All the movie / TV references

You can always tell when a TV show has played its course. It happens when they start spoofing other TV shows and movies.

Basically, when you're out of ideas you start saying, "Let's do the fight scene, except have Jimmy and Timmy do it". Or "Let's re-run a Mel Gibson torture scene, except use Santa". Or any of hundreds of different pop references to various TV/Movies.

South Park is, and has been brilliant. Killing Jesus just to set up the "Why not have today in his honor" line is awesome. Or Stan's rantings in the Biggest Douche in the Universe. It's all true satire and is brilliant.

But when you put your characters in someone else's "famous scene", it cheapens the originality of that scene and its creators, while doing nothing to further your originality and humor.

I wish they'd do an episode on lame TV douchebags who are so starved for content that they have to resort to co-opting other scenes they've seen in the Movies.

Sometimes that's a show's bread and butter. SP has done it alot since the beginning. And shows like Family Guy wrote in those sorts of things to catch a person off guard.

Sometimes the oddness of certain characters in familiar scenes is humourous in itself.

Jesus Christ your view is so naive. Didn't you watch 'Simpson's already did it' lol. Everything is a rip off of everything else no matter how you look at it. We are approaching the end of a technological era and the beginning of a new one. If you think about it, three are like 500 TV channels these days in one country each streaming 24-hour video, not to mention the Internet. The reason great films like three kings and black hawk down CAN be ridiculed are because they are so dramatised and commercialised. Its funny nobody noticed the 'Santa Claus the movie' reference in red sleigh down, i.e. the whole north pole part. You take the reality of a MOVIE far to seriously. Every episode of South Park, from the first episode has attempted to give a satirical view on modern issues, and is film and the media not the most common form of emotional expression?

I greatly disagree with your comment 'cheapens the originality of that scene and its creators, while doing nothing to further your originality and humour ' For one, the cheapness is in the Hollywood movie itself, not the comic, for the comedy must have been born from and over exasperate situation. Also, I have yet to see a take off of a film I did not find amusing. The 'Saving Private Ryan' one, where they replace all guns with walkie talkies and change nazi to persons with political difference is a classic. It perceptually demonstrates what a pathetic creation we have come in our calls for peace on earth and good will to all men.

On Sat, 14 Dec 2002 00:37:42 +0000 (UTC), "Gary" wrote:

Didn't see it.

Didn't see it. Didn't see it.

Like Episode #1 where Ike does his impression of Richard Caruso's (?) career? Don't know who that is.

Didn't see it. Didn't see SP spoof either.

Basically what I'm saying is that unless your life experience revolves around movies and TV, half of South Park is lost on you. That's a real shame, because the other parts are all brilliant and stand on their own merit and humor.

On Sat, 14 Dec 2002 16:33:42 GMT, Steve Silberberg wrote:

You DO know that was an episode of South Park, right?

You should see Three Kings. Black Hawk Down isn't worth it.

David Caruso. You probably knew who he was at the time, but Caruso's career has virtually disappeared by now. Don't you ever watch or listen to the news?

Who's life revolves around Saving Private Ryan? I can understand not catching the other references, but Private Ryan was a multi-million dollar-grossing Academy Award-winning film. I think about 80% of the people this country have probably seen it.

And why is it a shame that they have so many references to TV and movies in the show? It's a shame to you because you're not "hip" enough to catch it. It's not a shame to Matt and Trey because they obviously enjoy that brand of humor and like to either make fun of TV and movies, or they pay tribute to movies & TV that they love.

Don't try to bring down other viewers of the show because you can't catch all the references... I admittedly watch way too much TV, and there's some stuff that even I don't get 100% of the time... but I'm not going to sit on my high horse and complain about it to make myself feel superior to other people.

If you can only enjoy half of the show, then maybe the show isn't for you.

