Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

South Park: The Complete Fifteenth Season Blu-ray Movie Review

Quinceañera.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman March 20, 2012

Fifteen years or boundary-pushing irreverent humor, pitch-perfect satire, lovable characters, crazy situations, unbelievable events, and a whole lot of fans goes to show that smart television just never goes out of style. "South Park" long ago settled into its groove and never has the series lost track of what it is, what it does, who it does it for, and why it does it. As they say, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Co-creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker somehow manage to keep the show not just moving, but growing. Sure this fifteenth season is more of the same, but it still manages to surprise and satisfy, playing along basically the same themes, striking the same chords, working off the same basic character traits. Yet the series remains relevant because it's made so quickly, almost in real-time as the world turns and new people and events become prime targets for the "South Park" commentary that's largely made the show such a success. Combine that timely commentary with its classic timelessness and wonderful characters and it's a recipe for success that's hopefully here to stay for another fifteen years of animated excellence.

We can't believe how awful this caption is!

Season Fifteen of "South Park" accomplishes what every other season of "South Park" has accomplished: it mixes great characters and both subtle and not-so-subtle culture commentary into one single great show, episode after episode. Sure some of them devolve into crude bodily function humor, but the show is well worth sitting through some of the lesser episodes in favor of the majority of superior shows that take aim at pretty much anything and everything. Chances are if it's been in the news or the talk of the water cooler, it's been on "South Park." Season fifteen serves up a unique spin on the royal wedding, Wikileaks, class warfare, Penn State, and even briefly mentions Tebow-mania, which shows that even for as cutting edge as the show may be, the world in which it exists spins so fast that sometimes even one of the newest episodes can become at least partially dated rather quickly. And it's not just straight old-fashioned ribbing. Only "South Park" could possibly make a classic episode by combining the frustrations of legalese, Apple mania, and The Human Centipede into one episode. But even if it's not always cutting edge -- it's just now getting around to working The Matrix into a storyline -- it works in older material seamlessly and in a way that pokes fun at something very relevant for its time, in this case mindless modern entertainment. This Blu-ray release comes fully uncensored; don't let the kids anywhere near the "Royal Pudding" episode. Yet for the poop jokes and curse words and all the other things that "South Park" does to offend, it remains at its core probably the finest and smartest political and popular culture satire of this, or any, era.

Highlight episodes include:

• HumancentiPad: Many of the boys at school have iPads, except for Cartman. He pretends to own one of the devices, but his is but an empty shell meant to make him look as cool and rich as his friends. When pressed on the issue, he in turn presses is mother to buy him a real iPad. Meanwhile, Kyle has agreed to the iTunes terms and conditions without reading them. He's then whisked away by Apple thugs and forced to become the middle piece of the three-person HumancentiPad, Steve Jobs' latest revolutionary device that sews three people together, anus-to-mouth, with an iPhone taped up front and an iPad strapped onto the back.
• Royal Pudding: It is a most wonderful day up north. It's time for the Canadian Royal Wedding, complete with all the splendor and tradition and pomp and circumstance and pudding one might expect of such an event. Unfortunately, disaster strikes. The Cathedral falls under attack and the bride-to-be is kidnapped. Kyle's little Canadian brother Ike, who had been skipping school and missing out on play rehearsal to watch the ceremony, is devastated. But like every other good Canadian, he answers the call to arms to return to his homeland and rescue the princess at all costs. Meanwhile, Mr. Mackey tries unsuccessfully to put on a stage production warning against the dangers of tooth decay, a task made all the more difficult by Ike's absence, the boy slated to play the pivotal part of "tooth decay."
• Crack Baby Athletic Association: Stan and Kyle see a commercial advocating a charity for babies born addicted to crack. They can't watch it; it's too depressing yet it so easily tugs on their heartstrings. Kyle heads off to volunteer at the local clinic, where he finds Cartman and assumes he's up to no good. It turns out Eric's starting a crack baby basketball league. The game: fill up a ball with crack, let the babies fight over it, upload the video on the Internet, and roll in the cash. Cartman's building a high-dollar empire out of it, and Kyle is blinded by the allure of money. But will his enthusiasm remain or will his heart lead him back down the straight and narrow?
• City Sushi: Butters is distributing flyers advertising a new Asian restaurant, City Sushi, opening up in town. The news is met with anger by the owner of City Wok, before the town's only Asian food eatery. Worse, City Sushi has opened up right next door to City Wok. The result is a nasty Asian turf war, and Butters is blamed. He's hospitalized and diagnosed with multiple personality disorder, but of course the adults of South Park are too dense to realize the "personalities" are just a child at play. Meanwhile, the owners of City Wok and City Sushi continue to battle, even as they try and counter the disinformation spreading about Asian culture.
• You're Getting Old: It is Stan's birthday party, and Cartman is getting just as many gifts. One of Stan's presents is a CD from a band comprised of "Tween" artists. Unfortunately, his mother won't let him listen to it, but his father defends it, stating that every generation has its own style of music. Mr. Marsh comes to like the music and pouts along with the kids when the town's parents band together to prohibit it. Suddenly, however, Stan finds he can't stand the music, which he says sounds like "$#!t." He's told it's a normal developmental phase, but he hears the same thing in everything from The Police to Bob Dylan. The final prognosis: he's growing cynical with age. Meanwhile, Stan's father attempts to rekindle an old dream to become a Rock star by playing his own brand of "Tween Wave" music.
• Ass Burgers: Everything is still just $#!t to Stan. Music, movies, his friends' own words. His parents have separated, and life has led him into a deep depression. He doesn't know how to go on with life when nothing makes him happy. Mr. Mackey thinks Stan might have Aspergers, which he may have contracted via a flu shot from school the year before. But with the diagnosis comes a shocking revelation about the world around him. Meanwhile, Cartman becomes obsessed with "Ass Burgers" and releases his own secret line of tasty burgers which become a big hit around town.
• The Last of the Meheecans: The boys are playing "Texans versus Mexicans." Cartman and pals play border patrol agents while Kyle, Butters, and others take on the role of illegal immigrants. Little do they know that Butters has become lost in the woods outside of town, stuck in the cold and snow while the others are warm and fed in Cartman's house. He proclaims himself "Mantequilla, The Last of the Meheecans." When he's accidentally struck by a car, he remains in-character and is taken in by the folks who hit him, folks who are clearly pro-illegal immigration and pro-cheap labor, dense and well-meaning as they may be. As it turns out, Mantequilla's efforts to return to his "home" leads to a sudden change of events in the flow of illegal immigrants from south of the border, and he becomes a lead figure in a new movement. Meanwhile, Cartman joins the real borer patrol and produces immediate results.
• 1%: South Park Elementary's fourth grade class has scored the lowest health fitness score in the entire country. Actually, the class as a whole scored just fine, but one child dropped the score considerably. Of course, that student is the overweight Eric Cartman. In the interest of fairness, the entire student body is labeled a bunch of "fat f-ing pigs" so as not to single out any one child. Now, instead of recess, the students are forced into a physical education class. So the shortcomings of one student results in the rest, or the "99%, ganging up on one, or the "1%." The students unite to fight the system, angered that the 1% is making life miserable for the majority of the population.
• The Poor Kid: The McCormicks are the focus of an episode of "White Trash in Trouble" -- sponsored by Pabst Blue Ribbon. They're busted on TV, the parents arrested, and the children pulled out of school and sent to an agnostic foster home obsessed with Dr. Pepper. Stan and Kyle are worried, but Cartman is only concerned with figuring out the identity of the new poorest kid at school. With Butters' help, Cartman learns the poorest kid is -- Cartman.

