Customer Reviews

South Park - The Complete First Five Seasons

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Don't get me wrong, South Park is genius comedy. Sitcoms from the 50's through the 80's usually had a moral at the end of each ep. I dare you to find an episode of "The OC" or "Dawson's Creek" or "Prison Break" that has a healthy moral.
SP has an intelligently articulated moral at the end of (almost) every single episode. When my kids turn 14, they will be forced to watch all the back episodes.

In other matters:
You can pay $155.99 for the 5 season DVD set.
Or you can pay $128.89 and buy seasons 1 through 5 individually.
Somebody at Amazon hasn't been doing their homework.

Price this collection for $99.99 and you'll sell about a billion of them.

Update: It's April 12th, 2006 (2 days after I made the above review) and the prices of the South Park DVD's has changed. Seasons 1 - 5 now go for $29.99 each; $149.95 for all 5. The 5 season collection is $155.99. What do I get for my extra 6 bucks? A fancier box?
If you customer buys your product in volume, they usually get a discount, not an upcharge! Duh!

Update: It's Tuesday April 18th. The total price for seasons 1-5 purchased individually on Amazon is $118.85.
The box set is $145. It should be about $100 and I won't buy it until it is.

It ends up that the 1st 5 seasons separately purchased end up being around $20 cheaper than this bundle. This show is amazing, but you could buy the South Park Movie DVD along with the seasons and it'd still be cheaper than this bundle.

Seasons 1-4 individually: $16.99
Season 5 : $21.99

Total Individually: $89.95

Now, what was that price again? $174.99?

riiiiight

I placed all the single volumes in the cart and the total price ($156) was $20 less than what this box set is priced at now ($175). What is up with that??!

How can I describe Mr. Hanky in polite language? A scatological figure maybe. In reality he is more of a post-modern take on Jiminy Cricket. If you watch the show he is the most sincere out of all of the characters. He always manages to wrap up the episodes he is on with a sincere and happy ending. Also, as is made clear in the first episode he is on, he is a suitable holiday figure for people who are non-denominational. Anyway, I seriously think the creators of South Park should create a Mr. Hanky spin-off series. Having to cope with an alcoholic wife and disabled son, I think Mr. Hanky could use the money. As they say in the song, "if you eat fiber on Christmas eve, Mr. Hanky will be sure and come down your tree".

I know prices on amazon change quite often, but it could save you $50 to look. I found this 5 season set for $175.00, but by buying each season individually it's around $125. Just a heads up.

Still 5 Stars, because you can't really put a price on hours of laughter.

South Park has truly been one of the funniest shows on TV over the past ten years. This outrageous yet hilarious cartoon finds the perfect balance of all areas of humour; appealing to a very wide audience. Almost every episode provides a great laugh - fantastic entertainment all around. The first five seasons alone display the excellent quality of this show, whether you're a fan or not - this product is highly recommended!

Season One:

The first 13 episodes are considerably less in-depth than a lot of the later episodes, but still downright hilarious. In this set, the characters are introduced perfectly and plots are intriguing enough to make an immediate impact. The funniest episodes here include:

Starvin Marvin: The boys inadvertently adopt a starving Ethiopian and name him "Marvin", but it is ultimately Cartman that is sent back to the third world country Marvin comes from.

Pinkeye: Halloween episode. An outbreak of zombies in South Park causes trouble for the boys at Halloween.

Tom's Rhinoplasty: Wendy becomes jealous when Stan falls for a new substitute teacher, totally unaware that she bats for the wrong team anyway.

Mr Hankey The Christmas Poo: The famous first Xmas special, in which Kyle spreads the word of Mr Hankey - a talking piece of Christmas Poo. Hilarious stuff.

Season Two:

The second season manages to improve over the first and deliver some truly classic episodes, with great humour that never gets boring. Ignore the poor opener, the rest of this set is superb. The best episodes here include:

Cartman's Mom Is Still A Dirty ****: Cartman continues the quest to find the identity of his father, but it isn't going to be easy. Maphesto - the scientist with the answer - is shot. It's up to the boys to save him and uncover the mystery.

Chickenlover: Officer Barbrady - the town's local cop - admits to being illiterate. The boys must help Barbrady learn to read so that he can catch South Park's latest criminal.

