titan45's Full Review: South Park - The Complete Fourth Season
Question of the Day: How exactly do you make a TV show that's at the height of it's popularity even better?
That's the question that Matt Stone and Trey Parker, creators of South Park had to ask themsevles after the incredibly popular third season of the show. Following incredible sales in South Park merchandise, a popular movie, and one of the best seasons the show had ever seen, the duo behind the ever popular show had to find a way to make the show even better and to keep people watching. And after what Season 3 had done for the show, few people had any kind of ideas as to how to expand upon the tried and true formula the show was running on. So how exactly would South Park be in it's 4th Season?
Well, anyone who has seen an episode from the 4th Season will know the answer to that. Seemingly doing the impossible, Matt, Trey, and company all found a way to make South Park even crazier, funnier, and more off the wall than previously thought. Offering a myriad of new characters, a storyline capable of making the best soap opera writers jealous, and even more controversial situations, South Park's fourth season raised the bar for quality. They also proved their dominance in the animated world by turning out episodes based on current events that only happened days before. With clever political commentary mixed with insane and wild slapstick humor, South Park continued to keep fresh and funny in it's fourth Season. Now on DVD, fans have a chance to enjoy the grounbreaking season in it's entirety.
South Park: The Complete Fourth Season comes packed with 17 episodes which were aired from April - December of 2000, all on three discs. Once again, Paramount (the company behind the South Park movie) is the distribution company of the DVD box set, which works out well. Unlike the first and second seasons, which suffered from some bad packaging and forced intros, this package (along with South Park: The Complete Third Season) allows you more accessability. First, you're allowed to skip the intro song and go straight to the beginning of the episode, something that very few animated box sets have taken the time to do. Also, there are no more forced introduction segments, and instead are replaced by the popular mini-commentaries.
The packaging does follow that of the three previous seasons, though. Once again, there's a single color for the whole box set, this time it's purple. The three discs all come in fold out fashion, with the episode descriptions and airdates on the ends. Also, each disc has a picture of Timmy, the popular character introduced in this season, on each disc, which is pretty cool.
Anyway, that's enough about the specs...on to what really matters...the episodes.
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Disc 1
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The Tooth Fairy Tats 2000 [4.5/5]
Plot: After Cartman gets two bucks from the Tooth Fairy for losing his first tooth, he goes into a cash frenzy and "loses" 115 teeth in the course of 2 months, with help from the boys. With the boys reaching their ultimate goal of getting enough money to buy a Sega Dreamcast, trouble strikes when Cartman's mom, who has actually been giving the money to Cartman for his lost teeth, runs out of cash. Stan then comes up with a plan to cheat rich kids out of their tooth money, but they come upon a gang who runs the same scheme in a much more professional way.
Review: Tooth Fairy Tats is the perfect episode to kick off the box set, maintaining the high standards set in Season 3 while managing to add some distinctive qualities as well. It really cues you into what makes Season 4 so great. Matt and Trey do the smart thing by giving the best role to Cartman, whose money craze leads him to do all sorts of wild things, including dressing up as the Tooth Fairy. In probably the funniest moment of the episode, Cartman tells a sleepy Butters not to wake up or he'll get kicked "square in the nuts". This is the episode that also kicked off those all too famous episodes in which Cartman tries to get a ridiculous amount of money, and as Matt and Trey point out, Cartman trying to get a million dollars could be a blueprint for a hilarious series on it's own. Other noteable moments in this episode include the first appearance of Timmy, a wacky ADA meeting in which dentists decide that a half rooster, half squirrel is responsible for taking children's teeth and collecting money, and Loogie, the boss of the infamous Denver Tooth Fairy Racket. There aren't many moments that won't have you laughing in this episode, and thanks to Cartman this one is a classic.
Cartman's Silly Hate Crime 2000 [4.5/5]
Plot: After making fun of Cartman's big fat a*s, Cartman hits Token, the only black kid in South Park Elementary, with a rock. While Mr. Mackey assigns him two weeks of detention, the FBI interferes and tells Cartman that he has just committed a hate crime and will be sent to juvenile hall until he is 21. The boys of South Park, who have challenged the girls to a sled race down Phil Collins Hill have to try their best to bust Cartman out of the slammer so that his weight can help them ride down the hill faster.
