Review: South Park “Dikemble’s Hot Dogs”

Editor’s Note: As is with the case of covering a show that literally changes things in minutes, it should be noted that the episode as it is titled in this review was the one originally announced. The producers of the show have since changed and corrected this to “DikinBaus Hot Dogs”. 

Overview

The “South Park” boys renovate and open a historic restaurant in Colorado.

Our Take

South Park returns after a quick mental health week for a new episode that lampoons the common struggles of today’s work economy. Gone are the days where kids want to get a job, go to work, earn an honest living, and making something of themselves and in comes the days where #hashtag work days flood LinkedIn, remote work is becoming more expected, and banks are given deposits that are far too big to give back before they’ve had a chance to reinvest it into shady bonds and trades.

As Matt Stone and Trey Parker get closer to becoming restaurant owners themselves with the reopening of their recently acquired Casa Bonita, currently the website features hundreds of jobs now available. Chances are, a lot of the quandaries that both Chilly Willy’s and Cartman’s new company Dikinbaus face are likely a lot of the same things that THEY are starting to see as we speak as they look to hire on their own restaurant staff.

“Dikemble’s Hot Dogs” factors in an interesting vantage point of what’s going on today with the working middle class. Entitlement for doing nothing is running rampant, new technologies are starting to automate a number of jobs anyway, and costs of living are skyrocketing. Add in the fact all of the shenanigans that the regional banking sector has been experiencing the last week or so, and there probably could have been a whole lot more for the producers to talk about here. I know Matt Stone is more of the business brains of the tag-team duo and very well could have gotten a few more half hours out of this one, and with Butters starting to find HIS business savvy groove, could his future personality that was featured in the Paramount+ specials start to come into focus here?

Trey Parker’s fascination with hot dogs continues to intrigue me. They were a go-to for a hilarious death gag in Baseketball, Cartman lived in a hot dog, and now we get an episode all about Cartman opening a hot dog stand and being successful at it. In any event, it’s good to see Cartman back home.  Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go get a hot dog from Five Guys.