Comedy Central’s SouthPark is known for its social commentary on current events, and it has continued that trend into its 16th season. The first episode of the new season, titled “Reverse Cowgirl”, has everything a fan looks for in a typical episode – plenty of potty humor and an excess of vulgarity. The theme of the premiere: the everlasting feud between males, females, and the position of the toilet seat.
The episode begins in Clyde’s backyard with several main characters of the show – Stan, Kyle, Cartman, Clyde and Kenny, when they suddenly hear a frantic call from Clyde’s mom. She proceeds to scold Clyde for not putting down the toilet seat. And on the following school day, mid-class, she repeats this scolding, embarrassing him all the further. However, he refuses to heed his mother’s command, which results in tragedy. Clyde’s mom gets stuck in the toilet, and the only option is to flush it, which would ultimately suck her internal organs out of her body and instantly kill her.
The tragic death ofClyde’s mother calls for the Toilet Safety Administration, or TSA (a parody of the airline security agency with the same initials), to instill new laws of the toilet seat. Soon, every toilet seat in America requires a seat belt, camera, and watch guard to make sure all follow the new regulations. The town grows enraged, but decides the best victim to direct this rage at is Clyde, the fourth grader who just lost his mother to his toilet seat. To helpClydefeel better, Stan and Kyle take him to the law offices of Hoffman and Turk to what every American does in such a situation: sue somebody. This is a perfect example of some of the spot on social commentary of creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone.
When the boys consult with their lawyer, they learn that toilet inventor John Harrington has been dead for over 400 years, and that they can not physically sue him. But – there is hope – they can perform a “sueance”. Hoffman and Turke take their sueance to court to show that it is legitimate, but this causes the soul of Clyde’s mom to make an appearance and show that the lawyers are frauds. This “sueance” turns out to just be a cheap plot to rip the boys off for a quick buck. Clyde’s mom then makes sure not to leave the scene before once more scolding her son for leaving the seat up.
Although it had a great plot line, this episode was far from what Parker and Stone are capable of. The episode lacked the laugh out loud joke and was dull at some points. At times it unnecessarily stretches out scenes, such as the sueance, making the show seem bland. However, it still was a solid episode and a great way to spend thirty minutes. The episode was classic South Park exaggerating just about everything it can while poking fun at certain groups of people. Although it wasn’t totally perfect, Episode 1 of Season 16 gives hope that there are still laughs to be had at the expense of others.
