Pajiba

Mr. Prisko, your reviews make me happy. This one in particular. I friggin' love this show, and I love your goddamed review. If I'm ever in your neck of the woods I'll give you a ring and buy you several beers/shots/scotch eggs/mimosas... Whatever you like. I'm not saying anything sexual's gonna happen (I happen to like lady-bits), but let's not rule anything out, okay?

South Park is obviously a cultural phenomenon. My favorite episode is still the Worcestershire sauce episode. The South Park movie made me feel shock, laughter, and utter annoyance all simultaneously.

An excellent way to destroy your liver: Watch South Park Movie. Pick a character (must be a main character and not Kenny, as he mumbles). Drink every time said character cusses. See if can make it through movie.

Old rules were to drink ever time a cuss word was said, but the Terrance and Phillip movie ended that.

Great review! (My favorite episode was the first Towlie episode, with the GameSphere)

Just your descriptions of certain plot points had me choking back laughter at my desk. I rarely remember to watch South Park, and if I do it is at the behest of my brother, but on those few glorious occasions that I catch an episode I am always amazed at how well they blend gross out humor with political and social satire.

I so love this show. Yes, there is at least one clunker every season, but when it's good, it's so, very excellent. My personal favorite is the Japanese Warriors episode.

It must be said, though, that Parker & Stone earned a lifetime pass from me for creating Orgazmo.

FUCK. YES.

As a native San Franciscan, nothing in the world is funnier to me than "Smug Alert!"

"Yes, well, unlike most cities, in San Francisco we try to keep all the historic houses instead of knocking them down." (said with eyes closed)

I stopped watching South Park regularly when Hankie the Christmas Poo came along. Sorry, talking feces was my line in the sand. It's not a moral thing, it just made me gag.

But I love to say to the neighbor kids when they come over "Hey little crackers, come on in."

Best show ever. By far the best show ever. Honestly, in my opinion, each season individually deserves to be one of the best of the past 20 years, but whatever.

And one for the road:
"I would never let a woman kick MY ass. If she tried anything, I'd be like, 'Hey! You get your bitch ass back in the kitchen and make me some pie!'"

TIMM-AH!

Every time I see a Toyota Prius on the road, I cackle and mutter, "Nice Pious."

Maybe this is because I grew up on the Simpsons but I'm not sure how much the world benefits from entertainment where the core goal seems to be disgusting it's own viewers to the point of stupor. I don't watch "Family Guy" for the same reason. "South Park" does have some intelligent commentary and I enjoy certain episodes but I don't have the intestinal fortitude to watch it on a regular basis. Kudos to those of you who do.

I heart Orgazmo as well. Mormons. DVDA. Ron Jeremy. That movie has it all.
And I'm not gay or anything, but unicorns kick ass!

I also dare anyone to watch Cannibal The Musical and not sing the songs later. Let's build a snowman...

And just because I can't resist:

"Gay people, well, gay people are evil, evil right down to their cold black hearts which pump not blood like yours or mine, but rather a thick, vomitous oil that oozes through their rotten veins and clots in their pea-sized brains which becomes the cause of their Nazi-esque patterns of violent behavior. Do you understand?"

Dear Mr. Prisco,

I love you.

Signed, jonr.

I remember seeing the screaming Barbara Streisand head. I almost fell off the couch. I don't seem to watch Southpark much these days, but if I catch it, I stay around to watch.

"I don't trust anything that bleeds for five days and doesn't die."

I could go for a shot of Jagerminz S'More Flavored Schnapps right now. Sigh.

Great review. I love the intelligent subtext this show manages to throw behind the mask of lots of bad words and poop. It's pretty, pretty awesome.

Although I've gotta say season 10, for me at least, was when the widening gap between the funny episodes and the ones that you watch and don't laugh once (the one with Bono and Randy pooping) began to emerge. I still watch the show regularly, but I'm not as sure as I used to be that I will laugh my balls off.

I wholeheartedly agree with this choice.

I was debating about whether Season 9 could rival season 10, but looking at the episode guide for 10, it was very much the better choice. 10 does include one of my all-time favorites "Make Love, Not Warcraft".

I always felt that Parker and Stone were trying to use the gross out humor to make biting commentary, but then at same time use their status as satirists as an excuse to make more dirty jokes for the hell of it.

It's a perpetual cycle of cat piss and talking poop.

"A chick bleeding out her vagina is no miracle. Chicks bleed out their vaginas all the time" = the pope

so great

I like biting satire, but I just could never get into South Park. Cursing to me is just a cheap joke. People laugh because they are embarrassed, not because it's funny. Sorry, but South Park is not one of the best 20 in my opinion.

Ah, but children cursing ... well, it never gets old. Kind of like a chimpanzee punching a mime in the balls.

Some of the stuff is way over the top, too gross-out stupid and not enjoyable for me, like the giant turd record. Just juvenile and weak, I thought. But, we takes the bad with the good. My favorite episode of all time, Imaginationland, was in Season 11 and captures the satirical spirit of the show so well. "Sir, the terrorists are hitting us where we're most vulnerable ... in our imaginations."

True dat.

Gotta hop on this bandwagon!

South Park has never been appointment TV for me (to be honest, precious little ever merits that assignation), yet I find myself saying "I have to watch this show more often" every time I do manage to catch an episode. I am happy to confer the title of "evil geniuses" on Messrs. Parker and Stone, though.

The last episode I saw (several months back) is indelibly stamped in my memory: the Internet outage. While I wasn't crazy about the ending, that episode is the single funniest thing I've ever seen on TV.

I am so freakin happy! I literally can't get enough of South Park. I haven't had TV for about 6 months. To make the time go by, I started watching all of the South Park episodes from season 11 back to 1.
I became a little obsessed with quoting Cartman for every occasion. Cartman is my hero, he does whatever the fuck he wants, all the fucking time.

omg most hilarious episode, "Fat Butt and Pancake Head"
- Mommmmmmmmm, Ben Affleck is naked in my beddddd"

taco-flavored-kisses for everyone!

South Park? Seriously? Well, at least it isn't Family Guy, I suppose. If a Family Guy season makes this list, I will create Pajiba offices just so I can firebomb them. Just sayin'.

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Eric Cartman: Hippies.They're everywhere. They wanna save the earth, but all they do is smoke pot and smell bad.

Cartman: Mom--Kitty is being a dildo.
Mrs. Cartman: Well, I know a little kitty who is sleeping with Mommy tonight.

