Creator(s): Trey Parker & Matt Stone
Starring: Trey Parker, Matt Stone, April Stewart, Mona Marshall
Running Time: 301 minutes
Certificate: 15
Extras: Mini-Commentaries, Making-Of Documentary, Featurette, Deleted Scenes
Watching SOUTH PARK today, it’s hard to believe how far it’s come along in the last fifteen years, evolving from a foul-mouthed, crudely-animated cartoon into a clever (and often quite hilarious) satire on all aspects of American life and creation of casino slot known as South Park game.
Still, fifteen seasons is a long time for a show to run, and judging by what’s on offer here, it’s clear that the show may be starting to struggle. Don’t get me wrong, this latest offering of episodes from Trey Parker and Matt Stone gives us plenty of laughs, but only a handful of the episodes across these three discs can be classed as ‘first-class SOUTH PARK’.
The lows come more often then the highs – HUMANCENTIPAD is a by-the-numbers SOUTH PARK story, let down by the fact that satirical takes on Apple and the late Steve Jobs have been done to death already by shows such as THE SIMPSONS and FUTURAMA; FUNNYBOT is good in places, but again, it’s a story taken from the SOUTH PARK book of how to make an average-episode of SOUTH PARK. And BROADWAY BRO DOWN feels at times like an overlong advertisement for Parker & Stone’s upcoming broadway musical THE BOOK OF MORMON!
Still, it’s not all bad: YOU’RE GETTING OLD and ASS BURGERS are as touching as they are hilarious, and CRACK BABY ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION fires on all cylinders, both relentless in poking fun at their subject matter, yet at the same time absolutely hilarious. It’s these episodes alone that make this boxset one worth buying, whether you’re a dedicated SOUTH PARK fan or a curious SOUTH PARK virgin. Just don’t expect every episode to have you roaring with laughter. If that’s what you seek in your SOUTH PARK viewing experience, then we highly suggest backtracking a few seasons.
Extras: Not available at the time of going to press, but there’s apparently a 40-minute documentary looking at how the crew create an episode in less then a week, mini-commentaries on every episode with the creators, multiple deleted scenes, and a behind-the-scenes Featurette looking at the episode CITY SUSHI.
SOUTH PARK: SEASON 15 is available to buy now on DVD!
