The boys from “South Park” return for their fourteenth boundary-pushing and censor-testing season taking things further then they ever have before.

CRITIQUE

Never been a huge fan of Matt Stone and Trey Parker’s “South Park,” but after 14 seasons even I have to admit the pair have created a bona fide phenomenon that’s as fearless as it is timely. They’ve tackled subjects no one else has remotely dared to touch (including garnering their share of death threats for an episode involving the prophet Mohammed), doing it with cynical glee while reveling in the acres upon acres of bad taste they’ve managed to pile up.

As far as the 14 episode of this season are concerned, I do have to admit there is stuff here that made me laugh and made me laugh hard. There were portions where I was sitting on my couch sure I was going to pull a muscle I was chortling so rambunctiously, and for that reason alone I have to admit this latest season of the Comedy Central standby might just be its very best one yet.

My favorite episode was without a doubt “The Tale of Scrotie McBoogerballs,” Mr. Garrison assigning his class to read The Catcher in the Rye leading Stan, Cartman, Kyle and Kenny to try and write their own book. Why? They can’t understand why the literary classic is considered so offensive and has been banned in so many school districts. In response, they set out to craft the most obscene book in human history, in the process making inadvertent statements about censorship and indecency that are both hysterical and prescient.

Both “200” and “201” are also major highlights from this season, while “It’s a Jersey Thing” arguably offered up my single favorite moment from all of the episodes. Otherwise this is a fairly strong season that offers up the usual skewering of celebrities, Hollywood, pop culture, politics and religion fans have come to expect from Parker and Stone. All-in-all, season 14 of “South Park” is a pretty darn great one, maybe so great I’ll have to rethink my opinion about the show as a whole and start cutting it a lot more slack then I’ve been willing to do in the past.

THE VIDEO

All 14 episodes of season 14 of “South Park” are presented on tree DVDs in their original 1.78:1 aspect ratio.

THE AUDIO

“South Park” comes with an English 5.1 Dolby Digital audio track with optional English subtitles.

THE EXTRAS

The bonus episode “The Coon” from season 13 is included in the set, while all 14 episodes from this particular season come with the requisite Matt Stone and Trey Parker mini-audio commentary (the best of which is their bleep-filled one for “201”. Also included are a series of Deleted Scenes, none of which are all that interesting.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I’m not a big “South Park” fan, never really have been (although I am awfully fond of the movie). That being said, there is stuff here in season 14 of the series that had me laughing so hard I thought I might puncture a lung. For fans, this DVD set is downright extraordinary. For everyone else, make sure and watch “The Tale of Scrotie McBoogerballs.” Why? Because it is awesome with a capital-A, that’s why.