Review: A smart riff on hate crime legislation, Hate Crime 2000 is a definite highlight for a good number of reasons. First off, this episode marks the first appearance of Token. While he defines the term minor character, he later plays a bigger part in the world of South Park (including one wild episode that revolves directly around him). Once again, Cartman steals the show even though he's locked up in a local penitentiary. Whether he's shoving a game of tic-tac-throw up his a*s or trying to become friends with the biggest, baddest inmate in jail, Romper Stomper, Cartman's scenes are far and away the funniest in the show. Another highlight is Clyde becoming the next fata*s of South Park in Cartman's absence. Just seeing a kid the same size as Stan, Kyle, and Kenny get called a fat f*ck is strangely funny. Matt & Trey's take on hate crime legislation may be a bit over the top, but as usual they end up making a valid point. Also be on the lookout for a not-so-subtle reference to Phil Collins.
Timmy 2000 [4.5/5]
Plot: Timmy, the new kid in class, slowly gets on the faculty's nerves. The ignorant faculty doesn't realize Timmy is retarded and instead diagnose him with ADD, which means that he doesn't have to do any homework and has to take Ritalin as well. The kids are quick to follow suit, and soon after every 8-year-old in South Park has ADD is on Ritalin. Soon the whole town is in such a state of complacemency that they are just dull enough to attend a Phil Collins Concert. Meanwhile, Timmy joins a heavy metal band which has a falling out all thanks to Phil Collins.
Review: If Matt and Trey didn't get enough cheap shots in on Phil Collins in Cartman's Silly Hate Crime 2000, Timmy 2000 lets them get 20 minutes worth of shots on the singer, who won the 1999 Oscar for Best Song over Matt & Trey's "Blame Canada". Although Mr. Collins plays a big part in the episode, Timmy 2000 obviously centers around Timmy, the retarded and wheelchair bound kid who first appeared in the Tooth Fairy Tats episode. Timmy, a character whom many of the easily offended and network execs didn't want on the show, becomes a board for Matt & Trey's commentary on the handicapped in this episode. They contend that when people laugh at them, they're actually just treating them like normal human beings instead of trying to separate them from the crowd. They also take the opportunity to ridicule the drug craze in America and the widepsread use of Ritalin for children with ADD in some particularly clever scenes. The jokes here are pretty off-the-wall and hilarious, including hallucinogenic Christina Aguilera monsters attacking a Ritalin-addicted Cartman, and an old-school cure for Ritalin involving a backhand and some yelling. But, the funniest jokes come at the expense of Phil Collins, and although it's immature (as even Matt & Trey admit), that's the reason why it's so hilarious. Although the funniest jokes are aimed at Phil Collins, there's also a particularly clever shot at MTV that's also worth taking note. Another high quality and frequently hilarious episode.
Quintuplets 2000 [4/5]
Plot: The boys are forced to attend a boring, artsy circus known as the Cirque de Cheville with their parents. While most of it sucks royally, the boys are amazed when Romanian Quintuplets take the stage and perform amazing feats. The boys then decide to make their own circus, and figure that the only way it will kick a*s is if the Romanian girls join in. Lucky for them, the girls and their grandmother, Ms. Vladchick, end up at their door. The group are running away from Romanians who want to take them back to their country. Before you know it, a huge immigration battle ensues between Romania and the United States, and the only one who can end it all is none other than Janet Reno.
