Fourteen classic
episodes form South Park's fifth season are now available
in this 3-disc set. This season brings such memorable events
as Timmy and
Jimmy's
cripple fight, the
introduction of
Towelie and the 162 instances of the S-Word. Join Stan, Kyle,
Cartman and the about-to-be-permanently departed Kenny as they
take on the supernatural, the extraordinary and the insane. For
them, it's all part of growing up in South Park.
CRITIQUE
South Park just keeps getting better. The fifth season is
equally strong and just as funny (a few episodes are naturally
standouts and are freaking hilarious) as the previous season.
Currently in its ninth year, creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone
show no signs of wear and tear. The material is fresh each and
every time. Usually they rip on culture or politics, and sometimes
spoofing a current event.
The first episode of
Season 5 broke a harsh rule (the FCC prohibits the use of certain,
shall we say, colorful curse words) during its initial broadcast
on Comedy Central. It Hits The Fan explores what would
happen if the word "shit" were said by people continuously; as
witnessed in the program the consequences would be dire. As such,
"shit" was spoken a whopping 162 times, and to make sure of that a
counter appears on the left hand bottom of the screen for the
duration. Cripple Fight follows, and it's a near classic.
It introduces the character of Jimmy, a young kid on crutches who
stutters a lot but possesses tremendous stand-up comedy skills.
His jokes are always hilarious, and the fight between Timmy and
Jimmy is very intense, but also very funny.
Scott Tenorman
Must Die is probably one of the more f*cked up episodes in the
sense that it shows to what extremes Cartman goes to to take
revenge on a boy who won't return him his money. All I'll say is
that the revenge involves a bowl of chili. In Cartmanland,
he buys his own amusement park after inheriting a million dollars
from his grandmother. Season 5 is also recognizable or memorable
for its introduction of Towelie, a genetically engineered towel
who only wants to get high. Also, Cartman's now famous trademark
phrase "you're breaking my balls" (not in the literal sense, but
in terms of expressing discontent) makes its debut here as well.
How To Eat With
Your Butt is pretty funny, as is The Entity, in which
Mr. Garrison invents a revolutionary transportation device called
IT (its design is painful but it looks hilarious when used) in
response to being fed up by the long lines and delayed flights at
airports (the running joke here is that even though IT is pretty
uncomfortable to ride, "it sure beats dealing with the airlines,
that's for sure"), Here Comes the Neighborhood, which shows
what it's like for Token being the only rich kid in town and what
happens when prominent/rich black celebrities make South Park
their new home, and Butters' Very Own Episode, in which
Butters makes his way through porn theaters and gay bathhouses in
an effort to get his dad back home in time to eat at Bannigan's
for his parents anniversary. Also, a sad goodbye happens in
Kenny Dies, a farewell episode for Kenny McCormack.
The fifth season's
fourteen episodes break down per disc as follows:
Disc One:
502 - It Hits The Fan
503 - Cripple Fight
504 - Super Best Friends
501 - Scott Tenorman Must Die
505 - Terrance and Phillip: Behind the Blow
Disc Two:
506 - Cartmanland
507 - Proper Condom Use
508 - Towelie
509 - Osama Bin Laden Has Farty Pants
510 - How To Eat With Your Butt
Disc Three:
511 - The Entity
512 - Here Comes The Neighborhood
513 - Kenny Dies
514 - Butter's Very Own Episode
THE VIDEO
Paramount presents
South Park in its original 4x3 broadcast aspect ratio.
Colors look perfectly fine. Print problems are not visible in
the larger scope except for tiny dirt in spots. Slight edge
enhancement appears as does some shimmering or haloing around our heroes
and other characters. Overall the video quality looks okay. The
lack of subtitles or closed captions is disappointing.
THE AUDIO
Paramount presents
South Park in English Dolby Digital 2.0. All the farting,
insults, and idiosyncrasies are clearly audible. The front
speakers do a good job here. There are no other languages
available.
THE EXTRAS
Just like the last
time there is audio commentary on every episode with Trey
Parker and Matt Stone, mini-style. The guys spend 2-3
minutes on each show
telling us about things they remember, such as what went on
during the
production process, how the shows came to fruition, what the
shows mean to them,
and a whole lot of other discussions. The fun thing about these
tracks is
hearing from these guys, period, while the downside is that they
don't spend
more time with us. In a commentary on the Season 4 DVD one of
them said they
would increase the length of their comments by 10% or something
like that, but apparently they forgot about it - it's just that some tracks
seem really short,
however, surprisingly Parker and Stone cover a good amount of
information in two
minutes, but then again it's not enough when you're a South Park
fan. There's
more talk about the writer's retreat these guys go on with the
show writers in
order to just chill out but also get their creative juices
flowing, specifically
the one time they came up with three ideas for shows
(Cartmanland, Proper Condom
Use, Towelie) while sitting down for a meal at a restaurant in
Hawaii. Another
funny story is how Towelie came to be, it happened when they
rented a boat house
on Lake Mead and apparently they were going to go swimming or
something and one
of the guys said, "Don't forget to bring a towel." Also
interesting is the idea
they scrapped to kill off Kyle and bring in Butters in his
place, plus some talk
about the character of Jimmy and his stand-up comedy skills. There's a lot more
info on the tracks but I thought I'd share some of them with you
here.
Rounding out the
extras are previews for other Comedy Central DVD titles
and Comedy Central Quickies.
FINAL THOUGHTS
If you're a South
Park fan you know you've got to pick up this DVD. I can't wait for
the next release. South Park rules!