"Anyway Kenny, Yellow MegaMan is only $8.95, so maybe your mom can put it on layaway and make payments for a year or two." -- Eric Cartman

I still stand by my belief that "South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut" is probably one of the greatest musicals of all time.

Also, from the age of 10 (when the show first aired) to around age 15, I got the "Oh my god! They killed Kenny!" spiel from practically everyone I met.

Ahh...Schnaps. That is my second all time favorite episode. I also love "Cartman vs. Evil Cartman".

"I hate you guys...
I hate you guys...
Especially Kenny, cause he is poor..."

I don't watch ever week and have not in a long time, but I do still think it is a relevant show and far more intelligent that tripe such as Family Guy. I am fairly certain that the "family guy" episode of South Park is spot on.

TeenieBopper: I really don't think the genius' at Pajiba or the Pajibans would ever think of putting Family Guy on this list.

geeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeez.

this is a place for SMART shows.

(sorry to speak in general terms for people)

I can't stand SP because my refined sensibilities lead me to write off anything involving coarse language, poop jokes and other juvenile indignities.

And also I ignore context - that makes everything easier.

When I sat down to watch the pilot of this series, I thought the animation was stilted - and then Stan said, "God DAMN it!" when Ike showed up.

Then Cartman referred to Ike as a "dildo."

OMG.

I've been watching it, hit and miss, ever since, and have the movie on video (I can quote large swaths of the dialogue and can sing "Unca Fuckah" while at work).

Favorite episodes? Too numerous to relate.

The scoffage I receive on a daily basis for my unabashed love for South Park is surprisingly astounding. Those of the right winged persuasion (right before they begin their back-peddling, "Bush-Voters Burden" monologue and right after they futilely explain our GOD given right to explode brown people) usually pass it off as nothing more than crude toilet humor, dick jokes, and just another part of the smarmy, leftist agenda that comes on the same time as The O'Reily Factor. While those on the left (the iMac-ers; the Prius owners; the yuppie-scum) seem to find it unnecessarily preachy, pathetically childish, and an ultimate waste of time that results in muddying of the waters for the true pioneers of freedom (organic and locally grown granola) and liberty (Facebook?)!

The reality of things are muddled in the fact that both sides (and the inbred, yokels in the middle) are to full of pride to admit the few (man/daily) instances in which that are wrong. They don't want to suck it up and face the facts. Some media fueled leech sucked any sense of humor out of their bodies and have left them as vapid, boring, shells slowly filling with their own new-aged, holier than thou, trust no-one flavored bullshit. Their two busy pointing the blame at each other and finding things to blame each other for to have a good (and oft times poignant) chuckle. They can't see the humor or the freedom in the self-realization that we all, in the rawest of definitions, are nothing more than man-bear-pig-fucking, testicle shooting wart suckers.

South Park lives above the middle ground. A magical place where child rape, cannibalism, and large quantities of shit tumble together in Aesopian harmony. The denizens live to throw fuel on the fire (perhaps in the form of aborted fetuses ((fetusi?)) or abandoned testicles) and slapping its forehead (while also penetrating anuses with both a gerbil and Paris Hilton) in the disbelief of the rampant stupidity spinning the globe on it's crusty little finger.

Fuck proper. Fuck politically correct. Fuck decent.

What is true is always true. What is right is always right. What is South Park is always funny, but (and almost painfully so) brutally honest to how stupid a species we really can be.

(Oh. By the way. Check out my blog. Lolz. www.egodeath.wordpress.com)

The first time I saw South Park I was stuck in a motel in Newnan, GA. I had never seen Comedy Central before, and it was instant love. God, what was that, 1996 or so? Anyway, South Park is MY ruler with which to measure potential suckers....ahem...I mean suitors.....

If anyone asks me how I feel about politics or religion, I just say, watch South Park. I 99% of the time agree with Parker/Stone on every issue. Those guys are seriously geniuses!!

While I prefer the older seasons to the latest few, I still really enjoy watching the sicker than ever new episodes of South Park. Newer episode highlights for me are the "Imaginationland" saga,the Guitar Hero episode, and (obviously) "Trapped in the Closet." R Kelly's role, commentating on the news with his then-new, ridiculous song for which the episode is named, followed by "SO I TAKE OUT MY GUN!" had me choking with laughter.
Of course, my series favorites will forever be "Scott Tenorman Must Die," (my jaw dropped at the Chili Con Carnival reveal and stayed that way through the credits,) "Chinpokomon," "Cartman's Mom is a Dirty Slut," and the one where they go to Yoko Ono's benefit concert where hundreds of kids play the "brown noise" and the entire world shits its pants.
Last but not least, the first episode I ever watched, sneaking downstairs with my sister at midnight, where the nurse has a dead twin attached to her face. Aah, childhood.

Oh, and Cartman singing "In the Ghetto" (complete with falsetto backup) when walking to Kenney's house. Classic.

"I like biting satire, but I just could never get into South Park. Cursing to me is just a cheap joke. People laugh because they are embarrassed, not because it's funny. Sorry, but South Park is not one of the best 20 in my opinion."
- BWeaves

Oh, I think BWeaves has some sand in his vagina...

Uh, in case you are a girl, ignore my comment. I'm a girl, too. Sand + vagina is never a good combo.

Great choice. This is the icing on a cake of great television. The West Wing, Buffy, Firefly, and now South Park. You guys did a great job with this list, aside from SATC. I'd probably lobby for The Sopranos somewhere in there but you've hit many of my favorites.

The only problem I have with this review is that you glossed over the atheist episode, which was a two parter and one of my favorite episodes of any season.

First of all, it captures the excitement and agony of waiting for something like the Wii to come out. I can remember the same feeling waiting for N64 when I was a kid. Taking that feeling to its logical (by 4th grader logic) by freezing yourself is just vintage Matt and Trey.

Then you have Cartman waking up in the midst of a war between three atheist groups who can't decide what to call themselves. One wants the "Allied Atheist Alliance". The other wants the "United Atheist League". And the otters want the "United Atheist Alliance". The shoot darts at each other that make you explode. One guy takes one in the neck and says "Oh my science!" before his head explodes. Then you have the otters claiming they are the more logical ones because they eat off their bellies instead of waisting wood to build tables like the humans do.

Just brilliant. It was also brilliant how they completely beat down Family Guy. That show has been completely unwatchable after the Cartoon Wars episodes.

Aaawwww shit.

I was really hoping this week you'd finally get around to Season Two of According To Jim. No doubt it belongs on this list; I think you guys are just teasing us by holding it for later.