Review: Everyone knew that an episode of South Park could be made faster than normal cartoons, but no one knew that it could be made this fast. Literally less than a week after Janet Reno and the military took Elian Gonzalez by force, this episode of South Park spoofed it perfectly. But, even after a few years, this episode is still funny, not only for it's timeliness, but also because of the many wacky things that ensue here. There's a hilarious subplot that parallels the Romanian quintuplet's story where Kenny goes all the way to Romania to become a world class singer. With only Stan, Kyle, and Cartman running the show, there are still plenty of hilarious jokes to go around. Cartman plays tour guide in a classic scene where the boys try to show the Romanian girls how America is better than Romania. Speaking of Romania, Matt & Trey rip on it endlessly, taking the time to refer to it as the "a*shole of the world", which is strangely funny, except if you happen to be Romanian. Matt & Trey also thrown in their social/political commentary into the fray with the whole Elian Gonzalez thing, taking shots at everyone, from the families that tried to keep him in America, the father that tried to get him back to Cuba, Janet Reno (of course), and the protestors who they believe just had nothing better to do. It was a great episode at the time, and it has aged perfectly now. Even people some years down the line who haven't even heard of Elian Gonzalez will still get a kick out of the episode.
Cartman Joins NAMBLA [5/5]
Plot: Cartman, sick and tired of his immature young friends decides to pursue older, more mature men as friends. What he doesn't know is that all these older men just want to have sex with him, and soon enough thanks to a mix-up, Cartman ends up in NAMBLA, the North American Man Boy Love Association, as their poster boy. Meanwhile Kenny tries to stop his mom from having another child and making the family even poorer.
Review: One of the most outrageous, off-the-wall, wild, and hilarious episodes of South Park, Cartman Joins NAMBLA sets the bar for quality in this box set. Cartman once again proves that if he's the star of the show, it's gonna be classic. While Matt & Trey were actually ripping on a real organization (something they stress on the episode commentary), even without realization of this fact this is still a classic episode. Although the NAMBLA scenes are what make the episode, the side story involving Kenny and his pregnant mother are the funniest. Kenny, desperate not to have a baby brother or sister, tries everything to keep his mother from going through with the pregnancies. The only thing is that his father ends up getting the sh*t end of the stick instead of his mother. By the end of the episode, Kenny's dad is cr*pping, puking, getting a nasty nosebleed, and being raped by hordes of perverted men. Talk about a bad day. The NAMBLA scenes are great as well, including a mix up between two NAMBLA's (one with perverted men looking to have sex with children, and the other just trying to imitate Marlon Brando), and of course Cartman going online to look for more "mature" friends. This is one of those South Park episodes that keep you laughing every second, and then ten minutes after the episode is over.
Cherokee Hair Tampons [4/5]
Plot: The boys find out that Kyle is very, very sick and may die if he doesn't get a new kidney. But, Kyle's mother is coaxed into trying out new-age medicine on Kyle, which uses natural "herbs" to clean away the "toxins" from the body. Meanwhile, Mr. Garrison is fired from his job as a teacher after being accused of trying to solicit sex from a younger boy. Garrison decides to persue his dream as an author, and sets forth to write a romance novel. Back at South Park, things are going from bad to worse for Stan and Kyle. With Kyle's life hanging in the balance and the new age medicine failing to work, Stan sets forth to get a kidney for Kyle from the only eligible donor in South Park: Cartman.
Review: There's one scene in particular that absolutely makes this episode. The chief surgeon of the Hell's Pass Hospital tells Stan, desperate to save his best friend's life that there is only one donor with Kyle's blood type, and then proceeds to show him a picture of Cartman. From here on it is 100% clear that all hell will break loose. And it certainly does, as Stan and Cartman engage in a funny and entertaining battle of wits with Kyle's life hanging in the balance. Cartman once again proves that although he's the biggest a*shole in the world, you can't help but like him. Especially when he dances and sings "No!" repeatedly when Stan pleads for him to donate his kidney to save Kyle's life. This main story also serves as a board on which to criticize the use of spiritual new-age healing methods, and how Western medicine can do the trick quite well. The new age healing frauds in the episode are among the most entertaining characters, particularly because the two men in the group are played by none other than Cheech & Chong. Probably the most notorious part of the episode, though, is the subplot involving Mr. Garrison. In soap opera fashion, Garrison is kicked out of his teaching position after trying to pick up a young boy in a chat room (in the episode "Cartman Joins NAMBLA", and now tries to become a novelist. He is later re-introduced into the series after a brief stint. In this episode, Mr. Garrison, losing his grip over his gay side, writes a novel that tries to act straight, but ends up being incredibly homoerotic. Mr. Garrison's stubborn denial of the fact is very funny, as is the twisted nature of his "hot sexy romance novel", where his frequent attempts at describing female anatomy just turn into digressions on another guy's manhood. Cherokee Hair Tampons is not quite a classic, but an absolutely solid episode by any standards.
