I could start off the decade by reviewing something I’ve never really reviewed before and that is a T.V. Show. Sure, I’ve reviewed TV Documentaries, but that’s it. So here’s how this is going to work; when I review a T.V. series, I’m only going to do one season a year instead of reviewing all the season’s at once, and when you read the reviews you’ll find a list. The first part of the list is called “Basic Plot to the show” which means I tell you what the background of the show is. After that you’ll find an episode list. The episode list will have the plot and my review on the episode with just a hint of a little trivia. When you see the words coming soon, that means the episode on the list is a holiday special and it’s not being released until the holiday season, but don’t worry, I will tell you when it’s ready. Now I don’t expect you to read every episode you see on the list, but if there’s an episode you’re interested in reading about, it’s here. After the review of the last episode of the season, you will find big lettered words that say CONCLUSION. This will surmise my rating of the entire season. So here’s my first review on a T.V. Series. I hope you enjoy it and I hope you tune in for upcoming reviews and I just want to thank you all once again for reading my past reviews.
Basic Plot to the show: Created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, South Park is an animated show that takes place in a small town in Colorado where wild and crazy things happen. The show stars the poor kid Kenny, who dies at the end of most episodes; the nice boy in the poof ball hat Stan; The Smart Jewish kid Kyle; and everyone’s favorite little fat… I mean big boned (Who is really fat) racist kid Eric Cartman. Most of the humor revolves around all kinds of different humor like Political Humor, Media Humor, Racism Humor, Slapstick comedy, Toilet Humor, fat jokes and much much more.
Cartman gets an Anal Probe
This episode is the Pilot Episode for the T.V. series. Aliens are visiting South Park and weird things begin to happen. The cows are acting strange; Kyle’s little brother Ike gets Kidnapped by the Aliens; and something’s not right with Cartman’s ASS! The first thing you’ll notice when you first see the Episode is the Animation. I mean the Animation isn’t what you call bad, but it wasn’t the best. However, this episode had so many funny moments that made me laugh that I didn't care if the animation sucked, half the time. There are memorable scenes like where we see Cartman telling his friends over and over that there’s nothing wrong with him when his friends obviously know that there is because there’s a Big Ass Satellite coming out of his ass; or the famous Kick the Baby scene where Kyle constantly kicks his little brother Ike like a Football. Also Isaac Hayes, who was the first African American composer to win an Oscar for Best Original Song for the song Shaft appears in the episode as the Voice of their singing School Chef, named Chef!
I give this episode a 5/5
Volcano
The Kids are going on a hunting trip with Stan’s Uncle Jimbo and his friend Ned. While on their Hunting trip, Cartman tries to scare them with a monster he made up called “Scuzzlebutt”, a mysterious monster with a celery hand and has Patrick Duffy for a leg. Meanwhile, in South Park, the people find out that a Volcano is going to erupt and the kids are right by it. When I first saw the episode the first thing I noticed was the animation has improved a little bit. At some points the Animation didn’t look right, but mostly throughout the whole episode the animation was a lot more pleasing than the first episode, but is the episode is as funny as the Pilot? Well what’s funny about the episode is we see Uncle Jimbo and his friend Ned break all the rules of hunting by just shooting every animal they see and say it’s coming after them (When it really isn’t); and instead of them just caring rifles and Shotguns, they carry weapons that you can only use in war (Of course they are Vietnam War Veterans). Another thing that’s funny about the episode is how cheesy (In a good way) the Mayor and the town’s people react to the news about the Volcano. What’s also surprising about this episode is I didn’t hear so much as a “BLEEP” in the Language, in fact, I don’t think they said any colorful language that’s good enough to be “BLEEPED”. What makes this episode even greater is when Isaac Hayes makes another appearance as his character chef; he was originally just going to appear as a special guest in the Pilot episode, but due to great responses by the audience, he decided to become a regular character. He may perform another song in this episode to a certain celebrity….Even though the Animation got cheesy and we didn’t hear any colorful language, it was still a fun episode with some major improvements!
I give this episode a 5/5
Weight Gain 4000
Cartman wins an environmental essay contest and celebrity Kathy Lee is coming to South Park to give him an award on TV. However, their gay School teacher Mr. Garrison and his hand Puppet Mr. Hat has plans to kill Kathy Lee for their haunting memory of them losing a talent show to her. At the beginning of the episode, I was wondering when is something funny going to happen? As the episode progressed, I began to smirk, to finally laughing out loud. You’ll find lots of comedy in this episode. For example, throughout the episode, Cartman drinks a Bodybuilding drink called “Weight gain 4000” to look muscular for Television and at different points in the episode we see him get fatter and fatter. You’ll also find some movie and TV humor in this episode like when Mr. Garrison looks in the Mirror with a gun and says a famous line from the movie “Taxi Driver”.
