South Park 'The Pandemic Special'

[privatefriend]

South Park is returning this month with a new series, starting with an hour long pandemic special. Watch the trailer here.

[Noodle Lizard]

I was curious what South Park were going to do about all this!

I have high hopes, but I'll also expect it to be somewhat unsatisfying sat on the fence. And I'm a little disappointed that Randy's weed business still appears to be the focus, that concept barely had any legs to start with. Still, can't complain. South Park must be the only show worth watching which can operate about as well as normal during COVID. Let's hope they don't have a joke about how someone on a Zoom call doesn't realise their camera's still on!

[Petey Pate]

Let's hope they don't have a joke about how someone on a Zoom call doesn't realise their camera's still on!

Here are my contributions to South Park Pandemic Bingo:

• The usual idiot residents of South Park become mask truthers.
• Randy is mad because the pandemic is affecting his weed business.
• Cartman becomes even more sinophobic and rants about 'Chinamen' eating bats.
• Trey Parker voices a character with a dodgy politically incorrect Chinese accent.
• Butters gets put on a ventilator after catching coronavirus.
• Kenny dies of coronavirus.
• Mr Garrison/Trump appears briefly but there are no jokes about his mishandling of the crisis.

[dead-ced-dead]

Mr Garrison/Trump appears briefly but there are no jokes about his mishandling of the crisis.

Something which often puts my back up about South Park, is for a show that built its foundation on being edgy, they really are terrified of actually saying anything of substance, often the "lessons" they learn tow the line and go for the most contrarian point of view.

Thankfully, unlike a lot of middle-aged, centrist comedy, it's still often consistently funny but the creaks show.

[Mr. Ssmsslth]

Apparantly this is a standalone special and it is unclear whether the new season will begin the week after or whether it has been delayed.

[neveragain]

Do they really not attack Trump? I haven't watched for a couple of years and would find it disappointing to learn they haven't criticised him, particularly as Stone and Parker Ltd. always play the 'we make fun of everything' card.

[SavageHedgehog]

They've come down harder on him than they have previous Presidents, but perhaps still less than you'd think. Also it's not actually Trump but a surrogate character, which perhaps takes some of the sting out of it.

When Bush II was President they said they didn't want to parody him as you could see Bush jokes everywhere you looked. That was true of course, and it's probably even more true of Trump, but that doesn't mean there aren't some missed opportunities.

[mippy]

I got really bored with the weed storyline last season and didn't finish it, but I think they still have Mr Garrison as a Trump stand-in?

[Noodle Lizard]

Do they really not attack Trump? I haven't watched for a couple of years and would find it disappointing to learn they haven't criticised him, particularly as Stone and Parker Ltd. always play the 'we make fun of everything' card.

They did, especially leading up to the 2016 election (when they clearly weren't expecting him to win). Once he got into office, they've said they don't feel like there's much else to be done with it since every other comedy show is doing Trump material. They've never spent that much time directly attacking any president though. I don't think it's that they're opposed to it, moreso they don't want to do something everyone else is already doing (SNL is the example they used). I understand that; you can't move for anti-Trump material, and it's been variations on more or less the same kind of thing for 4 years, whilst there are more interesting social issues going on that are perhaps comparatively unmined in comedy.

That said, I don't think they've done a particularly good job with their social commentary for a while now. More often than not, it ends up feeling toothless and, like I said, on the fence or self-contradicting. Moreover, it hasn't been especially funny either. Other people I know have loved the past few seasons though, so it takes all sorts.

[rue the polywhirl]

South Park is about 23 years old which I figure makes it about 75 in TV years which therefore puts it in the 'vulnerable' bracket. I do feel like maybe it has been treading water for a bit of time anyway so it's a shame coronavirus hasn't picked it off in between seasons.

[bgmnts]

To be honest most of the best south park episodes are when its apolitical and the boys just playing.

[Noodle Lizard]

To be honest most of the best south park episodes are when its apolitical and the boys just playing.

