Is killing Kenny still funny?

I happened to catch "Volcano" on tape the other night, and realized that Kenny has changed a bit over the last couple years. At first he was just a joke: we didn't see his face, couldn't hear his voice, were told he swore like a sailor, and he seemed to exist solely for the running gag of getting killed on a weekly basis.

But that seems to have changed lately. This season in "Rainforest, Shmainforest" we see Kenny get his first crush in a sweet little subplot. And in "Jewbilee" he sacrifices himself to save the Jews who spurned him. Not to mention the movie, where he not only agrees to eternal damnation to prevent Armageddon, but is seen unmasked and speaks his first legible words...which are not profane at all, but instead very moving.

I guess what I'm getting at is that Kenny has been humanized--he's more than just a joke now. Hell, he's actually the most noble character on the show. And it just doesn't seem as funny to see him suffer and die anymore.

So, is the weekly death of Kenny a joke that has run its course? Does the character offer more than just a running gag now? Should we spare Kenny?

Jerry

Old things die hard. It's pretty safe to say that Kenny will be dying in almost every episode that comes our way... unless Trey or Matt are lurking and just do something to contradict me :) I'll agree that Kenny started a spiral that made him more and more noble around the time of "Cartman's Mom is a Dirty Slut, Pt. 2".

the_davester http://www.geocities.com/~dgisoft/nirvana/ "Teenage angst has paid off well, now I'm bored and old" "I miss the comfort in being sad" -- Nirvana "Everyone is entitled to their opinions -- no matter how wrong they are" "Sentience is overrated" --Me

In article , [email] (JKFolkes) wrote:

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Speaking as a Kenny fan, yes, Kenny is indeed the most developed and noble character on the show. But isn't that explainable? I mean, having to face death repeatedly (and know about it, I'm convinced that he knows and the rest of the town doesn't), wouldn't he gain more of a respect for human life? It's surprising, how moving he's become, and how well they developed him..in the beginning, he was usually trying to run from his deaths, he was shaking when Death was coming towards him in episode 106, now, he takes them in stride, sometimes he even causes them himself. As for killing Kenny, yes, it should continue. I mean, it's a tradition, and Trey and Matt have almost *always* found a way to make a new joke out of it ("Oh my God, Kenny..killed..Death." "Oh my God, I found a penny." "Who's *they*?!"), which is extremely hard to do and which I applaud. IMHO, nothing about what they're doing with Kenny is a mistake.

-Kim "Obsessive Freaks Hotline, we're not obsessed, we're healthily preoccupied. We are currently celebrating our one year anniversary, how may I help you?"-Me

"Hm..lowfat SPAM has less grease but more meat, which would make the better lube?"-Me