South Park 3.29

[Kiros]

I thought it was a pretty good episode, though not as good as last week. I wonder if the message will turn some on this board off of it; I thought they did a good job of getting to the real point at the end, though, at least with the kids (it was just like the old school "I learned something today...", actually).

Either way, though, we can all agree that it's all Stan's fault, right?!

[What Exit?]

I was preparing to start a thread, glad I checked first:

This might be my favorite episode ever.
I know the smug ones, boy do I know them. I am even guilty of it.
My next car will be a Hybrid.
The Smug storm being supercharged by Clooney's speech was out of nowhere and an incredible add in.
Cartman did a Good Deed that was barely selfish, is it a first?

The ranger was great.

Jim

[Least Original User Name Ever]

I liked it. I like almost all of them, though. I like the distinctions they're (Matt and Trey) making these days.
We don't dislike Isaac Hayes, we dislike that fruity club for screwing him up.
We don't dislike hybrid cars, we dislike the assholes that people become when they get to full of themselves.

It seems like they're refining their stances, where earlier in the South Park timeline, it seems they'd have just roasted the entire kit and kaboodle (god I don't say that enough)

I'm not a fan of getting rid of San Fransisco, though.

[jackelope]

"You're talking with your eyes closed again!"

[brianjedi]

Eh, a definite miss this week, especially after last week's.

I don't see Cartman's actions as at all a "good deed." He did it because he needed Kyle back to have someone to rip on, not because he was concerned with saving him. The only "good" part was passing on the opportunity to lord it over Kyle by telling Butters to be quiet.

[Rodgers01]

Well, I hope people watching it watch all the way to the end where, at the last second, they say that yes, hybrid cars (and, implicitly, other energy-saving measures) ARE good things... I've seen it said on these boards before, and I guess it's true: South Park's funny until it picks on something near and dear to your own heart.

Personally, I think they missed the boat: public transportation is (or at least can be) even BETTER than hybrid cars, and public transportation junkies aren't smug at all!

Oh, and I didn't think George Clooney's speech was so smug...

[HPL]

It was okay. It felt a bit preachy, though I agree about the smug people aspect. The kids taking drugs to deal with the parents was funny.

Last week's was much better though.

[RandMcnally]

Ike was tripping balls, that was awesome.

[neutron star]

Kyle and Ike ("I'll take three!") on acid was amusing. I got a chuckle out of that.

The rest was one long, lame, joke stretched impossibly thin. I didn't even crack a smile.

Blah.

That was actually the first episode of South Park that I felt sorely tempted to turn off before it ended.

[thirdname]

I agree, it was horrible. They seem to be under this impression that there's some huge crisis or movement invloving hybrid drivers who think they are superior or something. That's not something I'm aware of in the slightest. I don't know if they're responding so something two people said a few years ago when the Prius and Insight were new and exciting, or what.

And "cloud of smug"? Come on.

[Bear_Nenno]

Originally Posted by riker1384

And "cloud of smug"? Come on.

But a Trapper Keeper that takes over the town is okay??

Not every episode can be an instant classic. It was funny and entertaining, and that's pretty much the point. It looks like people will start over analyzing it just like the Simpsons. And soon you'll all be saying how it's not funny like it used to be, and how it's lost its edge, etc.
But then you'll all keep watching it every single week. Even if only so you can talk about how unfunny it was...
Why do people do this?

[Bear_Nenno]

:snnnniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiffffffff:
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
:snnnniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiifffffff:

[carnivorousplant]

Were they lampooning any particular movie or show with Cartman's deep sea suit?

[Sean Factotum]

Originally Posted by riker1384

I agree, it was horrible. They seem to be under this impression that there's some huge crisis or movement invloving hybrid drivers who think they are superior or something. That's not something I'm aware of in the slightest. I don't know if they're responding so something two people said a few years ago when the Prius and Insight were new and exciting, or what.

Well, you and I are on the East coast. Maybe it's different the farther west you go.

