As South Park reaches its 12th season, some fans are sacrilegiously bringing up the idea that maybe, just maybe, the Comedy Central hit is running out of ideas.  Some mention that the animated series may have jumped the shark, as there have been not-so-rosy comments on the quality of its latest season so far.

This is unthinkable, as South Park, which can be counted on to parody and/or tackle whatever it is the public is talking about, has a steady stream of material.  This season alone, it has explored the following issues in ways only South Park could: China's rise as a superpower, the 2008 elections, High School Musical, and the crazy, crazy Twilight craze.

Speaking of which, the same had been said about The Simpsons, easily one of the most successful and relevant cartoon series in recent memory or maybe ever.  According to some fans of the show, there haven't been any really good Simpsons episodes of late, and that it has jumped the shark.  Now remember that this is no ordinary show. The Simpsons has 24 Emmy Awards under its belt.  Time magazine named it the best television series of the 20th century, it has its own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and is the longest-running American sitcom.

By the way, speaking of ideas, it wasn't long ago when The Simpsons was accused of stealing an idea from South Park with an episode called “Mypods and Broomsticks Homer.”  On this episode, Homer suspects that the family of Bart's new Muslim friend named Bashir from Jordan is part of a terrorist plot, and Lisa becomes obsessed with her new MyPod.  Aired on November of 2008, a South Park episode aired eight months earlier called “The Snuke” looked eerily the same.  On “The Snuke,” Butters befriends a Muslim named Bahir, while Cartman suspects that Bahir and his parents are involved in a terrorist attack on South Park.

Regardless of whether this is warranted or not, it is true what people say: as long as there is something happening in the world, South Park will not run of material.  Today, what about doing something on American Idol, the $700 billion bailout project or this credit crunch, the absurd reality shows (if Trey Parker and Matt Stone watch Tila Tequila and her kind at all), even Gaza (this Gaza issue is a particularly touchy one, but a really good South Park episode can really drive the point across, especially since the U.S. is a known ally of Israel)?  How about doing an episode as a goodbye to Bush, including the most popular Bushisms?  South Park has made a lot of episodes on sexuality, but how about something specific to Proposition 8?  There should be some new material on this, after Pope Benedict XVI essentially compared homosexual acts to the destruction of rainforests.

And even without these issues, Cartman, Kenny, Kyle, Stan, Butters, Timmy, Mr. Garrison, Randy, Ike, Principal Victoria, Officer Barbrady, even God, Satan, Santa, Saddam, and Moses - with such colorful cast, how can you run out of material?



-Glenn L. Diaz, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
(Image Courtesy of Comedy Central)