The SmarK DVD Rant for South Park The Complete Second Season.
“Phase 1: Collect Underpants.
Phase 2: ?
Phase 3: Profit.”
The second year of South Park was a very interesting time for Matt and Trey’s bizarre little adult cartoon in a world of Disney retreads. Whereas the first season was so different and completely bizarre that you couldn’t help but laugh your head off at all the completely new and strange things being tried by the show, the second season showed them maturing as writers (and songwriters) and instead concentrating on (gasp) character development and more topical humor. Unfortunately, the latter hurts the show a lot in the long run, but the former influenced the direction of the show for years to come.
The Film:
While there were no major changes in store for the primary characters, smaller details like background players started filtering into the show, as well as strange details about the lives of the main characters. And the Kenny joke starts to get REALLY tired. The second season ran from April 98 Jan 99 and kicks off with a very famous April Fool’s joke by the creators
Disc One
– Terrence and Phillip in “Not Without My Anus”. The season premiere pissed off a LOT of casual viewers of the show, as the first season was left hanging with a mystery about who Cartman’s father was. These days you’re probably saying “Who the f*ck cares who Cartman’s father is?” but during the heyday of the show’s pop-culture tidal wave, this was a big deal. So when they spent weeks advertising the resolution of the cliffhanger and then returned on April 1 with this, people freaked out, to put it mildly. Unfortunately this episode became, as a result, one of the most reviled in the show’s run, which is a shame because it’s one of the most anarchically hilarious. It involves an entire 30 minutes dedicated to the fart-humor phenomena from Canada, Terrence and Phillip. Terrence’s bastard daughter Sally is kidnapped and taken to Iran by Saddam Hussein (who is of course from Iraq, but in his words “it’s the same thing, who cares”) in an insidious plan to conquer Canada. Canada doesn’t even seem to notice it’s happening, but when Saddam is about to take over for good at the Roughriders v. Roughriders game at Canada Stadium, Terrence and Phillip aren’t gonna stand for it. The deliberately idiotic dialogue here is the star of the show (“You’re a dick.” “No, you’re a dick.” “No, you’re a dick.” Etc.) as well as the “subtle” references to cultural differences between the US and Canada (Kraft Dinner, anyone?). Truly an overlooked and unfairly hated masterpiece.
– Cartman’s Mom is Still a Dirty Slut. Three weeks later, the cliffhanger finally gets resolved. Sort of. This one picks up with Mephisto getting shot before he can reveal the father, so he’s taken to the hospital while a storm buries the town in snow. We discover that Cartman is unable to hear the opening bars of “Come Sail Away” without singing the entire thing (which basically revived Styx’ career on the spot), and the boys proceed to torment him throughout the episode. Meanwhile in the town, America’s Most Wanted (dated reference #1, we’ll keep a tally) wants to shoot a recreation of the shooting, but when the storm knocks out the power in the studio, cannibalism seems to be the only solution. And who hasn’t been THERE? The payoff for the cliffhanger is ultimately as bizarre as you might expect.
– Chickenlover. Another episode that stretched the very boundaries of good taste when it first aired, but actually seems pretty tame today. The boys are forced to experience the joy of reading when the Bookmobile comes to town, much to their chagrin, but soon a bigger problem faces the town some sicko is raping the chickens of South Park! Even worse, the guy is leaving clues all over town, but it turns out that Officer Barbrady can’t actually read. While the boys help him to overcome his problem, Cartman gets deputized and steals the episode by bringing his brand of justice to the mean streets of South Park. The Cops jokes (dated ref #2) aren’t as funny these days, but the absurdity of Cartman enforcing the law by bashing in the kneecaps of offenders is still hilarious, and it also gave the world the all-time Cartman catchphrase: “You will respect my AUTHORITAH!”
– Ike’s Wee Wee. The flirtation with taboo subjects continues, as they take on the subject of circumcision this time. The boys are freaked out when they learn what Ike’s upcoming bris actually entails, due to a misunderstanding of what is actually involved in a circumcision. The real goldmine of comedy here, however, is the story of uptight counselor Mr. Mackey, who is fired for accidentally distributing an ounce of maryjane to the 3rd grade class. Once he starts living on the streets, he discovers that drugs aren’t as bad as he always thought, m’kay?
– Conjoined Fetus Lady. Yes, it’s a proud time for any small town, as the elementary school is selected to go to the State finals for dodgeball? While people rightly question how you even QUALIFY for such an endeavor, the boys are too busy preparing to meet the dreaded Chinese team, who do nothing but eat and sleep dodgeball, so they say. Meanwhile, a new school nurse has a minor facial deformity that causes everyone in town, led by Kyle’s mom, to overreact and pay far too much attention to her handicap in the name of not paying attention to it. I mean, really, since when is a dead fetus attached to the side of a person’s head a big deal? Dodgeball and conjoined fetuses aren’t really funny, but Pip’s inner rage makes for a few laughs.
