Hey my dears. First… sorry for bad english. Aaand sorry for that thread but…
A few weeks ago I start watching SP again. I think it was around season 11 or 12. Then I watch all episodes of S5 until S17/S18. I immediately recognized a change in houmor. The jokes are getting worse and worse with each season after season 16. I was watching an episode from season 18 and I wasnt smiling even once. After this episode I went back to S6 and really laughed my ass off.
Is it just me or is south park not south park anymore?
“fall of south park” when PC Principal is literally a character on the show is fucking hilarious ffs
Yes, it’s just you. South Park hasn’t “fallen” at all.
People say that about every show, and if I had to take a guess people have said that about South Park probably as early as Season 2-3. Creators change and age, and so the audience. Sometimes this aligns well, sometimes it doesn’t. I personally think South Park is still funny (there are some hits and some misses), but the reality is it’ll always be changing.
tbf, The Simpsons definitely took a major nose dive after they lost most of their core writers around S10-12. Now it’s just gone on so long that even those bad years after that look amazing compared to what’s out there in the latest seasons.
Personally, I’ve thought these Paramount+ mini-movies have all been fantastic and some of the best South Park I’ve seen since their early years. I actually have been watching them again this week and wrapped them up with the original movie and it felt like the same style comedy.
For me 19 was solid, 20 was interesting but they got screwed banking too much on the elections + trying to do a 7 days to air style with a running plotline. The tegridy seasons weren’t my cup of tea. I personally liked the more serious specials like COVID that were more narrative based than comedy based, it struck a nerve for me.
The show was already in decline in seasons 11 and 12, though still good. Season 15 is arguably when it stopped being good.
The thing about South Park is, it stays recent. I don’t think the humour has changed as much, just the nature of things they satire on has changed and demands a different approach at times. While there has been a drop in quality but that’s only in comparison to the high ceiling they set before, that’s not to say it isn’t good still.
Yes, there are good episodes and bad ones, but I think good ones are still very good. For example, take the episode where Jimmy uses the word “retarded” in his school newspaper and how they expose PC Principal’s hypocrisy around the matter when he’s uncomfortable treating Jimmy like others. That was a great episode and handled the theme so well, at least for me
For me south park started to change when it was heavy serialized then it’s only gotten worse.
Now we are down to like 6 episodes on one service and specials on another service.
Season 19 is great
I think some of the best story line, laughs came late with the PC Principle and Skankhunt42 story lines. Not every year will be for you, but still lots of laughs in there.
Perhaps it’s you that has changed?
Might I direct you to Season 15 episode 7, You’re getting old.