Goin' down to South Park... Season 10 discussion

[Crapshoot]

I like Family Guy, but its simply not as funny as it used to be - and its become a parody of itself.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by Crapshoot

Family Guy, its [sic] simply not funny.

Fixed.

[stevew]

I hate family guy, but it isnt as bad as drawn together. The Drawn Together creators need to be drawn and quartered, the Family Guy creators can just choose exile.

[ISiddiqui]

I enjoy Drawn Together. I can't believe the stuff they get away with... even though I realize its cable!

[cartman]

Wow, they really do have deep contempt for Seth McFarlane and Family Guy. So much so that this turned into a two part episode, which was a complete surprise. A nice bounce back from last week's disappointing episode.

[cartman]

Dola,

Wow, they did win a Peabody! I wasn't sure if the blurb during the commercial was serious or not.

hxxp://www.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,18736,00.html?fdnews

"South Park," "Galactica" Peabody'd
by Josh Grossberg
Apr 5, 2006, 2:20 PM PT

The Peabodys are finally respecting Cartman's authority.

The foul-mouthed cartoon cutouts of Comedy Central's South Park earned their first Peabody Award Wednesday.

The folks handing out television's most esteemed prize heralded the boundary-pushing 'toon's' brain trust, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, for continuing to poke fun of all "that is self-important and hypocritical in the American life, regardless of race, creed, color or celebrity status." ('Tis true, as Tom Cruise, the Virgin Mary and the dearly departed Chef can attest.)

"We see it as a bold show that deals with issues of censorship and social and cultural topics," Peabody Awards director Horace Newcomb told E! Online. "My line on South Park is that it properly offends everybody by design and by doing so it reminds us all that it's probably a good idea to be tolerant. It's also a very inventive and clever show."

Meanwhile, Sci Fi Channel's Battlestar Galactica, a hit reimagining of the campy 1970s series about a ragtag fugitive fleet on a lonely quest to start life anew on Earth, also brought home its first Peabody--something the original never did.

"It treats contemporary issues from an angle that really make you think about those issues…issues of race, gender, all those things are dealt with in that context," said Newcomb. "In a way it's almost a counterpart to South Park which just throws everything up there, while Battlestar considers them in a dramatic narrative."

Those two shows weren't the only Peabody virgins. FX scored a trophy for its Emmy-winning cop drama, The Shield, while the Sundance Channel won for The Staircase, an eight-part documentary by French filmmaker Jean Xavier de Lestrade about a North Carolina murder case.
"battlestar"

Also Peabody'd were ABC's genre-bending Boston Legal and Fox's cantankerous House. The David E. Kelley series about the tribulations of a Beantown law firm "somersaults from comedy to drama to stinging political commentary with acrobatic assurance and undisguised glee," per its citation, while the Hugh Laurie-led series was lauded for being the "most distinctive new doctor drama in a decade."

HBO won for three programs: Yesterday, a South African-produced film about a young mother diagnosed with AIDS; Children of Beslan, a documentary coproduced by the BBC focusing on the aftermath of a terrorist takeover of a Russian elementary school in September 2004; and Classical Baby, which was singled out as "an inventive, whimsical marriage of animation to classical music."

Showtime earned an award for Edge of America, a telefilm inspired by real events about an African-American teacher-coach who takes a job at an Indian reservation school in Utah.

Another notable documentary to garner a Peabody was No Direction Home--Bob Dylan, Martin Scorsese's four-hour exploration of the legendary folk-rocker using archival interviews, home-movie footage and concert film that was coproduced by the BBC and PBS' American Masters series.

On the news side, with Katrina dominating the headlines for months on end, the judges showered both NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams and CNN with kudos for their multifaceted efforts to cover the story. They also honored several Gulf Coast stations for coverage of the storm and its aftermath.

Now in its 65th year, the Peabodys are presented by the University of Georgia's Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication and recognize excellent in broadcasting and cable. Unlike the Emmys, there are no categories, just a list of winners picked by a 15-member advisory board comprised of journalists and academics.

Hosted by The Daily Show's Jon Stewart, this year's awards ceremony is scheduled for June 5 at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City. For a complete list of winners go to www.peabody.uga.edu.

[sabotai]

It's so hard to tell when Parker and Stone are being serious and just messing around. I wouldn't be surprised if this whole Family Guy fued they seem to be starting is just fun and games.

[ISiddiqui]

And their parody of Family Guy was SPOT ON.

[Schmidty]

Originally Posted by Crapshoot

I like Family Guy, but its simply not as funny as it used to be - and its become a parody of itself.

I haven't watched this episode of SP yet, but funny is funny, and Family Guy still makes me laugh my ass off, regardless of the "freshness".

People get snooty and over-analyze, but it doesn't make the subject any less effective.

[Galaxy]

Problem with FG is they lack consistency. They've have some GREAT eposides, and some duds. I think Peter's character has been dumb down a little too much.

[Schmidty]

Originally Posted by Galaxy

Problem with FG is they lack consistency. They've have some GREAT eposides, and some duds. I think Peter's character has been dumb down a little too much.

