South Park - The Complete Twelfth Season
Twelve years of South Park... can you believe it?! And I don't just mean that fact that this once controversial show is still around, but that it is still as funny as the day it came out. I saw each of these episodes when they aired last year, and they still held my interest and made me laugh watching them again on DVD. The great thing about the DVD versions, besides having no commercials and having access to any and all episodes whenever you want, is the fact that they are UNCENSORED! No stupid bleeping of the curse words, we get to hear every single f-bomb!
The season starts out with an episode titled Tonsil Trouble, where Cartman, though some freak accident not of his doing, winds up infected with HIV. Unfortunately, not many people seem to care since cancer seems to be the new hot thing of diseases, so when Kyle keeps laughing at poor Eric, our fat little evil incarnate does something even Kyle didn't see coming.... he infects Kyle with HIV. Now the two must seek out a cure to this disease before it's too late!
Britney's New Look is probably my least favorite of the season. Here, the obsessiveness of the press and public over Britney Spears causes the star to take her own life via a shotgun in the mouth... but the shot fails to kill her. Rather, it simply takes off most of her head! Her speech is now nothing more than incomprehensible mumbles (which somehow everyone else seems to understand) and yet they put her right back to work recording an album and performing on stage. The boys see how this poor girl is being treated and try to help her escape, but this may be one time where even the boys can't help.
Episode three, Major Boobage, is unique for South Park as a large portion of it emulates that classic 1981 animated film Heavy Metal. And they do a great job of pay homage to it. The story is about a new craze of getting high using cat urine sprayed in the face which causes hallucinations putting the people in scenes from Heavy Metal... alongside the big breasted woman, of course.
Next is Canada Goes On Strike, which is obviously based on the writer's strike that occurred last year. Here, the entire country of Canada goes on strike, but when nobody else cares, they soon realize it was a big mistake. Since Kyle's little brother is Canadian, he and the boys do their best to earn money so they can pay Canada to end the strike. They do this by making an online viral video, though they then find out that all they can get for that is virtual money... which doesn't help. But it is hilarious to see all these other viral video characters fighting it out in the waiting room!
The last episode on the first disc is called Eek, A Penis! and finds Ms. Garrison coming full circle. He no longer wants to be a woman, and goes to this experimental genetics lab where they grew an ear on the back of a mouse, and has them grow his penis on one as well. Everything seems to be going fine until the mouse escapes its cage, so now Garrison must chase this mouse that has a giant penis growing out of its back all around town.
The next disc starts off with Over Logging, where one morning the entire town of South Park, and actually most of the United States, awakes to find they have no internet access. Stan's dad can only wait so long before he decides to pack up the family and head out to California, where there's rumored to be some Internet. Next is Super Fun Time, which is the name of the place that Cartman and Butters sneak out to while on a field trip to a historic old west reenactment town (though in the episode it's spelled "Super Phun Thyme"). While Carman is having a blast playing games and riding rides, the rest of the class is stuck in Pioneer Village where a gang of robbers has taken everyone hostage.
The China Probrem finds Carman thinking that the Chinese are trying to take over the world. So while he gets butters to assist him in going into P.F. Changs to learn about the invasion plan, Stan, Kyle, and Jimmy are off dealing with their own issues... issues which involve seeing their hero, Indiana Jones, getting raped by George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. Eventually, the boys wind up finding a lawyer to prosecute, while Carman and Butters end up in a hostage situation... and they are NOT the hostages.
The Breast Cancer Show Ever focuses on Wendy, who you may remember is Kyle's girlfriend. As she is talking to the class about breast cancer, Carman continually makes fun of her about killer boobs, but a girl can only take so much taunting, so afterwards the two set up a fight for after school... a fight that Cartman then does whatever he can to get out of, including pooping on the teacher's desk. Such extreme measures, but will it work or will Cartman have to face down Wendy?
Pandemic 1 & 2 features shots of real guinea pigs, which I believe is a first for South Park. In these two episodes, the boys try to make money be becoming a pan flute band, but wind up being rounded up with the other pan flute bands by the government. Then giant guinea pigs attack the country and the boys are flown to the country where the giant guinea pigs originate from... which didn't make much sense to me. The funniest thing about this episode was Randy using his new video camera in the style of Cloverfield.
The next to last episode is Elementary School Musica, where everyone in school except for our boys just start breaking out into song, and the boys can't figure out why. Then The Ungroundable finds a vampire fad taking over the school, which seriously ticks off the goth kids. And Butters, being tired of being pushed around, decideds to become a vampire as well, though he isn't aware that vampires aren't actually real.
Extra features include mini-commentaries by series creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, which are interested and really just don't last long enough. C'mon fellas, I know you hate doing the commentaries, but we love hearing what you have to say about the episodes and you just can't cover everything in five minutes! There is also a making-of featurette for the Major Boobage episode, which is interesting, and a look at the six day process for making an episode, only some of which is interesting.
Bottom line, this DVD set is so worth it.
Disc 1
- Tonsil Trouble
- Britney's New Look
- Major Boobage
- Canada Goes On Strike
- Eek, A Penis!
Disc 2
- Over Logging
- Super Fun Time
- The China Probrem
- The Breast Cancer Show Ever
Disc 3
- Pandemic
- Pandemic 2
- About Last Night
- Elementary School Musical
- The Ungroundable
South Park - The Complete Twelfth Season was released by Paramount Home Video on March 10, 2009. It was written and directed by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and features the voices of Trey Parker, Matt Stone, Mary Kay Bergman, Eliza Schneider, Gracie Lazar, and Mona Marshall.