South Park - "Canada on Strike" - Talkback (Spoilers)

Color me unimpressed.

I was quite interested to see what Matt and Trey would have to say about the WGA strike. I'm not too surprised that their personal view leaned more towards the producers side, but I was shocked that the episode was soooo one sided.

Instances like "I'm a Little Bit Country" or "Osama Bin Laden Has Farty Pants" or "Goobacks" discussed current issues and pointed out the foibles on both sides of the issue. It made both sides out to be right and wrong.

In this episode they gave absolutely no credence to the other side. And I personally think that the metaphor - Canada=WGA was rather weak. I think that there was enough going on with the strike on both sides to make everyone ripe for lampooning.

It's their show and they can use it to espouse whatever view they want- Trapped in the Closet and The Return of Chef are pretty one-sided so this isn't without precedent, but I'm surprised that they opted not to make fun of more people in the Hollywood system. So much blame and buffoonery on all sides. Missed opportunity.

The only references I got during the Youtube scene were Dramatic Prairie dog and Afro-ninja. Thusly the only gag I really laughed at was the Dramatic Prairie dog blowing up that guys head.

That's my 2-cents anyway.
 
Did anybody else notice that about half of the "internet stars" that appeared in this episode were also shown or mentioned on the "YouTube vs. Porn" episode of Lewis Black's Root of All Evil that immediately followed?

For those of you complaining that Butters' YouTube video "wasn't funny", here's a news flash: THAT'S THE WHOLE POINT, YOU NIMRODS! It was lame and pointless and unentertaining in the extreme....just like 99.999999999% of everything else on YouTube. The audience base for YouTube is made up of nitwits who will watch 1000 times something they wouldn't spare a glance if it wasn't on a computer screen.
 
Who was the fat dancing guy and the panda? I knew about the others. The Chocolate/Cherry Chocolate Rain guy, Chris Crocker (good to see him die, and now only if he could IRL), the gopher, the fat kid with the lightsaber. They should've also had lonelygirl_15 on there.
 
I find it interesting to see having the Canadians being apart in the major plot in any South Park episode, they will always break down and start singing a number. I loved how they sang the lyrics to "Canada on Strike". Seems that Terrance has finally put down the weight. I also saw the quote, "I'm not your buddy, guy," has somewhat become an internet meme from all the Youtube video referenced in the recent Youtube comments.

Meanwhile, I enjoyed how Butters is being foolishly used by Kyle, Stan, and Cartman since he's somewhat the forth or fifth guy in the group like in "Jarred has Aides". Matt and Trey should use Butters as the kid everyone thinks is gay so that Cartman has another friend to insult other than Kyle who's a Jew so they won't overuse him in punchlines. I also believe Matt and Trey are transitioning Butters into the forth kid since season eight instead doing it overnight in season five to prevent viewers from complaining that Kenny is gone which lead to the decrease in ratings during season six. Kenny brings very little ideas when they decided to bring him back and decrease the number of killings each season.

They finally made fun of the Youtube Superstars who involved themselves into a fight over pride about how many views they got. Everything ended in one gory fight. This was one thought out episode except when Kyle at the end spoke about internet entertainment and its royalities. The episode deserves an A- in my mind. I can't wait for the next episode featuring Cartman teaching Ms. Garrison's class which she tries to become male again.
 
What would have been even funnier, after they turn on the channel with Family Guy, they switch and try Japanese television, and see a Anime cartoon about a certain little boy who shows his butt a lot.

It is probably not mainstream enough to warrent a parody on South Park, but it is gaining popularity, and people have compared it to South Park. It would be great to see the South Park characters reaction to watching Shin Chan. Maybe someday they will mention Shin Chan in an episode.
 
NEW EPISODE THIS WEDNESDAY: "Eek! A Penis"

Cartman has a gift for reaching the most difficult kids in the school system.

While their regular teacher, Ms. Garrison, is busy looking for a way to become the man he always intended to be, Cartman is put in charge. Soon after Cartman takes over, the kids' test scores are on the rise. Cartman decides to make a difference by working with some inner-city kids whom no other teacher has been able to reach.

You can see press release images here.
 
That was genius. The gopher had me on the floor. 'My..... Brains...' *BLAM*

As a Canadian I must say..... You're not my buddy, guy.
 
I'd say the distinction between the room full of internet stars and and number of the family guy random jokes is minimal at best. Yes they were minimally tied into the plot, but the only reason they were at all funny is "hey look it's that guy". Chocolate rain/laughing baby/star wars kid were only there because of the reference based humor....they served no other purpose aside from representing internet stars funny only because of who they were.

But that's not the main reason I called them hypocrites.....

I said it was hypocritical for them to mock internet content providers when THEY owe their whole career to one of the first viral videos. Aside from the fact that the WGA strike had NOTHING to do with youtube stars, you'd think they'd at least remember their roots. (Espeically when they just opened a giant ad-driven website of their own I'm sure they're making a profit on the week of this episode)...www.southparkstudios.com

But honestly the main reason I hated this episode is because Matt and Trey are gradually becoming bigger and more-self absorbed douchebags. Who the hell are they to decide what humor can be considered "funny" and "not-funny". Just because a joke is only marginally related to a plot....does that make it any worse??? why is that??? Using Family guy as the subject of the cartoon wars episode was funny incontext, and many of their crticisms are valid, but continuing to call out another show for no reason than to assert their comic authority is just making them look like giant *******s.

I love both shows, and I think it's utterly preposterous the reputation family guys has now just because of Southpark. Family guy-every single episode-still has a plot and jokes related to the plotMost of the cutaways are just there for ADDITIONAL laughs anyway-something Family Guy almost always has more of than southpark. Besides....sometimes people just want to watch something that's funny without being sledgehammered with a message every episode by guys with heads up their asses.

**And please....what exactly was the message that was dead-on right as usual? FYI-the strike was about television studios showing episodes on ad-driven websites or selling episodes over the internet. The studios were making a profit and under the old WGA contract they didn't have to pay anyone.....What exactly were the writers supposed to do?? Just accept the fact they weren't getting paid for their work?? Start a poorly animated web-video they hope Comedy central turns into a series?
 
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