I give this Episode an 5/5
Big Al's Big Gay Boat Ride
Stan is getting ready for a big Football game, but he finds out that his dog (Voiced by George Clooney) is gay, so he turns to gayest man in South Park for advice. I think the episode shows a good, but yet comical side of being gay (Not that I am Gay) because at first we see Stan upset about his dog being gay, but as the episode moves forward he starts learning to accept his dog as being gay. This episode also makes fun of the hatred of people who are against homosexuals. One of the funniest and meaning parts of the episode is the end of the boat ride where we see a little parody of the Disneyland ride “It’s a Small World” of gay robot dolls singing that it’s alright to be gay. This episode didn’t really make me laugh my ass off, but it still has a good a moral, a couple of good jokes and an Emmy Nomination.
My rating for this episode is 4/5
An Elephant Makes Love to a Pig (Originally named An Elephant F**ks a pig)
The Boys plan to have an Elephant mate with a pig to win the school’s science contest, however, Stan is being bullied by his sister Shelley, while Terrance and his Dad Dr. Mephisto (Who’s a spoof on Marlon Brando’s character Dr. Moreau) accidentally create a monster that looks like Stan. This episode is another funny yet weird scenario. The jokes were funny like in the scenes where you see Shelley beat the living crap out of Stan, or in the scene where Chef and Elton John sing a song to set the mood for the Elephant and the pig. I also liked Trey Parkers impersonation of Marlon Brando because of how similar his voice was to the Brando’s. Interestingly enough, you will see contrasting animation in the cafeteria scene. Some of the animation looks similar to the first episode, “Cartman gets an anal probe” as if they recycled a scene from that episode and dropped it into this episode. The animation is noticeably different. After a few minutes it just bounces back to the animation we already got used too. This episode also did have a good little lesson in nature and family.
I give this episode an 4/5
Death
Stan’s grandpa is unhappy with his life and he wants Stan to kill him. While the parents are trying to shut down the Terrance and Phillip show; Death (a.k.a. The Grim Reaper) begins to chase after the kids. I was expecting the episode to be as funny as the past episodes I watched, but it wasn’t that hilarious, however, the episode did have its moments like in the part where Stan almost kills his grandpa by accidentally hanging him; or in the scenes where the adults keep dying by trying to catapult themselves into the Cartoon Central building with a giant slingshot. I did think their themes on Death and T.V. for children was good. This episode is also the debut of the Canadian comic duo Terrance and Phillip. It wasn’t bad; I just expected it to be a lot funnier.
My rating for this episode is a 4/5
Pink Eye
This episode is The Halloween Special. Kenny gets killed by a falling Mir Space station, but then comes back from the Dead as a zombie and turns the people of South Park into Zombies by eating their Brains. It's up to Stan, Kyle, and Cartman to stop the Zombie Invasion. This special in my opinion is the funniest Episode of the whole season! Every scene you watch there's a gag jumping out at you. My favorite gag is the two different costumes Cartman wears, which I'm not going to give away, but trust me its funny. This Special also has action in it like the scenes when the kids are fighting off the zombies with chainsaws. There's also a Romantic struggle between Stan and Wendy that makes the special even more epic. Now you're probably wondering why this special is called "Pink Eye", it's because the doctors in South Park think people are getting a pink eye disease! What I also found amazing about this special is it gives you the spirit of Halloween (Even the opening gives you the Halloween Spirit)! Oh, and one more thing Chef also sings in this episode a Parody of "THRILLER"!
This Special gets a 5/5
Starvin' Marvin
This Episode is the Thanksgiving special. The kids see a TV ad hosted by Sally Struthers for helping starving people from Ethiopia. The kids give it a shot, but only for the free sports watch that’s given in the ad. A mix up happens in the mail and instead of the boys getting the watch; they get an Ethiopia child named Starvin Marvin. This Special is another excellent Holiday Special. The reason why is because it teaches about the people who are starving in Ethiopia and how greedy the Americans are with food. An example of the moral in the episode is Cartman's part in the episode. At first we see Cartman as a glutton, who over-eats and doesn’t share his food with anybody (Is it no wonder he's fat), but once he's mistakenly taken to Ethiopia you see him suffer for food like all the rest of the people in that country. What I also love about the Episode is there jokes on how fat Sally Struthers is and as we get further into the Special, we find out how bad of a glutton she is. There are also appearances of Terrance and Philip, and Dr. Alphonse Mephesto. There's also big battle against the mad turkeys and the humans, and the battle parodies the battle in "Braveheart".
