Wow, a lot has changed by Gord Lacey (All reviews)
7/27/2002
I remember the first time I saw "The Meaning of Christmas", the South Park "pilot". A link was emailed to me by a friend, so I took at look at it one day at work. I laughed and laughed, then I passed it around the office for others to enjoy. When I heard Comedy Central picked up South Park I was eager to see it and contacted a friend that lived in the US (we didn't get it in Canada at the time). He sent me a tape with the first 6 episodes and I brought it to a party for everyone to enjoy. Nothing like a bunch of drunk 20-somethings sitting around laughing at Cartman's anal probe woes. It wasn't offensive, it was funny! Because of the odd air times on various Canadian networks, those were the only 6 episodes I saw.
A few weeks ago I received "South Park: Insults to Injuries" and I quickly popped it in the DVD player. I was expecting to laugh at the silly boys from South Park, but instead I was shocked by how much the show has changed. You see, I missed the episodes that pushed the "good taste" a little at a time. Here I am going from episode 6 of the first season to episode 1 of the 5th season (episode #66). I wasn't ready for the 162 instances of the word "sh*t", or watching the boys perform sexual acts on dogs on this DVD. Obviously a lot has happened in those 60 episodes between the one I saw on the tape a friend sent, and the ones on this DVD. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed the episodes, my mouth was just hanging open a lot.
Episodes
It Hits The Fan
The you-know-what hits the fan 162 times when the citizens of South Park heard the word "Sh*t" on the popular show, "Cop Drama." High ratings have the executives at HBC plotting further use of the curse word, as the nation is struck by a mysterious plague that unleashes the ancient Knights of Standards and Practices. Only Chef and the boys can save South Park, and the world.
Cripple Fight
Big Gay Al returns to South Park, only to lose his job as Scoutmaster because of his sexual preference. The boys rally to his defense with the help of the new "handi-capable" kid, Jimmy. But there is room for only one handicapped kid in South Park and the mounting tension between Timmy and Jimmy soon explodes into an all-out, drag-down cripple fight.
Proper Condom Use
Thanks to Stan's "handy" work, the children of South Park must endure sex education from the unlikely duo of Mr. Mackey and Ms. Choksondik. While the two adults take their lessons to heart, the children are left frightened, misinformed and armed for battle against the opposite sex.
Scott Tenorman Must Die
Cartman is tricked into buying pubic hair from one of the older kids of South Park, Scott Tenorman. After several failed attempts to get his money back, Cartman devises a plan for revenge so diabolical that it teaches all the residents of South Park not to get on his bad side.
Video
The video on "Insults to Injuries" is what I expected. Nice, clean-looking, compression-free video. I knocked it down a mark for a teeny bit of shimmer in a couple of scenes, otherwise it's flawless.
Audio
South Park isn't one of those shows that demands an aggressive sound-mix. It's dialog driven with music here and there, but nothing outstanding. Because of the content, we get a Stereo Surround mix on the DVD. It's nothing to write home about, but it's true to the show and gets the marks accordingly. Also present are English and French subtitles, and English closed captions.
There's a trailer for some shows on Comedy Central that runs for 2:49.
Summary
Okay, I dislike discs that contain random episodes from a series. This isn't breaking news for South Park fans, and luckily Comedy Central and Warner Bros. have been listening. Coming this fall (November 12) is the entire first season of South Park in one set. I'll pick this up so I can see the series progress, and when the episodes from this disc show up in the 5th season set I won't be shocked. This is a disc for the fans that can't wait for the season sets and need their South Park on DVD now. For the rest of us, it's a rental.
