In the beginning.... (South Park: Vol. 1 (DVD))

Member Name: charby

Product:	South Park: Vol. 1 (DVD)
Date:	18/12/08 (161 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: South Park is a great show, four good episodes

Disadvantages: There are better episodes in later series

For me as much as anyone, the months of November and December are very expensive. There's my dad's birthday, my best friend's birthday as well as other birthdays, most of which I have to go out for and buy presents, which adds up to be pretty expensive, and when you add Christmas to that list, it's not wonder that I'm so far into my overdraft. Fortunately, my own birthday also falls in November, so I usually get a bit of money for that which helps, but doesn't come close to covering the extra costs of this month. I realised, however, that reviewing some if not all of my birthday presents would help me to earn enough to cover the cost of at least a couple of presents, hence this review of South Park Volume 1.

Since my parents know me so well (and maybe since I asked for it), they decided to get me the DVD set of the first series of South Park as part of my birthday present, as it's one of my favourite TV shows. I used to watch it online all the time, as it was available for free on a number of sites (something which the makers of South Park have no problem with, don't worry), but for some reason most of the episodes have been removed lately, so getting the DVDs became the only option for a massive fan like me. I didn't specify which series I would like, but my parents decided that it would make the most sense to start at the beginning, and so bought me the first series.

Many of you may have noticed that although I'm talking about having the first series of South Park, I am actually reviewing a single DVD containing 4 episodes. This is because all of these episodes are actually in series 1, and I decided that I'd rather review the discs separately first then write an overall review of the series, as then I can include more detail for potential buyers, without writing one stupidly long review.

Anyway, before I provide a brief rundown of the episodes, I'll say a bit about South Park in general for those of you who haven't seen it before. South Park is a cartoon started in the 1990s by Matt Stone and Trey Parker, set in a mountain village in Colorado, USA, called South Park. The main characters are four 8 year old boys: Stan, Kyle, Cartman and Kenny, who are all much more foul mouthed and a lot less innocent than your average child. Other characters include their cafeteria chef, called Chef, their teacher Mr Garrison and his hand puppet Mr Hat, as well as the boys' respective families and other children in the school. The show is now in its twelfth series, and has gone from rather crude animation at the start to a much neater looking cartoon, though it still has the same feel as it did from its first episode. The show has been criticised as offensive and prejudiced, though it's all very tongue-in-cheek, and anyone with intelligence will realise that.

So, this disc contains for episodes: Cartman Gets An Anal Probe, Weight Gain 4000, Volcano, and Big Gay Al's Big Gay Boat Ride.

Cartman Gets and Anal Probe: Cartman gets abducted by aliens who give him an anal probe, but he insists that it was only a dream. When leaving for school, the boys see Kyle's brother Ike being taken by the aliens, and try to get him back.

Weight Gain 4000: Cartman wins a competition, and the town prepares for Kathie Lee Gifford coming to town for the ceremony. Cartman decides to 'beef up' for the occasion, and the celebrity's arrival brings back bad memories and Mr Garrison's dark side.
Volcano: Stan's uncle Jimbo takes the four boys hunting up the mountain in South Park, where they tell scary stories and Cartman makes up a monster called Scuzzlebutt. Meanwhile, Stan's dad discovers that the mountain is in fact a volcano that is about to erupt.

Big Gay Al's Big Gay Boat Ride: Stan gets a new dog called Sparky, and soon finds out that the dog is gay, and doesn't like it. The boys are also playing on the school's American Football team, which has an important match coming up soon.

I enjoy all of these episodes, but think that Volcano has to be my favourite of the four, as it has some great moments and has a good storyline. The pilot, Cartman Gets an Anal Probe, is enjoyable enough, but since it's the first episode, it doesn't really have the South Park feel to it yet that the later episodes and series have. It is, however, a great episode to watch for all big fans of the show, as it's good to see how it all started and how the programme has changed over the years. Big Gay Al's Big Gay Boat Ride is great too, as the character of Big Gay Al is entertaining, and the ideas in the episode are good too. In all four of these episodes there is strong language and 'adult situations', but the certificate is only 15, so it's not too bad. These episodes seem to be less offensive than later ones in the series and in further seasons, so if feel that you might be offended by some South Park episodes, you could always start of with this DVD and see how you go.

In all the episodes on this disc, Kenny dies. The makers of South Park say that they can kill Kenny off if they want to, because they created him, and they think it's funny, and in many ways it can be, but as Kenny is my favourite character (he's so cute!) I don't always want to see him die. Also, at the start of each episode there is a short jokey interview with the makers of the show, Matt Stone and Trey Parker, in which they say why that episode is their favourite episode (yes, to all of them) and answer a few questions in a satirical way. This is something that you don't find in later series of the show, which in many ways is a good thing, as although it is entertaining for a while, it's a feature that couldn't last for too long before becoming stale and unfunny.

Anyway, in conclusion, this disc contains four good episodes of a fantastic show, and is worth buying. I would say, however, that I do prefer some of the later series to this one, and also that I prefer some of the later episodes in the series to those on this DVD, so I would say that unless you want the whole collection, I would recommend going for another disc or series first, as many of them are better than this ones. That isn't to say at all that I wouldn't recommend this DVD, as I would, though unless you can get it for very cheap, you'll be better of getting the whole first series instead, as it's better value for money, and more South Park is never a bad thing.

Summary: The first four South Park episodes on one disc.