I can wait.

This was the season that convinced me Southpark was a funny and very clever show. I had a lot of extra time that summer, and Southpark filled that void.

And we get yet another season from the last five years.

I also think the idea that Cartoon Network wouldn't exist without South Park is blatantly erroneous. Besides the fact that the Network itself started broadcasting 5 years prior to South Park being aired, most of the networks initial run of shows that put it on the map had already taken place before South Park could have had any influence.

South Park aired originally in 1997. At that point in time, Space Ghost Coast to Coast had already been running for 3 seasons and the original three power shows for cartoon network (Dexter's Lab, the Powerpuff Girls, and Johnny Bravo) all showed up contemporaneously.

It appears now that the list is impossibly loaded on one end with no hope of recovery.

Hells yes.

FART, DAMN YOU!

Nice review and great addition to the list.

Best ever episodes though:
Season four, "Cartman Joins NAMBLA"
Season six, "The Return of the Fellowship of the Ring to the Two Towers".

Dave, I have to agree, Cartoon Wars was the tipping point for me. Family Guy, which was already teetering, got pushed over, and I've not enjoyed it since.

Aaron--Put The King of Kong in your Netflix queue. Then, after you've watched it, go back and watch the Bono/Randy pooping episode. All of a sudden, there's subtext, and it's hilarious

I honestly don't care how sophomoric it makes me, I adore this show. Absolutely adore it. And this monologue, from the two-part atheism episode, wherein Mr(s). Garrison (who is by far one of the most excellent characters on television) is forced to teach evolution and hooks up with Richard Dawkins (!) as a direct result, had me howling with laughter in the middle of a crowded bar:

"Now I for one think that evolution is a bunch of BULLCRAP. Buuut I've been told I have to teach it anyway. It was thought up by Charles Darwin and it goes something like this. In the beginning we were all fish, okay? Swimming around in the water. And then one day a couple fish had a retard baby, and the retard baby was different so it got to live. So retard fish goes on to make more retard babies, and then one day a retard baby fish crawled out of the ocean with its...mutant fish hands and it had buttsex with a squirrel or something and made this--retard frog squirrel. And then that had a retard baby which was a monkey fish frog. And then this monkey fish frog had buttsex with that monkey and that monkey had a mutant retard baby that screwed another monkey and that made you. So there you go. You're the retarded offspring of five monkeys having buttsex with a fish squirrel. Congratulations."

I agree Season 10 is very strong.

I will say this. While I agree that South Park has managed to maintain its quality and relevance over a longer period of time than The Simpsons, it's worth mentioning that because South Park has shorter seasons, its episode count is much lower. South Park only just aired its 174th episode. At the 174-episode count, The Simpsons was still in season 8, which was an excellent season from start to finish. It wasn't until season 9 that The Simpsons truly became hit-or-miss.

The Simpsons has now passed the 400-episode mark. It remains to be seen if South Park will endure or maintain its quality for that long. I also think that South Park has the added advantage of being much more topical in its plots as opposed to being character-driven; it really is a different show.

I'm not trying to start a war of comparisons; I love them both.

And we get yet another season from the last five years. *** It appears now that the list is impossibly loaded on one end with no hope of recovery.

How fortunate for readers then -- all these great shows are readily available on DVD.

For a variety of reasons, I think "Best of ..." lists tend to run afoul of this problem. Sense memory, especially relating to humor and sadness, tends to be stronger with recent events, and then there's just being able to recall things better that are more recent.

That said, this seems to me to be a special case. Television truly has undergone a renaissance in the last few years as a result of the HBO revolution. I hesitate to give HBO too much credit, but it's fair cultural shorthand to call it the Sopranos/Six Feet Under phenomenon. As the major networks and the FXs of the world have scrambled to duplicate HBO's dramatic and comedic successes, things have just gotten ... better.

I can only speak anecdotally, but in 2000, we were almost exclusively movie-driven at my house. We watched very little television. Eight years later, it's over half television, whether new epis of "Lost" and "The Riches" or catching up on BSG on video. That's not an accident; out of the past 20 years, the last five have just been better, full stop.

While I'm a bit of a contrarian myself, Sirkickyass, I note a tendency on your part to show up only when you want to take the piss. I guess I'd ask what your list of replacements for the list would be for the period 1988-2003.

Sirkicky, since we're all about solutions around here, what pre-2003 TV seasons would you include in place of these whipper-snappers?

Also, Comedy Central, not Cartoon Network. Though arguing for the wrong network, don't forget Cow and Chicken.

"I made you eat your parents. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha." One of the most deliciously evil acts ever committed.

Kicky,

Everyone has an opinion. This list is reflective of the writers and their personal opinions. Do I agree with every choice? No. Am I complaining yet? No. The only thing that will make me complain is if The Sopranos does not make an appearance. If I were picking a show for the list I can promise that I would pick something that I enjoyed and that others may not have.

Personal opinions, kicky. What would you do different?

I am willing to bet you that not everyone would agree with your choices.

That was an excellent argument for South Park, Prisco--I had serious doubts, but you make a good case. I'm not so sure it's a good thing that late-season Simpsons and post-comeback Family Guy have gotten cruder, but I can certainly appreciate that it speaks to the influential nature of South Park.

While I wouldn't say I am a fan of the show (just can't get past Mr. Hankie, ugh), any time I do happen to catch it, I can see definite glimpses of clever among the ickiness. My brother gave me a copy of seasons 1-9, so I may see if I can't grow an appreciation for it one of these days.

"Manbearpig" is one of my favorite episodes of "South Park" EVER, and I vehemently disagree with your decision that it's one of the weakest of the season, Mr. Prisco.

"I don't think I want you hanging around Al Gore anymore, kids."
"He's all right, Dad. I don't think he has many friends."

"I am super, super serial."

"I have singlehandedly saved the planet from Manbearpig. Everyone is super-stoked on me. Even if they don't know it yet."

"Excelsior!" ::hops away with arms in flying position::

To Several: I have exhaustively listed shows in previous threads that I think are clear winners over current choices. Anyone who's even remotely read one of my previous posts will remember me championing the Sopranos, Frasier, and Seinfeld and obvious mandatory choices ahead of other shows on this list.

Also, similar to what I said last week about Freaks and Geeks, that South Park happens to fall in the latter end of the period and makes the list weighty on one end isn't South Park's fault. South Park isn't what makes the list do things like that, it's the selection of Friday Night Lights, Firefly, and others which are clearly less worthy.

