South Park (DVD) Review

Posted by Nick Niesen on October 27th, 2010

Premiering in the late summer of 1997, South Park took American pop culture by storm with its no-holds-barred examination of social and political issues and its lewd yet unique brand of cartoon humor. Created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, South Park is the lynchpin of cable network Comedy Central's original programming lineup. Centered around the lives of several kids in the small Colorado town of South Park (a place prone to odd and paranormal occurrences), the series presents itself in the form of crude animated drawings, yet the concept works, playing home to innumerable well-written shows filled with boundless wit, well-timed one-liners, and an endless array of politically-incorrect humor. Love it or hate it, South Park is a truly original animated series with relentlessly off-the-wall plot twists and comic relief. If you love oddball humor, then this is the show for you?

South Park mostly follows the exploits of four elementary school kids - Cartman (who's overweight and sarcastic), Kyle (who dreams of eliminating his little brother Ike), Stan (who throws up at the sight of a girl he likes), and Kenny (who manages to get killed in every episode). All four attend South Park Elementary School where third grade teacher Mr. Garrison educates them with the use of a hand-puppet named "Mr. Hat" and cafeteria employee "Chef" McElroy (Isaac Hayes) dispenses his advice while periodically breaking into 70's love songs about making love to women. South Park is the setting for numerous oddities such as alien visitors, a monster with a hand of celery and the leg of Patrick Duffy, and Big Gay Al's Big Gay Boat Ride. South Park also hosts a number famous people from time to time, such as the Devil, Saddam Hussein, the Antichrist, Kathy Lee Gifford, Scott Baio, Tina Yothers, Elton John, and Jesus Christ - who has his own cable access show?

The South Park DVD features a number of hilarious episodes including the season premiere "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe" in which Kyle tries to rid himself of his baby brother Ike by playing a game of "kick the baby" at the bus stop. Meanwhile, Cartman reveals to his friends that he had a nightmare in which he was abducted by aliens, leading Stan, Kyle, and Chef to the conclusion that aliens inserted an anal probe in Cartman. As cows are mutilated in South Park, Cartman continues to live in denial of the alien machine residing in his anus? Other notable episodes from Season 1 include "An Elephant Makes Love to a Pig" in which Kyle's science project to cross-breed an elephant with a pig is made possible when Chef and Elton John create the necessary atmosphere for proper loving-making, and "Pink Eye" in which Kenny dies early in the episode but is turned into a zombie by accident?

Below is a list of episodes included on the South Park (Season 1) DVD:

Episode 1 (Cartman Gets an Anal Probe) Air Date: 08-13-1997
Episode 2 (Volcano) Air Date: 08-20-1997
Episode 3 (Weight Gain 4000) Air Date: 08-27-1997
Episode 4 (Big Gay Al's Big Gay Boat Ride) Air Date: 09-03-1997
Episode 5 (An Elephant Makes Love to a Pig) Air Date: 09-10-1997
Episode 6 (Death) Air Date: 09-17-1997
Episode 7 (Pink Eye) Air Date: 10-29-1997
Episode 8 (Starvin' Marvin) Air Date: 11-19-1997
Episode 9 (Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo) Air Date: 12-17-1997
Episode 10 (Damien) Air Date: 02-04-1998
Episode 11 (Tom's Rhinoplasty) Air Date: 02-11-1998
Episode 12 (Mecha-Streisand) Air Date: 02-18-1998
Episode 13 (Cartman's Mom is a Dirty Slut) Air Date: 02-25-1998