October 2009

  • South Park: Whale Wars

    By msarko on 10/28/09 10:58pm
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    When I see episodes of South Park like "Whale Whores" I wonder if Parker and Stone are running out of ideas, or if I'm just out of touch with certain strands of pop culture. Basing an entire episode around The Discovery Channel's Whale Wars TV show was a fairly typical thing to do for this show, but it also wasn't exactly a finger-on-the-pulse moment, either. I've never been a fan of reality shows, so that whole segment of TV is a bit of a blind spot for me, but still I think it's telling that neither I nor anyone I know has ever even heard of Whale Wars. It's possible that a program derivative of The Deadliest Catch may just be the lowest of the low-hanging fruit when it comes to television.



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  • South Park: W.T.F.

    By msarko on 10/22/09 4:55am
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    One thing I've always admired about South Park is how it's capable of running in a completely absurd direction with a plot and sustaining it for the duration of an entire episode. As cultural commentary, this series has a singular angle on the stuff that fills our TV's, movie theaters and iPods. On any other show, it just wouldn't be possible to spend a solid twenty minutes on what is essentially one joke, and usually a pretty esoteric joke at that. This week's episode turned its sights on the world of professional wrestling, a strand of entertainment that is itself so over the top and absurd that it's practically a punchline in itself. South Park's stab was, however, still pretty unique.



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  • South Park: Worthy of an Emmy or Two

    By sarajean on 10/15/09 6:52am
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    Throughout my stint as a South Park fan, I’ve been scoffed at for my lack of taste. Most family and friends couldn’t believe that I would “stoop” to watch such “toilet humor,” and wondered why I couldn’t find better things to watch. Why I couldn’t I just like Friends or Seinfeld or whatever they were watching instead?

    Um, because those shows are boring. They’re about the same people doing the same thing every day—who wants to see that? South Park is full of social commentary, political humor, satire and a plethora of other relevant things. Plus, it’s freaking hilarious.

    Want more proof that it’s a worthwhile show? It’s won an Emmy or two. Oh, no, wait—it’s won FOUR. That’s right, FOUR Emmys. Pretty good for toilet humor, right? And it’s been nominated for another four as well.

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  • South Park: Butters' Kissing Company

    By msarko on 10/14/09 11:48pm
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    I've always appreciated how South Park manages to take ludicrous turns and run with them. After so many seasons it's practically impossible to be unpredictable, but that's not really what I want from this show anymore. It's been years since South Park shocked me, but it never fails to make me laugh, which is more than I can say for most of the comedies on TV today. The show came back from hiatus last week with an attempted powerhouse send-up of the unusually long list of celebrities who died over the summer. "Dead Celebrities" was hit or miss, not that any of the targets were all that difficult to lampoon. This week's was more of a stand-alone episode that didn't rely on any particular moment in pop culture history, so it fared a little better.



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