Come on Down to South Park

[tehMick]

AMEN!
God, what a giant steaming pile of tripe.
As far as the jokes on South Park NOT being subtle?
Need i remind you that the only black kid on the show is named "Token."
I mean, COME ON!

Can we at least all agree that Robot Chicken is the worst adult cartoon ever?

[TomJane]

It's certainly gotten less rewatchable as it's become more topical. But I also don't think I'd want to rewatch the Daily Show from 5 years ago because of that reason. Doesn't mean I enjoy the show any less today. I'll agree on FG being unfairly judged to an extent, but it's undeniable that the show is set up very similarly to the Simpsons on the outside. I laugh at the show, no doubt, but because of the similarities (animated sitcom about a family with a dumb father as the central character), the comparisons are inevitable. And because Family Guy doesn't reach the heights of satire or cleverness that the Simpsons did, it gets criticized for it, unfair or not.

South Park never drew as many Simpsons comparisons because it was doing something that was easily identifiable as being different. Both shows (SP and Simpsons) share elements of satire but that's where the similarities end. For FG fans (and at the show's beginning, I was one of its biggest supporters), it's unfortunate that the show can't be viewed in and of itself. Look at AD/Sons & Daughters. The similarities draw the comparisons and the discrepancies in quality (even with different intentions) are undeniable.

[TomJane]

I liked the newest one, the best jokes were the unexpected ones - Bart, the way the "writers" come up with jokes, and of course, the Terrence and Philip beginning.

What the writers turned out to be wasn't that funny in and of itself, but the message in this one was pretty good. I wonder if Comedy Central actually did censor that bit at the end.

[Dr. Fünke]

I thought they did a pretty good job with this one, although I might have still been on a high from LOST.

[vcalzone]

Yeah, I was pretty satisfied with it as well. I have no idea what message they were trying to put across with it, though, as the only people who outright hated Family Guy were terrorists and Cartman. But I appreciate that they DID eventually put both viewpoints in there.

Still wasn't all that funny, but it was enjoyable, so I'm not complaining.

[tehMick]

Laundry.
Date.
Pink Slip.
Gary Coleman.
Yup, it has all the makings of a Family Guy joke.
-----
Pwned.

[TomJane]

I thought the message was about fighting for free speech and not being content with merely having the right to it. Also, they were trying to define what "free" speech really means, whether it's meant to be safe or "free" should include the incendiary. It may cost us something but there's a reason it's the very first thing in our Bill of Rights. Speaking of which, the jokes about the reporters not knowing anything about the 1st Ammendment (as a sworn enemy of journalists, I loved that), "Cowabunga motherf***er," and even making fun of themselves (moreso than they have in the past) made it laugh out loud funny, including what I mentioned above.

[vcalzone]

No, it presented its arguments in an interesting way and had some surprised. That's what made it enjoyable, and what makes it continue to be a quality piece of work. But was it funny like South Park can really be? Did it present a really unique twist on a current event or introduce it in an unexpected way? Were the points it making incisive, or were they just repackaged versions of the same arguments you always hear? I say no, and would cite any NUMBER of other South Park episodes as evidence (though Beamer might be better at that than I would).

And as for the joke machine, you can't say they are completely random, or that the references are the actual jokes. Like the episode where Cleveland mentions skeet shooting and Skeet Ulrich was brought out on a stretcher with a gunshot wound. Stupid in and of itself, but the funny part wasn't the facile reference, it was when he asks Cleveland what his problem is, Cleveland narrows his eyes and says, "There's nothing good about who you are or what you do." Maybe that IS random, but it IS funny, and it's NOT all that cheap of a joke. Certainly less cheap than, "Cowabunga, mother****er."

[Beamer]

My review. Keep in mind I wrote this an hour ago before even coming on here, so nothing in it is a direct comment towards anyone. Also, I wrote it with the intention of posting it several places, so I may have repeated some things I've already said in this thread, but here goes:

Before anything, I'm just going to say that I'll be reviewing both parts of Cartoon Wars as one episode here, mainly because I just watched both parts, and my scores for both would be the same, anyway. As I'm sure many people have noticed, South Park's been slipping since Season 9. Granted, there are still plenty of funny moments and well-made points, but it's been quite repetitive lately, and the quality is nowhere near as good as the standards set in Seasons 6-8. While some episodes like Best Friends Forever, The Death of Eric Cartman and Two Days Before The Day After Tomorrow were excellent, episodes like Ginger Kids, Bloody Mary, The Return of Chef and Smug Alert were all very average at best, and have certainly brought the others down (though most people seem pretty much divided about The Return of Chef). Cartoon Wars has been very well-received by just about everyone who isn't a Family Guy fan, so how does it stack up?

While it is certainly an excellent episode, Cartoon Wars isn't exactly the total turn-around fans have been waiting for... as well all know, South Park tends to re-invent itself every few years, though it's basically just been going through several pre-existing styles since Season 6. Cartoon Wars is no different, however, I'd have to say, it really can be considered an epitome of the show to an extent. Essentially, Cartoon Wars is somewhere in-between South Park's current style of episodes. Normally, you get episodes that are either joke-based, story-based, parody-based or satire-based. Cartoon Wars actually manages to combine all of these styles - mainly because it's really their first two-parter since taking on the satirical stance South Park's now so well-known for, and they've undoubtedly had a lot more time to cram in a little of everything.