Which is what Trey Parker keeps saying as well, yet they rarely make those kinds of episodes anymore - especially since starting the whole season narrative arcs.

That said, I think a lot of their best episodes are topical, or have something to say, at the very least. The John Edward one is better than any "serious" takedown of fraudulent psychics/mediums, as is their episode on Scientology and Mormonism. They just don't seem to have that strong a point of view anymore.

The pot farming plotline is absolute rubbish, which they even acknowledge in-show. I can only imagine why they're doubling down on it.

[Blumf]

I think Doonesbury has had a better pot farming plot than South Park, and that's full on Centrist Grandpa.

[up_the_hampipe]

I get nervous about Trey and Matt's stances on issues these days. I mean, they've always had some weird ideas, but now they give ammunition to an army of online fuckheads.

[Noodle Lizard]

I get nervous about Trey and Matt's stances on issues these days. I mean, they've always had some weird ideas, but now they give ammunition to an army of online fuckheads.

Their ideas have always been about what you'd expect from people of their generation growing up in the Denver area. Colorado's always been a pretty "live free or die" type state, a good mix of old-school hippies and old-school rednecks, but Denver (and Aspen) slowly became inundated with LA types over the past few decades. I think that frustration is definitely reflected in a lot of South Park.

[checkoutgirl]

Do they really not attack Trump?

They do. Not sure why anyone would say they don't.

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

What is the joke with "Tegrity Farm" anyway? Is it a reference to something specific, or is it just supposed to be funny that they keep mispronouncing 'integrity'. Over and over again.

[Noodle Lizard]

What is the joke with "Tegrity Farm" anyway? Is it a reference to something specific, or is it just supposed to be funny that they keep mispronouncing 'integrity'. Over and over again.

That's it, although it's kind of accurate to the way a lot of marijuana companies brand themselves since legalisation (wholesome and friendly, rather than "this shit's gonna totally wreck your balls!")

[Poirots BigGarlickyCorpse]

Do they really not attack Trump?

Parker and Stone weren't expecting Trump to win the election. In the South Park universe Trump became President of Canada, causing an influx of Canadian immigrants to South Park. This enraged Mr. Garrison, who ultimately travelled to Canada and - I'm not being figurative here - fucked him to death. Mr. Garrison then ran for President with Caitlyn Jenner as his running mate (she spent most of her appearances running people over in her car while yelling "Buckle up, buckaroos!") In the run-up to the election Parker and Stone laid the groundwork for a revolt against the Matriarchy by the men of South Park, assuming that Clinton would win. When Trump won they had to hastily alter the season arc and made President Garrison more Trump-like, including a whole episode ("Put It Down") where he constantly makes inflammatory tweets. By and large, however, they haven't done much about President Garritrump, for the reasons previously mentioned.

I get nervous about Trey and Matt's stances on issues these days. I mean, they've always had some weird ideas, but now they give ammunition to an army of online fuckheads.

Always. They've always given ammunition to an army of online fuckheads. For most of the show's run they were very "it's stupid to care about things". They have at least reversed their position on climate change, acknowledging that ManBearPig is real and the consequence of the South Park elders' selfish desire for immediate gratification at the expense of their grandchildrens' future.

To be honest most of the best south park episodes are when its apolitical and the boys just playing.

Absolutely. These episodes hold up even years later.

[Noodle Lizard]

Always. They've always given ammunition to an army of online fuckheads. For most of the show's run they were very "it's stupid to care about things".

I've heard that accusation leveled at them before, but I've never found it to be especially accurate. If you were to watch back on Seasons 5-10 (which many consider their "golden age"), a lot of the best episodes have been the product of them clearly "caring about things". I think they have a big problem with insincerity and showboating around certain progressive issues, which is reflected in their consistent disdain for Hollywood spokespeople and others, rather than the issues themselves.

