For those of you who are huge fans of South Park or others that want to get a taste of the iconic TV show, try out Season 18 of the hilarious, rude, crude and sometimes unglued adult show. Like all seasons of the popular animated show, it’s all new and no need to have seen other years of the wacky comedy since 1997. In Season 18 the subject matter ranges from being gluten free to “transgendering” to using mobile aps and more in the 10 episodes. It’s a whole lot of fun if you don’t take them seriously or at least not too seriously. Now no Blu-ray and DVD the show can continue to go on inside your home theater.
For those who have not seen the show or any of the episodes during any of the 23 seasons here’s the gist of it. South Park the fictional city on which the program takes place is located in Colorado, USA. In the small town the elementary school kids are the focus of the comedy. There are four main characters, Stan Marsh is known for instigating the others and causing trouble. Then there’s Eric Cartman who’s mostly politically incorrect and all full of himself. Kyle Broflovski is the third member of the group who wants to belong but feels he’s an outsider sometimes because he’s Jewish. Rounding out the foursome is Kenny McCormick who doesn’t talk much, but there’s a lot of meaning in what he says, or does, or doesn’t do.
Now that you’ve met the gang, well somewhat so, it’s what they do that makes the show a hit. They can be very bad-mannered, swear a lot, play tricks, cause damage to the town, embarrass themselves and others, set bad examples for the other kids, are not very religiously inclined and, you know as their regular third or fourth grade children. Aren’t they?
In season eighteen the boys treat you to some real tomfoolery. “Go Fund Yourself” takes on the Kickstarter program where they want to get donations to start a business of their own. Because of their failure the next episode “Gluten Free Ebola” finds the boys on the outs with their classmates and getting in trouble with the United States Department of Agriculture. In “The Cissy” we find that Cartman want access to the boys bathroom, but it’s always overcrowded so he decides to go transgender to use the girl’s bathroom. “Handicar” is a take-off on Uber, but not really. In this episode Timmy Burch runs a pick-up service using his motorized wheelchair.
Next there’s “The Magic Bush” in which Cartman finds out his best friend Butters has access to a drone that they use to spy on people, but not in a good way. In “Freemium Isn’t Free” downloading aps can become very expensive. “Grounded Vindaloop” Cartman gets Butters in trouble with his family when he convinces him that he’s in a state of virtual reality. In “Cxxk Magic” Kenny is entered to compete in Magic: The Gathering followed by a full half hour of off colored comedy that includes a different kind of cxxkfighting. “#Rehash” Randy Marsh participates in a concert that doesn’t go well and a Michael Jackson hologram gets away from him. The final episode of season eighteen “#Happy Holograms” involves the police who get into the act when other holograms surface on notable entertainers.
The episodes really have a lot more than the quick content I’ve just given you. Way more in fact as that’s the beauty of the very funny, no silly, or better words would be off-color comedy. Watch the episodes from the very first as they have a running gag that continues through the whole season. South Park: Season Eighteen is actually one of the best blended collection of episodes that ‘almost, but not quite’ make it look like one long movie.
Bonus Features: In addition to the commentary by Trey Parker and Matt Stone and “social commentary” on all of the episodes, there’s also some deleted scenes.
South Park: The Complete Eighteenth Season has the following Parental Advisory: Explicit Content. Warning: This program is recommended for Mature Audiences Only. It Contains Adult Language and Situations. Like all videos that are made for adults please view the content before allowing kids see the programming.
FINAL ANALYSIS: A fun program for adults with open minds, very open minds. (A)
Specifications and additional video information:
Creators: Trey Parker and Matt Stone
MPAA Rating: Not Rated, contains language, sexual innuendos, rude comments, mature theme
Genre: Comedy, Animation, and Adult
Running Time: 220 min.
Original Theatrical Release Date:
Original TV Release Date: September 24, 2014 – December 10, 2014
Language: English
Reviewed Format: Blu-ray (also available in DVD)
Audio: English 5.1 Dolby TrueHD
Video: 1080p, 16×9 Televisions, Widescreen
Subtitles: English SDH
Distributed by: Paramount
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