– The Mexican Staring Frog of Southern Sri Lanka. It’s South Park v. Pop Culture again, as Jimbo & Ned are disheartened by a new law that no longer allows them to shoot innocent animals in the name of self-defense. So they switch to “thinning out their numbers” as their excuse du jour, and begin pursuit of the elusive frog of the title, which can kill a man just by looking at it. Unfortunately they also spin a tale of their Vietnam experience which seems just a BIT removed from reality to the boys, so they decide to get the hunters back by sending in “conclusive” tapes of the deadly staring frog. Ratings go through the roof, leading cable access competitor Jesus Christ to alter his show to a more trash-TV based dynamic (dated ref #3) and it all builds up to an on-air brawl between the boys and Uncle Jimbo. And remember, Cartman didn’t WANT to throw the chair, the producer made him. Still funny stuff today, despite the Springer references.
Disc Two
– Flashbacks. A clip show with a clever twist sees the boys trapped on a cliff in a precariously-balanced school bus. While Ms. Crabtree goes for help and ends up following her dream of being a standup comedian with help from a roofy salesman, the boys reminisce about past episodes sort of. Very self-referential humor and a hilarious Star Trek joke make this a surprising highlight of the season. Unfortunately they write themselves into a corner and have to resort to a hackneyed way out of it, but even that makes for a uncharacteristically sweet character moment to end the show.
– Summer Sucks. And so does this episode. The snow melts in South Park for one week of the year, and it’s time to blow stuff up with fireworks. However, just because some kid in North Park blew his hands off, all the fireworks outside of snakes have been banned. So the mayor decides to create the world’s largest snake, while Jimbo & Ned do things the American way they travel to Mexico to buy some REAL firepower. Unfortunately, the Customs officer trick Jimbo with fancy trick questions and he winds up in jail while the giant snake burns out of control all over the country. Two hilarious running gags save this one somewhat, as Mr. Garrison parts ways with Mr. Hat and meets Mr. Twig after going through therapy with Dr. Katz (dated ref #4), and Cartman can’t get out of the shallow end of the pool because the first graders have no manners.
– Chef’s Salty Chocolate Balls. See, if you’re going to do a double-entendre, just go all out with it. In this case, Robert Redford decides to relocate the Sundance Festival to South Park, because he’s burned out his previous site, but Cartman is skeptical of the festival because it’s just a bunch of movies about gay cowboys eating pudding. Isn’t that what “Brown Bunny” is about? Anyway, Chef decides to make some money off the crazed Hollywood types by selling his famous confection, but all the tofu and salad being pumped into the sewers by the visitors starts affecting Mr. Hankey’s health. The boys try to warn the town of the impending disaster, but they just think they’re pitching a movie and instead try to throw money at them. Bastards. Not much to this one, but the jabs at Hollywood at pretty lethal.
– Chickenpox. One of the oddest and most deranged eps of the season sees Kenny getting chickenpox, so the mothers decide that the best course of action is to get the other boys to sleep over and thus get the disease when they’re young enough to fight it off. Unfortunately frozen waffles don’t quite satiate Cartman’s appetite, so the boys devise a plan for revenge that’s probably one of the grossest things done by Matt & Trey. Meanwhile, we learn that Kenny’s dad and Kyle’s dad used to be close friends in school, before Gerald Broslofski went away to that expensive community college to become a lawyer. Gerald tries to explain the facts of economics to Kyle, but Kyle takes the ideas too far and writes a VERY memorable paper on the subject. Weird and disturbing gross-out humor abounds, and it’s all hilarious.
– Roger Ebert Should Lay Off The Fatty Foods. Star Trek gets another go-around, as this one spoofs “Dagger of the Mind”, via an evil planetarium. The boys are compelled to go by school, but despite the generally stupid and boring nature of the beast, find themselves wanting to return several more times. Obviously something is terribly wrong. Cartman, however, skips out and auditions for a Cheesy Poofs commercial instead, thus setting him up to save the day later on. I know what you’re thinking “Ooo, planetariums, that’s some hard-hitting social satire there” but it’s a solid story throughout with lots of little funny moments.
– Clubhouses. Matt & Trey tackle divorce this time around, and young love. Bebe & Wendy try to lure the boys into a treehouse to play Truth or Dare, but there’s two problems: No treehouse, and Stan doesn’t know how to play. Chef helps him out with the rules of the game, but when Cartman sees Stan & Kyle building their fort, he just has to build himself the better one. Meanwhile, a minor fight between Stan’s parents escalates into divorce, a stepfather, visitation rights, and then reconciliation within the span of two days. I guess the world IS getting faster.
Disc Three
– Cow Days. Speaking of bizarre concepts, it’s rodeo time in South Park (what with nothing else to do) so the town erects a 40-foot high cow clock in tribute to the livestock of the town. A rather lame carnival celebrates the occasion, but the games might be (gasp) rigged! The clock, however, seems to call out to the cows of South Park, and soon it’s mass cow suicide the likes of which hadn’t been seen for months. And in order to win at the fixed games, the boys decide to enter Cartman in a bull-riding contest, which results in a bump on the head that causes him to think he’s a Vietnamese whore named Ming Lee. Strange and amazingly funny, it also gave the world another catchphrase, as Kyle declares “Shenanigans!” on the rigged games and sets off a riot.