And do you think Clooney is annoyed or amused by this one? He is, after all, on friendly terms with the guy (voiced the Baked Potato doctor in the movie, and Sparky the Dog on an episode.)

[Bear_Nenno]

I'd say "amused". C'mon, that cloud was hilarious.

[Kalhoun]

The fart sniffing cracked me up. It reminds me of that SNL woman who sniffed her armpits.

[Moe]

Originally Posted by Sean Factotum

Well, you and I are on the East coast. Maybe it's different the farther west you go.

And do you think Clooney is annoyed or amused by this one? He is, after all, on friendly terms with the guy (voiced the Baked Potato doctor in the movie, and Sparky the Dog on an episode.)

Not only that. He's the one who actually discovered the show. It's my understanding that he came across an animated xmas card that Trey and Matt made and thought it was so hilarious he passed it around. The buzz created from this lead, in some way, to the show on Comedy Central.

Anyone else hear it this way? Or is this just a rumor?

[Sean Factotum]

Originally Posted by Moe

Not only that. He's the one who actually discovered the show. It's my understanding that he came across an animated xmas card that Trey and Matt made and thought it was so hilarious he passed it around. The buzz created from this lead, in some way, to the show on Comedy Central.

Anyone else hear it this way? Or is this just a rumor?

I thought that was Clooney too, but wasn't sure enough to say something.

And I don't think he really voiced the dog. I think they just said that to thank him for what you said.

[neutron star]

Originally Posted by Bear_Nenno

But then you'll all keep watching it every single week. Even if only so you can talk about how unfunny it was...
Why do people do this?

Because of the desperate hope that it will somehow show a spark of its former glory. Sometimes it (The Simpsons) does. South Park hasn't quite reached that point yet, but it's seven seasons behind The Simpsons.

Giant Trapper Keeper was funny. Cloud of smug was just... lame. From an objective standpoint, they are equally stupid, but only one of them got laughs out of me. I don't know why that is, but it is.

Also, at this point, any episode of SP that deals with a social issue gets an automatic strike against it from the outset. The best episodes have nearly always been the non-preachy kind, and they seem to be in very short supply lately.

[What Exit?]

Originally Posted by neutron star

Because of the desperate hope that it will somehow show a spark of its former glory. Sometimes it (The Simpsons) does. South Park hasn't quite reached that point yet, but it's seven seasons behind The Simpsons.

I feel the same way about SNL and the Simpsons, of course the good epsiodes of SNL are even more rare but even the Simpsons are 15 years behind SNL. Simpsons still have some good ones thrown in.

Giant Trapper Keeper was funny. Cloud of smug was just... lame. From an objective standpoint, they are equally stupid, but only one of them got laughs out of me. I don't know why that is, but it is.

Cloud of Smug worked for me, because I do know of the smugness of people that have switched to Hybrids. I don't have a problem with it, but it is a real phenomenon. I see the same smugness in the competition of how much composting and recycling some people do. It was funny because it was true.

Jim [smug]I have invested in 6700 watts of Solar Panels and Compact Fluorescents so I don't have to feel guilty about running Central Air and Computers. [/smug]

[Antinor01]

Originally Posted by carnivorousplant

Were they lampooning any particular movie or show with Cartman's deep sea suit?

No particular one I can think of. It seemed to be mostly just an extention of the "Cartman hates hippies" thing.

[Larry Mudd]

Originally Posted by Moe

Not only that. He's the one who actually discovered the show. It's my understanding that he came across an animated xmas card that Trey and Matt made and thought it was so hilarious he passed it around. The buzz created from this lead, in some way, to the show on Comedy Central.

Anyone else hear it this way? Or is this just a rumor?

That's a hugely exaggerated version of events that almost everyone seems to take for granted.

A Fox executive commissioned Stone and Parker to make Spirit of Christmas as an in-house Christmas card kind of thing. Thousands went out, and they were quickly copied and passed along, or simply passed along. The short became very popular on the festival circuit.

