TV-Reviewed

The prophecy has come to be: an even more incoherent sequel to this year’s version of “Go, God Go.” While there were certain elements of last week’s episode that attempted to have enough humor to carry the clunky plot, this week those same devices were overused and run straight into the ground. Matt and Trey seem to have become super aware of their own power and influence with South Park and the combination of self awareness and lack of biting satire has made for a fairly painful fall from glory.

In this episode, the boys have been sent to Peru to put an end to the flute band – only to realize they have been double-crossed. But not before they uncover a prophecy indicating Craig Tucker is the key to “the furry death.” Elsewhere, Randy can’t stop recording, ala Cloverfield, his experiences at ground zero with the guinea pig army. Can Randy saying “I’m so startled” still be funny? Can Craig’s levelheaded commentary still have the same bite? The quick answer is No.

While I have been taught never to question the thought process of the creators of the show, I am beginning to wonder if they are getting bored or apathetic. They are falling back to tried and true methods without any sense of inspired satire or metaphor. This season reads as: Cartman hates another minority, Cartman is offensive, and incoherent epic 2 part story with monsters. I wonder if they are trying to prove a point by avoiding this election season and crisis environment, which is clever. But you know what, that’s what your show is here for, we don’t see SNL avoiding politics because everyone expects them to make a Bush sketch.

This episode does have an old school feel to it, like one of the episodes from the first couple years where the kids would fight a monster (Mecha Streisand, anyone?) and then the boys would look at the “camera” and say how F%#ked up it was. But with the evolution of the show, both technically and narratively, they have outgrown these silly messages. Like The Daily Show, and unfortunately The Colbert Report, the young demographics are looking for brilliant send-ups of issues that we are not experienced or strong enough to solve ourselves. This is a show of levity and escapism.

Guinea-saurus Rex’s are cute. Butters is funny by simply waving in a time of chaos. Craig is refreshingly offering a criticism of the boy’s lifestyle. But please, with only 3 or 4 more episodes left – do something original and exciting again. Spoofing a ten month old movie and wasting 25% of your season on live action guinea pigs is not the show I want to watch.

Rating: 6.5