If you take the Prius episode for instance ("Smug", I think it's called), there's very little in there that would suggest they don't think pollution or climate change is worth caring about, it moreso attacks the attitudes of people who boast about their efforts to combat it whilst, in this case, doing nothing other than buying a popular car and condemning others for not doing so. Again, I think this has a lot to do with where T&M come from vs. where they ended up. Every vaguely "right-wing" or "unprogressive" stance they take seems far more borne out of frustration with the kinds of people who loudly proclaim to be "right on", whilst in practice being condescending and sometimes downright ignorant (in South Park, this often manifests itself as rich people doing things to make themselves look good at the expense of poor or working people).

Like I said earlier, LA progressivism is a very different beast to progressivism in general, but I do think that's what they're attacking more than anything else.

[JesusAndYourBush]

I'm always grateful when a CaB thread alerts me to the imminent arrival of a South Park season.  Whenever I think about South Park I always think 'Wow I've not seen an episode for about 3 years' then I look up the date of the last one I saw and it's less than a year ago. 

[chveik]

it's been terrible since they've started with the season arcs

[Sonny_Jim]

Got to give them some credit.  How many other cartoons haven't turned into complete dogshit after 10 years of being on the air?

And as much as I lament the tegridy farms plot, at least it gives us more Randy episodes, which are a good thing in my book

[backdrifter]

I've heard that accusation leveled at them before, but I've never found it to be especially accurate. If you were to watch back on Seasons 5-10 (which many consider their "golden age"), a lot of the best episodes have been the product of them clearly "caring about things". I think they have a big problem with insincerity and showboating around certain progressive issues, which is reflected in their consistent disdain for Hollywood spokespeople and others, rather than the issues themselves.

Fully agree with this. I've gradually rewatched nearly the whole thing over the last year and it's FULL of shit they obviously care about.

Can't wait for the special.

[madhair60]

You can get seasons 1-5 in a box set for about fifteen quid now, which is wild to me. Basically every great South Park for so little money.

[dead-ced-dead]

You can get seasons 1-5 in a box set for about fifteen quid now, which is wild to me. Basically every great South Park for so little money.

It's also on Amazon Prime for anyone who has it.

[evilcommiedictator]

Got to give them some credit.  How many other cartoons haven't turned into complete dogshit after 10 years of being on the air?

Family Guy, as it was dogshit well before then.

I mean, the episodes on Professional Basketball and The Passion of the Christ are very clearly political and are hilarious. Let alone Awesom-O.

Douche and Turd clearly outlines their politics back then, and entirely screwing it up with Hilary (let alone the hilarious "PC Principal and Strong Woman" having "PC Babies") is just really, really, lazy.
Imagine if they did with "memberberries" what they did with "Simpsons Did It"

----------------------------------
Also putting $10 on the virus coming out of City Wok, from their City Bat special

[JesusAndYourBush]

it's been terrible since they've started with the season arcs

Yeah I agree.  And ideas introduced in the first few episodes rarely come together in a way that suggests they've put any thought or planning into it.

The new episode aired last night.  It was ok, but not helped that I find the Tegridy farms stuff really tedious. Funniest bits for me were

Spoiler alert

Mickey Mouse & Randy & the bat

[close]

and the

Spoiler alert

Build-A-Bear

[close]

part.

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

That's it, although it's kind of accurate to the way a lot of marijuana companies brand themselves since legalisation (wholesome and friendly, rather than "this shit's gonna totally wreck your balls!")

Well that's pretty crap. Three series of the same (non) joke, again and again. 'Member the episode Jared has Aides, in which they acknowledge the overuse of the AIDS/Aides pun, by having him literally flogging a dead horse as he says it? I 'member.

[privatefriend]

Thought it was enjoyable enough just to have the pandemic filtered through the South Park world in quite a straightforward way, even if the jokes are mostly predictable. Not sure what else people expect South Park to be at this point. The

Spoiler alert

forrest fires

[close]

were surely a hint that the weed farms storyline is ending for good.