South Park

Network: Comedy Central; Genre: Animated Comedy, Satire, Parody; Content Rating: TV-MA (for dark comic content and graphic language, sexual content, violence & animated gore); Available: DVD; Classification: Modern Classic (Star range expanded: 1 - 5);

Season Reviewed: 10+ seasons

Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflowfski, Eric Cartman and (sometimes) the ill-fated Kenny McCormick are 8-year-old boys growing up amid an adult world in the backward, frozen-over mountain town of South Park, Colorado. Their adventures, that make up creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone's animated comedy "South Park", include fending off everything from supernatural demons to the biggest names in the Hollywood intelligentsia. "South Park" is several things. It's rude, crude, shocking, smart, decidedly adult, completely original, and it is indulgent in the whims and imaginations of it's creators. It's also the very best political, pop culture and current event satire on television.

The show started as something of a fad - the new vulgar, don't-let-the-kids-watch show on the block. But as real world events changed, "Park" evolved along with them. Standing as the kings on top of a soap box they constructed out of swearing kids, talking poo, homosexual hand puppets and hermaphroditic parents; Parker and Stone where blessed with the freedom of a hit series, hip status and a network that gave them the freedom to do whatever they want. As the show aged, they matured in their storytelling abilities and the show went from shock value fad to a barbed satire of American culture.

"Park" is brought to life with oddly beautiful, vibrantly colored 2-dimensional cut-and-paste animation. The episodes are masterfully constructed. The writing a witty showcase of Parker and Stone's love for pop culture parody, graphic violence, pornography and a bold willingness to take on the hot button issues of the week. It is a free-for-all virtuoso where nothing and nobody is safe, every establishment media position gets flipped on it's head and every politically correct sacred cow gets eviscerated. Now that's comedy - if you can stomach a barrage of extreme scatological humor with your social satire. The vomit jokes and fat jokes on "Park" aren't there for the sake of it, but have substance behind them. And nobody does them better.

Eric Cartman, Mr. Garrison and more recently Randy Marsh (stepping up as a reliably hilarious scene-stealer) are classic characters, but Parker and Stone have gone further and developed an entire town of colorful caricatures. They aren't made to be as endearing as those in "The Simpsons", but aren't supposed to be. The characters aren't just vacuous idiots, and the laughs of the show come from a very socially conscious place.

Straight men Stan and Kyle are the show's most underdeveloped. They serve mostly as a mouthpiece for Parker and Stone's conservative libertarian philosophy, often literally giving a speech to a crowd in the show's finale. There is not a single other place on TV where you can see environmentalists, the anti-smoking lobby, illegal immigrants, trial lawyers, news media hysteria, elitist Hollywood liberals, abortion, sex ed in schools and every celebrity from Mel Gibson to Paris Hilton all get ripped to shreds. The show pulls it off because it has a unique ability to deconstruct and reconstruct current events better than anyone else (notably Comedy Central's overrated "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart"), giving them a hilarious or supernatural explanation without moralizing getting in the way of the laughs. They take their own messages to such loony extremes it's impossible to take seriously.The cherry on top is the seemingly endless quality of the original songs provided by the creator's cover band, DVDA.

With a skeleton crew that writes, directs, animates, voices and scores the show, this is independent television in it's purest form. This means it often labors on Parker and Stone's geeky indulgences - episodes center around a full-length "Star Wars" parody, the class gerbil making it's way up a human bowel or Timmy, a handicapped student who can only say his name. Occasionally, their shock value execution creates a gagging reaction that obscures an otherwise brilliant point ("Fat Camp"). But I'd rather have a show that challenges me than one shackled to clichés and network mandates. When "South Park" goes for the shocking ending, you better believe it actually will shock.

Still, "South Park" is almost impossible to recommend in a casual sense. The show is truly an acquired taste, but one I have to come to support whole-heartedly through the years despite (and because) I have absolutely no idea what to expect when sitting down for a new episode. How rare is that? Where so many other shows cower in the corner, begging for our approval "South Park" is constantly taking risks and re-inventing itself. We've got terrific stunt episodes, episodes built around one joke or building to a single knock-out punch line. They use the smash-cut ending better than anyone ("There Goes the Neighborhood"). Sometimes the experiments are to it's own detriment and the episode is a 22 minute bore, but even then it's almost unheard of to find a show in it's 10th season that is still water cooler television.