George Clooney was as involved in the process as hundreds of other people.

Anyway, not a funny episode. I laughed once: Ike's "I'm totally tripping balls."

Oh, and I liked Kyle's "Don't belittle my people, fat-ass!" at the end -- (from Spirit of Christmas, BTW.)

Other than that... No joy in Muddville. That episode itself was more smug than anything the smuggest hybrid-driving denizen of San Francisco could ever hope to aspire to. "Smug" is not a quality that Parker and Stone have any business deriding -- especially since the things they tend to be smug pricks about don't generally have the upside of reasonable fuel economy.

Who loves the smell of their own farts? They do, and they love to waft them our way with their reactionary bullshit looney Libertarian tirades. Usually, they manage to do it in an amusing way, so they get a pass.

This one just smelled of cabbage.

[Jayrot]

I liked this episode, even though it probably came the closest so far to "hitting home" (i.e. pretty brutal ripping on San Fran).

If people are unhappy with the "hot-topic of the week", I fear you're watching the wrong show. That what SP is now. They're like Weird Al Yankovic or The Daily Show -- they'll never die, cause they'll never run out of material.

Unlike The Simpsons who have needed to rely on more and more absurd plotlines, there will always be new celebrity, politician, or social issue for SP to mock. Which, of course, is not to say that they won't do it in some completely absurd way.

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by neutron star

Also, at this point, any episode of SP that deals with a social issue gets an automatic strike against it from the outset. The best episodes have nearly always been the non-preachy kind, and they seem to be in very short supply lately.

Aroo? The Terry Schiavo episode (or the one with the 'Golden PSP') was brilliant!

[Dag Otto]

Originally Posted by Larry Mudd

I laughed once: Ike's "I'm totally tripping balls."

Does Ike usually were a business suit when travelling? Because that had me laughing my ass off.

[AuntiePam]

Originally Posted by carnivorousplant

Were they lampooning any particular movie or show with Cartman's deep sea suit?

I think it's the one where most of the earth freezes over. Day After Tomorrow? There was a guy in a suit in that one -- not a deep sea suit, but something that had a life line of some sort.

[Troy McClure SF]

Originally Posted by Larry Mudd

"Smug" is not a quality that Parker and Stone have any business deriding

That's fer damn sure. Stone & Parker, while they can be fucking hilarious, also bug the shit out of me.

That said, I'm pretty good at trying to ignore them and just watch the work, and this was kinda funny. I live here, and I know a few people who do have hybrids, and I've not heard a peep from them unless someone asks (usually in the form of, "Why are we only going six MPH over this tiny slope?"). So I don't see it as the crisis they were trying to present. The fart-smelling was funny; I do know some pretty pretentious folk here.

[carnivorousplant]

Originally Posted by Dag Otto

Does Ike usually were a business suit when travelling? Because that had me laughing my ass off.

I was wondering if the hat was supposed to be an Orthodox thing.

[neutron star]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

Aroo? The Terry Schiavo episode (or the one with the 'Golden PSP') was brilliant!

Well, I did say "nearly always." That episode was funny, and some of the other current events episodes were even better, but nothing can compare with, say, "AMESOM-O" or "Good Times With Weapons."

[Ellis Dee]

Originally Posted by Sean Factotum

And do you think Clooney is annoyed or amused by this one? He is, after all, on friendly terms with the guy (voiced the Baked Potato doctor in the movie, and Sparky the Dog on an episode.)

I doubt he's annoyed by it, seeing as how they paid tribute to him by doing an homage to his movie The Perfect Storm.

[Larry Mudd]

I think it's ironic that the "smug" was represented as a storm system that threatened a heavily-populated coastal city. since Clooney has made a bit of news in the past couple of days by donating his Oscar booty (the loot-bag, not the statuette,) to United Way's Katrina relief fund. It brought in $45,000 at auction.