South Park still doesn’t fail to make Holiday specials! 5/5
Mr. Hankey the Christmas Poo
In the town of South Park, the people are getting rid of anything to do with Christmas and anything that's holiday offensive. Kyle is trying to show his friends and the town a New Christmas Icon called Mr. Hankey the Christmas Poo, unfortunately the people of South Park think Kyle is crazy. This Holiday Special was without a doubt funny and brings the Holiday Spirit! There are many great jokes in this special, like their parodies on "A Charlie Brown Christmas", and jokes on how the Holidays can be offensive. We even wonder throughout the Special if Kenny's gonna die! This Special is also the first Episode with Mr.Mackey. My favorite joke in the Special is the fictional live action Commercial called do-it-yourself Mr. Hankey kit. The Music in the special also brings the Christmas Spirit like when Chef sings a non-offensive Holiday Song, Mr. Hankey's song, "Kyle's Mom is a big fat Bitch" sung by Cartman, and the most touching song out of the WHOLE SEASON "I'm a Jew on Christmas" sung by Kyle. The real reason why this Special brings the Christmas Cheer and Spirit is the character Mr.Hankey the Christmas Poo! Every time I see him, Oh can feel the Christmas feel, he's cute, funny, and full of Spirit! He's not just a Christmas Poo, he's also a Christmas poo to all Holidays! There's also a good message at the end of the Special. This Special is probably one of the best Christmas Special you'll see, and it's no surprise to me because Trey Parker and Matt Stone did create a Holiday Special in the past. What is it called, Wait until next Year!
I give this Special a 5/5
Damien
A new kid named Damien moves to South Park, and has trouble fitting in with the kids. Damien is not just a new kid; he's also the son of Satan! Satan comes to South Park to fight with Jesus. If Satan Wins he will rule the world, and bets are low for Jesus, will Jesus win? Well, I can't tell you that, but trust there's a nice plot twist at the end. This episode is a remake on two early Christmas projects that Trey Parker and Matt Stone did in the past. The episode isn't really an episode full of gags like the previous ones, but it's still funny, like when Damien turns Kenny into a rare duck-billed platypus, and their numerous spoofs on boxing and the classic horror film "The Omen". This episode also has great build up to the fight between Jesus and Satan, and to Cartman's Birthday Party! Just like all the episodes, there's good moral at the end of the episode.
My rating for this Episode is 4/5
Tom's Rhinoplasty
Mr. Garrison takes time off from teaching to get a nose job. While he’s away, a teacher named Ms. Ellen (Voiced by Natasha Henstridge aka “The Chick from Species”) fills in for him. Stan, Cartman, Kenny, Kyle and even Chef start falling in love with her, however, Stan’s girlfriend Wendy gets jealous of Ms. Ellen and tries to find ways to win Stan back. This is another hilarious episode because the story is a very common story line like in “Our Gang (AKA the Little Rascals)” or “Hey Arnold” except it's “South Park”. I found a lot of things funny in this episode like in the scene when Chef sings “No Substitute” to Ms. Ellen, or in the scene when Wendy dresses like Sandy in the end of “Grease” to get Stan fall in love with her. Another funny thing about the episode is throughout the episode Mr. Garrison doesn’t just get a nose job, he also changes his face that makes him look like a certain TV model. With a classic story line and funny moments this episode delivers the comedy you would expect, and it can make you barf a lot as well(If you know what I mean.).
I give this episode an 5/5
Mecha Streisand
Cartman and Kyle find a mysterious ancient stone. Hearing the news, Barbara Streisand comes to South Park and plans to steal the ancient stone to become powerful and take over the world. I think this is one of the funniest episodes of the season. The reason why is, it pokes fun at Barbara Streisand’s singing voice, her mean side, and her nose. It also makes fun of the Godzilla movies in the climatic battle when she becomes Mecha Streisand and fights with Leonard Maltin, Sidney Poitier, and special guest star Robert Smith.
I give this episode an 5/5
Cartman's Mom is a Dirty Slut
Cartman begins to wonder why he doesn’t have a dad. His mom doesn’t remember who she had sex with at the drunken barn dance party, so Cartman goes on a quest to find his father. When I heard the title, I thought the episode was going to be stupid and unfunny, but from the minute I started watching it, I realized I was wrong. This episode is another one filled with gags, like in the beginning when Cartman throws a girly tea party for his dolls and starts imitating their voices; or in the scene when Chef sings to Cartman about sex. I also loved their jokes about Bob Saget on how unfunny he can be when he tries to do clean non-offensive humor. Speaking of celebrities Jay Leno also does the voice of Cartman’s cat in this episode.
I give this episode an 4/5
Conclusion
South Park is indeed a very funny show from start to finish. Even though the animation isn’t always the best, it is still good, but of course it was the start of a popular comedy show so I’ll give it plenty of credit for starting off on the right foot. This season is indeed very enjoyable, and it will indeed have you laughing your ass off.
My rating for this Season is obviously an 5/5
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