Here's my review of the April Fool's episode. Hey...I was bored. Annnyway. Enjoy.
Thanks, MIKE
South Park Episode 201 - Not Without My Anus Aired - 4/1/98 Rating - 7.5/10
"Who is Eric Cartman's father?" Wouldn't we all like to know�
Trey Parker and Mat Stone, in perhaps their most interesting move yet,
have played one of the greatest April Fool's jokes I have ever seen.
In the program's cliffhanger episode, Cartman went out to search
for his father. However, it turned out that his mother was/is quite the
philanderer. His father could be anyone, from Chef to Mr. Garrison�
That episode left us hanging, stating that Cartman's father's true
identity will be revealed�in four weeks.
Four weeks pass by and everyone is going crazy trying to figure
out who his father is, some in playful jest, some in obsessive gravity.
The time has arrived. On Wednesday, April 1, 1998, TV Guide reads that
the conclusion to the cliffhanger episode will be shown. Wait a minute,
April�1st? That date is more commonly referred to as April Fool's Day
isn't it? With that in mind, one 'had' to know that 'some' kind of trick
was going to be played on the audience��right? Well, at 10 p.m., millions
of avid viewers around the country sat glued to their screens eagerly
awaiting the program. It begins to say who Eric Cartman's father is�,
and then gets interrupted only to be replaced by�a Terrance and Phillip
special!?! Hahaha. Well, there's the joke. Well done, well hidden,
terrific. Would the joke, itself, anger fans of South Park (and more
directly Parker and Stone's sense of humor)? No, it shouldn't. Would it
anger fans who were so interested in, not only seeing who Cartman's
father is, but seeing an actual episode of South Park? Maybe, but it
shouldn't too much. Would it anger "wannabe" fans who jumped on the
bandwagon and only enjoy the show for it's catchphrases and merchandise?
OH YEAH. And, that's evident by the thousands of letters sent to Comedy
Central in protest.
I enjoy a good joke, and the irreverence and originality Parker
and Stone displayed with the prank certainly made me laugh. However, the
more important question is, "Was the episode itself good?" Well, that's
obviously a subjective question. It's a television episode just like any
other television episode, therefore some will love it and some will hate
it. The main problem people seem to be having is that they are not
judging the episode, but rather the joke behind it. Some episodes of
South Park are better than others, and this is just another episode.
Terrance and Phillip are 2 crudely animated characters who simply
enjoy their own flatulence�really enjoy it. Comparable to The Simpson's
Itchy and Scratchy, T&P existed only briefly within the actual episodes,
with the children loving every second of it. They were even the plot
point in a previous episode, Death, which satirized the 'parents
boycotting television' issue. Nevertheless, most would agree that ten
seconds of T&P is not bad, but a half-hour? Could it work? Well,
somewhat.
I would agree that T&P farting and laughing can get old fast, but
Parker and Stone were wise enough to create most of the episode's humor
outside the farts. The dialogue was quick, quirky, randomly hilarious,
and managed to get in the Canadian national anthem�twice! Canadian jokes
aplenty: Aboot, Kraft Dinner, Roughriders, etc�the plot basically has
Sadam Hussein casually taking over Canada with sub-plots involving Ugly-
Bob (Who is hideously deformed, but looks like everyone else), Celine
Dion, and Scott (Who is out to kill T&P because he believes that
flatulence is the lowest form of humor). How's that for a plot summary?
In my opinion, this episode is just as creative, if not more so, than the
bulk of the prior South Park episodes. As funny? Well�pretty darn
funny. Not a strong episode, but still pretty darn funny.
Highlights of the episode include Sadam himself, hilariously
portrayed (both visually and verbally) ("Relax guy, take it easy, you
need a rest") and the repulsiveness of Ugly Bob and his relationship with
Celine (I'm gonna have a freak baby?!). Most of the funniest lines are
subtle and quick. Maybe, they are too smothered by the farting, but I
believe that even though farts can be humorous on occasions, there was
enough South Park-esque humor involved, that the show succeeded. It made
me laugh, and that's something few shows currently airing can do.