Summer Sucks: It's summer time in South Park - but fireworks have been banned. The boys come to realise that there is nothing else to do, so Jimbo and Ned head off to retrieve fireworks from elsewhere. Meanwhile, the mayor puts on a 4th July celelbration the town will never forget.

Clubhouses: The boys build rival clubhouses in a competition to attract chicks and play "Truth or Dare". At the same time, Stan fights to prevent the divorce of his parents.

Season Three:

Probably the weakest season of the five, but still very funny. 17 episodes - most of which are very good. A few less comical editions don't ruin this set. The best of the bunch are:

Rainforest Schmainforest: The boys are sent off with a choir group to explore the rainforest, gradually coming to the conclusion that the rainforest sucks. Classic comedy.

Succubus: Chef finally decides that his womanising lifestyle is getting too much for him and decides to settle down with a long term partner. The boys don't approve of their friend being snatched away and attempt to reveal his evil girlfriend's true identity.

Sexual Harrassment Panda: Petey the Panda is a mascot who visits the school in order to discuss sexual harrassment. This leads to an abundance of lawsuits against the school. The boys search for Petey to warn him of what South Park has become.

Chinpokomon: This emmy nominated episode features a hilarious spoof of Pokemon. The children become obsessed with this new fad, which at first seems somewhat harmless, but is later discovered to be an anti-american movement. Kyle works to keep up with the fad.

Season Four:

South Park is back to it's best. 17 episodes, each with strong moments - some standing out as classics! The picks here are:

Cartman's Silly Hate Crime: Cartman throws a rock at Token, only to be accused of committing a hate crime and sent to juvenile hall. He must pull his weight to get by in the big house. Meanwhile, the boys are challenged to a sledding race by the girls and need Cartman back to stand a chance of winning.

The Tooth Fairy Tats: When the boys are finally told that the tooth fairy isn't for real, they see the opportunity to make money in the "tooth trade". However, the existing mob branch don't take too kindly to this. Throughout this, Kyle seeks the answers to what really does and doesn't exist.

Chef Goes Nanners: The issue of the South Park flag is raised - Chef sees it as racist whereas Jimbo sees it as unchangable. The debate is passed over to the school children, where two sides must prepare their case. When made co-leaders of the same team, Cartman and Wendy become attracted to one another.

Something You Can Do With Your Finger: The boys form their own boy band, after a vision Cartman had of his future. They hold auditions to find a fifth member, before seeking an opportunity to display their talent on stage.

Season Five:

The final season of this set is by far the funniest yet. Only 14 episodes, but each put together with true class. You'll never get bored of these. The best include:

Scott Tenorman Must Die: Cartman buys pubic hair from an eighth grader named Scott Tenorman, only to realise he has been ripped off. Cartman seeks revenge, but comes off second best with each plot. This episode features the most shocking ending in South Park history.

It Hits The Fan: When a certain obscentiy is used on TV for the "first time", it becomes a common phrase to all residents of South Park. The boys feel this may be related to a recent illness outbreak and fight to prevent the use of this word. Throughout the episode, a small counter keeps track of just how many times the word is used - stretching to well over 100.

Towelie: This is one of those really mad episodes that's better just to enjoy rather than to question. The boys obtain a new video game console and become obsessed with playing it, but accidentally stuble acroos a talking towel. The console is taken and held at ransom, in return for Towelie. The boys embark on an adventure to return Towelie to his base, remaining focussed on their console the whole time.

Osama Bin Laden Has Farty Pants: As you can guess from the name, this is one of the wackiest episodes there is. The boys are taken to Afghanistan by accident, where they are captured by Bin Laden himself. With help from their Afghani counterparts, the boys escape and attempt to put a stop to the Taliban once and for all.

Overall, one of the best sets of comedy money can buy.

Unlike other TV and movie series in general, South Park just keeps getting better and better as it progresses. It's great how you can see the characters evolve, both in the art and the voice talent, the dialogue and the comedy.

If you like South Park and haven't gotten any of the boxes yet, this is a great place to start. 5 seasons in one shot!

I own every season out and love them all. Can't go wrong with South Park. It's something I can watch over and over and will for many years to come!

Either you love South Park or you hate it. I LOVE IT. I have all of the Seasons and they get watched all the time. It is crude humor so if you are easily offended don't purchase this item.