South Park 

Follows the misadventures of four irreverent grade-schoolers in the quiet, dysfunctional town of South Park, Colorado.

Creators:

Trey Parker, Matt Stone, Brian Graden

Stars:

Trey Parker, Matt Stone, Isaac Hayes

Top Rated TV #90 | Won 5 Primetime Emmys. Another 12 wins & 82 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Trey Parker	...	Stan Marsh / ... 299 episodes, 1997-2019
Matt Stone	...	Kyle Broflovski / ... 299 episodes, 1997-2019
Mona Marshall	...	Sheila Broflovski / ... 200 episodes, 2000-2018
April Stewart	...	Sharon Marsh / ... 179 episodes, 2004-2018
Isaac Hayes	...	Chef 136 episodes, 1997-2006

Storyline

The curious, adventure-seeking, fourth grade group of 10 year old boys, Stan, Kyle, Cartman, and Kenny, all join in in buffoonish adventures that sometimes evolve nothing. Sometimes something that was simple at the start, turns out to get out of control. Everything is odd in the small mountain town, South Park, and the boys always find something to do with it.

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Plot Keywords:

elementary school | colorado | religious humor | political humor | profanity | 

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Taglines:

Four boys. One f**ked up town.

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Genres:

Animation | Comedy

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Certificate:

TV-MA

Details

Official Sites:

Official South Park Webpage Official South Park Webpage

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 August 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

South Park

Company Credits

Production Co:

Comedy Central, Braniff, Comedy Partners

Technical Specs

Runtime:

22 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital (season 12-) Dolby Stereo (seasons 1-11)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

16 : 9

Did You Know?

Trivia

The show is animated using Maya, the same program used to animate Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001) and Final Flight of the Osiris (2003).

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Goofs

Exactly who is related to whom in the Marsh family is never consistent. Early episodes imply that Jimbo and Marvin (Stan's grandfather) are on Sharon's side of the family, whereas more recent ones imply they are on Randy's side. Being on Sharon's side makes sense for Jimbo, as he has a different last name. However, Marvin's last name is, indeed, confirmed to be Marsh. Matt Stone revealed in an interview that Jimbo Kerns is Randy's half-brother.

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Quotes

Mr. Slave: Oh. I never should have shoved all those poor animals up my ass.

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Crazy Credits

Season Six has Timmy fill in for Kenny in singing the theme song since Kenny was absent for that season.

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Alternate Versions

The Season 5 episode "Proper Condom Use" was banned by Sky in the UK during the initial series run, and hasn't been shown since. Channel 4, however, has shown it.

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Connections

Spin-off Imaginationland: The Movie (2008)

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Soundtracks

South Park (theme song)
Music by Primus
Lyrics by Trey Parker and Matt Stone
Performed by Les Claypool, Trey Parker and Matt Stone

User Reviews

An Excellent Program All Too Frequently Dismissed

Both cartoons and sci-fi have long been the only place where thought-provoking social commentary can take place, unmolested by censorship, and both are all too frequently dismissed because of their least important characteristics. South Park is an intelligent, humorous and thought-provoking show that is often ignored or decried by people who judge it only by the very things it deliberately throws in their face, such as profanity, simple animation, and graphic violence, because the creators know that people like this are easily offended by these things, and will always miss the point. The simplicity of the animation, for example, has been criticised by people who miss the point that it's deliberately meant to be simple, in the face of those high-budget major studio cartoons that are more concerned with using cgi and selling toys than having anything to say. Nope, this isn't a show for those who don't appreciate irony. The episodes tackle a wide range of issues, from 9/11 to violence on television to celebrity obsession to religion, through the use of comedy, which is usually the best way to handle such matters.

The main characters are four children who are basically mouthpieces for their creator's opinions, expressing views that would sound arrogant coming from adults. Stan represents the liberal viewpoint, as does his friend Kyle, who as a practising Jew, allows opportunity for religious comment. Is the show anti-religious? No, but fundamentalists like to think it is. It has the essential message of 'believe what you like, but leave me alone'. And of course there's Eric Cartman, the ignorant foul-mouthed selfish redneck, and funny as hell. Sometimes I think he's there to remind us not to take anyone like him seriously. That and to provide a lot of the show's humour. Easily my favourite character. Other characters on the show usually represent majority/opposing views as the plot requires.

Like any long-running show, some episodes are better than others, not all have something to say, and not all are funny. But creators Stone and Parker 'retool' the show periodically with new characters, and try to keep up with current events, and I enjoyed the latest series (8th) for these very reasons. I've watched since the beginning, but they're making an effort not to let South Park go stale.

No doubt South Park will continue to be derided by those who think the most important social problem today is swearing, yet have probably never sat down to watch an episode. And beside them will be the offended parent brigade who still haven't learned that not all cartoons are for children. But the rest of us will still be here to enjoy it, hopefully exchanging righteous indignation for a few laughs and maybe a thought or two about the world we live in. If you've never seen South Park, don't listen to the hype. Watch it and decide for yourself. Hopefully you'll be glad you did.