Ooh! How smug!

Oh, wait, that's just being a stand-up guy. Trey Parker can be funny, but if he came into my pub, I'd leave. What a douchebag.

[pizzabrat]

Originally Posted by Larry Mudd

Oh, wait, that's just being a stand-up guy. Trey Parker can be funny,

What about Stone? Is he just eye-candy?

[pizzabrat]

BTW, I loved this ep, if only for the characters singing "thanks!". That always gets me.

[carnivorousplant]

Originally Posted by Larry Mudd

It brought in $45,000 at auction.

You reckon if you're wealthy that is chicken feed and smug in itself?

[Larry Mudd]

Originally Posted by pizzabrat

What about Stone? Is he just eye-candy?

Matt Stone has never had any Oscar swag.

Originally Posted by carnivorousplant

You reckon if you're wealthy that is chicken feed and smug in itself?

Nope. I think Mr. Clooney is a good citizen whose acts are proportionate to his means. I don't think anyone who could characterize him as 'smug' really has a clear understanding of what the word means -- and the idea that Trey Parker and Matt Stone are throwing around the word 'smug' is just absurdly hypocritical; they're two of the smuggest jerks on the planet, and their work is often stunk up by the monotonous insertion of their smug, arrogant, and self-righteous dribble. Like, irony-of-ironies, last night.

[carnivorousplant]

Originally Posted by Larry Mudd

I think Mr. Clooney is a good citizen whose acts are proportionate to his means. .

I don't know jack about the folks involved. Just doesn't seem like a lot of money in their circles.

[KJ]

Overall, I liked this episode, but it felt a little...forced. As though they were only lampooning people who drive hybrid cars so they can say "See? We're equal-opportunity! We make fun of liberals too!" When the truth is, compared to the other subjects they've made fun of, there just isn't a lot of material about hybrid cars, so they had to exaggerate to make it funny. There is a ring of truth to hybrid car owners being smug, but I get the feeling they don't even really feel that strongly about it and were just trying to make a funny cartoon.

I'm surprised they didn't do more with Kyle tripping out on acid. They could've shown a first person view or something.

I'm sure George Clooney thinks the smug cloud was funny. If there was anybody in Hollywood who can take a joke, it's probably him. I could almost see him issuing a fake angry response, parodying Tom Cruise and Isaac Hayes' response to the Scientology episode.

If I were to guess, I'd say they probably had this episode halfway finished, then decided to switch gears and focus all their effort on the Chef episode while this one was supposed to be in development. It feels like they threw it together much more quickly.

[BrainGlutton]

My Dad brags about his hybrid -- but only WRT to the money he saves on gas.

[minty green]

Originally Posted by KJ

I'm sure George Clooney thinks the smug cloud was funny. If there was anybody in Hollywood who can take a joke, it's probably him.

I agree that Clooney could probably take a joke without any problem. God, if only there had been a fucking joke in this episode, instead of a bunch of boring smugness.

[Apos]

As though they were only lampooning people who drive hybrid cars so they can say "See? We're equal-opportunity! We make fun of liberals too!"

Uh, I'd say that by and large, SP _mostly_ makes fun of, and reserves its deepest barbs for, liberals.

[Phantom Dennis]

Funny, when I first saw the title of this episode (Smug Alert) I thought maybe Matt and Trey might actually have devoted an episode to some much needed self-satire. They certainly are a coupla self-righteous sum-bitches.

Then I remembered the cardinal rule of South Park: nobody's safe from Matt and Trey's lampooning, except for Matt and Trey.

One thing I can say about South Park is that it's consistent: I haven't noticed much of a decline or increase in quality in the last 9 seasons. The episodes have always been hit-or-miss, with about five misses for every hit (and one completely worthless trainwreck out of every ten misses). And they've always wallowed in scatological humor, although I think my gross-o-meter has been been edging into the red more often lately. The whole death/ bowel evacuation thing has been run into the ground -- I hope they decided to give it a rest after Chef crapped his final load.

