The Show
I seldom tune into Comedy Central's South Park , partly because the censorship and commercial interruptions stress me out, but that doesn't mean that the show doesn't still rock, even as we look back now upon The Complete Fifteenth Season. And so these annual Blu-ray collections are a welcome way to catch up with Eric, Kyle, Stan and Kenny, who yet again have managed to immerse themselves in just about every trend in popular culture.
The season begins with a scathing indictment of Apple by way of The Human Centipede--a little awkward now that Steve Jobs has passed--and soon segues into Stan's tenth birthday, the first half of an unofficial two-parter when his entire world view changes. Creators/writers/directors Matt Stone and Trey Parker also explore the world of Broadway musicals (something they know a bit about from their Tony Award-winning The Book of Mormon), WikiLeaks, Asian stereotypes, the sad truth about the NCAA and some blatant nonsense about Thanksgiving. A word of warning though, these fourteen episodes are uncut and uncensored, with some pretty disgusting images and questionable content, and even the menus use the F-word, so brace yourselves for some hardcore cartoon mayhem.
The Picture
Born in the computer, these 16:9 TV episodes boast an abundance of bold colors. The geometric shapes and digital line art are remarkably sharp, and text is easily legible: The artists went to a lot of effort to design and render placards, t-shirts and more, some rather amusing, and we can actually read the Apple Terms & Conditions letter that Kyle mistakenly signs. The AVC bitrate varies tremendously, from the low single digits to the low 20s (megabits-per-second), and the higher compression does lead to some minor video banding issues.
The Sound
South Park is mostly dialogue and therefore the audio is typically all up in the front channels with frequently dead surrounds or an occasional effect in the rears. The musical score however is especially clear and airy, particularly in the strings but also on the sustain of a cymbal crash for example, backed by solid bass too when needed. In fact, the music is the prime beneficiary of Dolby TrueHD 5.1 presentation, mixed generously into the rears as well. The heightened resolution is also a boon to Cartman's affected rantings and other stylized vocal performances.
The Extras
Matt and Trey provide brief mini-commentaries for the first several minutes of each episode, serving up serious creative insight with their own comedic spin. As aired on Comed Central, Arthur Bradford's 6 Days to Air: The Making of South Park (45 minutes) is a career-spanning documentary that takes us all the way up to the production cycle of the Season 15 premiere, "HumancentiPad." Bradford was granted unprecedented access, and as the name suggests, these guys somehow manage to write, record, animate and deliver a new episode in only six days, which is kind of insane.
Another three-and-a-half-minute 6 Days segment takes us behind the scenes of Episode 1504, "City Sushi." The seven deleted scenes from across the season total five minutes, some in finished quality, some as storyboards, each with a bit of bridging footage from the show. All of the extras are in some form of HD.
Final Thoughts
Still funny after 15 years, South Park manages to offend and amuse like no other show on TV. The Blu-ray quality here is sufficiently strong, and the extras help to earn this one an enthusiastic recommendation.
Product Details
South Park S15
3/27 57.99
https://signup.netflix.com/Movie/South%20Park:%20Season%2015/70190797?country=1&rdirfdc=true
B006W93EM4
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| Video | |
| Audio | |
| Movie | |
| Extras |