People said the same thing about Homer after the Simpson's first year. That obviously wasn't the case.

[Galaxy]

Originally Posted by Schmidty

People said the same thing about Homer after the Simpson's first year. That obviously wasn't the case.

FG had three seasons under its belt.

[Schmidty]

Originally Posted by Galaxy

FG had three seasons under its belt.

Either way, it still makes me (and a lot of others) laugh.

People, especially messageboard people, pick things apart to the point of hating everything if they want to. If people tried hard enough, they would do the same thing to SP. And they did a few years ago, when it was just about gross-out, no substance garbage.

Everything's cyclical and fad-oriented. It's an internet pack mentality thing.

[Galaxy]

Originally Posted by Schmidty

Either way, it still makes me (and a lot of others) laugh.

People, especially messageboard people, pick things apart to the point of hating everything if they want to. If people tried hard enough, they would do the same thing to SP. And they did a few years ago, when it was just about gross-out, no substance garbage.

Everything's cyclical and fad-oriented. It's an internet pack mentality thing.

True....FG is my favorite show.

[Rizon]

Haha, great dig at the Muhammed cartoon uproar, while still getting digs in at Scientology and Comedy Central plus poking friendly fun at Family Guy. Brilliant.

[JeeberD]

Yup, the genuis of last night's show was getting all three topics in without making it overkill. Outstanding episode, and I can't wait to see next week's show...

[stevew]

Cartman did a damn good job of putting into words exactly how I feel about the Family Guy.

[stevew]

dola,
Man, i hope they rip on McKinney at some point this season.

[Qwikshot]

Simpsons already made fun of Family Guy.

[Rizon]

Originally Posted by Qwikshot

Simpsons already made fun of Family Guy.

"Simpsons did it!"

[Daimyo]

The funny thing is that South Park already had Muhammad on the show back in season 5 or so with the Super Best Friends episode.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

What will be interesting is to see how the rest of the season ratings hold up.

Well, let's see here, ratings for the week ending April 2nd (I'm probably not going to do this every week, I just happened to think of it today when I was catching up on some reading).

South Park
Wk of 3/26 Total Households = 19th (2,487,000)
Wk of 4/2 Total Households = Not in top 25 (<2,472,000)

Wk of 3/26: P 18-34 = 3rd (1,589,000)
Wk of 4/2: P18-34 = 4th (1,562,000)

Wk of 3/26 P 18-49 = 4th (2,349,000)
Wk of 4/2 P 18-49 = 5th (2,242,000)

Wk of 3/26 P 25-54 = 7th (1,661,000)
Wk of 4/2 P25-54 = 3rd (1,743,000)

So, minor slippage in the younger demos, a little growth in the older demos.
Hopefully I'll think of this again next week, because if the episode from wk of 4/2 was the letdown some in this thread indicated, it'd be interesting to see if it cost them audience the following week (which, I think, would be last night's Family Guy episode)

[terpkristin]

Hmm...
I liked last week, but I hope tonight's lives up to the build-up from last week.

/tk

[terpkristin]

A network pulling a show is a sign that it might go off the air...


Sound familiar?

And this Bart Simpson thing...hmm...

/tk

[General Mike]

Cowabunga motherf*cker.

[DeToxRox]

lmao! amazing. god damn amazing.

[terpkristin]

PRIMA DONNA MANATEES!

/tk

[sterlingice]

Um... remember this thread and this horribly misguided thread?

This was Matt and Trey putting their collective feet up the asses of the people who even think the race for #2 primetime cartoon of the past 15 years is close. Sure, the Simpsons just isn't what it was, but it's in bonus time as it was the best primetime cartoon, if not show, ever after about 8 seasons and nothing it can do now as it dies a long, slow death can take that away.

Genius, genius episodes of South Park the past two weeks. The only complaint I have is that it seemed they only had about 42 of 48 minutes and had the stupid fight and bike race scenes go entirely too long to fill up time.

SI

[DeToxRox]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

Um... remember this thread and this horribly misguided thread?

This was Matt and Trey putting their collective feet up the asses of the people who even think the race for #2 primetime cartoon of the past 15 years is close. Sure, the Simpsons just isn't what it was, but it's in bonus time as it was the best primetime cartoon, if not show, ever after about 8 seasons and nothing it can do now as it dies a long, slow death can take that away.

Genius, genius episodes of South Park the past two weeks. The only complaint I have is that it seemed they only had about 42 of 48 minutes and had the stupid fight and bike race scenes go entirely too long to fill up time.

SI

Indeed. And I believe those fight/chase scenes were digs at some of the FG scenes where Peter clutches his knee or the chicken fights, so they had purpose.

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by DeToxRoxDVHStyle

Indeed. And I believe those fight/chase scenes were digs at some of the FG scenes where Peter clutches his knee or the chicken fights, so they had purpose.

Yep... my same thought too... the utterly dumb ass overwrought, "just end it already" crap in the Family Guy being parodied.

