South Park: Season 15 [DVD]

After last year's disappointing season 14 release which notoriously claimed to be complete despite omitting the headline grabbing "200" and "201" we finally get a South Park release to be excited about. Season 15 proved a difficult time for South Park fans. The internet was full of rumours and worrying stories. Due to their commitment to their Tony Award winning musical "The Book of Mormon" Trey Parker and Matt Stone were unable to hold their traditional writers' retreat, they were reported as describing the show as a nightmare to make and then there was a mid season finale that left many of us wondering whether South Park was coming to an end. But it wasn't the end. South Park will continue to at least season 20 but for now let's concentrate on season 15. This set contains the fourteen episodes that make up the complete fifteenth season. The episodes included here are:

"HumancentiPad" The season opener spoofs the movie "The Human Centipede", plays on modern paranoia about the technological age and sees Cartman at his brattiest best. It's not the best episode of South Park by a long stretch but there are plenty of laughs to be had. The funniest parts are Cartman being Cartman and the way he treats his mum leaves you wondering why anyone wants to have kids. And we can all learn something from this episode. Remember to always read the terms and conditions before agreeing to anything because if you don't you've got no right to complain when a Japanese man is forced to use your mouth as a lavatory.

"Funnybot" A rather weak episode. Jimmy offends Germany at his comedy awards after declaring the Germans the least funny people in the world. In retaliation the Germans create Funnybot the robotic comedian it's not long before things go pear shaped though. The episode is largely predictable and did very little for me.

"Royal Pudding" Another weak episode that takes aim at last years Royal Wedding. The main storyline in Canada did nothing for me but the substory with Kyle having to fill in for Ike in his school play raises a few smiles. A largely forgettable episode.

"T.M.I." Cartman is on the rampage when he believes the school has posted the length of his little chap for everyone to see. Cartman when he's angry is funny and add an angry Randy Marsh and there's a few laughs to be had but the series still isn't firing on all cylinders.

"Crack Baby Athletic Association" For me this is the turning point in quality for this season. Cartman is making money from crack babies and the normally morally superior Kyle is on board. The Cartman/Kyle relationship often provides the strongest material in South Park and it is quite brilliant seeing Kyle parroting Cartman's justification for their terrible behaviour. Cartman is on fine form once again and the Slash substory is one of my favourite South Park gags ever.

"City Sushi" In this episode things just get downright weird. Having been largely sidelined this season Butters returns to centre stage managing to start a race war between City Wok and the newly opened City Sushi. We learn the shocking truth about Lu Kim from City Wok in one of the strangest stories in the show's history with an ending reminiscent of The Simpsons "The Principal and the Pauper" in that the revelation is unlikely to ever be mentioned again. It's really quite an odd episode and I'm not quite sure it works.

"You're Getting Old" The midseason finale that left the fans speechless. As Stan turns ten he finds his attitude to life changing and becomes distant to his friends. Despite an almost constant stream of faeces based visual and audio gags this is perhaps the most touching episode of South Park. By the end of the episode everything has changed and many of us were left questioning whether we'd seen the end of South Park forever. I think this is probably the strongest episode of the run and one of the all time greats.

"Ass Burgers" This episode picks up where the first half of the season left off. Stan's life is still a mess and he turns to alcohol to deal with his depression. Back in South Park and Cartman has found the way to make great tasting burgers that'll turn your stomach. After months of speculation on how the previous episodes cliff-hanger would be resolved it is slightly disappointing to see the reset button hit but it's done in such a playful way with a healthy dose of self deprecation from Parker and Stone it's easily forgivable. It perhaps doesn't quite match "You're getting old" but it's another good episode.

"The Last of the Meheecans" The boys play Texans Vs. Mexicans and in true South Park fashion what starts out as a children's game soon escalates into a national event as Cartman goes to the extremes of joining the Border Patrol to defeat Butters. Perhaps not as profound as the previous two episodes but it's a solid effort. Butters steals the show once again.

"Bass to Mouth" Gerbil Lemmiwinks makes his return in an episode that addresses WikiLeaks, bullying and Cartman's hate of Selena Gomez. Another fairly strong episode it's not quite up to the level of the previous episodes but is enjoyable none the less.

"Broadway Bro Down" This is one of the standout episodes of the entire show's history. Joined by "The Book of Mormon" co-writer Robert Lopez and finally giving us a Randy centric episode produces something quite special. The songs in South Park have always been a highlight of the show and they are used masterfully here. Randy Marsh discovering the true joy of musical theatre is sheer genius and the substory involving Shelly is rather touching.

"1%" Cartman returns to centre stage and gets his own "Your Getting Old" style episode as we delve to into the sick and twisted mind of a very disturbed little boy. The episode might not be as laugh out loud funny as some episodes but the strength lies in developing characters that we've known for years.

"A History Channel Thanksgiving" The boys uncover the secret alien origins of Thanksgiving in another daft but largely enjoyable episode. It's unlikely to be amongst anyone's all time favourite episodes but it's an amusing way to spend twenty minutes.