– Chef Aid. When Alanis’ new song starts burning up the airwaves, Chef is outraged because he wrote it 20 years previous and no credit is given. He tries suing the record company, but they hire Johnnie Cochrane, and after using the dreaded Chewbacca Defense, Chef ends up $2 million in debt and on the verge of jail time. The boys spring to his defense by rounding up all the celebrities they can find, and soon a gala concert is held in Chef’s honor, so he can hire Cochrane and counter-sue. Not so much funny as an excuse to plug the Chef Aid CD that was released soon after. It was notable for reuniting Garrison with Mr. Hat, however.
– Spookyfish. The Halloween episode (presented in Spooky-Visionâ„¢ with pictures of Barbra Streisand in the corners) is probably the funniest of the season, as Sharon Marsh’s Aunt Flo makes her once-a-month visit and brings Stan a creepy goldfish as a present. When the fish starts killing people, Stan gets paranoid and freaked out, leading his mom to think that he’s the real killer. I mean, it’s OBVIOUSLY the goldfish. However, more may be afoot, as Cartman appears to be an evil parallel universe version of himself, with an Evil Goatee and a penchant for selflessness? The Star Trek gags again run loose (with an obvious seam running down the screen every time the two Cartmans are on-screen together and the cliché “Shoot him, no shoot him!” showdown at the end) and Cartman unleashes yet another bit of pop culture that become hella-widespread soon after. Sue me, I’m a sucker for Mirror Universe gags.
– Merry Christmas, Charlie Manson! The traditional South Park anti-holiday show sees the boys traveling to Nebraska to visit the Cartman family, which leads to the gags you might expect. However, Cartman’s Uncle Howard breaks out of prison and brings cellmate Charles Manson with him. Howard wants to raise hell, but Manson seems more content to watch Christmas specials, especially when they all take a road trip to the mall to see Mr. Hankey (live and in person!). Unfortunately, it’s not the REAL piece of poo, thus triggering righteous anger from Kyle, who sets off a riot and leads the cops right to the Cartman family’s front door. Apparently having Charles Manson there is a sign of wrongdoing, for reasons I can’t fathom. Besides, he got a nice new happy face tattoo and everything! And let’s face it, it’s just not Christmas in South Park without talking feces and mass murderers.
– Gnomes. One of my all-time favorite episodes features some of the most obscure jokes and strange premises ever. The boys have to write an oral report so that Garrison won’t get fired, and they’re teamed up with Tweak, whose father owns the local coffee shop. But when evil corporate coffee-sellers Harbucks wants to move in next door, Mr. Tweak decides to use the boys to further his agenda and get them kicked out of town, in the name of free enterprise I guess. But young Tweak isn’t just hyper, he’s also tormented by Underpants Gnomes, who come in the night and steal his underwear. When the boys finally meet these intruders, they desperately ask for business advice to help them write a speech for the escalating war between the town and Harbucks. This results in the quote that starts the review, and references an old cartoon from the 40s about elves who make shoes and are actually business geniuses. These guys are less so, however.
– Prehistoric Ice Man. The season wraps up here, as the boys discover a caveman frozen in ice, and when Mephesto thaws him out, he finds that it’s actually a survivor from ancient 1996! The poor guy (named “Steve” by Kyle, although it’s actually Larry) is put on display with Ace of Base and poor internet connections to give him the feelings of home, but really who could survive in futuristic 1999 after coming from that life? And of course, you know that the government has plans for him.
Overall, a solid and memorable year, but not one that was as insanely hilarious as the first season. Really, the show didn’t hit its stride again until a couple of years later, but this is still entertaining as hell and well worth picking up.
The Video:
Big improvement over the first season set, as the colors are much better and the video quality looks like a DVD instead of a VHS tape now. Thank god Warner fixed the problems that plagued the first set.
The Audio:
Plain old 2.0 stereo again. Yee haw.
The Extras:
Well, if you buy from Best Buy you apparently get an extra disc with the original pilot on it (which is what should have been included with the FIRST set!). No commentaries this time, deleted or otherwise, but they put the Matt & Trey intros on the first two discs again. Most disturbing is the series on disc two that involves them cooking bacon for their pet pig. And you also get an hour-long, hilarious documentary called “Goin’ Down to South Park” (which looks like it was made in 1999) that features a hot tub interview with Matt & Trey as they emphasize how they never, EVER leave the office. Plus there’s actually some neat stuff in there, like an interview with voiceover goddess Mary Kay Bergstrom (who did all the female voices on the show and I believe left a couple of years back) and a peak at how the show is animated on the computers. Finally, the video for “Chocolate Salty Balls”. Oh, and you get a commercial for the Daily Show as well. Yay. Once again, there’s TONS of stuff (like the bumpers from Comedy Central, more videos from Chef Aid, COMMENTARIES, etc) that could have been put together for this, rather than just using pre-made documentaries and intros. Oh well, in the end content is king, but it just makes me sad.
The Ratings:
The Film: ****
The Video: ****
The Audio: *
The Extras: **1/2
