"D-Yikes" is yet another slight letdown for me personally in this eleventh season and is making my fears that the show is now on its inevitable and eventual decline more palpable. Here is another episode of Ms. Garrison which in itself is always delightful as Mr. Garrison was always one of my favourite characters and Ms. Garrison herself has proven to be a wonderful asset to the show.
The first half of the episode concerns Ms. Garrison's exasperation with the superficial experience of dating men reaching a boiling point, only to then seek solace among women. This episode sees Ms. Garrison become a lesbian, a story arc that I look forward to watching. There is plenty of humour in this half whether it be the events that surround Ms. Garrison and her passionate hate speeches on men (which are hilarious) or the repercussions of her frustrated dating life on her students (who are forced to read an Ernest Hemingway novel and write a book report on it). This half of the episode feels as natural and as fresh and funny as South Park when it is near its best.
The unemployed Mexican characters are perfect, funny, subdued in their portrayal and the payoff in the final scene is truly perfect. The fact that Matt and Trey, who are renowned for their indifferent racist portrayals of various cultures on the show could portray the unemployed Mexicans as intelligent, friendly and competent is fantastic. The final scene with the Mexicans substituting for Garrison and teaching the class how to add fractions is fantastic and the degree to which they are not only competent but informative to the class is hilarious and dare I say, beautiful.
The half that does not work so well for me here is the majority of the second half which acts as a parody of the film "300". This is due mostly to the parody element being the far less interesting part of the greater story for me as well as the fact that I personally did not find it particularly funny. The attempts at an aesthetic replication of the film, whether it be the oblique "camera" angles or the emphasis and overuse of slow motion or the drab colour palette or even the narration never meshed in a way that feels totally satisfying and coherent for me, especially within the context of the episode. The show has done mimicry and parody much better earlier in the show but here it felt somewhat forceful to me. This half is where my concerns that the show might be on the decline are becoming increasingly more real despite the fact that this eleventh season still has a number of very highly regarded episodes to come.
"D-Yikes" is an overall interesting experience for me. My feelings are very mixed, on the one hand there is half an incredibly strong episode that is funny, enjoyable and loyal to the spirit of South Park and there is another half that aspires to the parody and satire that the show usually does very well but leaves me feeling cold. Is South Park on the slow decline at this point? It would not be surprising given just how emphatic a run the show had between season five right through to season nine (and even season ten) which were magnificent television.
The first half of the episode concerns Ms. Garrison's exasperation with the superficial experience of dating men reaching a boiling point, only to then seek solace among women. This episode sees Ms. Garrison become a lesbian, a story arc that I look forward to watching. There is plenty of humour in this half whether it be the events that surround Ms. Garrison and her passionate hate speeches on men (which are hilarious) or the repercussions of her frustrated dating life on her students (who are forced to read an Ernest Hemingway novel and write a book report on it). This half of the episode feels as natural and as fresh and funny as South Park when it is near its best.
The unemployed Mexican characters are perfect, funny, subdued in their portrayal and the payoff in the final scene is truly perfect. The fact that Matt and Trey, who are renowned for their indifferent racist portrayals of various cultures on the show could portray the unemployed Mexicans as intelligent, friendly and competent is fantastic. The final scene with the Mexicans substituting for Garrison and teaching the class how to add fractions is fantastic and the degree to which they are not only competent but informative to the class is hilarious and dare I say, beautiful.
The half that does not work so well for me here is the majority of the second half which acts as a parody of the film "300". This is due mostly to the parody element being the far less interesting part of the greater story for me as well as the fact that I personally did not find it particularly funny. The attempts at an aesthetic replication of the film, whether it be the oblique "camera" angles or the emphasis and overuse of slow motion or the drab colour palette or even the narration never meshed in a way that feels totally satisfying and coherent for me, especially within the context of the episode. The show has done mimicry and parody much better earlier in the show but here it felt somewhat forceful to me. This half is where my concerns that the show might be on the decline are becoming increasingly more real despite the fact that this eleventh season still has a number of very highly regarded episodes to come.
"D-Yikes" is an overall interesting experience for me. My feelings are very mixed, on the one hand there is half an incredibly strong episode that is funny, enjoyable and loyal to the spirit of South Park and there is another half that aspires to the parody and satire that the show usually does very well but leaves me feeling cold. Is South Park on the slow decline at this point? It would not be surprising given just how emphatic a run the show had between season five right through to season nine (and even season ten) which were magnificent television.