Think of the best-and I mean BEST-show on television. Get “Rock of Love” and “Sportscenter” out of your brain.
Think of a show with meaning or purpose to it. One that touches topics and issues that everybody can relate to and understand. I imagine “South Park.”
Take your lighter away from the newspaper and don’t rip it in half. For more than a decade, the four boys from a tiny Colorado town have captured the hearts of America with raw, gruesome, crude and diabolical humor.
But the beautiful thing about “South Park” is the timeless message put into every episode.
When Jimmy Vulmer decided to take steriods and enhance his chances at performing well in the Special Olympics, the viewer understands first-hand the difficulties and hardships involved with using performance enhancing drugs.
When Britney Spears visited South Park-I’ll refrain from going into specifics-the citizens learned not to let the lives of celebrities become the centers of their own.
Recently, creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone took the bar and raised it again. The unthinkable happened when “South Park” took a simple ‘fish stick’ joke and caused egomaniac Kanye West to admit his self-centeredness.
“South Park” does things that no other sitcom will do; take the extra step. The plot often strays towards silliness, but that is where the show evens out. “South Park” gives the viewer an issue where two sides can be taken and argued.
Sure, there are times when “South Park” has leaped over the line from saturation to cruelty, but what the show does brilliantly is point out the flaws of everybody. The wonderful thing about the sitcom is it singles out everybody.
In one episode, local-deviant Eric Cartman is determined to rid the world of the red-haired race. I have red hair and might be confused for a ginger.
The point is “South Park” makes fun of everybody. No matter how vile or disgusting the plot might be, the joke is on us for watching. And any show that makes fun of gingers is cool with me.