Sexual Harrassment Panda, Jakovasaurus, and Jennifer Aniston...

Well, I guess living in Germany had finally caused me to break down and become a South Park junkie. For Christmas 2007, I bought my husband, Bill, a couple more complete seasons of South Park on DVD. The gift was for him, but I'm enjoying it every bit as much as he is. We recently finished watching South Park- The Complete Third Season and as always, spent a large portion of our time laughing together. South Park may specialize in tasteless humor, but if it keeps me and my husband laughing instead of crying, I'd say it's worthwhile viewing.

For those of you who don't know what South Park is...

Created by Matt Stone and Trey Parker, South Park is an animated television series set in fictional South Park, Colorado. The stars of the show are four young lads: fat, belligerent, bigoted Eric Cartman, quiet but wise, Stan Marsh, Jewish, hot tempered Kyle Brofloski, and Kenny McCormick, a little kid from the wrong side of the tracks who dies in every episode. During Season Three, the boys are eight years old and in the third grade.

As always, the kids are supported by a colorful cast of characters. During the third season, the supporting cast notably includes the hilarious, legendary Chef, played by Isaac Hayes, the terminally angry, homosexual teacher Mr. Garrison, and the kindly but stern school counselor, Mr. Mackey, as well as a host of others.

Season Three

This DVD set includes three discs and seventeen episodes which run for a total of 374 minutes. The show is unrated, but the packaging does include warnings that this show is intended for mature audiences only. Season three originally aired on Comedy Central from April 7, 1999 to January 12, 2000. This set also includes a special feature, which is commentary on each episode by Matt Stone and Trey Parker.

The Episodes

Here are brief synopses of the episodes that aired during the third season of South Park.

Disc One

301- Rainforest Shmainforest- The kids in South Park get tapped to travel to Costa Rica as part of the "Getting Gay With Kids" choir tour. While they taking a tour of the rainforest, their guide gets bitten by a snake and dies. The kids and their director have to find their way out of the deadly rainforest. Luckily, some friendly construction workers save the day. Jennifer Aniston guest stars.

302- Spontaneous Combustion- The people of South Park are mysteriously combusting for no apparent reason. The Mayor asks Stan's dad, a geologist, to figure out why people keep exploding. The boys come up with a wacky plan to help Kyle's dad with his problem in the bedroom.

303- The Succubus- Chef finally finds a bride, but the boys feel like they've lost their best friend. Meanwhile, Chef's parents arrive from Scotland, fresh from seeing the Loch Ness Monster.

305- Jakovasaurus- While camping at Stark's Pond, the boys come upon a pair of rare creatures called Jakovasaurs. The government and the people of South Park do their best to help the species repopulate, only to find out that they reproduce quickly and are very annoying.

304- Tweek vs. Craig- The boys instigate a fight between Tweek and Craig during shop class. Meanwhile, Mr. Adler, the shop teacher, has recurring nightmares of his first love that lead him to consider suicide.

306- Sexual Harrassment Panda- The kids of South Park learn about sexual harrassment from Sexual Harrassment Panda. When Cartman finds out he can make lots of money in a lawsuit, he sues Stan for sexual harrassment. Pretty soon, the lawsuits affect South Park in a bad way, so the boys go to the Island of Misfit Mascots Commune to ask Sexual Harrassment Panda to change his cause.

Disc Two

307- Cat Orgy- Mr. Mackey has a big party in honor of the big meteor shower. Meanwhile, Cartman's cat is in heat.

308- Two Guys Naked In A Hot Tub- While Stan's parents are partying at Mr. Mackey's meteor shower bash, he and Pip, Butters, and Dougie are relegated to the basement to play. Meanwhile, the ATF is convinced the partygoers are actually members of a cult who intend to commit suicide when the meteor shower begins.

309- Jewbilee- Kyle brings Kenny along to join him and Ike at Jewbilee, a camp for Jewish kids.

312- Korn's Groovy Pirate Ghost Mystery- Father Maxi declares Halloween an abomination and warns against letting Korn play at KOZY FM's Halloween bash. Korn guest stars.

310- Chinpoko Mon- The boys get addicted to all things Chinpoko Mon, the latest craze from Japan. They don't know, however, that the Japanese toy manufacturers have hidden anti-American messages in all of their products.

313- Hooked On Monkey Phonics- The boys compete against a couple of home schooled kids in a spelling bee. Kyle develops a crush on a home schooled kid's sister and tries to teach her about love.

Disc Three

311- Starvin' Marvin in Space- Starvin' Marvin steals an alien spaceship and asks the boys to help him find a new home for his people in Outer Space. As they search for a new planet for Marvin's people, they are chased by the government and the Christian Broadcasting Network.

314- The Red Badge of Gayness- The town of South Park comes together for the yearly reenactment of a Civil War battle.

315- Mr. Hankey's Christmas Classics- In this hilarious episode, Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo, hosts a special Christmas music program for South Park fans.

316- Are You There God? It's Me, Jesus- The people of South Park prepare for the new millennium and expect a miracle. Cartman mistakes a stomach virus for the onset of puberty. In a bid to keep up with Cartman's development, Stan takes hormones with interesting results.

317- World Wide Recorder Concert- The boys travel to Arkansas to participate in the 4 Million-Child Blow 2000, a world wide recorder concert. While there, they search for "the brown noise", a note that causes people to crap their pants. Meanwhile, Mr. Garrison confronts the demons of his childhood when he visits his parents for the first time in 23 years.

Special Feature- Commentary on each episode by Matt Stone and Trey Parker.

My Thoughts

Season Three of South Park was certainly one that tackled a lot of taboo topics in its typically irreverent way. While a number of these episodes might make some people squirm in discomfort, I think Season Three is one of the funniest and most creative ones to date. I thought the way the show handled Americans' obsession with litigation in the "Sexual Harrassment Panda" episode was brilliant. I also laughed pretty hard as I watched "Starvin' Marvin In Space", mainly because the show does a dead on parody of Pat Robertson. And having read Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. as a kid, I appreciated South Park's parody of a classic tale about growing up. I also laughed pretty hard at Mr. Hankey's special Christmas music, especially since we just celebrated Christmas.

That said, I will warn that this show is not for everyone. I would not recommend it to children of any age, nor would I recommend it to anyone who is easily offended by scatological humor, filthy language, or jokes about religion or other taboo topics. Season Three is particularly raw, with episodes that even poke fun at child molestation and homosexuality. I will note that at no time did I ever get the impression that the South Park creators thought child molestation was okay... but they do make fun of it and that may be offensive to a lot of folks.

Every South Park episode has a moral, even though the point is usually presented in a demented or irreverent way. Unfortunately, a lot of people seem to miss the point because they get offended by the presentation, which I will admit, is often pretty juvenile. I happen to like juvenile, off color humor and do not offend easily, so this show is right up my alley. But there's a very good reason why this show airs in the late evening on Comedy Central.

Bill and I have been enjoying our foray into South Park, but we don't have kids. If we did, I'd definitely think twice about watching it in their presence. This show really seems geared toward people in their 30s and 40s, who are old enough to get the pop cultural references, but young enough to appreciate the show's music and premise. Again, it's really not intended for kids.

I definitely recommend South Park for those who really appreciate down and dirty humor. All others should probably stay away from South Park, Colorado.

Comedy Central's South Park site: http://southpark.comedycentral.com/