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South Park - The Complete Second SeasonRating:
Release Date: 29 June, 2004 Retail Price: $39.99 OUR Price: $35.99 You SAVE: $4.00! |
South Park - The Complete Second Season Reviews
Going back to South Park to meet some friends of mine
I want to complain that Trey Parker & Matt Stone go too far on "South Park: The Complete Second Season," only (a) their obvious aim in life is to "go too far" and (b) they cross the threshold for me on their introductions to the episodes on Disc 2 and not in any of the actual episodes (although clearly there are many who will disagree on both of those points). It has long ago been established that Matt & Trey are not as funny as themselves as any given episode of "South Park." In their introductions on the first disc they are back haranguing the people in that retirement home, but on the second disc we are treated to a faux infomercial for "Making Bacon with Macon," where they keep feeding bacon to a pig. I do not know why pig cannibalism bothers me when I thought nothing of Parker's musical "Cannibal!" but then consistency is the hobgoblin of something or other. Therefore, by way of protesting persistent feeding of bacon to a big, I have rounded down and not up in rating this DVD set (take THAT, Matt & Trey).
Considering these eighteen episodes without the introductory bits, which disappear on the third disc to be replaced by a documentary on "The Making of South Park," there are at least a half-dozen classic episode:
(14) "Terrance & Phillip in 'Not Without My Anus'" is infamous because instead of finding out who is Cartman's father, as an April Fool's Joke we get a complete Terrance & Phillip episode. The best part of this one is the attempt to stop Saddam Hussein from taking over Canada. (3.5 Cheezy Poofs)
(15) "Cartman's Mom is Still a Dirty Slut" prolongs answering the question about who is Cartman's dad by a pair of running gags, the narrator reviewing possible suspects for absolutely every question posed in the and Liane Cartman's confusion over the differences between "abortion" and "adoption." While Eric might disagree the answer to the big question in this one is pretty sweet: who saw it coming? (5 Cheezy Poofs)
(16) "Ike's Wee Wee" has two main plotlines, the better of which is Kyle and the boys freaking out when they discover what is going to happen to Ike's "fireman" during a Bris. Then there is Mr. Mackey being fired (m'kay) when the sample of mary-j-uana he passed around the boy's class as part of a drug & alcohol prevention lecture (they're bad) disappears. (4 Cheezy Poofs)
(17) "Chickenlover" proves that reading is more FUN-damental than we thought. Obviously the big parody here is of "COPS" as Cartman demands everyone respect his "authoritah." (4.5 Cheezy Poofs)
(18) "Conjoined Fetus Lady" is another one where the two plotlines go their separate ways. The satire of people helping those who do not want help is good enough, but the whole dodgeball competition bit is even better as the boys finally learn why it is okay to hate foreigners when it is not okay to hate Americans of different races or ethnicity. (5.0 Cheezy Poofs)
(19) "The Mexican Staring Frog of Southern Sri Lanka" somehow gets from Uncle Jimbo telling the boys about the good life in Vietnam during the war to Jesus cursing. Telling the truth is apparently an important thing. (4.0 Cheezy Poofs)
(20) "City on the Edge of Forever" (a.k.a. "Flashbacks") is a brilliant twist on a television clip show. Trapped in their school bus on the edge of a cliff, the boys recall previous "sticky situations," only all of the familiar scenes now include ice cream. Meanwhile, Ms. Crabtree becomes the hottest comedienne around and the parents record a song to have their "runaway" children come home. (5.0 Cheezy Poofs)
(21) "Summer Sucks" is a kitchen sink episode that combines Mr. Hat's disappearance with Cartman taking swimming lessons and the biggest fireworks snake in the world. A guest appearance by Dr. Katz stands out in this one. (3.5 Cheezy Poofs)
(22) "Chef's Salty Chocolate Balls" has South Park becoming the site of an Independent Film Festival and we learn that Chef's culinary creation does wonders for Mr. Hankey. The music video in the special features is better than the episode, although you have to appreciate the idea of Mr. Hankey as a metaphor for modern American cinema. (4 Cheezy Poofs)