Plot: The town of South Park is split over the new debate at hand: whether the South Park flag should be changed or not. Chef believes the flag is racist towards minorities while Jimbo argues that the flag represents history and not racism. In light of the dilemma at hand, the kid's substitute teacher sets up a debate. Cartman and Wendy are the captains of the side wishing to change the flag, while Stan and Kyle take charge of the side wishing to keep the flag the way it is. The mayor, looking for someone to take the heat for her indecision on the issue, places the kid's debate in the limelight so that the town can make a final decision.
Review: Matt & Trey once again use South Park's quick production times to their advantage, this time to comment on the national debate on whether or not to change team mascots/flags because they are politically incorrect. Unlike other episodes, though, the duo don't really take to one side and instead just walk the fine line between each argument. While even Matt & Trey's "conclusion" isn't quite as great as it should be, the episode itself is pretty funny and solid. Chef is the main character in this episode, as he tries to deal with the indicisive population of South Park, which according to Stan's dad "don't really feel strongly one way or the other". The whole debate goes chaotic once the KKK arrives on the scene though, a group that Matt & Trey rip on in some surreal and hilarious scenes. The KKK rally is wild, with the members playing games like, "Cake Raffle" and "What's the funniest thing under your robes?". Also, Mr. Hat being revealed as a racist is just classic, as is Mr. Garrison standing right by him, of course acting like it's only Mr. Hat who is a racist bastard. But probably the best part of the episode is secondary plot involving the kids' debate. Cartman and Wendy as a team is pretty funny, and it also leads way to one of South Park's most subdued endings. The two develop a strange attraction for one another, one that results in a some pretty wacky situations between the two. Stan and Kyle also get some funny scenes as well, although Cartman and Wendy pretty much steal the show. And the episode's infamous conclusion will have even the biggest Cartman hater feeling bad for him. Yes, feeling bad for a kid that argued for the clubbing of baby seals.
Something You Can Do With Your Finger [5/5]
Plot: One night Cartman has a wild dream and intreprets it as a message from God telling him to form his own boy band so he can make $10,000,000. Cartman soon recruits Stan, Kyle, Kenny and (after tryouts for a fifth member) Wendy to be part of the band and names it Fingerbang. But problems quickly arise as Stan is kept from being part of the boy band by his father due to his mysterious and dark past. But just to add to the trouble, the boys must evade mall security and convince the mall manager to let them perform on stage before Cartman's chance for $10,000,000 slips away.
Review: Cartman's quest for $10,000,000 continues in this hilarious episode that parodies none other than the boy bands that were still ridiculously popular at the time. Of course, since the episode centers around Cartman, there's plenty of guaranteed laughs, and he gets quite a few memorable one liners (the line where Cartman says "oh, so this is a democratic boy band now?" after Wendy is picked to be the 5th member of the group is priceless) and the lengths he's willing to go for money are also quite hilarious. But, there's plenty more past Cartman, including a funny scene where Butters, Ike, and Wendy try out to be the 5th member of the band. The scene stealers of this episode though are two dimwitted mall cops who take their job way too seriously and end up macing just about everyone in their path, including Cartman. There's also a wacky side story in which Stan's dad ends up in a boy band only to be replaced later on, something he takes so seriously that's it impossible not to laugh at it. Although these are a few of the highlights, this episode has so many funny moments that listing them would take hours. Undoubtedly one of the best episodes of South Park period thanks to Cartman and his crazy get rich quick schemes.
Do the Handicapped Go to Hell? [3/5]
Plot: During a sermon, Priest Maxi successfully scares the kids attending Church by telling them that unless they devote their lives to Christ, they will burn in eternal hellfire. Before long, the kids of South Park are attending Sunday school and confessing all of their sins to keep from going to hell. But there's only one problem: Kyle's a Jew and Timmy can only say his name...so will they burn in hell? According to Priest Maxi, yes. Desperate to save their friends, the kids form their own church and try to cleanse Kyle and Timmy of their sins. Meanwhile in the dark depths of hell, Satan is caught in a dangerous love triangle. He now has a new lover, Chris, but as soon things seem to be going good for the two, Saddam Hussein reappears in hell, looking to get Satan back.
