The boys are back yet again for another round in one of the longest running animated series on Comedy Central.
 

Overview

SouthPark was an incredibly unique show when it originally aired back in 1997.  Its mix of construction paper animation and excess vulgarity quickly developed a cult following that still continues to this day.  It’s a show you either love or hate.  You either love the way it relentlessly bashes on everything religion, pop culture or politics, or you hate it for the same reason.  Thankfully, I love it and this season’s efforts are some of the best. 

The Season

The recent year in news has given Trey Parker and Matt Stone plenty of topics to work with and they use them with wild abandon.  Nothing is safe – and I mean nothing; parodies and jokes based on The Jonas Brothers, Batman, the economy, Billy Mays, Somali pirates, Ghost Hunters, Michael Jackson, prostitution, wrestling, The Deadliest Catch, child beauty pageants, Glenn Beck, the Japanese and peeing in the pool. Whew.  Expect to see all of this and more!

Because I hate Kanye West so much, I absolutely loved the “Fishsticks” episode.  Throughout it, we learn that Kanye’s ego is so ridiculous he can’t get a joke the rest of the world loves.  It provides a fitting payback for his MTV awards disaster and I applaud the writers for coming up with the idea.  “Margaritaville” is another gem that mixes our current economic crisis with religion in such a way that’s not only funny, but incredibly smart.  I also found “Fatbeard” worthy of note.  It’s mostly due to my love for fairy-tale pirates, but Cartman’s ability to take anything his does too far certainly helped.

Video/Audio

South Park The Complete Thirteenth Season is presented in a widescreen animated format with English Dolby Digital stereo sound.  It looks great in standard def and holds up better than most DVD transfers when watched on an up-convert.  Season thirteen also features some pretty funny songs including “Gay Fish”, “Too Many Minorities at My Water Park” and a number a la We are the World called “Queef Free.”  It’s obvious the high level of production value used in them and they sound great.

Special Features

South Park The Complete Thirteenth Season on DVD comes as a three disc collection with all fourteen uncensored episodes and the following:

• Seven Deleted Scenes
• Inside Xbox: A Behind the Scenes Tour of South Park Studios featurette

The deleted scenes run about seven minutes and feature an alternate ending to “The Coon” as well as “Fishticks” that are just awesome.  In addition to that, there is an incredibly funny pair of scenes from “Pinewood Derby” that will bring a smile to your face.  The Inside Xbox tour runs about four minutes and was taken straight from the streaming Xbox live presentation that aired a few months ago.  It has Major Nelson taking a quick run through the studio showing off the animators, sound coordinators and production designers.

Overall

There were so many great episodes this season that choosing the best episode would be like choosing which child of yours you like best – it’s that difficult.  There’s nothing in the recent headlines that was left unturned and it’s what keeps this show incredibly fresh and still hilarious after 13 seasons.  Don’t miss this one.

ComicsOnline gives South Park The Complete Thirteenth Season on DVD 4.5 out of 5 dead dolphins.

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