(23) "Chickenpox" has the parents conspiring to have their boys get the disease while they are young. Kyle learns of the conspiracy and the boys come up with a way of teaching their parents a lesson. Amazing what they will laugh at on this show, dude. (4 Cheezy Poofs)
(24) "Roger Ebert Should Lay Off the Fatty Foods" is the one where the kids go to the plane-arium and come under the mind control of Dr. Adams. If you need Matt and Trey's introduction to recognize this episode is based on the "Dagger of the Mind" episode of the original "Star Trek" series, you need to bone up on popular culture. (4 Cheezy Poofs)
(25) "Clubhouses" is all about divorce and playing "Truth or Dare," which are more closely related than you would think. This one has one of my favorite moments in the series, when Stan's mom agrees that, yes, the divorce is indeed Stan's fault ("Dude, you're not supposed to tell me that!" he complains). (4.5 Cheezy Poofs)
(26) "Cow Days" introduces us to not only South Park's big summer festival, during the brief period of summer, but the great principle of calling "Shennanigans." Anything involving the cows of South Park is usually good, even this tragic tale, especially if Cartman thinks he is a Vietnamese prostitute named Ming Li. (5 Cheezy Poofs)
(27) "Chef Aid" has the boys coming to the aid of Chef when he is sued by a record company for noticing that Alanis Morresette had recorded one of his songs without giving him credit. Truth is on Chef's side, but Johnny Cochran and the famous "Wookie Defense" are on the other. Fortunately a lot of big stars from Elton John to Meatloaf to Ozzy Osbourne lend their support and their voices to this episode. (5 Cheezy Poofs)
(28) "Spooky Fish" is the gift that Stan gets from Aunt Flo, his mother's monthly visitor. The fish tends to kill people, but that is not the strange part of this one. That would be the "evil" Cartman with his goatee, another "Star Trek" reference ("Mirror, Mirror"). Unfortunately this one is done in "Spooky Vision," which means you have to put up with pictures of Barbra Streisand in each corner of the screen for the entire episode. (4.5 Cheezy Poofs)
(29) "Merry Christmas Charlie Manson!" is actually funnier than the first season "South Park" Christmas episode. How can it now be since it combines Charles Manson with the key elements of "A Charlie Brown Christmas"? This one is sick enough to be really funny. (5 Cheezy Poofs)
(30) "Gnomes" is about the attempt of Tweek Bros., the gourmet coffee house in South Park, to fend off the competition of the corporate giant, Harbucks Coffee. Fortunately the boys are able to get the help of these gnomes who have been stealing underwear, although it is not exactly the type of help you would expect. (4 Cheezy Poofs)
(31) "Prehistoric Ice Man" has the boys discovering a cave man frozen in a block of ice. Dr. Mephisto thaws out the cave man and discovers he has been frozen for (gasp!) 32 months. Can a primitive human being from 1996 understand the world of today? Good question. Meanwhile, Stan and Kyle fight over whether the cave man should be called Gorak or Steve, but work together in the end to send the cave man to a place where he can be happy. (4.5 Cheezy Poofs)
The key defining element of the best episodes is that they are usually strong in terms of parody and/or satire. Fortunately their use of "Star Trek" episodes is moving in the right direction, but when are they going to get to the really good stuff?
Prank and payoff.
This set includes the infamous April Fools joke where they showed a Terrance and Philip special instead of the payoff for the season one cliffhanger. It's funnier than I first thought when I saw it on that fatefull April first, and that is coming from a Canadian! Furthermore, my favorite episode of all time, The Mexican Staring Frog of Southern Shri Lanka, is in this set. For everyone who hated playing dodge ball in school, who is sick of film festivals that sold out years ago, who just knew that their pet fish was a serial killer, this is the set for you.
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