Since its debut in 1997, "South Park" has somehow managed to remain the sharpest and most consistently hilarious show on television. This is quite impressive given not only how long the show has been on the air at this point, but also justhow quickly each episode gets produced. It had often been said that episodes of "South Park" are made in a week or less. I'd heard this a long time ago and thought it was simply a rumor, as it seemed completely insane to think that anyone could put together such great television in such a limited time span. 6 Days to Air: The Making of South Park shows how "South Park" creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone manage to do just that. The focus here is The Human Centipad episode, perhaps the most disgusting episode the duo has ever come up with. The writing process, animation process, voice-recording process, and editing process are all covered here. Due to the short running time of the documentary, the coverage of each of these processes is not extensive, but long enough for the viewer to get a good sense of what it takes to create a typical "South Park" episode.
The best part of 6 Days to Air is that, unlike most behind-the-scenes documentaries that try to sell that every production is a blast to work on, here there is emphasis on the enormous pressure and anxiety everyone is under to get the episode done on time. Parker and Stone make no attempt to hide the anxiousness, making this feel like a real honest look at the creative process, not just a "South Park" fluff piece. Parker, in particular, is seen to be quite on edge when it seems the episode may not be done by the scheduled airdate. Although Stone gets his fair share of camera time, Parker seems to be the main figure in the documentary as head writer and director of the episode being produced. Parker is a fascinating figure to watch, alternating between hilarious, stressed out, and just happy to get the work done. This isn't one of those documentaries where the audience is left with the impression that the filmmaker is delusional, pretentious, or a jerk. Parker just seems like a normal, everyday guy with a very tough but rewarding job in the television industry. If anything, 6 Days to Air makes one admire Stone and Parker even more for the hard work put into their television show.
6 Days to Air isn't perfect as its aforementioned short running time is a bit of a bummer, but it's certainly one of the more entertaining and informative documentaries about television. I've seen it several times now, and still find it to be just as intriguing as I did the first time that I watched it. It would be great to see another longer documentary about "South Park" in the future, although for now 6 Days to Air remains the definitive documentary on the legendary series. Definitely recommended. 9/10
The best part of 6 Days to Air is that, unlike most behind-the-scenes documentaries that try to sell that every production is a blast to work on, here there is emphasis on the enormous pressure and anxiety everyone is under to get the episode done on time. Parker and Stone make no attempt to hide the anxiousness, making this feel like a real honest look at the creative process, not just a "South Park" fluff piece. Parker, in particular, is seen to be quite on edge when it seems the episode may not be done by the scheduled airdate. Although Stone gets his fair share of camera time, Parker seems to be the main figure in the documentary as head writer and director of the episode being produced. Parker is a fascinating figure to watch, alternating between hilarious, stressed out, and just happy to get the work done. This isn't one of those documentaries where the audience is left with the impression that the filmmaker is delusional, pretentious, or a jerk. Parker just seems like a normal, everyday guy with a very tough but rewarding job in the television industry. If anything, 6 Days to Air makes one admire Stone and Parker even more for the hard work put into their television show.
6 Days to Air isn't perfect as its aforementioned short running time is a bit of a bummer, but it's certainly one of the more entertaining and informative documentaries about television. I've seen it several times now, and still find it to be just as intriguing as I did the first time that I watched it. It would be great to see another longer documentary about "South Park" in the future, although for now 6 Days to Air remains the definitive documentary on the legendary series. Definitely recommended. 9/10