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| Available at Amazon.com |
I love The Simpsons, it’s easily one of my favorite shows. Sadly it really started going down hill with the 11th season. I also love South Park, I’ve been a fan of these four foul-mouthed boys since they were crude paper cuts outs. There was a South Park episode a while back called “The Simpsons Already Did It” wherein everything Butters wanted to do had already been done on The Simpsons. Following that idea, will South Park follow in The Simpsons’ footsteps in show quality?
Sadly the answer is yes. Now that’s not to say the season is all bad, there are certainly those episodes that stand out. But on a whole season eleven is easily South Park’s weakest and most inconsistent outing yet.
With thirteen episodes there are only three here that I would call classics: “Fantastic Easter Special,” “Night Of The Living Homeless” and “The List.” A few other episodes are pretty good and some of them are just down right bad. In the commentary for “D-Yikes!” Matt Stone even admits that he’s not a fan of the episode. However, on a side note, that episode does have one of the funniest commentaries.
Following such a strong season, as 10 where well over half the episodes were memorable, it is sad to see such inconsistency. Even when trying recapture the magic of “Make Love, Not Warcraft” Parker and Stone deliver another video game themed episode “Guitar Queer-O” wherein the boys become obsessed with Guitar Hero. When I first heard about this episode I got very excited and it was not nearly has funny as I’d hoped it would be.
South Park fans will be excited to learn that this season is the first one being released entirely uncensored. So now you can hear all the bad little words that the boys utter. But cuss words to make a show better. There are certainly wonderful moments in this season, but much of it falls flat. We can only hope that the guys get their act together for season 12.
Episodes:
Disc 1:
With Apologies to Jesse Jackson 3/7/2007
When Randy uses the “N” word on a national game show he faces public ridicule and attempts to make amends. Meanwhile Stan tries to make things right with Token who is upset by the event. Also, Cartman gets into a fight with a little person who comes to their school to attempt to teach tolerance.
Cartman Sucks 3/14/2007
Cartman attempts to take a compromising photo of Butters when Butters’ Dad catches them and assumes his son now to be bi-curious so he sends him off to a special camp to “Pray The Gay Away.” Meanwhile Cartman thinks Kyle has a compromising photo of him and does everything he can to get the photo back.
Lice Capades 3/21/2007
When it is learned that one of he kids in class has lice the boys set out to find out who it is so they can ridicule him. Meanwhile on Clyde’s scalp a Jerry Bruckheimer-style disaster story plays out with the Lice in his hair.
The Snuke 3/28/2007
In a 24 parody episode Cartman is convinced the new Muslim kid in class is a terrorist and his racist thoughts lead to the uncovering of an assassination attempt on Hilary Clinton who is coming to South Park to give a speech.
Disc 2:
Fantastic Easter Special 4/4/2007
In a Da Vinci Code parody Stan and Kyle get caught up in a major conspiracy when Stan asks the simple question “Why the hell do we paint eggs for Easter?” The journey leads them all the way to Vatican City and the truth will shake Christianity to it’s very core!
D-Yikes! 4/11/2007
In a 300 parody Ms. Garrison finds herself in a gay bar and realizes she’s a lesbian. When Persians buy the bar, the 30 women, led by Ms. Garrison, stand their ground to defend their watering hole. Meanwhile, the boys hire Mexican day workers to read “Old Man And The Sea” and write an essay about it for them.
Night Of The Living Homeless 4/18/2007
In a parody of several zombie films, mostly Dawn Of The Dead, homeless people infest South Park and it’s up to the boys to save the day. While Cartman’s idea of jumping them with his skateboard amuses the other kids, they’ll need more than that if their town and their parents are to survive.
Le Petit Tourette 10/3/2007
When Cartman learns about Tourette’s Syndrome he convinces everyone, but Kyle that is, that he has it so he can say whatever he wants. He then gets Dateline to do a piece on him so he can cuss on national television. But things go wrong when he starts uncontrollably blurting out embarrassing things about himself.
More Crap 10/10/2007
Randy finally makes a name for himself when he takes the biggest crap, thanks to a lot of P.F. Chang’s. Unfortunately for him, the previous record holder is Bono and he won’t give up his title without a fight. In an attempt to help his dad, Stan learns a shocking truth about Bono.
Disc 3:
Imaginationland 10/17/2007
When Cartman proves leprechauns exist to win a bet so that Kyle will have to orally service him, the boys stumble upon Imaginationland only to have it taken over by terrorists. Now Cartman is on a quest to collect his part of the bet and the rest of the boys are trying to save Imaginationland.
Imaginationland: Episode II 10/24/2007
The story continues. Cartman goes to the Supreme Court to force Kyle to hold up his end of the bet and the U.S. Military is thinking of resorting to nuking Imaginationland so the terrorists can’t have it. Now only Butters can save the day.
Imaginationland: Episode III 10/31/2007
The stunning conclusion to the Imaginationland Trilogy. ‘Nuff said.
Guitar Queer-O 11/7/2007
Stan and Kyle’s Guitar Hero skills lead them to a record deal but their manager things Stan can go further on his own and the boys separate. But when Stan gets hooked on the new game Heroin Hero will he still be able to perform?
The List 11/14/2007
When the boys get their hands on a list that ranks every boy cutest to ugliest Kyle is devastated to learn he is the ugliest. Stan goes to Wendy to find out why and their searching leads to a conspiracy that goes all the way to the top… of the girls club.
The show is presented in fullscreen 1:33.1 and English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo. This show looks and sounds great and the transfer is fantastic.
Audio Commentary: If you’ve watched a South Park season on DVD before then you know Matt Parker and Trey Stone only do five minute commentaries, more or less. However, they more than make up in quality what is lacking in quantity. They say what they have to say and they move on. And pretty much everything they have to say is hilarious. The commentary for “D-Yikes!” is mostly them just dissing 300 and talking about how crappy the movie is. Hilarious!
If you’re a South Park fan odds are you already own this. However if you’re just a some time fan, by all means rent it first to see if this bunch of episodes is right for you.
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Comedy Central and Paramount Pictures present South Park: The Complete Eleventh Season Uncensored!. Created by Matt Stone and Trey Parker. Starring Matt Stone and Trey Parker. Running time: 308 minutes. Not Rated. Released on DVD: August 12, 2008. Available at Amazon.com.
About Mike Noyes
