HOLLYWOOD—God, I seriously can’t believe that the animated series that aimed to push the envelope compared to “The Simpsons” is still around. No, I’m not talking about “Family Guy” or “American Dad,” I’m talking about Comedy Central’s “South Park.”
I so vividly recall when this series first exploded on the tube nearly 20 years ago. It was shocking, depraving, gutsy and something definitely not for children. If you had Cable, you found a way to watch and episode or two when the parents aren’t watching. The countless journeys of Kenny, Eric, Kyle and Stan have gone from pushing the envelope to REALLY pushing the envelope.
So how would the series grab the attention of fans this time around? Well they went after Bruce Jenner aka Caitlyn Jenner. I seriously thought this would be a topic that was off limits, but that is what is so enjoyable about “South Park.” Anything, and anyone is fair game, sorry, but this is a show that truly does not discriminate.
I mean the show even went after Tom Brady and the deflate-gate scandal. Yeah, to honest I think the Patriots are still guilty of rigging those footballs, it’s just a shame that this team who has been repeatedly caught cheating time and time again gets away with it. The episode titled, ‘Stunning and Brave,’ was an exact pull from Caitlyn Jenner’s journey these past few months. The episode opened with a school conference where a Bill Cosby joke was made and Mr. Mackey announced that a new principal had been appointed to the school.
PC Principal arrived on the scene to teach some tolerance to the parents and the kids. It was funny to see the stereotypes and other things that have made history on the series throughout its run be brought to light. Kenny, Kyle, Stan and Butters were stunned when they learned Cartman got detention, but it was later revealed Kyle got detention for talking about Caitlyn Jenner not being a hero. This principal was off the rails and to see the parents bond together to go after such a bully, yet everyone was on eggshells about talking about Caitlyn Jenner at ALL. Oh, the irony because it feels like this is how America has been acting for months.
All the PC college students then started a fraternity, just as the kids asked Cartman to stand up to the new principal and fight the resistance. It was amazing to see the kids push Eric to go back to his old ways and utilized Tom Brady as an example to take action. Cartman and the principal had a conversation in the faculty bathroom where Cartman set-up the principal by using Butter’s underwear.
The series even used the recent scandal involving Jared and Subway to prove a point. To see Cartman get brutally beat up by the principal while the boys watched was hilarity. The residents of South Park were none too pleased with the new PC fraternity in town. Beer, working out and defending groups from oppression, yep, that’s what PC stands for. Randy suffered a massive hangover after pledging to the frat and did his best to speak a bit of knowledge to his wife Sharon.
That was a sight I never expected to see, Cartman lying in a hospital bed. Butters, Kyle, Stan and Kenny wanted his pal to fight to take down their enemy. It was beyond hilarious to see the pledges perform the ‘Whip and Na-Na’ dance; the pop culture references were epic during the episode. While Kyle was sleeping in his bed, he found himself being torturing by the frat for not acknowledging that Caitlyn Jenner is a hero.
Kyle confronted Stan about being tortured by his father and checking his ‘privilege.’ To see Kyle vent about his dislike for Bruce Jenner on “Keeping up with the Kardashians” was poignant. When Cartman learned the PC clan was targeting Kyle, he was none too pleased; of course Cartman is not going to let anyone bully Kyle except for him.
The final moments of the episode culminated with Cartman sending over 200 pregnant women into the frat house and launching tons of tacos at the house, before unleashing tons of refugee children and then unleashing Jared from Subway into the house. I seriously could not stop laughing. Kyle interrupted all the melee by caving into society’s demands by acknowledging Caitlyn Jenner, which resulted in an uproarious applause from everyone! Randy was invited into the PC frat, which gave Eric the last laugh, which is what he planned all along. Classic, purely classic! “South Park” airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. on Comedy Central.