South Park: The Complete Fifteenth Season Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

South Park: The Complete Fifteenth Season's 1080p Blu-ray transfer pretty much reflects the same qualities of its predecessors. The series enjoys wonderful stability on Blu-ray in terms of both its colors and details. The image is always awash in bright, even colors. The yellow walls and green carpeting that make up Cartman's living room; the blue, red, orange, and green clothes the boys wear in pretty much every episode; and the various shades around town appear consistent and vibrant, never dull and never gaudy. Likewise, fine detail is as sturdy as the series' construction paper roots. Backgrounds reveal distinct textures, whether walls or Cartman's mother's hair. Lines are crisp, and even small background information -- text and television images seen in the background at a Hooters restaurant -- remains sharp and well-defined. Some intrusive banding appears fairly regularly throughout the season, and a few jagged edges are present. Otherwise, this is a nice-looking, stable image that will delight fans, even as a follow-up to the quality of the original HD broadcasts.

South Park: The Complete Fifteenth Season Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

South Park: The Complete Fifteenth Season's masterful Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack often outshines its strong 1080p video counterpart. The show's theme music enjoys wonderful energy, fine clarity, strong bass, and great spacing. The season features a wide variety of in-show music, all of it playing with the exact same exacting qualities, whether the 70s-style spy must heard briefly in the crack baby episode and the strong bass coming from a Hip Hop beat that follows it or the various tunes (and their accompanying "sound effects") in the "getting old" episode. The low end does get a little rattly in that same "tween" episode, but that's the only instance of anything but excellent bass in the entire season. General sound effects enjoy superb clarity and perfect spacing, whether chants and reverberations or simple gunshots. Dialogue is smooth and accurate, whether the typical character voices, Kenny's muffled dialogue, or the edgier German dialect as heard in episode two. Every episode offers up a distinct and spectacular track. The season presents a wide range of samplings, pretty much all of them representative of Blu-ray excellence of the highest order.

South Park: The Complete Fifteenth Season Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

South Park: The Complete Fifteenth Season contains all of its supplements on disc one of this two-disc set, save for the audio commentary tracks. The highlight is a lengthy "South Park" making-of Documentary.

• Audio Commentary: Trey Parker and Matt Stone offer up their patented "mini commentaries" for all fourteen episodes.
• 6 Days to Air: The Making of "South Park" (1080p, 42:05): A must-watch for any "South Park" fan. This supplement follows in some detail the "ambitious schedule" of the "South Park" team as they assemble -- from scratch -- each episode in only six days.
• 6 Days to Air: Behind the Scenes of "City Sushi" (1080p, 3:20): A brief extension of the previous supplement, focusing on a single episode.
• Season 15 Deleted Scenes (1080p, 5:09).

South Park: The Complete Fifteenth Season Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It's hard to believe it's been almost thirteen years since the South Park movie came out and fifteen years since the show first aired. Watching the show's fifteenth season and comparing it to the movie and older episodes shows that even with the passage of time, the series has remained true to its roots and managed to improve rather than fall flat even this far into the future and existing in a world drastically removed from that of the late 1990s. It's all so finely-tuned, there's so much history with which to work, the characters so well fortified in who they are that no matter who or what falls under the show's crosshairs, it just fits like a comfortable old pair of boots that slip right on no matter the place or the time. Season fifteen, like most other seasons, might have a few shows that don't quite live up to the excellence of the rest, but this is another high-quality season that will leave fans more than satisfied. Paramount's Blu-ray release of South Park: The Complete Fifteenth Season features high quality video and audio to go along with several good extras, including a must-see documentary. Highly recommended.