Plot: What’s it about?
The second season of South Park left very little to the imagination as it was just as “in your face” as the initial season. Coming off the first season’s success, it would be easy to dismiss the show as a fluke and it would then be cast into the regions of other failed shows (Ren and Stimpy and The Family Guy)? However, after watching the included documentary that interviewed Matt Stone and Trey Parker, its clear that they really don’t give a care in the world what anyone thinks of the show. The animation had been changed from the somewhat archaic method of cardboard cutouts and photographing them to make it look like a television show. No, now it’s all done with computers to make it look like it’s done the way it originally was to begin with. Make sense? Thought not. While the first season gave us episodes like “Cartman Gets and Anal Probe” and “Mr. Hanky the Christmas Poo”; the second installment gave us classics like “Chef’s Salty Chocolate Balls” and “Cartman’s Mom is Still a Dirty Slut”. Not exactly family viewing material, but then again they never intended it to be.
Clearly no one race, religion or physical ailment is safe from the wrath of these writers of South Park. Hell, they’d probably have a field day with this website if they knew it existed! What separates South Park from other television shows is the fact that it’s A)Animated B)Is on cable and not a network show and C)they get away with a lot more than other shows because of the animation and the fact that the show “stars” kids. Odd, but true if you ask me. My favorite show of all time is The Simpson’s, but even I have to take my hat off to the creators of South Park. Yes, the humor is juvenile and does get a bit old after a while, but no matter what the cost, they keep coming back and the show still has a fresh look and feel even now (it’s in it’s sixth season). The characters age, unlike The Simpsons, but that point can be debated as to whether it’s good or bad. To sum it all up, the second season of South Park is on DVD and odds are that if you’ve read this far down, then you’re the least bit interested in it. Yes, the humor is gross, vile and even offensive to me at times (and I’ve a thick skin), but darn if it isn’t funny more times than not. The only thing better than trying to figure out what the show will tackle next is waiting for that next new episode.
Video: How does it look?
It’s almost a joke as to how low budget these episodes look. Essentially they’re cardboard cutouts that have a somewhat “cartoonish” look to them. Each episode is presented in a full-frame transfer that reflects the original aspect ratio. For the most part, the colors are very bright and vivid, even surpassing broadcast quality (there happened to be an episode airing on Comedy Central while I was doing my review, so I switched back and forth from Satellite to DVD to compare the two). There’s not a real problem with edge enhancement, considering the source, and all of the other factors that are normally considered are thrown out the window here as we don’t really know what to expect. Bottom line, if you have seen the other South Park DVD’s, then this is how these episodes look. No major complaints here.
Audio: How does it sound?
Again, only the movie was presented in Dolby Digital 5.1, but this is the second season we’re talking about here! All episodes are in Dolby Surround, which more than serves the purpose. You’ll hear each and every verbal slur as they’re constantly dished out and all of the voices and sound effects are intact. There is some depth to the tracks, however, as it tends to supercede what we would call “acceptable” when it comes to animation. Not a lot else to say here, it sounds pretty good and I wasn’t let down at all.
Supplements: What are the extras?
The second season of South Park only contains two supplements. First off is the full video of Chef’s Salty Chocolate Balls. For those of you who couldn’t get enough the first time around (in the episode) this is your chance to play it anytime you want all you want. The real “meat”, though, comes from the featurette entitled “Goin’ Down to South Park”. I seem to remember seeing this either on Comedy Central or another South Park DVD, but it’s still pretty darn funny and yet informative at the same time. In it, Trey and Matt are interviewed while sipping champagne in their hot tub (with a random oriental man who never says a word). They reflect on the show’s creation and how it got started and how they have handled success. On the more technical side of things, we do get a peek at how the episodes were made as opposed to how they are now made (“now” being 1999, when this aired). Though they were probably at their peak then, the show has held on and I’m sure that Matt and Trey’s egos have still grown. Running nearly an hour, this gives the viewer a great overview of what to expect from the show, but also how it began and what to possibly expect from future episodes.
