Exactly. There was one episode from last season that I hated (The Biggest Crap), until I saw the movie The King Of Kong, and realized that it was an episode-long spoof of it, which totally changed my opinion of the episode. They had a lot of guts to base an episode around a movie that most people haven’t seen, but it paid off for those who got it.
Except the one where the kids got “served” by a rival group and Butters wouldn’t dance because of a groteque and bizarre tragedy in his past.
I hated that episode too, and then recently saw TKoK:AFoQ and now I want to watch the episode again.
I definitely recommend against that. It’s not something I’d pick to demonstrate why the show is good. On the episode thread some people are talking about it being one of the few episodes they wouldn’t watch again.
“Good Times with Weapons” definitely doesn’t fit the bill. They’re making fun of America’s overreaction to nudity, probably specifically about the Janet Jackson incident. The point is that the kids are allowed to play with dangerous weapons and hurt themselves by the clueless adults, but when one of the kids exhibits public nudity, they all freak out. It’s a commentary on how our media is flooded with violence but we’re so prudish about nudity and sexuality. Definitely a good episode though.
It’s an example of one of the times while they make relatively subtle social commentary while still making an entertaining episode, rather than making the episode where the primary focus is the commentary.
YMMV. A good number of posters also enjoyed it (as did I). I still recommend watching it for the reason given by the O.P. :
‘Scott Tenorman Must Die’ to me is the perfect Cartman episode.
Oh, and it’s not up right this second, but you can get your fill here:
http://allsp.com/
Tommy Tutone:
You really think so? I think “Casa Bonita” does a better job as a Cartman showcase.
I have to say I’m amazed that so many people here have said that they think less of the first few seasons than of the more recent ones. While I still love South Park, I thought the first three seasons and the movie were uninterrupted brilliance (with just two exceptions), while later seasons were very good (and some episodes easily on a par with the early seasons), but too many episodes relied on cultural references that made little sense to me, and too many episodes were overly heavy-handed in their position advocacy at the expense of the comedy.
And it has one of the great Cartman one-liners: “I can see into the future too, but better than Kyle.”
Other good ones:
From The Losing Edge: The boys are disappointed about winning another little league game, stewing over their sodas at Whistlin’ Willy’s pizza parlor, when the namesake shows up at their table acting annoyingly pleasant. Cartman: “Fuck off Whistlin’ Willy.”
From the movie: Everyone except Cartman and Kenny leaves Stark’s Pond. Long pause. Cartman: (sigh) “I hate you Kenny.”
That episode is beyond awesome. It is grand and offensive on a scale that is beyond measure. I swear to god, I can’t even express how funny that was. It comes up in a couple of other episodes and it just makes me crack up.
The “Casa Bonita” is a great one too. Especially if you have been to that restaurant as a kid and later as a teen. You know exactly how he felt about it about Black Beard’s Cave and the water fall.
I was in college in Pennsylvania when “Casa Bonita” aired. I was asked many times the rest of that week (mostly by people with a shaky understanding of Western US geography) if I had ever been there and then, when I said I had, if that was really what it is like. Considering how there’s only the one location in Denver left, I bet 90+% of the people who saw that episode had no idea. The only reason I was ever there was because of a band trip to a competition in Colorado Springs and the director really liked the place. So it’s a good thing that the episode doesn’t really need the restaurant to make sense as a story.
I had a lot of people who didn’t even realize it was a legitimate restaurant. People thought it was made up for tv.
It’s a real place? Huh. I had no idea.
panache45 - Just a word of warning. You know how a lot of cartoons have at least one completely obnoxious, repulsive, irredeemable jerk who does all kinds of crap…in fact the whole purpose of this character’s existence is to do all kinds of crap…and never, never EVER has to pay for it, aside perhaps from some stupid token payback over 20 years down the line? Usually this is a supporting character or periodic fill-in. Think Dolph/Jimbo/Kearney or that neighbor’s kid from Baby Blues.
In South Park, he’s the star. (Yeah yeah, there are some other minor unimportant boys, what about them?) There was an entire episode wholly dedicated to the fact that he ruled the roost and must never, ever be challenged (the aforementioned Scott Tenorman Must Die, IIRC).
So my question to you is thus: Do you like this? Because I guarantee you that this, more than anything else, will dictate how much you enjoy South Park. Eric Cartman is a slime, and a sleaze, and he screw things up for everybody, and he’s a colossal annoying aggravating jerk and loves every minute of it, and there will be no comeuppance, no justice, no payback, nothing and nothing and nothing, ever. (Well, aside from getting slapped around a bit every twelfth season or so.)
Furthermore, look what happens to anyone who gets even slightly on Eric’s wrong side. Pip. 'Nuff said. Mr. Garretson more than once. Even Butters has had to face his wrath.
There are legions of fans who can’t get enough of this. I’ve seen them. I’ve read their comments. They mean every word of it. If you’re with them, great, you’re gonna love it. If you’re against them, well, tough beans, it’s not changing. Keep in mind that pop culture isn’t exactly awash with outlets for unapologetic unpunished jerkishness, so you can imagine how adverse the are to change.
One more thing…Parker and Stone are right-wingers and quite proud of it. So don’t expect them to make much of an effort to change things up, explain the direction they’re going with the show, give candid interviews, or even admit the existence of critics. Michael Moore, when challenged on the factuality of 9/11, did a line-by-line fact check, Ted Rall explains explains his cartoons almost constantly, and Tom Tomorrow isn’t afraid to look in the mirror and admit his mistakes (and then fix them). Don’t expect anywhere near this kind of candidness from Parker or Stone. If you ain’t gettin’ it now, you ain’t gettin’ it.
Caveat: I actually enjoyed the early episodes the most, which just proves how Completely Out Of It I am.
:rolleyes:
Actually, libertarians but their portrayal of liberals might make one think like that. However, I visited the Colorado area where they grew up and its quite obvious why they hate hippies and I can sympathize with their anger.
Various spoilers for different episodes:
I disagree that he is never punished. He was left alone by crying after the fat camp episode. He’s been beaten up numerous times by Kyle. Beaten up by Token also. Butters has farted in his face. Been turned into a Dawson’s Creek trapper keeper.
And there are reasons for him being how he is. His mother is a whorish hermaphrodite who treats him like a friend and not a son (in fact, he was cured of his slime and sleaze, but his mother was so lonely she undid all of her work), has given Ben Affleck a handjob, thought he was a Vietnamese prostitute who got spanked by Leonardo DiCaprio, given Butters oral sex etc etc.
He’s genuinely a fucked up kid.
“So Cartman, are you bringing your dad? Oh wait, you don’t have one.” - The episode where all the boys got molestered by the boy scout leader.
They lean libertarian, which isn’t right wing - a one-axis political scale is inadequate to describe it.
That said, I’m disheartened by them mostly leaving the neocons alone. Libertarians should abhor them.
You don’t remember That’s My Bush?
A lot of neocon comedy has been done to death. Cheney is Darth Vader and Rove is Emperor Palpatine. We get it. Hardy-har-har. They probably think it’s too obvious for the most part.
Actually I like Eric Cartman as a character. He’s the most vile, inhuman monster ever portrayed on television and roughly half the time (not nearly all the time) he gets away with it. He’s horrifying in an entertaining way and he’s unique on television as a genuinely evil comedic character. It also makes it more enjoyable when he gets crushed.
Now that segment of fans who cheers him on (and as mentioned they exist) are disturbing.
That show is intentionally generic. They said outright that they’d have made the same show whether Bush or Gore were elected. They don’t really make fun of Bush specifically in the show, which is one reason it was pretty boring.