Review: Honestly, I've never understood what the fascination with this episode was. Probably the weakest episode of the 4th Season, Do the Handicapped Go to Hell? is devoid of the crazy humor that every other episode of South Park has, and instead focuses on storytelling and satirizing religion. To be fair, the episode does satirize radical religions and radical preachers pretty well, but past that it's a pretty silent episode. There is only one true laugh out loud scene, in which Cartman confesses all his sins starting from 1st grade. Past that, though, very few scenes are truly funny. The whole Satan love triangle thing is probably the weakest part of the whole episode. It worked great in the South Park movie, but here it's just annoying, mostly because the jokes usually fall flat on their face. Despite good intentions, this episode is pretty much flat and stale for most of the time. Luckily, the second part of this 2-parter, titled Probably, redeems this weak episode.
Probably [4/5]
Plot: With the church and Priest Maxi unable to absolve many of the kids of South Park from their sins, Cartman begins his own church to save the kids from eternal hellfire. Meanwhile, Satan succumbs to Saddam and after sleeping with him, tries to break it off with Chris. Soon enough, though, Saddam and Chris go at it, with Satan unsure of who to choose.
Review: A huge step above the previous episode, this solid end to the 2-parter saves the whole thing from being a total waste. Cartman saves this episode with his role as a radical preacher with an unmistakable Southern accent. His sermons are absolutely hilarious, as he slaps everyone he saves and proceeds to cure them, much like the evangelists on TV. The love triangle between Satan, Saddam, and Chris is alot funnier and more chaotic this time around, as opposed to the boring and unfunny one in the first part of this two-parter. There's also a priceless scene where thousands are given a "hell orientation", and where we find out the one religion that does get you into heaven. A good episode that redeems the previous one, although it's not that great.
Fourth Grade [4.5/5]
Plot: It's the first day of Fourth Grade, and things couldn't be worse for the boys of South Park. The new teacher, Ms. Choksondik turns out to be a strict and mean teacher, and the kids immediately take a disliking to her. Cartman reminds everyone of how awesome the third grade was, and the kids concoct a scheme to turn Timmy's wheelchair into a time machine and transport themselves back to the Third Grade. At the same time, Ms. Choksondik, unable to gain control over the classroom, tries to find the fabled Mr. Garrison to learn the ways of controlling the classroom.
Review: Mr. Garrison makes his triumphant return in this priceless episode that proves that the boys in the Fourth Grade are just as funny as the boys in the third grade. Cartman is once again the main draw of the episode, repeatedly telling the teacher to kiss his a*s after being promised that all the kids will do it with him, then being the only one with his pants down. He also has a nice little number about how great third grade was, with marshmallow chairs and a great, caring teacher. We are also introduced to three new minor characters, Ms. Choksondik (I don't think I need to pronounce that one for you), who plays a larger role in later seasons, and two Star Trek geeks who argue between whether or not there were 72 or 73 episodes of the original Star Trek. They decide to use Timmy's wheelchair as a portal device, but when that fails miserably, a hilarious parody of Speed ensues where Timmy must stay above 5 mph or risk exploding. The scenes with Mr. Garrison and Ms. Choksondik are also just as funny, recalling Luke Sywalker's training from The Empire Strikes back. Once again a solid episode that doesn't dissapoint in the slightest.
Trapper Keeper [4.5/5]
Plot: Cartman is thrilled about his new, awesome Trapper Keeper that totally kicks the crap out of Kyle's crappy cheap one. But, a mysterious man who appears on the kid's bus, referring to himself as "Bill Cosby", informs the kids that Cartman's trapper keeper will end up destroying the world in three years, and sets off to destroy it. Of course, Cartman just thinks it's all a set up by Kyle and goes home with his new Trapper Keeper, which ends up trying to take over the world. Meanwhile, Mr. Garrison, appointed as the new Kindergarten teacher, is caught in a dilemma concering the election for class president. Filmore, who has lost repeatedly to Kyle's little brother Ike, won't concede will stop at nothing short of getting his aunt Rosie O' Donnell to help him win.