[LloydLungs]

I think the SP/Family Guy/Simpsons stuff was just a subplot though. Main point of the episode was an elaborate swipe at Comedy Central over the censorship of the Scientology and Bloody Mary episodes. They've targeted a lot of people over the years but I believe this was the first time they've clobbered CC itself.

[sabotai]

Bloody Mary episode?

[JeeberD]

I was about to flip out at the beginning when they said it was preempted for T&P.

"NOT AGAIN, YOU BASTARDS!!!" :o

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by JeeberD

I was about to flip out at the beginning when they said it was preempted for T&P.

"NOT AGAIN, YOU BASTARDS!!!" :o

I actually called that one. I turned to my wife and said "watch, they'll do the T&P thing like they did with the Cartman's dad episode" because it was just too easy of a joke to pass up.

SI

[LloydLungs]

Originally Posted by sabotai

Bloody Mary episode?

The episode involving the menstruating Mary statue that the Catholics successfully got Comedy Central to pull.

[CamEdwards]

Wow. According to Steve Spruiell, the failure to portray Mohammed wasn't part of the gag.

http://media.nationalreview.com/094921.asp

[JeeberD]

That's what I figured. It was done in a way that made me feel they were being dead serious and not joking about it...

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by CamEdwards

Wow. According to Steve Spruiell, the failure to portray Mohammed wasn't part of the gag.

http://media.nationalreview.com/094921.asp

Can anyone blame them?

[Bad-example]

I hope they are done with their axe grinding for a while and get back to being funny.

[CamEdwards]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

Can anyone blame them?

Well, yeah. Considering what the past two episodes have been about.

As for them being getting back to being funny, I thought they addressed that in an amusing way last night. In fact, I've thought this season has been incredibly funny while still being topical. I think they're at the top of their game right now.

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by CamEdwards

Well, yeah. Considering what the past two episodes have been about.

It has been about trying to get the Comedy Central studios burned to the ground?

[Telle]

Originally Posted by CamEdwards

Wow. According to Steve Spruiell, the failure to portray Mohammed wasn't part of the gag.

http://media.nationalreview.com/094921.asp

That is a rather amazing bit of irony.

[CamEdwards]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

It has been about trying to get the Comedy Central studios burned to the ground?

More like not being afraid to poke fun at anything and everything without fear of having your studio burned to the ground.

As Kyle said to the President of Fox last night: "You can't do what he wants just because he's the one threatening you with violence!"

[Daimyo]

Are they going to pull or censor the Super Best Friends episode now?

[hawk4669]

Originally Posted by Daimyo

Are they going to pull or censor the Super Best Friends episode now?

Sadly, since no one really "noticed" (in the negative sense) when it was new, they'll probably just never show it again and allow it to fade to memory.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by CamEdwards

More like not being afraid to poke fun at anything and everything without fear of having your studio burned to the ground.

As Kyle said to the President of Fox last night: "You can't do what he wants just because he's the one threatening you with violence!"

Maybe it's just what I read and focus on, but the whole Muslim aspect was completely amazing to me. The digs at Family Guy, Scientology and Comedy Central were all great, but the fact that the only principled defense of free speech against Islamic terrorists comes from South Park is pretty stunning.

[PackerFanatic]

Matt Stone and Trey Parker certainly have balls and I give them props for what they did with these last two episodes. I haven't watched nearly as much South Park as I would have liked to in the past and I will definitely keep on watching more.

Granted, I love Family Guy and it was sad to see them dig it, lol...was still great shit.

Gotta love american television

[terpkristin]

As Matt and Trey likely hoped, this episode has received tons of comments. Just found this one on BoingBoing:

Xeni Jardin: William Donohue of the Catholic League is not a big fan of South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker. This week's Easter episode -- with a censored Mohammed, and Christ crapping all over Bush and the American flag -- didn't make his heart grow fonder, but it sure gave him a good case of pottymouth:

"'The ultimate hypocrite is not Comedy Central. That's their decision not to show the image of Muhammad, not Parker and Stone,' he said. 'Like little whores, they'll sit there and grab the bucks. They'll sit there and they'll whine and they'll take their shot at Jesus. That's their stock in trade.'"

/tk

[CamEdwards]

Yeah, it's been amusing to me to see the reaction from some conservatives. They're not sure whether to wet the bed or lead a cheer.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by terpkristin

As Matt and Trey likely hoped, this episode has received tons of comments. Just found this one on BoingBoing:


Xeni Jardin: William Donohue of the Catholic League is not a big fan of South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker. This week's Easter episode -- with a censored Mohammed, and Christ crapping all over Bush and the American flag -- didn't make his heart grow fonder, but it sure gave him a good case of pottymouth:

"'The ultimate hypocrite is not Comedy Central. That's their decision not to show the image of Muhammad, not Parker and Stone,' he said. 'Like little whores, they'll sit there and grab the bucks. They'll sit there and they'll whine and they'll take their shot at Jesus. That's their stock in trade.'"

/tk

If that's really what he took away from the episode, this dude should probably sit the next few plays out.