Firstly, South Park really goes after Family Guy here. Granted, their criticisms of the jokes being interchangeable and irrelevant to the plot are certainly nothing new - they're all fully-justified, though most Family Guy fans already know this, and don't care. Personally, while there was a time when I was a Family Guy fan, the show's quality has severely dropped since its return, so I wasn't at all upset by South Park's attacks on the show... and even then, there's a little defense of Family Guy in the second episode, complete with a dig at South Park itself ("I mean, I know it's just joke after joke, but I like that. At least it doesn't get all preachy and up its own ass with messages!") to even things out. South Park's version of Family Guy was spot-on (even if most of the voices were way off), showing it as being an aimless show with cutaways to an 80's joke every 5-10 seconds, while the main storyline drags on. I was seriously amazed at how well they pulled off the parody, so kudos to Matt and Trey there. There were also some references to The Simpsons and their hatred of Family Guy in Part 2, which were also very funny - even if the Bart Simpson kid did become rather tiresome after a while.

Mostly, though, the episode is a huge examination of freedom of speech. The storyline is mainly a satire on the recent controversy over the Mohammed cartoons, though there are also several jokes thrown in about controversial SP episodes Trapped in the Closet and Bloody Mary too, both of which have been pulled in several countries (we're still waiting for Bloody Mary down here). Matt and Trey even slipped in their own "either everything is okay or nothing is okay" theory regarding targets in comedy, and also alluded to the fact that they showed Mohammed way back in Season 5's Super Best Friends. Even if you don't like South Park's satirical episodes, you have to agree, their comments on these issues were spot-on (even if it was sometimes hard to tell what their point was given the characters' conflicting viewpoints to Matt & Trey's), , and the way they were able to put all of these things in was quite impressive.

As far as humour goes, this is up there with The Biggest Douche in the Universe and Raisins as one of those episodes that's both insightful and as funny as hell. Granted, the first part is a little less funny than the second one, though I expect they had to hold back a little to end it at the right moment for the cliffhanger, hence why some scenes like the bike chase dragged on a bit. Still, even when it dragged on, it never got to an excruciating point like it has in some episodes, and was actually one of the few recent South Park episodes that cracked me up from start to finish... I was laughing from the Muslim extremist's subtitles right to the "I'll crap on you!" video at the end. Highlights include the bike chase and the revelation of the Family Guy writers' true identities. The best joke, though, was undoubtedly the hilarious Cartman's Mom is a Dirty Slut callback at the start of Part 2, when they lead you to believe the episode is ANOTHER Terrance and Phillip one. I was laughing so much at that, I missed most of the scene. Seriously, that was so funny, I wouldn't have mind if it really was the entire episode! Not Without My Anus was hilarious, after all... On a side note, nice to see Terrance and Phillip back again after so long. Though why is Terrance still fat?

Overall, however, Cartoon Wars was simply awesome. South Park's other two-parters were both fairly average, and this one puts them completely to shame. My only complaints are that there was a bit too much use of real-life photos and video, and they lost track of South Park half-way through. Stan, Kenny and the rest of the town weren't even in Part 2, from what I can recall. While South Park's generally hit-or-miss now, this was the epitome of the show's current status. They even managed to find a new angle on the Cartman/Kyle feud, and actually incorporated it into the story and pulled it off extremely well. This is definitely the best South Park episode since Woodland Critter Christmas. If Matt and Trey keep up this standard for the rest of the season, then Season 10 could very well turn out to be pretty damn good!

9/10

And Vcalzone, I'd say that "it was funny like South Park can really be." Hell, I was laughing my ass off. Maybe it wasn't "unique, unexpected and incisive," but it was certainly better than anything Matt and Trey have put out since Season 8, in my opinion.

[Clumsy Adolescence]

what good sports the South park writers are! Making fun of their own lessons (which i love btw, their lessons are things i can actually listen to and consider) but6 did anyone else think that the kyle/cartman fight scene was like a family guy joke? ya know "playing water polo with helen killer" for approximately five minutes total. Yeah.... loved the "writer" revelation also.

A definite high point of the season.

[BlenderChild]

the family guy parody had me laughing harder than probably anything not arrested development.

'you think THATS bad!...'

[Premiere]

This show just can't make me laugh anymore. That wouldn't necassarily be a bad thing if I understood what message they're trying to push half of the time. Yeah, they tried to show both sides, but that usually ends up muddling whatever they're tryna push across. This show has entered the "classic shows that need to be canned" category with The Simpsons and the Sopranos.

[tehMick]

It turns out that Comedy Central DID censor South Park.
Here's the clip with Muhammed:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DuMs7MjDgg

[vcalzone]

Yeah, but the joke is on them, since South Park has been showing Muhammed the whole time:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Sout ... pening.png

[TomJane]

Tonight's episode featuring Towelie's return was shocking, irreverent, over-the-top...

...and not very funny.

I think it was one of those things that's funnier in theory but wasn't pulled off very well. (I mean, I laughed the first time you know what started talking, and at the end when you know what stopped talking, but everything else was a little much...it was like an Aristocrats joke come to life, but not very well) Also, not a single sign of the boys from South Park. Actually, I guess, if the town isn't involved at all, can it even be considered an episode of South Park?

Far from the best, much closer to the worst.