A staple of comedic animation is back, this time with a little more Tegridy! The Blu-ray release of season 23 wraps all ten episodes with some dank special features in a loud presentation package.
It’s funny to think at one time the decision for Comedy Central to option South Park seemed a risky proposition. Given the outre animation style and obscenely juvenile humor, the show looked to be an artistic endeavor without a true audience. Sure, cartoons for grownups had proven a potentially profitable product, with the likes of Beavis and Butt-Head and Space Ghost: Coast to Coast making headway for their respective networks. But these were asides; accoutrement projects meant for a limited purpose. Comedy Central wanted to flex this brainchild of co-creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker as a viable, prime time attraction in an era when the basic cable ratings wars were at a fever pitch. CC’s gamble paid off in spades, and within a few years the sleepy little Colorado mountain town with its irreverent hodge podge of inhabitants were all the rage. Perhaps the viewing populace popularity reached apex in 1999, bolstered by the show’s beloved third season and a full length feature Bigger, Longer, and Uncut. As the audience matured, so did storyline scope. Largely trading teen chuckles for social satire, Park finally made inroads with critic gatekeepers in the late 2000s, winning three of its five Emmys in consecutive years from 2007 to 2009. In matter of speaking, the show has seen an overall decline in ratings the past several years, as many traditional television properties struggle to maintain bankable success with streaming dominating the passive entertainment conversation. This hasn’t stopped the South Park Studios contingency from moving forward with the same energy and vigor. As part of the effort to acquire assets for its new streaming platform HBO Max, WarnerMedia snagged rights to the program’s entire library for a reported $500-$550 million. Half a billion dollars is no small fee for one property, which illustrates how firmly entrenched South Park still is within the comedy TV realm. The twenty third season performs admirably in confirming that continued value.
The first six stanzas continue the Tegridy Farms thread from 2018. Randy has built his cannabis operation into a very lucrative business with Towelie still serving as second-in-command and primary quality control personnel. However, the rest of the Marsh clan (son Stan, daughter Shelly, and wife Sharon) are not as thrilled with their “green” acres existence. “Mexican Joker” is the season opener. Many of Randy’s recurring customers decide to try their hand at small marijuana plots with much success; so much so that it begins to trim Tegridy’s bottom line. Not taking this lying down, he launches a guerrilla campaign against the micro grows. Meanwhile, Cartman is at a mid-tween crisis, flummoxed by the state of the world and the problems inherited by the youth (harking sentiments of Time Magazine’s 2019 Person of the Year Greta Thunberg). Just as apathy overtakes Eric, he finds a new purpose: dismaying longtime frenemy Kyle by reporting him to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He and brother Ike are taken to a nearby ICE detainment center, where he warns the agents of fostering an environment that could cultivate the creation of a disenfranchised individual, who may cause irreputable harm to society. “Band in China” is my favorite of the ten episode run. While still fixated on cash flow, Randy has a plan to sell weed to Chinese citizenry, citing a large population without a supplier. He quickly learns attempting sale in the far east isn’t a novel idea and has to contend with the likes of the NBA and Disney for the country’s disposable income. Still miffed about farm life, Stan creates a scream-o band called Crimson Dawn with classmates Butters, Kenny, and Jimmy. After debuting at a town festival, their approached by a record executive who suggests a biopic about the group’s history is their best bet to fast track fame and fortune, just so long as the script can pass the approval of pesky Chinese censors. Over this 22 minutes, the highlights of what makes the show work are limned brightest. It aligns pertinent global commentary with patented SP humor with seemingly extemporaneous effort. “Season Finale” is the concluding piece of the Tegridy Farms focus. Randy is brought upon charges of terrorism stemming from his actions against the town’s home growers. While in lockup, he reaches out to US President Mr. Garrison for advice. Prez simply instructs Randy to deny, deny, and deny some more and deflect responsibility whenever questioned. Garrison even lends his attorney, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, as lead council in the impending trial. Concurrently, a small boy named Jason White is killed by way of vehicular manslaughter. At the funeral, his father Robert proclaims no one cares about the Whites and their tribulations. To fill the void, the Whites visit the aforementioned ICE camp and adopt a detainee in a gesture that proves very problematic. Although the approach is atypical, I think the six episode excursion to explore a particular narrative worked a treat. I was negatively critical of season 20’s week-to-week strict continuity that wasn’t able to wring out enough juice for the full allotment. They did more with less in 23’s primary focus, paying consistency dividends.
The last four entries are one-offs that explore ancillary characters or specific, sharp scripts. Two high notes of the bunch are “Board Girls” and “Turd Burglars.” In the former, Strong Woman is training hard to compete in a fitness competition specifically for the ladies. Among the participants is a recently identified transgender woman named Heather Swanson, a 2D animated reincarnation of pro wrestling phenom Macho Man Randy Savage. Predictably, Heather dominates and becomes an overnight female athletic sensation. While PC Principal navigates the meticulous social situation, Strong Woman is harboring a secret that explains her furtive disposition. Meanwhile, the boys of South Park Elementary are having a crisis of inclusion themselves. Opposition from Cartman makes it uncomfortable for a group of girls to join the anecdotal guys-only board game club. In the spirit of one-up(wo)manship, they create their own that far exceed the boys’ nest, generating jealous envy from Cartman. Referencing the latter of the two, Kyle’s mom Sheila comes down with an explosive bout of Clostridioides difficile infection, or C-diff. As treatment, her doctors perform a fecal transplant in hopes the microbiome of a healthy donor can cure what ails. Within short order, Sheila is back feeling better than ever! Witnessing the results, one of her friends commission some of the boys to pilfer a sample of Mrs. Broflovski’s excrement in return for a copy of Star Wars: Fallen Order. Showing they can get the dirty job done, the school’s longtime counselor Mr. Mackey promises each their own purchase of the game if they’re able to attain the goods from Tom Brady, whose bacteria culture is coveted the world over, illustrating similarities to the Spice Melange from Frank Herbert’s sci-fi epic Dune. All of this crap looks and sounds great in clear 1080 full HD resolution and Dolby tracks of TrueHD 5.1 and the always appreciated Digital Stereo 2.0 option. The main special feature of the set is the tried and true #SocialCommentary, which displays Chyrons of tidbits related to the episode dispersed across the runtime.
In a meritocratic measure, South Park is one of the best shows to ever appear on screens of any size. From effect, to presence, to longevity, and entertainment, it continues to prove a distinction of quality for those qualifiers. Even after twenty plus years “on the air,” it’s still a valuable commodity to Viacom and other multimedia conglomerates. Last year, Comedy Central and South Park Studios inked a deal that’ll order new content through 2022. If that happens to mark the end of the series’ heralded run, this twenty third season should be a standout. It’s like the last MVP caliber effort in the twilight of a first ballot hall of fame career. An expression that confidently proffers: at least one more time, they’ve got what it takes to be in pace with the best. An amazing batch of episodes coalesces with awesome presentation and insightful extras. For fans of Park and comedy alike, this would be a great addition to a disc based library.
