Season 7 of South Park has all the earmarks of a successful show trying to return to its roots. With Kenny back, we are once again treated to multiple deaths, although not on a weekly basis. The very first episode of the season recalls the show’s Comedy Central pilot episode. Cartman is once again struggling with his Anal Probe incident. There are tons of homage elements to South Park’s origins. Could it be that Stone and Parker have decided to satire themselves? Season 7 revitalizes a show that quite honestly had …escended to too many cheap shots and over the top disgust to stay fresh. South Park is back and as good as it ever was in Season 7. Some of the highlights include: Cartman sings gospel music for Jesus, Jimmy and Timmy mix it up with the “Bloods” and the “Crips”, Cartman returns to law enforcement, and Gay Pride reaches South Park.
Video
Each South Park episode is presented in its original television full frame format. Expect pretty much the same as previous seasons. There is the occasional high end animation, and it is spectacular. I’m not sure if that’s a testament to quality or a result of contrasting it to the normal South Park animation. There aren’t any blemishes or artifacts. This stuff is pretty much created in a digital environment, and it shows. Colors are bright, or at least as bright as construction paper gets.
Audio
Don’t expect much from this simple Dolby Digital 2.0 track.. Still, what the heck do we need fancy surrounds for on South Park. As long as I can hear Cartman, life is good. I do wish that they would avoid the bleep noises on home releases. We’re fair warned about language, so what’s the point?
Special Features
Sadly, all we get are about 3 minutes per episode of Stone and Parker in what they call “commentary minis”.
Final Thoughts
The recent hype over Isaac Hayes leaving the show has put South Park back in the news quite a bit as of late. In case you missed it. Hayes was apparently unhappy that a recent episode took some shots at Scientology. Suddenly Hayes, our beloved Chef, is sensitive to religious beliefs being satired. Correctly so, Stone and Parker point out that South Park has been cutting on religious beliefs since day one. Hayes never complained when Jews, Catholics, Mormons, and pretty much every faith there is were being lampooned. This smells a little like a publicity stunt to me. I find it curious that all of this happens just days before the Season 10 premier and a new DVD set is released. If the rift is real, it doesn’t speak well for Hayes or Scientology in general. I guess maybe it’s OK to criticize other faiths, but when a shot is fired at your own beliefs it’s “Screw you guys, I’m going home”.
Special Features List
- Mini-commentaries on each episode by creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone
