Respect mah authoritaaaaahh! (South Park)

Member Name: jazz_mavericks

Product:	South Park
Date:	08/10/09 (5 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Hilarious, intelligent, honest

Disadvantages: Some episeodes can be a little weak

On the surface, and to the casual viewer, South Park may appear to be juvenile, based on nothing but fart jokes and swearing, but this is just a facade, hiding one of the most intelligent and satirical shows ever made.

Shown on Comedy Central, South Park is the creation of Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and revolves around the strange adventures that four school kids get tangled up in, in their fiction town in Colorado.

The main cast members are the children, namely Stan, Kyle, Eric and Kenny. Stan is the 'everychild' of the group, that most children could relate to, even down to the point where he vomits every time he sees Wendy, the girl he loves. His sister terrorises him, to the point of violence, but loves him deep down. His best friend Kyle is the Jewish member of the group, with an extremely overbearing mother, and an adopted brother from Canada, called Ike.

Kyle's friend, and arch enemy is Eric Cartman - a fat, obnoxious, racist, slob. Like a blob with Hitler's mind. He hates Jews, but more than them, he hates Hippies!

Lastly, there is Kenny. Coming from a poverty stricken, red neck family, Kenny is part of a running joke on the show, in that he is killed in virtually every episode! He is distinguishable by his orange parka, which he keeps fully zipped up, so all that can be heard when he speaks is mumbling.

The full cast is enormous, featuring everyone from the Barry White inspired Chef, to Big Gay Al, from Mr Hankie the Christmas poo, to Towellie, the pot smoking towel.

Much like the Simpsons there are frequent guest stars, but usually not in the way you would expect. For instance, George Clooney guest stars in one episode as a barking dog.

Like I mentioned, the show is about much, much more than fart jokes and the like. There is a rich social commentary present throughout, and no aspect of modern society is free from being examined and explored openly and truthfully, be it AIDS, the war in Afghanistan, 9/11, gay marriage, or global warming. They are all looked at in a refreshing way that makes you look at the problems in new ways.

As well as this of course, no celebrity is same from being impersonated on the show, and their fallacies exploited fully. If you are a celebrity that does something stupid, or is known for being something not very nice, South Park will pull you to pieces in hysterical ways.

South Park really is a genuinely intelligent and funny show, and I can't recommend it enough!

Summary: A crude, but highly intelligent and funny cartoon, that is NOT for children!