----- "There'll be someone else sitting here for Comedy Central. And that person... or woman... will have to face the fact that this is the network built on... South Park." - Craig Kilborn, The Daily Show

"I'd like to clear this up before we bring out Carrot Top. I'm not `down' with Carrot Top. I don't `have his back', and under no circumstances will I `Give him his props.'" - Craig Kilborn, The Daily Show

coughCSI:Miamicough

• Vaughner

On 14 Dec 2002 20:59:45 GMT, [email] (Antonio E. Gonzalez) wrote:

Yes, exactly my point. ;)

----- "There'll be someone else sitting here for Comedy Central. And that person... or woman... will have to face the fact that this is the network built on... South Park." - Craig Kilborn, The Daily Show

"I'd like to clear this up before we bring out Carrot Top. I'm not `down' with Carrot Top. I don't `have his back', and under no circumstances will I `Give him his props.'" - Craig Kilborn, The Daily Show

If you didnt see the films, what the fuck are you doing commenting on the episode that aired last week in regards to how it spoofed those movies? fuck man. thats stupid.

On Sat, 14 Dec 2002 19:08:39 GMT, "Doktersteve" wrote:

Actually, that's why I checked the Newsgroup. I kind of wanted to figure out what I had missed, and that's when I made my comments.

"Steve Silberberg" wrote in message news:[email]...

I am sorry i swore at you. that was rude of me. looking back on it, i feel like a dick for doing it. accept my apology pls.

---

On Sun, 15 Dec 2002 06:53:45 GMT, "Doktersteve" wrote:

Hey, the one media reference I DID get, was the Superman Fortress of Solitude. I guess it was an OK choice, but I think that instead of going the media reference route, they could have had Santa live in a Mansion or a Tenement or a Cardboard Box or an Igloo.

Then they could have made him a really bitter Santa for living in a Tenement while he was giving all these toys away (shown before the kids show up). It would make an interesting social statment about poverty and then he could have said something like "It's so cold in this building, I can't feel my balls", maybe getting a laugh and setting up the electro shock scene later, where his balls had been conditioned to withstand an assault.

My point is that every time South Park (or the Simpsons, or Seinfeld, or whatever) goes for the TV/Movie reference, they miss out on an opportunity to do something original and great, instead of rehashing or co-opting someone else's ideas.

Don't misunderstand me, throwing in occasional references is fine and often funny, especially to those who are TV/Movie literate. But I think it's become a huge crutch that prevents them from attaining even more greatness and social relevence.

OK, one other thing I didn't get is when Stan, Kyle and Cartman open their presents their eyes morph and change back. That's obviously a reference to something, but I have no idea what.

There is a big difference between a spoof and a copy. What SP has recently produced has far too often been the latter. Replacing someone else's characters with your own is not spoofing.

Wise Man 2 wrote:

Yes it is. When it's Santa and Jesus.

And I doubt Poo-Choo train was a rip off.

And anything using the words "pants" or "trousers."

Subject: Re: pantco digress, voluminous Date: Thu, 15 Aug 2002 00:47:36 GMT Newsgroups: rec.music.classical

Tholen always wanted to be a tight end. But he'll never have a tight end. Tholen has ... "TF" [Terminal Flatulence].

"Heh-heh, Davie Tholen has been an astronomer at the University of Hawaii! Dave Tholen has been an internet kook! Dave Tholen has been a great big douche! And now, Dave Tholen -- is creating the poo-choo train! Rated PG-13."

What about the Raiders of the Lost Ark parody? That was one of the funniest movie parodies ever!

Z.W.

"ZoeWebber" wrote ...

I actually thought it was one of their worst parodies. Still, South Park's humor has always been topical and entrenched in pop-culture. They've done parodies of film/TV before, and will do it again.

-Jay

believe it or not, if you really pay attention to the earlier episodes...alot of their lines are stolen....recently it was independence day, before that wrath of khan, they've been doing it from the beginning...so they aren't really getting low on content...their just making the spoofing really really obvious now...before you just had to pay attention...the lines were almost verbatim....just thought i'd defend two great artists in what is still one of the funniest shows on television. "Steve Silberberg" wrote in message news:[email]...

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