kyle

(S10E10) Towards the end of this episode, Kyle gives his younger brother Ike the most sound advice I think anyone can give a kid who's immersed in his very first crush:

Kyle: You need to have a life. Have fun. Then ruin it by having a serious relationship.

(S10E09) Almost immediately after the events of 9/11, conspiracy theories began to crop up, and probably faster than ever before now that we had the internet and a way to instantaneously transmit gross misinformation and conclusions rife with logical fallacies. I think Cartman best summed up this episode with a line from his song about finding the truth behind 9/11: "I can't base my logic on proof."

While Mr. Macke tries to find out which boy took a crap in one of the urinals, Cartman decides to finally get to the bottom of 9/11. He presents his finding in class, and by using tortured logic, doctored photos and actually 9/11 conspiracy theories that are easily debunked by anyone with the ability to think rationally, he proves to the class that it was in fact Kyle who was behind it all along. What's especially funny about this is that Cartman hates Kyle, and obviously began his research wanting to prove Kyle's involvement. The same bass-ackward approach is exactly what causes anti-Semites to blame 9/11 on a Jewish plot, and every kid from a liberal arts college with a DSL connection and a gravity bong to blame the event on a government plot meant to increase public favor for invading the Middle East. When Cartman points out that one fourth of the population believe there was a conspiracy behind 9/11, Stan wisely points out that one fourth of the population is probably retarded.

When celebrity news happens, South Park is ready! We all saw them make fun of Tom Cruise last year but now Comedy Central is digging up an older episode to go along with this whole Mel Gibson thing. On Wednesday, the network will air 2004's The Passion of the Jew, which poked fun at Mel Gibson back when The Passion of the Christ was all the rage. In it, Mel acts crazy and Cartman's actions suggest that Mel may be an anti-semite.

Coincidentally, the network also published full-page ads that show the Park kids in front of a celebrity Scientology center and says, "C'mon, Jews... show them who really runs Hollywood." It has nothing to do with Gibson, and everything to do with that infamous Tom Cruise/Trapped in the Closet episode that has been nominated for an Emmy.

God must really want those kids dead. -- South Park

(S10E06) I'm like, totally cereal, guys.

If nothing else, last night's episode proved that South Park is still an equal opportunity offender. In this episode, Al Gore comes to South Park to warn everyone about Manbearpig (read: global warming), a creature who is half man, half bear, and half pig. Or possibly half man and half bearpig. No one really knows for sure because Gore is apparently the only one who believes he exists.

Last night South Park, in a way only South Park can, managed to mix Family Guy and the recent kerfuffle over cartoons involving the Prophet Muhammed into a scathing indictment of both. In the South Park universe, the "offensive Muhammed cartoon" is an episode of Family Guy which the Fox Network decides to censor. Cartman convinces Kyle to join him on his quest to get the episode off the air. It turns out Cartman doesn't care about the offensive episode, he just really, really, hates Family Guy, calling it poorly-written and accusing it of using interchangeable jokes, rather than jokes that actually have something to do with the plot.

I've said it on this blog and elsewhere that Family Guy's humor can be very jarring at times. Whatever plot there is has to be ground to a halt in order to insert as many one-off gags as possible. There's no effort on behalf of the writers to try and weave jokes into the story, jokes simply pop in and out wherever they seem to fit. In that regard, it's not even comparable to shows like South Park and The Simpsons, which take a more substantive approach to their humor and satire, even if South Park appears to delve into the same scatological humor as Family Guy at times.

You may have noticed that Wednesday night's episode of South Park was not the one where Tom Cruise refuses to come out of the closet numerous times, as was previously scheduled. The abrupt change actually had nothing to do with the fact that the episode was the final straw for Chef Isaac Hayes. Comedy Central yanked that episode at the last minute because Tom Cruise threatened Viacom with pulling Mission: Impossible-3 advertising if it aired again (is anyone else nervous about the amount of power that man has?).

South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone released this hilarious and potentially inflammatory statement through their lawyer today:

Remember Danny, the quirky, guitar-playing guy with the glasses who got booted off The Apprentice? The Queer Eye guys are going to give him a head to toe makeover. His full name is Danny Kastner (yes, reality show contestants actually have last names). The episode airs on August 16.

In the last episode, I was a little disappointed; the action didn't keep me on the edge of my seat like the season opener did. The writers were working on setting up a backdrop for the rest of the season, I suppose, as "Weight of the World" had its share of nailbiters. There's the curious weightloss program (drink from the same cup as washed-up salesman Trent Appelbaum, and the pounds just melt away), with its unknown and deadly effects. There's the affair between Jordan and the Madonna stand-in and its curious and deadly effects. And, of course, there's the usual on-the-road vignettes with Lily and Richard - will they stay one step ahead of the feds? While the episode was a bit busy and formulaic, I loved how the writers are developing Jordan into the quintessential cult figurehead, and how Shawn is working out his disapproval of his boss' many failings. Most curious is what's going on with Kyle (and his hottie professor girlfriend, excellent) - is the future coming back to haunt him? Is he possessed? Is he developing a split personality disorder? Why would the future be so destructive? It doesn't make sense. I'm sure we'll learn more next week...