As I've mentioned before, South Park is an odd guilty pleasure of mine. I know with almost 100% certainty that I'll be offended at least once during any given episode, but I keep tuning in anyway. It's morbid curiosity, I think. How far will they push the gross-out or stupidity envelope this time? What absurd premise will they take to the extreme this time?

And then -- just when I'm ready to give up on the show, Matt and Trey pull a work of pure genius out of their asses, like "The Simpsons Already Did It", "Butter's Very Own Episode", "Scott Tenorman Must Die", "Free Hat", or "Trapped in the Closet". Go figure.

[pizzabrat]

Originally Posted by Phantom Dennis

One thing I can say about South Park is that it's consistent: I haven't noticed much of a decline or increase in quality in the last 9 seasons.

Now that I think about it, that's right. Consistently churning out classic episodes for nine years is quite the coon. Have any other series on TV avoided jumping the shark so deftly?

IMHO, this was a classic. I love the wacky, cartoony eps.

[What Exit?]

Originally Posted by pizzabrat

Now that I think about it, that's right. Consistently churning out classic episodes for nine years is quite the coon. Have any other series on TV avoided jumping the shark so deftly?

IMHO, this was a classic. I love the wacky, cartoony eps.

As you asked: Here is the official Jump the Shark site and their list of never Jumps is the last link on the left hand side.
Barney Miller is the only show to have lasted as long without jumping except for the Simpsons that built up too many never jump votes for the last 5 or 6 years to knock it out.
Of course enough people feel even South Park has jumped the shark, but I don't agree.

Jim

[Not A Tame Lion]

Maybe I'm the only one who saw it this way, but I had a pretty good sense that Matt & Trey were making an inverse point: it's an absurdity to blame hybrid cars for some sort of environmental disaster (in this case a phony problem, "smug"), so it's also an absurdity to blame, say, SUVs for an environmental disaster. I suspect this they were inspired by Katrina and New Orleans--a storm wiping out a city, a la San Francisco in the episode--and the ensuing furrowed brows about the hurricane being the product of global warming, which is blamed on tailpipe emissions from gas guzzlers (among other things). Or so I read the episode.

Now, I don't particularly agree with their assessment (if I read the ep right). But I think that was the overarching theme of the show.

On the whole, I thought is was a decent episode, a few good laughs, but not up to the usual standards.

[Askia]

Oh, 'brat. I regret you did not use the 7-second delay button. You're fired.

NOBODY CARES THAT YOU'RE BLACK.

[pizzabrat]

Originally Posted by Askia

Oh, 'brat. I regret you did not use the 7-second delay button. You're fired.

NOBODY CARES THAT YOU'RE BLACK.

I care.

[Moe]

Originally Posted by Larry Mudd

That's a hugely exaggerated version of events that almost everyone seems to take for granted.

A Fox executive commissioned Stone and Parker to make Spirit of Christmas as an in-house Christmas card kind of thing. Thousands went out, and they were quickly copied and passed along, or simply passed along. The short became very popular on the festival circuit.

George Clooney was as involved in the process as hundreds of other people.

Thanks for the correction.

Incidentally I loved this episode. The smelling-own-farts gag had me ROTF.

[SenorBeef]

Originally Posted by neutron star

Well, I did say "nearly always." That episode was funny, and some of the other current events episodes were even better, but nothing can compare with, say, "AMESOM-O" or "Good Times With Weapons."

"Good Times With Weapons" was a current issue episode.... regarding our cultural views about nudity vs violence. (Triggered probably by the super bowl tit fiasco)

[BrainGlutton]

What's wrong with smugness anyway? It might be annoying but it's otherwise harmless.

Mostly harmless.

[What Exit?]

Originally Posted by BrainGlutton

What's wrong with smugness anyway? It might be annoying but it's otherwise harmless.

Mostly harmless.

You probably enjoy the smell of your own farts.








Jim