To socalledonly cousins:

1. Objective lists would attempt to correct for a sense memory effect. Instead of embracing the bias of "the new thing is the best thing" a good list would attempt to place things in their appropriate context. That an internal bias exists doesn't excuse making no attempt to correct for it.

2. I also think that your claim of the last five years have just been better is sort of undercut by your own admission that you weren't watching television a decade ago. Clearly shows were selling ads and people were watching them then too. In fact, average share per television show has actually decreased over the last ten years as options have proliferated across more networks and total tv viewership in terms of hours spent watching by the average person has declined with the development of the internet. It would be undeniable that more people watched, enjoyed, and appreciated Friends than Friday Night Lights. Does that means Friends is better? No. But it does mean that you can't discount shows from Friends era because there was clearly quality television occurring then. I have a sense that if this list was being created on a hypothetical internet pajiba in 1992 we'd be seeing Murphy Brown fans all over the place here. Why no mention now? Did the show suddenly suck?

3. On being a contrarian: I don't think murder tanks, godtupus, drunken orgies, zombies and saying "first" are inherently funny regardless of what surrounds it. On pajiba that pretty much only leaves bitching. So I do what I can.

To Branded: I am always amused when someone acts like another person has no reading comprehension skills and then fundamentally fucks up. In fact, it is you who are the retard. If you look at the last paragraph of the review you'll see the claim: " The Cartoon Network would not exist without "South Park" paving the road to hell "

But you're right, my talking about Cartoon Network was apropo of nothing.

Melody: As I've discussed in multiple threads, the problem is that there was no real process for these picks and as a result the selections are in no way objective. Saying these are personal opinions is not an answer to the argument "these opinions were made in such a patently flawed way that we might as well have thrown darts at a list of network shows." Calling something the best means you probably should have given some thought to how you were selecting the best to eliminate other contenders. No such process was used here.

You gave a great review! You bastard!!!

Sirkickyass:

1. The Best Seasons list was far from objective, and no such pretense was ever offered. Dustin asked us to draft in order of staff seniority, and each staffer picked what he or she wanted to, then wrote about it. There's not any Pajiba bias involved beyond whatever attraction causes people to write for the site. The idea that one could construct an "objective" list for this concept, however, is puzzling to me. What could be more subjective than deciding whether South Park is better than the Simpsons, or whether either is better than Seinfeld?

2. I also think that your claim of the last five years have just been better is sort of undercut by your own admission that you weren't watching television a decade ago.

We avoided television because it was generally shitty; we didn't just refuse to turn it on. Your observations about whether people were watching TV in 2000 are probably correct, but alas, most folks will watch the idiot box no matter what is on it. I covered this in a little more detail in the "Mad Men" write-up, but when you look at the plethora of higher quality shows spreading out to FX, AMC, even USA, it's clear that there are more qualified people trying harder to make good shows now than there were ten years ago, or even five years ago. I can flip through the TV schedule and find fifteen shows that are better than all but the tip-top shows of 2000.

3. There's a lot more positive here than a few catchphrases among friends, which I suspect is why you continue to read and comment. Up to you how you want to represent, of course, but setting phasers to "bitchy" all the time doesn't encourage much constructive interaction.

Is there anyone who doesn't think the Sopranos are not going to be on this list? The only mystery is which season they will pick. Honestly I think they should get it out of the way instead of saving for last. That way the final entry can be a surprise.

it's the selection of Friday Night Lights, Firefly, and others which are clearly less worthy.

CLEARLY LESS WORTHY? Wow.

Okay, Murphy Brown. I'll bite. What makes your esteemed list?

Speaking of waiting till last. With just three picks to go we should start throwing out our guesses for what they will be. Here's mine.

1) Sopranos, season one. Because that's all I have seen so far. I just started watching it last week. That's right, I get to experiance Sopranos for the first time and man am I enjoying it.

2) Law and Order, season five. Because that's the first season with my favorite cast.

3) Hmmm.. I don't think talk shows qualify so Oprah and Late Night are out. So gonna have to go with Roseanne, Season Nine, cause that my friends was some quality TV.

3b) okay kidding about Roseanne obviously. My third pick would be Seinfeld, season four.

Sirkickyass, you're missing the point of these articles. Pajiba's not forming an independent committee to objectively review the best of TV for the past 20 years. It's just a bunch of TV fans rambling about what shows they liked and why they liked it.

And guess what? There's NOTHING wrong with that. Some people actually enjoy reading verbal highlight reels of good television. If you've really got a problem with the shows they haven't mentioned, make your own damn site and fellate those shows to your hearts content. Just stop trolling over here.

Hmm, i think the Bono/Randy episode was pretty sweet, and i haven't watched King of Kong. I was giggling through the whole episode, just thinking about Bono in a turd contest makes me laugh for some strange reason. And i really like Stan's Dad, he was also great in the Warcraft episode, which absolutely blew me away.

The german dubbed version is not censored, so it's basically like the movie, and i have to give props to all those actors too, they are doing an excellent job! To explain: let's just say i did some double-takes, which is also a part of my SP experience.

Eric, I think you really have this solved with the question of the Sopranos being on this List, and that would be a proper way to end it. Of course they want us to anticipate a bit, and that I certainly am doing right now, especially with this latest addition, which is making me kinda nervous gettin' down to the end, to be honest.

On my absolutely narrow-minded opinion, I'd have Sopranos, Frazier, and NewsRadio replacing Friday Night Lights, Murder One and SaTC - and I'm still on the fence as to what other shows I could think of to replace VM, and

(**sigh** feel hatred about to erupt in PajibaLand) yes, even South Park.

But, as if anyone gives a rat's ass about my opinion, I think socalledonlycousins's above posts have really described this series in the best way possible, and I'm not into re-printing this for effect, since you've already read them- just read 'em again.

Unlike TK, I love it when somebody comes on and starts shooting off their own opinions, riling up the Paj community & posting as long as every single fucking one of us has something they want to contribute. Hey, I've seen some boring days around here, and I'm always ready to read new comments even when they're old (by website standards). Opinions are what really fuels this MurderTank, and every comment is a statement as to how important this site really is to a lot of people.

Sirkicky, I started on a bender about 2:30pm and am in no shape to debate, though I do love sparring with you. If you want to check out the comments here tomorrow, maybe I'll be in good enough coherency to actually respond to some of your points, many of which are making more sense to me, while at the same time just trying to get through another workday and refreshing on this site 100-plus times a day just to escape this dreary office existence.