Review: When you throw Akira, The Terminator, and the 2000 Presidential Election into one giant blender, Trapper Keeper is the result. Once again Matt & Trey take two different stories and use them perfectly. The main story is a riff on sci-fi epics like The Terminator and Akira, with references to movies as far reaching as 2001: A Space Odyssey. This part is mainly for laughs, and it gets the job done quite well, especially after the diabolical trapper keeper fuses with none other than Cartman. "Bill Cosby" is pretty funny as well, as is his strange way of saying the word "human". The second story on the episode features a bunch of unknown kindergarten kids (plus Ike) and Mr. Garrison. If you hadn't guessed already, this whole sequence is a parody of the controversial election and all the crazy things that were going on at the time. Matt & Trey contend that everyone was acting like a bunch of kindergarteners, and to add to the whole allegory, they even add in a girl named Flora who can't make up her mind on who to vote for. While their stance is obviously not without it's flaws (Matt & Trey, according to the episode, say that Bush won Florida and point out those who didn't agree as sore losers), the election subplot is still pretty funny. The guys rip on Rosie O'Donnell pretty harshly as well, with Mr. Garrison telling her off in a way that we'd all love to. Another great episode that perfectly rounds out the second disc.
Plot: The 4th graders are getting ready for the annual South Park Thanksgiving Day play, about the life of Helen Keller. Butters informs the kids that the kindergartener's Thanksgiving play is nothing short of spectacular, and unwilling to be upstaged by a bunch of little kids, show director Cartman gets a professional actor to help them out and gets Kyle and Timmy to go get a turkey that can do tricks. At the turkey farm, though, Timmy only wants the weird, physically deformed one, which he calls "Gobbles". Cartman, needless to say, is none too impressed with Gobbles and enlists a professional, Broadway turkey to perform the tricks on the show. Soon enough, the stage becomes a battleground between Gobbles and the exotic Broadway turkey.
Review: Once again, Matt & Trey get to show off their talent in making musicals, this time on the life of Helen Keller. While obviously not as tightly scripted and catchy as Mark Shaman's work in the feature length movie, the musical numbers are pretty catchy and funny. Hellen Keller! The Musical is one of the few Timmy based episodes in the fourth Season, and once again delivers, making a strong character out of someone who can only say his own name and that of his pet turkey. Timmy and Gobbles make quite a team, both physically and mentally handicapped, but both capable of some impressive feats. The episode is also one of the saddest episodes of the season, especially at the part where Timmy has to let Gobbles go for fear that if the turkey is caught, he will be tortured and experimented upon. Even though the episode is a bit more downbeat than usual, there is quite an abundance of great jokes. The professional actor hired from Denver to help the kids out is absolutely hilarious, breaking into song whenever he gets a chance, and playing a priceless role as Helen Keller when Timmy goes missing during the night of the play. Just seeing him ad libbing songs when they were never written into the script is worth the price of admission alone. Cartman is also solid as the show director, and has one particularly disturbing yet funny scene where we actually get to find out what's going on in his warped, fragile little mind. The rivalry between Gobbles and the pampered, spoiled Broadway turkey are also pretty funny, with Cartman even jumping into the fray and trying to kill Gobbles with a rigged spotlight. All in all, another great Thanksgiving episode.
Pip [5/5]
Plot: Pip is a poor orphan who lives with his sister and her husband Joe. The two find an ad in the paper offering 20 shillings for a child to play with Estella, the daughter of the incredibly rich Miss Havesham. Pip soons falls in love with Estella, but due to his low class, the two can never be married. An anonymous person gives Pip money to move to to London and learn how to be a gentleman, which he uses to impress Estella. But, he soon comes upon a sinister scheme that involves Estella and Miss Havesham.
