South Park: The Complete Eighth Season

Sometimes things just get better with age. Take the eighth season of South Park for example, which somehow found creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker pushing the limits of of cable television even further in these fourteen episodes. The season begins simple enough, spoofing anime and Dragonball Z in the first episode ("Good Times With Weapons") and break dancing and the dim movie You Got Served ("You Got F'd in the A"), and then things take a very different (and even funnier) turn with the "The Passion of the Jew" as Cartman takes his love for Mel Gibson and the Passion of the Christ to a new level as Stan and Kenny try to get their money back after seeing the film. Disabled Jimmy is willing to go to any lengths to win the special olympics in "Up the Down Steroid" (take that Barry Bonds!) while "Goobacks" became an instant classic taking on the illegal immigration issue with a hilarious sci-fi twist. The second half of the season gets even better with "The Jeffersons" as a strange man with a fondness for children who bears a striking resemblance to the King of Pop moves into town, "Douche and Turd" which puts a spin on the election and the very, very little choice anyone has in the matter, "Something Wall-Mart This Way Comes" in which the mega store comes to town and the kids try to find a way to combat the evil within it, Paris Hilton gets unbelieavbly scathed in "Stupid Spoiled Whore Video Playset", and the closing Christmas episode "Woodland Critter Christmas" may very well go down in history as one of the best episodes in the history of the series. For the most part, season after season, the boys behind the mayhem of South Park manage to attack current issues and events with unabashed glee, and this season was no different. All in all, the eighth season of South Park only furthers the notion that the show is still going strong, and here's hoping it never stops.

Season 8 includes more amazing South Park episodes with topics that remain relevant and fresh. Every time South Park comes out with an incredible episode, I think they have reached their zenith and every time I think that, they prove me wrong. Their take on steroids using the Special Olympics as well as their coverage of Walmart and Michael Jackson are new highs. Every season since season three (which, on a whole, I don't really care for) has gotten better and better. Here are the episodes from Season 8:

"Good Times with Weapons"--The boys buy martial arts weapons at the county fair and dive into the world of anime. In a showdown with Professor Chaos, Kenny gets carried away and throws a star blade into Butters' eye. The boys are afraid they will get grounded. In the end, the town is more concerned when Cartman's naked invisibility powers malfunction.

"Up the Down Steroid"--One of my favorites. Cartman thinks if he pretends to be mentally challenged, he's a shoe-in to win the Special Olympics. Meanwhile, Jimmy wants to win so badly he is willing to use steroids. Mark McGuire, Barry Bonds, and Jason Giambi make an "appearance" to symbolize that kids should never cheat (yeah, right). Classic, I love the part where Cartman "trains" to be mentally challenged and when he tries to complete in the events, but the Jimmy beating up his girlfriend bit was a little much.

"The Passion of the Jew"--Boy, is this all of a sudden relevant again. Cartman convinces Kyle to watch The Passion of the Christ and Kyle is so traumatized, he begins to question his faith. Cartman then organizes a movement reminiscent of something that happened in Germany 70 years ago. Meanwhile, Stan and Kenny try to get their theatre ticket money back by confronting Mel Gibson. The Gibson scenes are way over-the-top.

"I Got F'd in the A"--The boys get "served" by Orange County dancers and the adults seem to care more about the situation than the boys. When Stan's dad teaches his son to dance, Stan serves up the other kids and "it's on" (whatever).

"Awesom-o"--Another one of my favorites. Cartman pretends to be Butters' personal robot to get dirt on him, but when Butters lets it be known that he has video of Cartman in an embarrassing situation, Cartman has to play robot longer than he expected. Soon "Awesom-o" will be used by movie producers to come up with film ideas and be the object the government wants to convert into a weapon. Great scene: when the movie producer asks "Awesom-o" if he's been programmed to pleasure humans.