I'm going to bed now with waves of sadness and hopelessness that tomorrow's only GODDAM WEDNESDAY!! THE WEEK'S BEEN TOO FUCKING LONG ALREA-/ AWFUCKIT!

(Summer is really chappin' my ass right now)

I was SO not expecting this show to be on here, but FUCK YEAH! You are my new hero. Wonderful review. And thanks for reminding me of some of my favourite moments. I've sadly been slacking off the Park while I try to get caught up on the other billion shows I have to watch.

That's right. Have to.

Profound and necessary irreverence for a nation (80%)of self-righteous morons.

Parker and Stone are pulling directly from the methods of Swift and Voltaire, taking issues to their logical extreme and consequently exposing them for their inherent BS/absurdity.

And we don't have anything in our culture that's BS/absurd now do we?

This is probably preaching to the choir though.

By the way, at southparkstudios.com you can watch any episode at any time, free of charge.

Oh, now we're in the contrasting methods of SP and 'Swift and Voltaire'??

Well, Lah-dee-fuckin'-dah for you, sweet pants.

Good night- and CLOSE THE DOOR BEHIND YOU!

Excuse me for breaking the silence, but TMax, I'd appreciate it if you didn't think you can speak for me. I made the point a while back that I had no problem with debate, I just felt that this one has been beaten to death - which is why I've removed myself from it.

Next time, sober up before you put words in my mouth.

SirKickyAss, I too enjoy those fundamental fuckups, which I enjoy even more when I make those same errors (like I did in this case).

I agree with you that "best" in this instance, might be more justifiable with an extensive definition of what this "best" really entails, but that makes the subsequent arguments and messenger shooting all the less enjoyable.

branded, no no no no no no no! Don't try, it's on repeat each time an entry to this list gets put up. It won't go away or stop posting the same thing. Not to be given more to respond to. It redefines tiresome. Thank you.

"Jessie Jackson is not the emperor of Black people!

I had that made into a t-shirt, it was so damn funny/true.

And Stupid Spoiled Whore Video Play-set should be required viewing for young girls (and their parents).

My personal favorite South Park moment isn't from any particular episode, although I have laughed so hard I almost peed while watching it too many times to count. No, it's when my sister told me that Mom likes watching it. My mom's a 68 year old retired librarian widow-lady who is active in her local Kiwanis club. Finding out that she plays RPGs on line was one thing, but it just tickles me pink to know that she's watching and enjoying filthy, subversive TV that would probably shock the hell out her friends.

Excellent choice. I might debate about the season choice, but not too much and I'm too lazy to go look at episode lists and figure out which one I think is best right now. Also, I'd probably never be able to choose just one, I love this show so much.

As for the next three choices, I would definitely put the first season of Dexter in there (in fact that might be #1 on my list). I've never gotten into a show and its characters like I did that one, and the finale was simply perfect.

The Boondocks is "fantastically underrated?"

I have never seen such a horrible, racist, unfunny piece of shit show in my life. My night does better without little eight year olds screaming the N word over and over and some old dude preaching the old "Don't trust whitey" bullshit.

That just pissed the crap out of me, so excuse the bitchiness. I normally lurve you, Prisco, so I'll put my machete away.

Otherwise...yeah. Agreed to everything you just said. I was a Beavis and Butthead child, but when I watched South Park for the first time after some of my younger classmates urged me I laughed hysterically to the point of an asthma attack.

I have never seen such a horrible, racist, unfunny piece of shit show in my life. My night does better without little eight year olds screaming the N word over and over and some old dude preaching the old "Don't trust whitey" bullshit.

Considering the very issue of "satire hidden behind crudeness" message in the review, I find this sentiment immensely amusing.

And to those of you still fighting the fight: Stop. Just stop. There is no point to repeating the same thing over and over. When folks are intent on ruining things for everyone else, no amount of reasoning or cajoling is going to change anything. He has long stopped discussing the actual merits of the shows; now all he can do is continue his miniature rebellion against the Pajiba council. Even on shows he admits he likes, he cannot help but complain about the choice. It is far easier to bitch and moan than do something about it, and that is the route he has chosen.

Thing is, by asking Sirkickyass to make his list, you are weakening your own arguments. Any list he would make would be subject to intense scrutiny, and he knows this. If you judge any of his choices inferior, then he will simply return to his "my taste is better than yours" stance and say, quite reasonably, that you are only against it because you are angry with him. If you agree with him, then his snide attitude is validated. The only way to respond is to not respond: since such lists and our tastes are subjective as you argue, then where is the debate necessary? If there is no objective choice, then how can he be right and anyone else wrong?

There is no point in continuing to address his comments. If it clear now that he is severely unsatisfied with this list, and he will waste time and energy with his supposedly objective critiques as long as it continues. I say, instead of indulging him (and thereby giving credence to his, dare I say, opinions), we just enjoy the rest of the entries and let bygones be bygones.

I'm thinking about shows that suddenly appeared and made me fall hopelessly in love with them. So first season examples.
Burn Notice is the most recent. It set up a beach towel and umbrella in my heart and keeps wriggling its sandy toes at me. Weirdly enough I absolutely LOVE Michael, but don't find him at all attractive, and even weirder I of course devotedly love Bruce Campbell, but have lost my attraction for him too and now I just feel concerned for his safety. No, don't hit Bruce!

First season Buffy had me from the very first moments, and became my universe for awhile because luckily for me it was on every single day over that summer.

Arrested Development had me from the very first scene also. And I don't hate ukuleles anymore.

And for an oldie but awesomey; does anyone remember Key West? Fisher Stevens moves to the Florida Keys, to write like Hemingway and because he comes into some money and figures he can quit whatever job he had before. Meets all these weird adorable characters. Sniff* when will they release that on dvd?

"The full-length feature Cannibal: The Musical brought them to the attention of Lloyd Kaufman at Troma"

One of the few musicals I can watch, because of the lyrics.
"..and the brains of an antelope taste like canteloupe.." xD

You know everyone,I learned something today. You can argue all you want with people, but their opinions probably aren't going to change. Sure, you may think that makes them a stubborn douche, but if you really think about it, we're all stubborn douches. All you'll be doing is wasting time on the computer when you could be playing World of Warcraft. And that sucks ass. Next time just stop, and think to yourself, "What would Brian Boitano do?"

How did I never know that Trey and Matt studied with Brakhage?? That is amazing.

