Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.0

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

Drugs are bad, mmmmkay?

South Park's first season delighted fans way back when and ended on a major cliffhanger, perhaps the most gotta-know-right-now! one from the entire twenty-season run: just who is Cartman's father? Fans waited for an answer, and when the night for the season two premiere arrived, fans discovered 30 minutes later that they'd have to wait a little longer. Creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone decided to play a prank on the loyal viewership and air a completely unrelated Terrence & Philip episode instead, a funny episode that was overlooked in the furor of having to wait a while longer to learn the truth behind Cartman's lineage, which when it was finally revealed was of course comically convoluted in classic South Park style. The controversy would prove to be the highlight of the season, one in which there just aren't many classic episodes. Season two does introduce "cop Cartman" and Mr. Twig but meanders through a string of mediocre episodes with oddball plots, such as those centered on a nurse with a fetus stuck to her head, Charlie Manson, or an episode about the boys contracting chicken pox. There are some highlights to be sure, including some pokes at film festivals, Chef's battles with the corporate music world, and a hilarious riff on television flashback episodes in "Flashbacks." Season two also sees the end of the live-action Parker and Stone introductions, which disappear midseason with "Cow Days."

Weak!

• Terrance and Phillip in Not Without My Anus: Canada's funniest and fartiest duo is on trial for murder. They are acquitted even as they make a mockery of the process. Their actions anger the prosecutor, who gets a call from Saddam Hussein who...nobody cares; who is Cartman's father?
• Cartman's Mom Is Still a Dirty Slut: After an agonizing wait, Cartman's father is finally revealed, but not without some complications.
• Chickenlover: Officer Barbrady investigates a case of someone having, uh, relations with local poultry and finds himself lost and confused by the case due to illiteracy. He resigns, and it's up to the boys to pursue the investigation and keep the peace. Respect Cartman's authoritah!
• Ike's Wee Wee: Kyle's little bother Ike is having a party known as a "bris." Sounds fun, but the truth shocks the boys: it's a celebration of cutting Ike's privates.
• Conjoined Fetus Lady: When Kyle is hurt in gym class, he has to go see the school nurse. Rumors of her deformities abound, but Kyle finds her a pleasantly normal woman -- until she turns around and he discovers that she has a fetus attached to her head. Sheila Broflovski makes it her mission to educate the town about the disorder while the boys are invited to the state finals for gym class dodgeball.
• The Mexican Staring Frog of Southern Sri Lanka: Jimbo and Ned's hunting TV show grows in the ratings while Jesus' talk show ratings drop.
• Flashbacks: With the school bus dangerously teetering on the edge of a cliff and the boys on the brink of death, they remember some "tricky situations" from past episodes.
• Summer Sucks: Crisis! Mr. Hat is missing. Crisis! School lets out for the summer, the snow temporarily melts, and the town celebrates Independence Day by, what else, endangering everyone when its efforts to make the world's biggest snake backfires.
• Chef's Salty Chocolate Balls: The Sundance film festival moves to South Park, and Chef tries to take advantage of the opportunities that the crowd brings. Meanwhile, an old friend once again visits Kyle.

• Chickenpox: There's an outbreak of chickenpox in South Park, and the parents want all of the kids to contract it before they get older.
• Roger Ebert Should Lay Off the Fatty Foods: As Cartman tries to wrangle his way into singing the Cheesy Poofs theme song for a national campaign, the boys travel to the local planetarium where they learn something sinister is afoot.
• Clubhouses: Wendy wants Stan to build a clubhouse so they can play truth or dare. Cartman, of course, has to outdo him with one of his own. Meanwhile, Stan's parents find themselves battling anger issues.
• Cow Days: It's time for the Cow Days festival in South Park, and the residents celebrate by building a large bronzed statue, which the local bovine population takes a liking to. Meanwhile, the boys try and win Terrence and Philip dolls from a rigged carnival game.
• Chef Aid: When Alanis Morissette releases a hit song that Chef once wrote, he is in turn sued by the record company and must pay damages. Meanwhile, Mr. Garrison tries to save Mr. Twig.
• Spookyfish: The season's Halloween episode that features images of Barbara Streisand in all four corners. In the episode, the boys encounter Cartman from an opposite universe, and Stan's Aunt Flow pays the family her monthly visit and gifts Stan a murderous goldfish.
• Merry Christmas, Charlie Manson!: In the second of the back-to-back holiday episodes, the boys and Cartman's mom travel to Nebraska for Christmas. But they get a very unexpected gift: an escaped Charles Manson hiding out in grandma's basement.
• Gnomes: Harbucks Coffee wants to buy out Tweek's coffee. Mr. Tweek refuses, and the corporation threatens to open a shop next door. Meanwhile, the boys must write a report for school which turns into Mr. Tweek's manifesto against large corporations.
• Prehistoric Ice Man: The boys find a man frozen in time. He's thawed, and despite telling everyone he's only been frozen for months, not millennia, the dense denizens of South Park treat him like an ancient curiosity.

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

South Park: The Complete Second Season generally looks quite good on Blu-ray, but there are some hiccups along the way that lessen the quality by a bit. The main issue comes by way of jagged lines the crop up during the first episode but become more frequent and bothersome, infesting whole episodes, particularly later on in the season. "Chickenpox" is a tough watch; the issue creeps into nearly every shot, and as characters move -- even if it's just mouth or eye movement -- the uneven lines become increasingly prevalent. While every episode displays the issue is some quantity, none are as severe as "Chickenpox," but "Cow Days," "Merry Christmas, Charlie Manson!," and "Prehistoric Ice Man" are all problematic. There's also some major shimmering visible on Cartman's blueprints for an Ewok treehouse in "Clubhouses." Otherwise, the image looks quite nice. It's sharp and well defined, with the series' trademark construction paper appearance on full display, and characters and environments are usually very well defined and precise. Colors are buoyant and cheerful, well saturated and offering plenty of punch, particularly the core shades that make up the boys' everyday attire. A few scan lines are visible throughout, and flashback scenes in "Flashbacks" are of a subpar quality. There are certainly some concerns, but the season otherwise looks great in HD.

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

South Park: The Complete Second Season's Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack handles basic duties well enough. The show is propelled by dialogue, and track clarity is sufficient to appreciate every nuance in all of the character voices as they're presented front-and-center with no serious issues. There are a few nice examples of wide reverberation, including inside the planetarium in "Roger Ebert Should Lay Off the Fatty Foods" and in the cave during the season's final episode. Music, whether light score or the show's famous theme music, plays with enjoyable robustness, width, and clarity. Minor effects and more action-oriented elements never miss a beat, either, delivering the core sound elements with impressive ease of delivery and definition.

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

South Park: The Complete Second Season contains only one extra, a music video entitled "Chocolate Salty Balls" (1080p, 4:05). This video can be found on disc two.

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

South Park's sophomore outing stands as one of the lesser seasons in the books. It lacks the momentum gained by consistently hilarious and memorable episodes, is much more absent the sort of timely social commentary of other seasons, and there's a general feel that Parker and Stone are still feeling and fleshing out the characters, even if season one offered a more consistent rhythm. It's still a solid enough season and well worth revisiting, particularly on Blu-ray. South Park: The Complete Second Season does show some warts on the video end but offers a generally clear, colorful, and cheery HD image. The 5.1 lossless audio track is fine. Sadly, supplements are limited to a single music video. Recommended, particularly to series completists.