"South Park" grabs us by the collar, shakes us around and dares even it's biggest fans to come back next week for more. The show is a monument of creative freedom with a wicked imagination, a true (and hilariously funny) sense of comic timing, and an insightful, socially conscious ear that smartly reflects a point of view starving for attention in mainstream television. It is a hugely entertaining, fiercely visceral, fire-breathing, red-blooded American satire made by, for (and most appreciated by) the most jaded and discriminating TV viewers. We just don't have shows like this on TV today. Anywhere.

* * * * * / 5

Still going strong after more than two decades, South Park remains one of the boldest, funniest, and most relevant animated shows on television. It's irreverent, fearless, and weirdly insightful. Even when it's completely ridiculous.

🎬 Series Summary

Set in the fictional small town of South Park, Colorado, the show follows four foul-mouthed boys as they navigate bizarre situations. Aliens, celebrities, pandemics, political disasters, internet culture, you name it. Each episode takes on topical issues and satirizes them in the most unfiltered way possible.

What began as shock-value humor has grown into an incisive commentary machine that tears into everything: politics, social movements, pop culture, religion, and even the show's own audience.

✅ What Worked

1. Groundbreaking, fast-turnaround animation to tackle current events

2. Fearless approach to taboo and controversial topics

3. Iconic characters and running gags

4. Surprising emotional depth (e.g., "You're Getting Old," "Raisins")

5. Evolution from shock humor to sharp social commentary

6. Memorable songs and movie spin-offs

❌ What Didn't Work

1. Humor isn't for everyone: crude, offensive, and often deliberately provocative

2. Some seasons are uneven or era-specific

3. Not all political arcs land with clarity or balance

4. Can feel repetitive if binge-watched all at once

🔥 Legendary Episodes & Arcs

1. "Scott Tenorman Must Die" (S5)

2. "Make Love, Not Warcraft" (S10)

3. "Imaginationland Trilogy"

4. "The Pandemic Special / Vaccine Special"

5. "Member Berries" and the Season 19-20 serialized narrative

6. South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999 film)

💬 Favorite Quotes / Moments

"Respect my authoritah!" - Cartman

"Oh my God, they killed Kenny!" - Stan/Kyle

"I'm not fat. I'm big-boned." - Cartman

Randy Marsh becoming Lorde, the whole Tegridy Farms arc, and Cartman feeding someone their own parents in a chili cook-off: the show has range.

✨ Fun Facts

1. Trey Parker and Matt Stone initially created South Park with paper stop-motion animation.

2. The show is produced in just 6 days per episode. Allowing it to stay incredibly topical.

3. Kanye West, the Church of Scientology, and China have all been publicly roasted to iconic degrees.

4. South Park has won 5 Emmys despite being constantly criticized.

5. There's an exclusive deal with Paramount+ to release yearly specials until at least 2027.

👀 If You Liked This, You Might Also Enjoy

1. Rick and Morty

2. BoJack Horseman

3. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

4. Futurama

5. Robot Chicken

6. The Simpsons (early seasons)

🎯 Final Thoughts

South Park isn't just a cartoon. It's a cultural phenomenon that's held up a warped mirror to society for nearly 30 years. Whether you love it or hate it, it has undeniably reshaped comedy, censorship, and what's possible in television.

⭐ 8/10. A savage, smart, and delightfully dumb masterclass in satire.

Still a Top 3 animated comedy a part from Smiling Friends & older Rick & Morty. But the plot lines and quality has dropped over the last 2 seasons. Some of the extended specials had glimpses of the old south park, but the new South Park is over-saturating the episodes with political content. This feels like a completely different episode algorithm than old seasons. Humor is also not also rich and original - feels blander more akin to Family Guy.

South Park is and has been one of the funniest shows on television. It's my second favorite animated series to Family Guy and like Family Guy, this show is not afraid to say anything about anyone. Actually, I'd go as far as to say South Park goes even further than Family Guy. It's at its funniest when it's making fun of our political system right now because that's all we can do without going completely mad from it. This show shows equal opportunity when it comes to making fun of all political parties. Like any good show or movie about satire, the more you know what's going on in the world or in pop culture then the funnier this show will be to you.

I don't know why this show is getting such negative reviews. A lot of people (adults mainly) keep assuming South Park is nothing more than wall to wall curse words and gross out jokes. Far from it. Sure, they swear and there is an occasional gross out jokes, but the show is also filled with quality and classic humor. The plots are genius. So what if it's offensive. Big deal! For some reason, people assume that cartoons are just for little babies, and some people appear to have difficulty accepting the fact that times have changed and animation is not just for kids anymore. Face it, we are living in an age of shows like South Park. Can't deal with it? Then that's just too bad.