Awesome review, Prisco. I'm with those that don't go out of my way to watch this show anymore, but definitely won't shut it off if I come across it in my channel surfing. It's funny shit, yo. Sure it has weaker episodes; but I don't think I can name one single show that hasn't had an episode that was weaker than others. But it's still pretty gorram funny.

Shpedoinkel.

"Let's make a snowman, we can make him our best friend...
We can make him tall or we can make him not so tall, Snowman!!"

Next time just stop, and think to yourself, "What would Brian Boitano do?"

Triple axel, followed by three yards of cock?

Hi, just wanted to let you know that reading this sight everyday is the only thing keeping me sane here in Iraq. Thanks.

P.S. Sirkickyass have you ever seen a vagina. If I held up a donut, a mop, and a vagina in a lineup could you point one out.

Oh, now we're in the contrasting methods of SP and 'Swift and Voltaire'??

As someone who makes her living studying 18th century English literature and satire (la dee dah, I know), may I step in?

I think Recondite is spot on. Anyone who doubts this should check out some of the more grotesque Augustan writings of Swift and Pope (I won't speak of Voltaire, him not being on my radar as much as he ought to be).

See: Pope's "Duncead", to start, and Dryden's "Mac Flecknoe", and parts of Gay's "Trivia", but those are nothing compared to Swift's "Progress of Beauty" and "A Beautiful Young Nymph Going to Bed" or even "Description of a City Shower" (these are all relatively short and easily Googled). We're talking syphillitic rot in all its stinking glory.

See also Tobias Smollett's (amazing) novel Humphry Clinker later in the century--there are descriptions of the Bath bath-house and putrifying sickness and shit and constipation that will make your hair curl. (And contemporary readers would have known "clinker" was slang for "turd").

All of these crusty scatological descriptions (written by the day's conservatives--how's that for a turn-around?) pushed the "crude" envelop as far as you could push it in Augustan and Georgian England (which had cleaned itself up after the Restoration/Rochester years), and they were all used to target societal hypocrisy, ideals of progress, certain political figures (e.g. Walpole), and/or "liberal" leanings in general.

"South Park" is taking a page from the Augustans of England--who borrowed from the Romans (Catullus, anyone? Even Juvenal?). It's an ancient technique used by many of literature's most respected intellectuals.

Count me among those who think SP is a lot more than just crude shock treatment. I'm thrilled to see this show get some Prisco love.

Three yards of cock?

That's like, what, eighteen dudes -- or nine porn stars? Who knew he had that kind of stamina...

Wow, I wasn't really expecting South Park to appear on here, but I think it does deserve a spot.

Whether I agree, disagree, or think "What the fuck?" (a Million Little Fibres), it still makes me laugh.

And maybe I've watched a little too much South Park, because apparently, I sound a bit like Cartman when I'm angry.

"By the way, at southparkstudios.com you can watch any episode at any time, free of charge."

Recondite

Not true for me :|

I adored South Park from the beginning, although I almost stopped watching it regularly after the Jakovasaur episode; I thought that was just gross and tacky, even by their standards.

The episode I've been watching over and over is The Entity; where Kyle's cousin Kyle visits. The bad Jewish parody along with Mr. Garrison's clever new travel device had to be one of the funniest episodes ever.

Ranylt, Thanks for those suggestions! I love this site for all of this shared information.

"crusty scatological descriptions " - how can you go wrong?

Sorry for taking awhile, got busy yesterday.

socalledonlycousins:

1. I've written extensively in the past about how some lists can be more objective than others. The Time TV shows list employed some method and set up some level of rules and factors to be weighed in selecting their shows. This provides some basis for making specific selections and excluding others in a manner that is at least defensible. Pajiba appears to have cobbled together a "best" list by looking at their DVD shelves and Tivo catalogues.

Also the idea that you can't make objective decisions about what is better involving art is patently disproven by common pedagogical practice. Literature teachers have been forever revising their shared curriculums to create a canon of works that is commonly taught and that process essentially involves selecting which books are better or more important than others even when all the candidates are very good. This is how you get the same common set of material taught in AP English Courses across the country and the same larger set of books as required reading in College English courses. To a larger extent college film courses go through the same vetting process. You will never escape a basic film course without some rudimentary discussion of Citizen Kane, it can't happen. As a result anyone who made that course canon and excluded Citizen Kane would have put together an objectively bad course movie list.

Think of the Sopranos as this lists Citizen Kane and Seinfeld as Fellini's 8 1/2. And we already blew through the first 15 seasons without those two, lets see if you can at least try to patch it together with the addendum.

2. Do you think your weighting on one end is the result of your age and experience? I ask because I'm curious how you got to the point where you would make the decision "I'm excluding [older show X] in favor of Friday Night Lights because ..." Maybe if at the end of this series you guys put together an article explaining "these shows didn't get picked because" and explained why the older shows are apparently bad that would help substantially. Furthermore I think the weighting of the list on end of the scale really lends some credence to the idea that you just picked favorites instead of "the best" because you're picking what's fresh in your mind. You all but said this yourself in an earlier post.

I think part of the reason the weighting is bad on this list is that certain shows have been justified almost solely on the impact they had on culture or society. This was the justification of SaTC and is contained all over the place in the South Park review. Newer shows, especially ones from the last 5 years, haven't really had that effect played out fully yet. For example I think it would be silly to include a show like 30 Rock on this list right now but I can easily envision a world in which it is an important part of a list like this one 7 or 8 years down the line.

EricD: I have every reason to believe The Sopranos won't be included. Remember that the original 15 was supposed to be THE LIST. That five more got tacked on at the last minute does not necessarily mean that they'll somehow fix that mistake automatically.

To TL and others: I've talked before about why making my own list doesn't make a ton of sense. First of all the idea that I shouldn't say anything unless I make one myself isn't really a valid point as applied to criticism. If Dustin Rowles negatively reviewed a Martin Lawrence movie on this website and Lawrence responded "why don't you go make your own comedy and we'll see if I like it!" he'd be roundly laughed at. Same standard applies here. Criticism is not made legitimate only by one-upping another person.

I can tell you what my list would vaguely look like: There would be clear factors and considerations discussed in advance as a means of selecting some shows instead of others, there would be an explanation of how I'm treating certain problems and correcting for them or not (i.e. whether topical shows deserve credit for what they were at the time they were made instead of how they've aged), the list would include certain compulsory components that are probably required to make the list any good for this time period (i.e. the inclusion of The Sopranos, Frasier, and Seinfeld), and there would be an honest effort to include shows that were clearly very good even if I didn't personally get something great out of the show. For example, Twin Peaks is undeniably great work but it didn't really get a rise out of me the way other shows did. The fact that it was clearly great, almost beat you over the head with its greatness, and occupies and unique and important place should supercede that it wasn't my personal cup of tea.

