South Park (Season 23)

South Park felt largely like a show running out of steam in its 23rd season. There were a few good episodes mixed in there, but for the most part, it was disappointing.

Among the more ambitious episodes was "Band in China", a shot at various people and corporations selling out their principles to do business in China. I remember that one being well timed with the NBA / Hong Kong controversy, and the Winnie the Pooh mix-in was excellent. The episode "Shots", which involved Cartman behaving like an actual pig/farm animal whenever he was faced with getting a required immunization, was probably the funniest installment of the season. Finally, the "Board Girls" episode focused on PC Principal, Strong Woman, and the PC Babies. It stirred up controversy while attacking trigger-happy applications of the term "transphobe" and mixing in a solid Macho Man Randy Savage parody.

The rest of the season was basically either mundane or flat out boring. South Park struggles when it tries to stretch 10 minutes worth of material into a 22-minute episode, and their rougher installments of Season 23 followed that pattern. "Basic Cable" got in plenty of great jokes about cable company customer service but was otherwise fairly dull. "Christmas Snow" successfully poked fun of the dependence of many adults on alcohol and drugs to get into the Christmas spirit, but eventually had to lean on tired Tegridy Farms schtick and lackluster re-appearances from long-time South Park characters Santa and Jesus to get through the full episode.

Finally, "Turd Burglars" introduced the concept of a "fecal transplant" which becomes a highly desired procedure of the women of South Park. From reading reviews, I'm likely in the minority, but I hated this episode, and the one-note jokes and Tom Brady "Spice Melange" plot did virtually nothing for me. I laughed when the other women instantly turned on Sheila when she left the lunch table but that was basically the only thing amusing about the episode.

I'm probably never going to drop South Park because their ability to tackle current events is unique and refreshing. They're probably going to continue to churn out gems here or there, but I get the impression that Trey Parker and Matt Stone are getting a little burned out. There's no shame in that after a show has been on the air this long, but after the brilliant resurgence offered by Season 19, it's a little disappointing that virtually all of the momentum has worn off.

Episode Grades:

1. "Mexican Joker": B
2. "Band in China": A-
3. "Shots!!!": B+
4. "Let Them Eat Goo": C+
5. "Tegridy Farms Halloween Special": B
6. "Season Finale": B
7. "Board Girls": B+
8. "Turd Burglars": D
9. "Basic Cable": B-
10. "Christmas Snow": C

Season Grade: B-