Review: Probably the most underrated episode of South Park, Pip is a classic in it's own right. Much like the Terrance and Philip episode of Season 2, this episode is disliked mostly because it focuses on a minor character and leaves out the boys in favor of a different type of story. Luckily, now on DVD hopefully more people can gain an appreciation for it. Pip is a twisted adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel Great Expectations, and it is all pretty true to the story except for the crazy ending involving an all out battle involving robot monkeys and more craziness. Malcolm McDowell (A Clockwork Orange) also has an role as the narrator of the story and has a few funny moments to add. The episode plays out like a Monty Python retelling of the story, and is just as funny. The story is also pretty good, adding a more sinister twist to Dickens' novel, and the wacky final battle is also pretty funny. While there's no Cartman to toss around insults and the regulars are all but absent, Pip is still one of the best episodes of the Fourth Season.
Fat Camp [4/5]
Plot: The adults of South Park, unable to cope with Cartman's weight problem, all chip in to send to Eric to Fat Camp so that he can lose weight. Too stubborn to try losing weight, Cartman comes up with an ingenious scheme to fool his family and friends. Meanwhile, Kenny becomes the next national sensation when he does gross and obscene things for money, challenging the throne of Johnny Knoxville and Tom Green.
Reivew: Plain and simple, this is one of the grossest episodes of South Park ever. It's definitely not for the faint of heart, as Kenny goes to extremely disgusting lengths to make money (eating his own puke is one of the less wild ones), and it definitely gets nastier as the episode goes along. Kenny's side story is used to criticize people like Tom Green and Johnny Knoxville (at the time that "Jacka*s" was at the height of it's popularity), who they believe are nothing but wh*res. Speaking of wh*res and prostitues, there's a particularly funny song about the ladies of the night sung by none other than Chef. Cartman's adventures at fat camp aren't quite as notorious as Kenny's story, but it is the funnier part of the two. His desperate attempts at escaping from Fat Camp and his attempts to try and cash in on the fat kids there are classic Cartman moments, and draw equal amounts of laughter. Also, "skinny Cartman" is funny while he lasts. A good epsiode as long as you don't throw up during the notorious final scene of the episode.
The Wacky Molestation Adventure [4.5/5]
Plot: The kids of South Park are all excited about the upcoming "Raging P*ssies" concert, except Kyle. It turns out that his parents won't let him go unless he shovels the snow, cleans his room, and brings Democracy to Cuba. Even after doing all three (yes, he brings Democracy to Cuba), Kyle's parents still won't let him go. Cartman tells Kyle that if he wants to get rid of his parents temporarily, he just needs to tell the police that they "molestered" him. Soon enough, Kyle's parents are off to jail, and he is given the freedom to do anything. Not long afterwards, every kid in South Park phones in their parents, leaving the town to the children. Meanwhile, a couple on their way to Denver get a flat tire and have to stop at South Park. The unsuspecting couple soon find themselves in a war between two rival factions of kids.
Review: One of the most imaginative episodes of South Park, The Wacky Molestation Adventure is pretty much Sexual Harrassment Panda (a pretty much reviled episode of South Park) executed properly. This time, the episode deals with molestation charges that kids put upon their parents as opposed to the ridiculous amounts of sexual harassment charges that the duo were fighting off last year. But, once the parents of South Park are sent to jail to be re-educated, the episode turns into a Children of the Corn parody, offering up a unique premise that allows for some great jokes. Basically, the town is split up into two rival factions of kids, one led by Stan and Kyle, and the other run by none other than Cartman, who has decorated the Mayor's office with pictures of himself and sits in her chair, barking out orders. The two compete in Survivor style fashion in order to gain immunity from the daily sacrifice, a ritual that the kids perform at the foot of the John Elway statue. Any episode that has Stan and Kyle pitted against Cartman is funny, but this episode is especially good now that the stakes are much, much higher. The couple stuck in the middle of the battle are pretty much forgettable characters, only there to complete the Children of the Corn parody, but they are funny while they last. The funniest segment deals with the parents during their re-education. Obviously, these parents have never molested their children, but the corrections officer in charge of training them forces them to look at a picture of a young boy and refrain from thinking sexual thoughts. His stubborness is absolutely priceless. He then forces them to think of activities they can do that don't involve molesting their children. It's a scene that's so dumb, yet so hilarious that it just has to be seen. The Wacky Molestation Adventure is one of the more creative episodes of the 4th season, and certainly one of the most memorable.