Finally the list would make an attempt to include shows from the different portions of the time period rather than apparently following the advertising maxim "newer is better." This does not mean that it would be perfectly evenly balanced but it would be a hell of a lot closer than this current list where the most recent 5 years has more selections than the first 10 combined.

Frankly I think it's hard to argue that would not be an objectively better list.

OH MY GOD, SIRKICKYASS, PLEASE SHUT THE FUCK UP AND STOP TAINTING MY PAJIBABOARDS WITH YOUR ASS-FLAVORED WORDS. *phhhheeeew*
I feel a little better now.

But seriously, everyone gets it. Now fuck off.

I love South Park...I mean I love Family Guy and American Dad because in their way they're brilliant(Plus the fact Brian's voice is actually how McFarlane talks blows my mind) but South Park is a whole other level of brilliance

Its not just that its funny....its that the show is so fucking clever.

The Britney Episode, hand to God, made me cry, the ImaginationLand episodes very nearly killed me ('Fuck Me! It's a Leprechaun!' 'Are you gonna rape us? Careful guys, I think he wants to rape us')

I love every single character on the show, Cartman is...I mean he's wonderful.

But its Butters that owns that show.

Shrink: Butters, do you think you need counselling?
Butters: Well gee, I dont know...I fall asleep to the sound of my own screaming and I wake up to the sound of my own screaming...do *you* think I need counselling?

I also lo-hoove the To Catch a Predator parody. How DOES that dude make people sit down?!

Oh and thanks for the info on where to watch some SP eps =D

Great article.

Man...I'm going to go and watch some South Park

SJ: They didn't make a "favorites" list they made a "best of" list. They in fact have purposely conflated the two ideas when one goes to subjective taste and the other objective taste. If they had called it the favorites list and hadn't made the claim in the Freeks and Geeks article that "best and favorite are the same thing" then we wouldn't be having this conversation.

TMax: I'm obviously here, and man did you get TK's anger up. Dude's probably still headbutting a wall somewhere and snapping into Slim Jims.

incest_instigator: Thank you for doing a fine job representing the U.S. military's wit by stating you are a soldier and then immediately deciding the best insult you can deliver is an implication that I've never seen a vagina. It is that kind of high brow thinking that I'm sure got you into Iraq in the first place. Uhhhh....I mean support the troops.

I can only respond in kind with what I'm sure is the only appropriate military response in this situation: "I certain saw your mom's up close last night"

Branded: You get the good natured prize. I'm sure you'll treasure it forever.

I've been following the Sir Kicky argument through the threads for five or six of the latest show choices. While he is undoubtably right that the list is frontloaded (or should it be backloaded?--ah, you get what I mean) with recent seasons, that doesn't make it wrong or less valid (as many have already said).

One comment and one question: Others have pointed out the influence on HBO over the last 10-12 years as one reason for the "recent seasons effect" and I think this is certainly true. HBO and premium cable have raised the game. Is it also possible that the shear number of "prime time" quality series has also increased over the last decade or so? We now have FX, AMC, USA, Showtime, etc all competing in this arena which was not the case 25 years ago. Sir Kicky asserts that it is statistically unlikely that a true list would be so frontloaded, but if there are that many more programs on the air than in the earlier years, perhaps the list really isn't statistically frontloaded at all. I don't know if this is true--I leave it to Sir Kicky or someone else with more time on his hands to prove one way or the other.

I think I love you jamiepants

Ed Newman: I actually thought of this same point yesterday and described it to a friend as "the most potentially devastating argument in response that could be mustered."

I did a little research on it yesterday and I think the answer is "sort of."

First of all, many of those networks started producing original content earlier than you might think. FX started producing original recorded dramas in 1997, USA started making shows in the mid-90s although they were terrible, Showtime actually started making original shows in the 1980s (remember Brothers?), and I detailed earlier in this thread that Cartoon Network was in the game before South Park came around. Those networks have changed their format and gotten better, but the point is that the raw number of shows produced isn't exponentially greater like you might think.

Second, those networks frequently don't have "full" lineups the same way that the broadcast networks do. Showtime currently is heavily reliant on Weeds and Dexter with only a handful of shows behind them. Same story with the other networks which frequently feature only one or two shows and cycle the rest in and out every couple of years. The point is that we're not exactly in the "Must See TV" era of NBC where there were nearly a dozen long running shows on a single network that could support a large audience on these newer networks (Speaking of which, I believe not a single show is represented from that group on this list).

As a result I think the overall impact is substantial but not overwhelming. I've been thinking about it as adding one more full network of programming, similar to the effect that adding FOX had on the number of shows available at the time of its introduction. Certainly not so large that the last five years would overwhelm an entire previous decade of television.

Sir Kicky,

Almost all networks produce utter crap in their first 3-7 seasons. Some never produce anything worthwhile. The better run ones eventually learn on the job and start producing some quality shows (and usually a lot of crap). I think the basic cable stations went through this cycle only in the last decade or so have come into their own. Some of it has to do with some smart executives realizing they could get away with content unacceptable on network TV and exploiting that advantage (HBO showed them the way). If you accept this premise than the set of shows with aspirations of quality is certainly larger over the last 10 years than in the previous decade.

On the other hand, scripted shows ruled the network airwaves in the late 80's and early 90's. With the explosion of reality shows, that is certainly not the case in the last decade.

Who knows? Sounds like a masters thesis to me!

Okay, y'all just lost credibility. Season 10 is the closest thing to jumping the shark that South Park has reached. Give me seasons 8 and prior any day.

Ed Newman:

Not to mention the return of the game and contest show in addition to reality television. Like I said I think the overall effect is positive, but likely not overwhelming.

Would agree with my characterization of it being similar to adding one full network relative to the old way of doing things is acceptably accurate for our purposes?

You know what, while Kicky's on the subject, I'd just like to point out that Pajiba's "Guides to What's Good For You" are complete bull.

Unless you can provide us with a signed document showing us that at least four out of five doctors ACTUALLY believe the guides to be good for us, I refuse to consider them valid. Do you really expect us to take them seriously when you actually call them guides to what's good for us, when it's nothing more than stuff YOU like and think that we might also get enjoyment from. Jeez, the nerve.

