South Park - 25 Years On

  Season 2 Episode 7 – City on the Edge of Forever (Flashbacks) A clip show… South Park style! Original Airdate 17 th June 1998 Guest Stars Henry Winkler (of Happy Days fame) as the Kid-Eating Monster Jay Leno as Himself Brent Musburger as Scuzzlebutt's leg Synopsis After Ms. Crabtree’s bus crashes, the boys reminisce on their past adventures, while Ms. Crabtree has her own adventures in the world of stand-up comedy. Kenny's Death Taken by the big black monster and never seen again. Bonus death – killed by Fonzie in a flashback. My Thoughts Back Then I knew what a clip show was, in large part thanks to the several clip shows of my then-favourite show The Simpsons, so watching this on video in late 2004, aged 13, I knew what I was getting into, and even though I knew the clips were altered, it didn’t stand out for me that much. So I liked it, but this is one of the less memorable episodes from Season 2, the whole bus on a cliff story stuck with me thou...

  Season 2 Episode 6 – The Mexican Staring Frog of Southern Sri Lanka South Park gets caught up in the TV ratings war of the century! Original Airdate 10 th June 1998 Synopsis Jimbo and Ned are convinced the Mexican Staring Frog of Southern Sri Lanka is real, and their TV show soars in the ratings, while rival show Jesus and Pals is struggling. And there’s a bit about the Vietnam War too, involving roller coasters and log rides. Kenny's Death Ripped in two during the Jerry Springer-esque riot at Jesus and Pals. My Thoughts Back Then As I’ve mentioned earlier, Jimbo and Ned were early favourite South Park characters of mine when I first watched these in late 2004, at age 13. This episode, being like a spiritual sequel to Season 1’s Volcano in some ways, was another early favourite of mine, and one I rewatched when I got Season 2 on DVD the following April, not long after I turned 14. I knew what the Vietnam War was too when I first saw this, and at the time strong...

  Season 2 Episode 5 – Conjoined Fetus Lady A dodgeball injury becomes a parade for South Park’s school nurse. Original Airdate 3 rd June 1998 Character Debuts Nurse Gollum Synopsis Kyle and the boys are freaked out by Nurse Gollum’s condition when Kyle needs to see her at school, and South Park could become DODGEBALL CHAMPIONS! Kenny's Death Smashed against the wall with a dodgeball by a Chinese player. My Thoughts Back Then Seeing this at age 13 in 2004 on videotape, I hadn’t played anything like dodgeball or kickball, and wouldn’t until the following year. I came to like this one more over the years, especially as I grew to like that sport more and more, and Nurse Gollum’s speech I understood at the end, but it didn’t stick to me that much. I also hadn’t seen the Chinese stereotypes here prior to watching this as far as I can recall. I could also relate to Pip a little, as I wasn’t that popular in my first year of high school. My Thoughts Now Trey’s go...

  Season 2 Episode 4 - Chickenlover Officer Barbrady needs to learn to read, and will South Park be safe again? Original Airdate 27 th May 1998 Synopsis There’s a chicken molester in town, and Officer Barbady needs help to solve the case! As he can’t read, he goes back to school Billy Madison style. Kenny's Death Crushed by a tree at the very end in the town parade. My Thoughts Back Then Back when I was 7, the image of Cartman as a cop was EVERYWHERE – to be honest, when I saw this in April of 2005 on DVD, I found this episode disappointing, as I expected it to be one of the best of this season. Primary school was rough at times for me, maybe seeing an adult in a primary school class brought back bad memories? Either way, this wasn’t one of my favourite Season 2 episodes, plus I was still adjusting to crude humour. My Thoughts Now ROCK CONCERT AT THE RETIREMENT HOME! We hear Trey Parker doing an early version of Timmy’s Living a lie chant during the song. NINJA...

  Season 2 Episode 3 – Ike’s Wee Wee Kyle thinks his little brother Ike is going to lose his manhood… while Mr. Mackey goes on a little trip… Original Airdate 20 th May 1998 Featured Music Love Is   A Battlefield by Pat Benatar (1986, sung by Mr. Mackey) The theme to the A-Team (1983) Character Debuts Bartender (we don’t hear his name) Synopsis Mr. Mackey decides to teach about drugs by passing around marijuana to the class, and learns the hard way what drugs can do to you. Meanwhile, Kyle thinks Ike is going to have a vital organ of his chopped off. Kenny's Death Falls into an open grave and crushed by a tombstone. My Thoughts Back Then I knew what circumcision was at the time I first saw this in April of 2005, being only 14, I was a long way off drinking alcohol, and I’ve never smoked tobacco, marijuana or used any other drug in my life. They’re not for me, even as a teenager I didn’t like energy drinks (they tasted like off fizzy pop to me), thi...

  Season 2 Episode 2 – Cartman’s Mum Is Still A Dirty Slut After a long wait in the real world, we find out who Cartman’s dad is! Original Airdate 22 nd April 1998 Featured Music Come Sail Away by Styx (1977, sung by Cartman) Hail To The Chief Character Debuts N/A Synopsis Turns out there's power cuts and a TV show interested in the story of who Cartman's dad is! And poor Kenny get stuck in the snow... Kenny's Death Electrocutes himself turning the power back on. My Thoughts Back Then Due to someone else checking it out from the video shop, I saw this before Part 1, as frankly, I was happy to watch any South Park episode I could get my 13-year old hands on. I remember going to the video shop and the lady at the counter said "You can get 3 more tapes for 15c!", I promptly ran as quickly as my fat 13 year old legs would let me, and grabbed 3 more South Park tapes (the videos in Australia had 2 episodes each on them). Still adjusting to c...

  Season 2 Episode 1 – Not Without My Anus Terrance and Phillip need to save Canada from… Saddam Hussein? Original Airdate 1 st April 1998 Featured Music O Canada (national anthem of Canada) Character Debuts Saddam Hussein Ugly Bob Scott The Dick Synopsis We go to Canada for the first episode of Season 2, where all is not well, and it’s up to Canada’s two gassiest residents to save their nation. Kenny's Death None, as he isn't in this episode. My Thoughts Back Then Obviously watching this on a video tape, rented in late 2004 at age 13, I knew it was originally an April Fool’s joke, so I wasn’t upset about being screwed over. I knew who Saddam Hussein was at the time, and was NOT a fan of him, I was a supporter of the Iraq War at the time as well (at least as much as a 13-year old boy can make sense of politics and world events ) I also said “Iran, Iraq, same thing” as a joke for a few months afterwards. My Thoughts Now Our show beings with a (...