Season Review: South Park Season 23

Well, that does it for season 23 of South Park. Let’s start by drawing attention to the 1,300-pound gorilla in the room. And by that, I mean the opening theme. We started the season with a very special Tegrity Farms opening featuring Randy and Towelie. That lasted for the first six episodes and ended once the focus shifted away from the weed farm as it closed for the winter. In the next few weeks, we got random openings including PC Babies, One for the Ladies, and The Scott Malkinson Show. In the final week, the classic theme was restored just in time to end the run.

In a way, I understand what they were going for; unfortunately, it didn’t land. The South Park theme has always been a standard intro that fails to hit any emotional notes. While it is widely known, it’s nowhere near as iconic as The Simpsons name emerging from the clouds, or the Cheers gang remembering your name amidst old-timey photographs (We Win!). If the goal was for me to miss the original opening, they failed. The only thought going through my head was: “oh well, guess they couldn’t come up with another one.”

In recent memory, I can only recall one show that succeeded in delighting the masses by holding back on their theme song, only to play it loud and proud during the final episode. The Leftovers, season three, replaced the delightful Iris DeMent ditty, “Let The Mystery Be” with a bunch of nonsense—including the Perfect Strangers theme—only to return to epic form for their final episode ever. You might want to take notes, Trey and Matt.

Well, with that being said, maybe we should talk about the content of the episodes.

I may be in the minority here, but I think Randy is the ultimate South Park protagonist. For nigh fifteen years, he’s been the unsung hero but is only now getting his due. His overly dramatic persona and insane antics have been a cut above everyone else for as long as I can remember. Now sure, a lot of you might think Cartman is the premiere bad boy of this small mountain town. But let’s be real, the kid’s been a rote husk of himself ever since he made that kid eat his parents. I mean, seriously, once you trick somebody into eating chili that has the remains of their mom and dad mixed in, there’s nowhere to go but down.

Randy, on the other hand, is always finding fresh ways to stay relevant in this ever-changing world. This is the man who saved World of Warcraft, proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that alcoholism was a disease, said the N-word on live TV, pleasured Gerald Broflovski in a hot tub and took the World’s Biggest Crap! Hell, the man is even the true identity of the famous New Zealand singer-songwriter, Lorde.

Face it, Randy is a stellar character, and a weed farm is a perfect venue to showcase his talents. On a marijuana farm, Randy won’t just make money by properly marketing and integrating his product, he will also get very high and do all of the crazy things. And let’s not forget his partner in crime legitimate business. Towelie was originally introduced as a companion for the children, but he’s always been a little too risqué for South Park Elementary. His rapport with Randy, however, is fantastic and it makes every Tegrity-centric episode a mixture of satire and a really compelling buddy movie.

I didn’t mind having the kids take a back seat this season. In fact, the two worst episodes just so happened to feature Cartman and the gang in prominent roles. In “Shots” we witnessed an awful gag that involved Cartman squealing and running around like a piggy to avoid his vaccinations. And “Turd Burglars” had the boys doing all sorts of nonsense in order to lock down a hunk of Tom Brady’s poo. Granted, the kids shined in better episodes such as “Board Girls” and “Let Them Eat Goo,” and Butters is always a delight—no exceptions—but for the most part, they were ancillary and allowed the lesser-explored characters come out of their shells.

Along those lines, I thought the other fake series—besides One for the Ladies—were pretty solid. Scott Malkinson, who seldom gets much play, had enough baggage to carry an episode, while PC Principal and VP Strong Woman have been interesting since they debuted a few seasons ago.

Trey and Matt aren’t exactly subtle in admitting how they don’t have the passion for South Park they once did. But hey, this is season 23 and they’ve been the showrunners for every episode, so give them a break. It must be therapeutic for them to explore new realms within the series and to have the opportunity to play with lesser-used characters. For South Park fans—especially those complaining about the changes—keep in mind that these escapades might be the only thing keeping the show alive year after year.