Hell, I've been reading those guides for ages and I am STILL plagued with acute moistness, angina of the vagina, and cancer of the skank (er, that is, rainbow of the killer). You know what? Screw you guys. Liars.

meaux, THAT'S why we love you!

Hey lordhelmet,

Do you know that I wouldn't be able to bold your name, or do italics, had it not been for meaux's simple instructions? She's really great, ain't she??

In the future, whenever I use a plethora of bolds and italics, I should end each thought with "Thanks, MO"

Yeah, I just might do that..

Wait. Was that Swift-ian satire? Say no meaux!

I love South Park, and this review is excellent! Thank you!

I think Season 8 is my favorite. But every now and then, I randomly start singing that "Crank Prank...Crank Prank Timephone" jingle. And I love it when Cartman yells, "Butters, you black asshole!"

Kicky,

I'm not ready to accept your assertion that the net effect is essentially adding another network because that reeks of something you pulled out of your ass and pulling stuff out of your ass is one of your main gripes with this list of the best seasons.

Frankly I doubt anyone can be reasonably sure what the net effects are without some real research, so let's just acknowledge the effects exist and leave it at that until/unless someone is willing to quantify them better.

I have been humming "Come Sail Away " the entire time I was reading this review and the comments.

The recent Beeeelicheck episode was genius

Aww, lordhelmet and TMax! You're makin' me blush here. Always glad to attempt a bad joke and to share my limited knowledge of html tags. Grover, I don't know if it's Swift-ian satire...if so, it was not premeditated....I was going for puckish wise-assery, actually. *heehee*

meaux:
I may have been overreaching, trying as I was to acknowledge your sly -- nay, puckish -- dig at the pedagogic Kicky. No regrets, though, since I strongly suspect you could channel Swift in a premeditated instant. Thus, I'll be quite content to remain on your good side!

sirkickyass: You get me so riled up. If you were a trumpet, I'd fuck the HELL outta you.

South Park is a force to be reckoned with for sure, every time I watch an episode I feel this giddy happiness like all the restraints placed on us by society are being destroyed, stretched and fucked with beyond recognition. This is what pop culture, social and cultural satire are supposed to look like and how they're supposed to be questioned. That's why Stone and Parker use young boys to question everything. It's a great device and it still works and inspired hilarity. I LOVE South Park, since it started in 1997 but sometimes I need to be reminded to watch it. Thanks for doing this, I'm going to check out Season 10 now!

I love TOWELIE.

And two of my favourite episodes are:
1) the one with STUPID SPOILED WHORE (paris hilton)... (what does she do? -she's super rich).
2) Michael jefferson and blanket ... where kenny finally does something hahaha

we're about to end, right?
we're getting closer to season number 20
:S

I got into South Park just in time to see the Halloween episode in Spookyvision with Barbara Streisand in the corners of the screen. Obviously the animation was all crappy, and it seemed kinda gimmicky, but there was obviously potential. I caught a couple more episodes that season; Gnomes and Prehistoric Ice Man, then saw a bunch of reruns while waiting for Season 3. By the time Rainforest Schmainforest came out I was already hooked, but it kept me laughing with every new episode. Jakovasaurs sucked after the title creature showed up, but aside from that every episode was hilarious all the way through the end of Season 6.

I thought the opener for 7, Cancelled, was weak. The depth of Kenny's depravity was good for a shocked laugh, otherwise it sucked. After that it was solid again, with some really remarkable episodes like Fat Butt and Pancake Head, then Season 8 hit.

Wow... Just amazing. Good Times with Weapons, Up the Down Steroid, The Passion of the Jew, AWESOM-O, Pre-School, Stupid Spoiled Whore Video Playset, and the stunning, unbelievable Woodland Critter Christmas... Season 8 was far and away the best of the post-2000 bunch. Sadly it also had the weakest episode so far in the history of the show... Quest for Ratings. It was 20 minutes of the SP writers bitching about how hard it is to come up with good story ideas. Not a single laugh, though Butters came close.

Season 10... I really didn't care for it. The Return of Chef was good, but sad. Smug Alert was ok, not great. Cartoon Wars was pretty lame, but it was fun to hear my exact opinion of Family Guy perfectly explained on television by Eric Cartman. Make Love Not Warcraft was very good, Miss Teacher Bangs a Boy perfectly captured the public mindset at the time, and Stanley's Cup was hilarious. Otherwise it's all crap.

Season 11 got off to a great start with "oh...naggers" and Cartman Sucks, then it was all crap.

Season 12 has been hit and miss so far, but it's already matched 11 with good episodes in Major Boobage and Super Fun Time. The others this year have been ok, with a couple really hilarious scenes.

I've never seen a show with the social impact South Park has. It often gives us a moral slap in the face- not because it's immoral but because it reveals our own morality issues. Miss Teacher Bangs a Boy is one of the best examples. Can any guy out there honestly say he didn't hear "wow.. nice!" from other guys at work when a picture of some pretty blonde schoolteacher who just got busted for screwing a student was revealed? Nobody else heard "man, where was she when I was a kid?" Cultural phenomenae like that are skewed and put on display on South Park in a timely fashion. We are made to see our own craziness.

I find it hilarious that so many extremists think of South Park as their own. I've seen magazine articles discussing the "South Park Conservatism", while extreme left-wingers seem to think they're the only ones that get the jokes. Like most well-done social satire, South Park's message is of moderation. Extreme views in any direction are generally bad. If you leave out your feelings of "our team vs their team" and just consider the issues from a neutral stance, you come to a better place.

Wow that was long...

well, at least we got rid of all those n-

"'South Park' is the purest example of satire available today."

I have a hard time believing that you've never seen "The Daily Show."

Here's my basic problem with touting South Park's "satire": the show usually just links a dirty or easy joke to a satirical point and then proceeds to make the dirty joke over and over. The satirical point is implied, but it is peripheral and often essentially unengaged. Compare this to "The Daily Show" or "The Colbert Report," or some of the most political "30 Rock" episodes, or earlier "Simpsons" episodes, etc.

I'm not saying that "South Park" isn't funny, or that it hasn't produced a few genuinely satirical episodes. It consistently is fairly funny, and it has produced a handful of satirical episodes. It's just not a great example of satire overall.

Frankly, I'd rate Season 6 as the best South Park season. Death Camp of Tolerance, Biggest Douche in the Universe, Tower to Heaven, Red Sleigh Down...Season 10 was good, but not the BEST.