With its 14th season underway with a bang, South Park has firmly planted itself atop the hierarchy of adult cartoons available on cable and satellite TV. It seems as every season passes South Park's creators, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, push the envelope further and further in search of more creative ways to please their loyal fans.
What started as primarily a show filled with "fart" and "poop" jokes has become a quintessential forum for political, social and economic commentary. Trey Parker and Matt Stone use the main characters: Stan, Kyle, Cartman and Kenny to voice their own opinions regarding various intellectual issues such as stem cell research, believers of scientology, the complex socio-economic situation in Somalia, the over population problems in China and the ongoing problem of racism in America.
One episode, focused on a school mascot election between a "douche" and a "giant turd sandwich." Stan is banished from the town after refusing to vote because of the ridiculousness of the choices. He is also harassed by P. Diddy who is running his "vote or die" campaign. Except in Parker and Stone's world, P. Diddy means business. If you don't vote, he will kill you. After Stan is banished, he finds a home with PETA, who love animals so much that they actually marry and procreate with them. This episode is an example of the fact that, in Parker and Stone's world, anything goes.
Of course, the show hasn't completely lost its original identity and still mixes in a fair share of immature joke, but they normally mixed in, in an intelligent manner. Episodes such as the "Imaginationland" series exemplify the fact that they still haven't lost their identity as a silly and often outrageous cartoon. In this trilogy, the four boys meet a man who takes them inside the human imagination where they learn that Muslim extremists plan to bomb the wall which separates the good imaginary characters from the bad so everyone's "imagination will run wild." The genius of the show lies in the fact that they address the ongoing terrorism issue in a humorous way. The inclusion of Jesus among the good imaginary characters simply adds to the satirical effect. In response, to the terrorist threat against their imagination, the US government decides to nuke their imagination, a social commentary on how quickly gun-touting conservatives are willing to resort to extreme military measures against terrorism.
South Park continues to be one of the most popular shows on cable and satellite television. Even with over 13 seasons completed, the show is still able to stay original and really ahead of the curve in relation to other adult cartoons. Along with television broadcasts, Parker and Stone also offer the show online free of charge, meaning there is no reason for South Park fans to miss an episode. Also, with the recent advent of Comedy Central in HD, loyal viewers will be able to see the show clearer than ever. New episodes of South Park air every Sunday at 10pm on Comedy Central.