"The Poor Kid" The season finale sees the return of Mysterion and Cartman assuming the role of the poorest kid in town. There are a few touching scenes with Kenny and his sister, we learn that agnostics drink Dr. Pepper and that Cartman's bullying nature is so deeply ingrained that when he can no longer bully Kenny for being poor he turns on himself. It's another strong episode and a good ending to the season.

For me South Park's heyday was between seasons 5 to 10 and season 15 is perhaps the best season since the tenth. Season 10 for me is the most consistent with only one episode (that god awful Towlie episode) being below par. The seasons that have followed that have all had their fair share of standout episodes but for me Season 15 has the strongest set of episodes after a fairly slow start to the run. If you're a long time fan of South Park there's a lot to enjoy here but if you're new to the show you'll want to start with the earlier seasons.

Here in one box set, spread over three dvds, are all fourteen episodes of the fifteenth season of cult tv cartoon show South Park.

Languages and subtitles are as follows:

Languages: English, German.

Subtitles: English, Dutch, German.

This is an odd season because whilst there aren't any poor episodes some of them just don't have that certain spark. Some of them, however, really do hit the spot.

'Humancentipad' is a parody of horror movie the human centipede, when not paying attention to the small print in an itunes contract leaves Kyle as part of a horrifying experiment. It's a solid season opener. Which raises a good few smiles. But not many laugh out loud moments. With the expection of the final few seconds.

'Funnybot' sees Jimmy insult German's sense of humour. And the nation retaliates by building a robot who becomes the ultimate comedian. Another one that will raise smiles but not split your sides. And jokes about Tyler Perry will fall flat if you're not familiar with his work.

'Royal pudding' sees a royal wedding in canada disrupted when the bride is kidnapped. Ike joins in the hunt to find her. Whilst Mister Mackey's kindergarten plays runs into problems. Also fun but not desperately funny, although one moment late on that brings it all together is pretty good.

'T.M.I' sees comparisons of male anatomy land several of the characters in anger management. And will also make you smile if not laugh out loud.

'Crack baby athletic association' has Cartman running a league of crack addicted baby athletes. This is a step up in laugh out loud moments from the previous four episodes although it may help to have some knowledge of american sports.

The season then does hit the mark with 'City Sushi' an episode where the four main characters don't feature. But it's a great one for Butters as he get mistakenly diagnosed with multiple personality disorder, while rivalry between the City Wok guy and the owner of a Japanese restaurant gets out of hand. This is a very funny episode with some very clever plotting.

'You're getting old' sees Stan become ten. And turn old and cynical. Worth it for a parody of movie trailers which is one of the funniest things the show has ever done. And some brave writing.

'Ass burgers' continues the story on from the end of you're getting old. And takes a long time to get going. But it does throw in a good movie parody and a clever ending, although it's back to the first four episodes of the season in terms of humour.

'The last of the Meheecans' is a Butters v Cartman episode as the former accidentally becomes a hero to an entire nation. Fun but not laugh out loud funny.

'Bass to mouth' brings back gerbil Lemmiwinks as he's the only hope to stop evil gossip mongering rodent Lemmiwinks. Whilst the school staff need Cartman to do something for them. Not a classic but a very funny episode.

'Broadway Bro down' is centred on Randy Marsh and the four main characters once again barely feature. As Randy's discovery of the hidden subtext in Broadway musicals leads to him wanting to get in on the act. Despite some good music and a nice little subplot involving Stan's sister, it's only fitfully funny.

But then the season finishes with a strong run of three:

'1%' throwing in school fitness, occupy protests and Cartman's stuffed animals being murdered, this balances three plotlines very well and makes you laugh a lot.

'A history channel thanksgiving' parodies sensationalist history documentaries and a recent superhero movie and is a lot of fun.

'The poor kid' sees Kenny and his siblings taken into an unusual foster home when his parents are arrested as a part of a reality tv show, and Cartman goes off rhe rails without Kenny around to pick on. Very funny with some great parody tv and a memorable ending, it's a great finish to the season. Although it does make constant references to a scandal at an american university that didn't make the news in this country, so you may want to google it to find out what they're on about.

On disc one you will find some extras:

'Six days to air: the making of South Park.' A forty minute long documentary that shows how the first episode of the season was put together, following it through all the stages of production. This is comprehensive, involving, and fascinating, and well worth a look.

A similiar feature about the episode City Sushi just has a few highlights from the production and doesn't last more than a few minutes.

There are also seven deleted scenes, from episodes spread throughout the season. They have to be watched all in a row, and last for four minutes in total when you do this. Some are unfinished animation and thus some moments are storyboards instead. They're all quite decent scenes and one from a history channel thanksgiving is a useful bit of exposition that explains something that wasn't clear in the final cut.

As ever each episode has a short commentary from the creators of the show. These never last longer than five minutes, and are often funny and informative. Some of the ones on the early episodes, like the episodes themselves, don't quite spark, but some of the later ones are interesting and fun.
On the basis of this season South Park may be getting old, and it may not be the most perfect season ever, but there's clearly life left in it yet.

15 series later and a still funny! Bought as a gift, and is a great looking boxset also. Would recommend