This was not the episode that South Park needed to return with;
in fact it only served as a reminder of everything that’s been wrong with the series
recently. Season 15 was generally weak, it had moments of genius, but overall
the show was bogged down in mediocre, single-joke episodes that quickly
outstayed their welcome. There was a faint glimmer of hope at the mid-season
point, with a conversation between Randy and Sharon in ‘You’re Getting Old’ that
was so clearly an admission from Matt Stone and Trey Parker that the show was
no longer something they loved doing. Yet, here we are starting the next season,
with no end in sight and nothing has changed. It’s such a shame to have to see
a show that I once loved end up this way, continuing to air for no other reason
than simply because it can. South Park has admittedly always had a ‘see what we
can throw together in a week’ kind of approach, and it kept the show fresh for
so long, but it’s now painfully apparent that the show is out of ideas.
This episode is quite literally all about toilet humour,
though the humour is rarely there, as Clyde’s mum is killed in an unfortunate
accident when the toilet seat is not put back down. This leads to strict
enforcement of new rules on all of South Park’s toilets, and… well that’s kind
of it really. There are laughs here, but not nearly enough, and the ones that
do come along are repeated until they stop being funny. This repetition was my
biggest problem with a lot of episodes in season 15 so it’s a shame to see it
happening all over again in the very first episode of this new season. Cartman’s
re-telling of Clyde’s initial telling off, for example, is not exactly
laugh-out-loud funny, but it’s enough to raise a smile. Then it happens again,
and again. Hearing “I just needs to check inside ya asssshole.” was pretty funny
the first time, but again the joke gets repeated until it’s just plain
annoying. That brief glimpse of the guy monitoring the security cameras fapping
away was pretty inspired, and one of the few moments during this episode that I
actually laughed out loud. Watching him for a solid 2 minutes a little while
later didn't exactly cause the same reaction.
And the award for most disturbing fap sound effect goes to...
It just comes off as lazy, and it’s sad to see South Park
shooting itself in the foot like this, especially from a show that was once the
pinnacle of animated TV comedy. While there are laughs to be had in mocking excessive
security measures, it’s not exactly at the cutting edge of topical, relevant
material. The show has been off the air for months now, and let’s face it there’s
been plenty of material ripe for a good old-fashioned South Park send-up in it’s
absence, so I find it strange that of all the possible avenues they could’ve
explored this is the episode that we ended up with. There’s a sub-plot in the
episode involving Stan, Kyle and Clyde visiting a lawyer to sue the long dead
inventor of the toilet, but it falls completely flat. Indeed, a lot of this
episode almost felt recycled, there’s nothing new or exciting here anymore. I
regularly watch old episodes of South Park if I happen to come across them
while channel-surfing, and I’m always entertained, even by episodes I’ve seen
dozens of times. That the newer episodes can barely manage to keep me entertained
through one viewing is a sad state indeed.
There is nothing I would love to see more than South Park restored
to it’s former glory, but at this point that seems unlikely. The show feels
like it’s being rushed out to fill a timeslot so that everyone gets paid,
instead of pushing the boundaries of TV comedy as it once did, and it doesn’t
seem like much is going to change that. Ever since that conversation in ‘You’re
Getting Old.’ last season I’ve wondered if it’s finally time that the show be
allowed to die with a little bit of dignity left. South Park did incredible things;
it was the little show that changed TV animation forever, but I think the time
has come to let the show go out on it’s own terms while it still can.
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