HTF BLU-RAY REVIEW: South Park: The Complete Thirteenth Season (1 Viewer)

[Neil Middlemiss]

South Park: The Complete Thirteenth Season

Studio: Comedy Central
Year: 2009
US Rating: NR
Film Length: 308 Mins
Video: 1080P High Definition 16X9 - 1.78:1
Audio: Dolby TrueHD English 5.1, Dolby Digital: English 5.1, English Stereo
Subtitles:

[COLOR= #0000ff]Bank Clerk[/COLOR]http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005295/: How can I help you, young man?
[COLOR= #0000ff]Stan Marsh[/COLOR]http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005295/: I got a hundred-dollar check from my grandma and my dad said I need to put it in the bank so it can grow over the years.
[COLOR= #0000ff]Bank Clerk[/COLOR]: Well that's fantastic. A really smart decision, young man. We can put that check in a money market mutual fund, then we'll re-invest the earnings into foreign currency accounts with compounding interest aaaand it's gone.
[Blank stares and silence as it goes from the Bank Clerk, to Stan, to the Bank Clerk, to Stan]
[COLOR= #0000ff]Stan Marsh[/COLOR]: Uh... what?
[COLOR= #0000ff]Bank Clerk[/COLOR]: It's gone, it's all gone.
[COLOR= #0000ff]Stan Marsh[/COLOR]: What's all gone?
[COLOR= #0000ff]Bank Clerk[/COLOR]: The money in your account. It didn't do too well, it's gone.
[COLOR= #0000ff]Stan Marsh[/COLOR]: What do you mean? I-I have a hundred dollars!
[COLOR= #0000ff]Bank Clerk[/COLOR]: Not any more, you don't.
[COLOR= #0000ff]Bank Clerk[/COLOR]: Poof!
[COLOR= #0000ff]Stan Marsh[/COLOR]: Well what can I do to get back my...
[COLOR= #0000ff]Bank Clerk[/COLOR]: [Interrupts] I'm sorry, sir, but this line is for bank members only.
[COLOR= #0000ff]Stan Marsh[/COLOR]: I just opened an account!
[COLOR= #0000ff]Bank Clerk[/COLOR]: Do you have any money invested with this bank?
[COLOR= #0000ff]Stan Marsh[/COLOR]: No, you just lost it all!
[COLOR= #0000ff]Bank Clerk[/COLOR]: Then please stand aside for people who actually have money with us. Next please!

The Show: 4 out of 5

How can a show about four mischievous, potty-mouthed kids who frequently save their town, the world, reality, dreamscapes, and other realms – and occasionally have to deal with girls – last this long. I think I can tell you (though fans will likely have a myriad of reasons for me). It’s just so darn funny. It ridicules, parodies, mocks, and mimics with such piercing accuracy, satirical and sardonic perfection, and naughty proclivity, that its thirteenth season doesn’t feel like creators Matt Parker and Trey Stone are winding down, but rather gearing up for a stronger than ever second wind. And season 14’s reason premiere episodes ratings, matching that of 1999’s highs, is evidence of that

Cartman, Kyle, Stan, and Kenny haven’t aged a day or changed a bit, and that’s just fine. The racists, anti-Semitic, selfish zaftig grump, Cartman, persists in parading his selfishness proudly. Kyle, the smart, caring one of the bunch, and Stan, the other more rational boy, must suffer their self-serving round friends, as well as the mumblings of their dirt poor fourth friend of the bunch, Kenny. As Matt Hough so aptly said in his review of the last season, this is an “irascible” bunch, with a unique skill for existing as little boys in grown up situations (and the language to prove it)

The topics for parody run the gamut with a number of highlights. Episode Two, ‘The Coon’, is an adoring play on The Dark Knight, with music so much like Hans Zimmer’s contribution to the movies two-person score (he was accompanied by James Newton Howard), that I had to check the end credits just to be sure it wasn’t him. Cartman adorns a silly name (The Coon), a gruff voice, and a penchant for silly narration, that the entire comic-book hero experience is hilarious. Another episode, which covers the global financial meltdown, is more direct and sense-making than most economic expert talking heads, and another episode with Kenny’s “slut” girlfriend and a riotous riff on the Disney machine, and the Jonas Brothers in particular, is surprisingly balanced and, never shying away from social commentary, spot on. In another episode, the creators use a joke about Fishsticks to launch a tirade against rapper Kanye West, relentlessly skewering him in a likely response to his absurd and outrageous VMA Awards outburst (and they manage to needle Carlos Mencia at the same time). The whole episode is borderline genius. It is this relentlessly naughty, sardonic, and rose-red cheekiness that has served this series so well for its now fourteen years.

As an uncensored version of the show, the episodes are replete with unbleeped cussing. I prefer the bleeping in this show for some reason, but laugh heartily even without it. Some elements are still censored, such as Martha Stewarts bizarre advice on how woman can add excitement (and confetti) to their ‘queefing’. If you are unfamiliar as to what a “queef” is, then this season will school you in all its glory. The ‘queefing’ episode, by the way, has the most outrageous and hilarious moment that I have seen in many seasons. I will let you discover which scene for yourselves.

Episode 1: The Ring
Episode 2: The Coon
Episode 3: Margaretville
Episode 4: Eat, Pray, Queef
Episode 5: Fishsticks
Episode 6: Pinewood Derby
Episode 7: Fatbeard
Episode 8: Dead Celebrities
Episode 9: Butters’ Bottom Bitch
Episode 10: W.T.F.
Episode 11: Whale Wars
Episode 12: The F Word
Episode 13: Dances with Smurfs
Episode 14: PEE



The Video: 4 out of 5

South Park: Season 13 is presented in 1080P High Definition [COLOR= #000000]widescreen, 1.78:1 image, enhanced for widescreen televisions. A superb image, clean, free of aliasing issues, with strong colors, deep blacks, good contrast, and clean the entire season. This is the best way to catch this show, hands-down.[/COLOR]



The Sound: 3.5 out of 5

This blu-ray release comes with a Dolby TrueHD English 5.1 audio track, in addition to Dolby Digital 5.1 English and English Stereo. The TrueHD audio is quite good, especially with the musical score when in full swing. Dialogue is free of issue in the center channel. The surrounds experience some activity, but this is still a front-focused track. Solid, however, especially if the only way you get to catch this show is on Comedy Central (which is not in HD where I live).


The Extras: 2.5 out of 5

Deleted Scenes: Seven deleted scenes from the season presented in HD.

Inside Xbox: A Behind the Scenes Tour of South Park Studios


Final Thoughts

South Park season 13 is simply hilarious. If you are a South Park fan, waste no time in clicking on the link in this review to pick it up today. The production values of the episodes, beyond the intentional craft paper look, are increasingly more impressive, and the hilarity quotient is perhaps as high as it has ever been. For fans in particular, this is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.


Overall 4 out of 5
Neil Middlemiss
Kernersville, NC