Monday, October 06, 2008
South Park has successfully pushed the envelope so far that apart from a naked vagina popping up to shout "fuck" on daytime television, you've seen it all. And now you can see it all over again on your broadband-Internet-connected computer, via South Park Studios.
I'm the kind of guy who enjoys a hearty laugh. Hell, I'm the kind of guy who enjoys laughing more than most activities, especially not laughing. Not laughing is like having no cake and not getting to eat any later, either. It's a shitty situation to be in, but don't fret, because South Park Studios is a website made for folks like you and me, who hate wearing shoes and love to laugh until we pass out from exhaustion.
There's a surprising amount of intricacy to South Park Studios. Not only is it an archive of every aired episode of the show; it has everything from news and games to a full-fledged community and a unique scene mixer, which allows users to craft their own hilarious South Park moments with pre-cut scenes. It doesn't matter if you're stopping by for a clip or two, an entire episode, or to chat with forums-goers. South Park Studios has all the bases covered.
The episode guide is a great tool to use in conjunction with the physical player, for obvious reasons that I will explain anyway. As you peruse through the list, you'll find that upon clicking an episode you're given a brief summary and a link to watch it, as well as subsequently aired episodes and a link to discuss the show in the forums. I personally would've expected a more detailed synopsis of each episode, or maybe some fun facts, but then I remembered that not everybody can be Wikipedia. The only thing that comes close to being Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, which I read on Wikipedia is some sort of book-like compendium of knowledge. What a waste of paper!
The coolest feature on South Park Studios is probably the clip mixer, if you're into that sort of thing. I'm not, really. I'm more the kind of person who prefers to watch the clips others create, so the mixer serves its purpose for both casual and creative South Park viewers. Speaking of which, the creatively inclined can also concoct their own South Park avatar, for use on whatever forum or instant messaging service you choose. There's certainly enough to keep you entertained once you're through watching all 12 seasons. That reminds me: This is South Park I'm talking about - one of the most gut-wrenchingly hilarious comedy programs on air. It's one of the few shows still in production that has won a CableACE Award, too. I'm not entirely clear about the prestige associated with that award, if it exists, but I'll take a dose of controversial comedy over nagging boredom any day, and you can too!
Are you done fooling around with episodes and avatars? Good, because there's a shop for you to visit and downloads to be had, not to mention (Or yes to mention?) character lists, FAQs and behind the scenes info. Each section has a moderate amount of depth to it, including the Crap section, where you can buy some crap and junk. South Park Studios is the one stop shop for all South Park fans, just as it ought to be. It's beyond frustrating when a franchise's website is bested by the fans, so thankfully the opposite is true for South Park Studios. They've got their content laid out in a visually pleasing manner; it's well organized and basically idiot proof. I can't even fathom someone getting lost or confused by South Park Studios, but that's probably due to my imagination being hijacked by terrorists.
Clearly, I have yet to get it back. Pick up your free laughs at southparkstudios.com.
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