A Very Crappy Christmas [5/5]
Plot: It's Christmastime in South Park once again, but this time the spirit of Christmas is completely gone. Kyle, in an attempt to save Christmas, ventures back into the sewers with Stan, Cartman, and Kenny to pay a visit to Mr. Hankey. Turns out that Mr. Hankey now has a wife and kids, which is making it tough for him to spread Christmas cheer. The boys and Mr. Hankey finally decide to make a short movie to bring back the spirit of Christmas, aptly titled, "The Spirit of Christmas".
Review: Hands down the best episode of Disc 3 and the best Christmas episode next to Red Sleigh Down, A Very Crappy Christmas is a hilarious tribute to the original episode of South Park, which was literally made for $300 and took forever to create. Stan, Kyle, Cartman, and Kenny are all forced to go through the excruciating experience of creating an animated feature from scratch, the same as Matt, Trey, and company had to go through to make "The Spirit of Christmas". The episode is also notorious for being a pro-commercialism episode, and as Mr. Mackey puts it, "If we all buy presents, everyone benefits!". Mr. Hankey also makes another appearance, this time with his family which consists of an alcoholic wife and three kids (one who has a peanut stuck in his head). Mr. Hankey and his son Cornwallace take part in a duet called "The Cycle of Poo", which is a direct parody of "The Circle of Life" from The Lion King. Seeing the wildlife of Africa cr*pping themselves to pseudo-African chants and Mr. Hankey's high pitched voice will keep most people laughing well beyond the song's end. Matt & Trey have done some wild songs on the show, but none is quite as off-the-wall and memorable as this song. It's catchy, it's disgusting, and it's strangely informative on how poo is the basis of life. The first time I heard the song, I was almost in tears. The episode also has a nostalgic feel to it, not only for Matt & Trey, but also for the audience as well, especially those who were fans of South Park well before Cartman ever got an anal probe shoved up his a*s. The perfect episode to end the set, and the perfect Christmas episode. Despite 5 pieces of poo being the scene stealers of the show, this episode is anything but a piece of cr*p. In fact, it's one of the best South Park episodes ever made, at least for me.
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The Extras
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South Park: The Complete Fourth Season comes with the same number of extras as it's predecessor's did, which is basically very little. Once again, the biggest draw in terms of special features is the mini-commentaries by Matt & Trey. This was first introduced in the Third Season box set and was quite well-received so it's back on the 4th Season Box Set. The commentaries, instead of lasting a full episode like many show creators have done (i.e. Matt Groenig and Futurama) last 3-5 minutes in which Matt & Trey talk about different issues particular to each episode, such as how they came up with the idea, clashes with censorship issues, and more. They pack quite a bit of information in such a short time, and the commantaries are pretty funny and usually entertaining. Still, the two cut off abruptly and at any given moment, which sort of leaves you hanging at points. They seem like they're about to talk about something one second, and then just jump straight to the following episode the next. Still, the commentaries are just as incisive and funny as they were in Season 3. Of course, past the commentaries, there's nothing else you can really call a special feature. Comedy Central once again packs in previews for other television shows, but calling this an extra would be an overstatement. They're more like commercials than actual extras. Once again, the number of special features here are dissapointing, but the commentary by Matt & Trey is still a welcome addition.
South Park: The Complete Fourth Season continues the trend of making consistently good episodes, much like Season 3, while also improving upon the formula for success. With timely political commentary, slightly better animation, and episodes that continue to break boundaries and make censors cringe, buying South Park: The Complete Fourth Season is an easy choice for fans of animated comedy. The only true drawback to the set is the lack of extras, something that has plagued all four box sets and continues here. But, the quality of the material here greatly outweighs the need for extras, as 17 quality episodes certainly suffice. While the price tag is pretty lofty (as are all DVD box sets), South Park's fourth season is definitely worth it.
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