I often have trouble believing that South Park has been around for as long as it has. It’s not just the passing of 14 years, but the sheer brilliance in the face of an increasingly politically correct society. It’s like watching old episodes of All In The Family. Who believes that Archie Bunker would have any chance of survival in the 21st century? It’s no wonder that Norman Lear has become involved in the series. It’s the last remaining vestige of a once great freedom to be ridiculous and offend. Eric Cartman’s a lot worse than Archie ever was. We always knew that, in his heart, Archie had a soul. Cartman’s a psychopath without a conscience, and in a civilized society we would be terrified of the existence of such a demon spawn…except he’s just so dang funny. Trey Parker and Matt Stone have been walking a tightrope for over 14 years now, and it just doesn’t get old. One of the reasons the show doesn’t grow stale is their ability to make such a quick turnaround on current events. Because the show takes literally days to write and produce, they are quite often the first to address an issue. They had an election-night episode on literally the next day in this season. That means the ideas stay as fresh as the headlines. Finally, you have to credit the expanding universe of good characters. The core group of Cartman, Stan, Kyle, and Kenny were great for a lot of years. You have to admire how much Butters has infused himself into that core. We also have such great semi-regulars as Timmy, Jimmy, Token, and lately the Goth kids. These characters allow the stories to expand in ways the core group could not. I’ve honestly come to think of Butters as one of the core now. It looks like Paramount agrees. We now have a Butters collection called A Little Box Of Butters.
So what about the episodes themselves? Let’s play a little game called: The Good The Bad, and The Ugly, shall we?
The Good:
The Ungroundable: Butters thinks he’s a vampire when he joins the latest vampire craze at school.
Butters’ Bottom Bitch: Butters hasn’t yet kissed a girl, so arrangements are made to pay for a date for Butters. He ends up starting his own “Kissing Company”. Yeah, Butters becomes a pimp.
Butters’ Very Own Episode: That’s right, you’re not watching South Park. Everyone knows it’s Butters. Complete with its own new opening credits.
Professor Chaos: Butters has taken over as the boys’ friend after Kenny dies and does not return. But when the guys fire him and decide to audition for their new next best friend, Butters becomes the arch-villain Professor Chaos for the first time.
Raisins: Butters falls in love with the busty waitress at Raisins thinking she’s flirting with him because she likes him.
AWESOM-O: Cartman pretends to be a robot toy that Butters got from Japan in another one of those jokes that backfire.
The Bad:
The Simpsons Already Did It: This is pretty bad when Cartman crashes an autopsy to get back his “sea men”.
Stupid Spoiled Whore Video Playset: Paris Hilton brings her line of fashion stores to South Park and ends up in a stupid “whore off” with Mr. Slave. That’s Baaaad.
The Coon: There’s a new hero in South Park. He goes by the name of The Coon. Professor Chaos can’t deal with the competition.
The Ugly:
Cartman Sucks: Do we really need to see Cartman’s penis in Butters’ pants? I didn’t think so.
Marjorine: Butters goes undercover as the new girl in town, Marjorine, to find a device Cartman suspects the girls have to see into the future.
Video
Each South Park episode is presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio. Sweet! Expect pretty much the same as the season sets. This stuff is pretty much created in a digital environment, and it shows. Colors are bright, or at least as bright as simulated construction paper gets.
Audio
Don’t expect much from this simple Dolby Digital 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
It’s Butters! A Trivia Game.
There is a ton of swag that fills the “little” box.
ButtersBitch “Bling” chain
What Would Butters Do bracelet
Inspector Butters badge
Scrapbook of press for Butters
A copy of The Poop That Took A Pee including Butters illustrations
Final Thoughts:
Butters rocks, and most of these episodes are high points for the series. Of course, there’s the fact that you can get these episodes on the seasons sets. And what self-respecting South Park fan doesn’t own those? The packaging kind of sucks with the two discs jammed into a cardboard sleeve. It’s a dilemma, for sure. There’s some cool swag to look at. Butters is one of the coolest cats on television. It’s extra money. But, I do like Butters…”Jeepers”.