"The Jeffersons"--One of SP's all-time best!! Michael, uh, Jefferson and his son Blanket move into South Park but Kyle is concerned Mr. Jefferson "just seems like he wants to be a kid, not have one." Mr. Jefferson thinks everyone is just "ignorant." Great scenes: Stan's dream (yuck),and "Got your nose." The music is good, too.

"Goobacks"--People from the over-populated future come to the past seeking employment and blue collar workers from the present protest that these "goobacks" are taking their jobs. These workers have a solution: to turn gay so as to stop future generations.

"Douche and Turd"--PETA is forcing South Park Elementary to change their cow mascot. Kyle and Cartman compete with two different write-in candidates. Stan does not see the point in choosing between a giant douche and a turd sandwich; not even Puff Daddy's "Vote or Die" threats will persuade him.

"Something Wall*Mart This Way Comes"--What's up with that title? Wall*Mart comes to South Park and everything changes, especially Stan's dad, who goes a bit mad.

"Pre-School"--A tough kid the boys betrayed back in pre-school and had sent to juvenile hall is out on parole.

"Quest for Ratings"--The boys' school news show is getting smoked in the ratings, so they need to jazz it up.

"Stupid Spoiled Whore Video Playset"--All the girls want to be like Paris Hilton. Wendy does not think Paris is a proper role model but, when she is ditched by her friends, she is about to give in. Mr. Slave saves the day by competing with Paris in a whore-off.

"Cartman's Incredible Gift"--After being in a coma, police detectives believe Cartman has developed psychic powers to identify serial killers. Of course, many innocent people are arrested as a result.

"Woodland Critter Christmas"--Now this story is twisted. Stan helps a group of animals prepare for the birth of their savior only to find out they are devil worshippers. The last line of the story is hilarious.

In the latest season on DVD, the boys Stan, Kyle, Cartman & Kyle get into the middle of political issues and celebrity shenanigans & This season is capped off with the funniest Christmas episode yet.

Disc 1:
1. Good Times With Weapons: The boys buy Japanese weapons at a fair & Kenny accidentally throws a Ninja star in Butter's eye.
2. Up The Down Steroid: Jimmy takes steroids for the Special Olympics, while Cartman pretends to be handicap for $1,000 dollars.
3. The Passion Of The Jew: Cartman tells Kyle that he should see "The Passion Of The Christ" while Stan & Kyle want there money back from Mel Gibson.
4. You Got F'd In The A: Stan is challenged to a dance-off, while Butter must face a dark past.
5. Awesom-O: Cartman tricks Butters, by dressing up like a robot whose name is Awesom-O.

Disc 2:
6. The Jeffersons: Michael Jackson moves to South Park, while under the name Mr. Jefferson.
7. Goobacks: Humans from the year 4035 come back to the past in order to find work for their familys in the future.
8. Douche And Turd: Peta demonstrates against the use of a cow as South Park Elementary's mascot, so Cartman comes in with a turd sandwich & Kyle comes up with a giant douche.
9. Something Wall Mart This Way Comes: A gaint Wall Mart (spelled with two l's) moves into South Park, & starts making people addictive to buying there all the time.
10. Pre-School: For five long years the boys, including Butters have kept a secret about a illegal incident that happened back in pre-school. Now the kid whose took the fall is being let out of juvie & his first order of business is revenge.

Disc 3:
11. Quest For Ratings: The boys produce their own morning news show and immediately are caught up in the intense competition for ratings.
12. Stupid Spoiled Whore Video Playset: All fourth-grade girls idolize a rich, famous and spoiled socialite named Paris Hilton. They even have a her brand-new toy set that comes complete with a video camera, night vision filter, play money and a losable cell phone.
13. Cartman's Incredible Gift: After Cartman has a sustaining head injury, Cartman appears to have the power to see into the future or so that's what the dumb adults think.
14. Woodland Criter Christmas: Stan is approached by a group of adorable woodland criters and asked to help them build a manger in the anticipation of the birth of their Lord and Savior. Stan complies, only to find out that they serve Satan.

Funny, Funny, right of course!.