Reviews

I adore "The Cafe" and it is yet another episode of the third season that rides the show's newfound momentum very well. It is an excellent follow-up to "The Parking Garage" that returns the show to a more familiar narrative with multiple storylines that intertwine both effortlessly and quite naturally and it's also an episode where all its constituent parts are highly entertaining.

Probably the thing "The Cafe" is best known for is the introduction of the beloved character of Babu Bhatt, superbly played by Brian George, and while the entire Babu storyline is entertaining and very well done, my favourite aspect of this episode has always been George.

Yes, Brian George is hilarious and his transition from a restauranteur who is amicable to one who is cynical, frustrated and cold is hilarious (I especially adore how he just carelessly draws out a seat for Jerry during his second visit inside the restaurant) and Michael Richards shows some of his ability for physical comedy but I have always been very much a fan of George Costanza here in this episode. He opts to cheat on an IQ test, embarrassed about his lack of intelligence, even when the girl he's dating (whom he is doing this for as a favour to her) could not be less concerned about IQ tests. If the idea of George using Elaine to cheat on an IQ test to impress his girlfriend isn't funny enough, the direction it takes when the plan does not smoothly follow through is hilarious. The scene in which he continuously lies, almost in a pathological manner, to his girlfriend after he returns the paper (drenched in coffee, sandwich stains) is absolutely genius. Jason Alexander is on top form here and I absolutely adore the way he plays that scene in particular, and the means with which he lies is fantastic. For every question the girl asks, he almost responds with another question or a half answer, just enough time to contemplate where he will next take the lie. It's brilliant comedy, it's classic George Costanza and in my opinion, it's pure 'Seinfeld'.

"The Cafe" is excellent. Something prevents me from giving it the nine stars this time around that I had always given it but my enjoyment was not much less. Every storyline works very nicely here and the means with which they come together is yet another example of 'Seinfeld' writing at its best. Every character gets something great, George the most in my opinion, and arguably even more importantly, Elaine is becoming more and more a pivotal character in the series.

"The Library" might not be quite as polished as 'Seinfeld' episodes down the road but it is well remembered as a high point in the show's early years. This is where 'Seinfeld' was finally coming into its own and it's all on display in this fairly tightly woven twenty two minutes. There's very little that drags and while it is fondly looked back on for the character of Bookman, brilliantly played by the great character actor Phillip Baker Hall, it is entertaining all-round.

The episode begins with high pace and it sustains it quite well throughout the episode. What follows Seinfeld's opening stand-up piece is a phone call that Jerry receives from the New York Public Library whereby he receives the odd and distressing news that a book that he borrowed that he supposedly returned, is overdue and he will be met with a lengthy fine. The episode kicks itself into gear immediately and that too is refreshing and from here on in, the episode is an entertaining ride all the way through. Watching Kramer entice deeply buried feelings of love and lust in a lonely librarian is hilarious, as is the payoff later on where Kramer embarrassingly succumbs to tears while reading the librarian's poetry efforts. Michael Richards again nails the role and he makes even solitary phrases like 'memory burn' in this episode hilarious and memorable unto themselves. The character, the dynamic he adds to the show and the performance are all now at that ideal level.

While at the library, George discovers that his former gym teacher whom he had fired (according to Jerry, George 'sang like a canary') is now a destitute living outside the library. This is the sort of storyline that the show has done a number of times where George, either through no fault of his own or through a fault, has terrible consequences for someone else. It was present in the second season episode, "The Busboy" and will continue to make its presence known throughout the series. While the laughs on George's end may be a tad lacking compared to some of his more powerhouse performances this season, it's still very entertaining and it adds the classic 'Can'tstandya' to the 'Seinfeld' dictionary.

There's also Elaine, who gets the smallest role this episode albeit a still entertaining piece where she has trouble at work with her boss and fellow employees, who for some inexplicable reason seem to harbour feelings of resentment towards her. It's a very small story that gets a neat and amusing payoff later in the episode but arguably this storyline is most significant because it is early signs of Elaine's character becoming a more focal element of the series. Here we see her professional life and much like earlier in the season in "The Truth" where we saw her domestic life, it adds vitality to the character that makes her feel real, which is obviously of vital importance going forward with the series.

I enjoy "The Library" a lot even if my enjoyment does not quite match the reputation it has earned for itself. Phillip Baker Hall and his iconic character of Bookman is the obvious highlight of this episode but it manages to be entertaining beyond a powerhouse guest performance and character. I just don't *quite* consider it to be amazing.

"The Dog" frequently finds itself sitting near the bottom of most 'Seinfeld episodes ranked' type lists and has generally earned a reputation as one of the show's worst episodes something I personally do not subscribe to.

Had "The Dog" appeared in the first or even second season, I have a strong feeling that the episode could and would rank among the lesser efforts of the show but here in the very good third season that finally gave 'Seinfeld' both life and an identity as a show very much its own, I think this episode is certainly elevated as a result.

The weakest parts of the episode for me personally are the titular dog that finds itself a resident of Jerry's apartment and the dog owner, a British drunk who for whatever reason does not really seem to fit in the world of 'Seinfeld'. He's not the only character in my opinion who feels a little disconnected from the universe of 'Seinfeld' (there's a lot of characters in later seasons too but especially in the first and second seasons) in my opinion.

This episode is renowned for the awful sound design of the dog barking and while it certainly is not great and is rather grating, it's almost as if writer Larry David is self-aware, especially when Jerry almost bluntly at one point declares whether or not he really thinks of his new co-resident as a dog. It works nicely, whether intentional or not, as an acknowledgement to something otherwise so absurd that it could barely be justified.

Most of the things that surround the dog are very good in my opinion. I adore finally seeing an episode outside of season two's "The Revenge" where George and Elaine actually share screentime on their own. Some find this storyline very much shoehorned into this episode and consider George and Elaine's awkwardness among one another inconsistent as far as continuity goes. To my memory, the only real occasion where they spent time alone up to this point was in the aforementioned "The Revenge" but that was a case where the two were working towards an end goal (George wanting to slip a mickey into his old boss) and in my opinion justifies the storyline here. It feels fairly organic and both Jason Alexander and Julia Louis Dreyfus have a fantastic rapport on-screen. It's so great to see Elaine finally get the screentime she deserves having so often received the shorthand treatment in the first two seasons where she barely ever got any screentime on her own.

The George and Elaine angle is such a fun dynamic to this episode and they play both the friendship angles (humourously, their friendship is found through making fun at their mutual friend Jerry) and the awkwardness of being in one's company so magnificently. I laughed quite hard in the scene in Jerry's apartment where George and Elaine re-tread previous grounds where George attempts to mock Jerry's way of vomiting!

Kramer has a bit of a storyline too where he attempts to break up with a girl, especially after Elaine and Jerry mention how dull she is, and ends up getting back together with her. It's really pushed to the side here but in my opinion that storyline is completely warranted in this episode, if only for Kramer's 'monologue' where he first breaks up with the girl and subsequently begs to be taken back. Michael Richards simply nails the physical humour.

I enjoy "The Dog" quite a bit. There's a lot of great dialogue that is typically 'Seinfeld' in nature. The morality discussion that Jerry and George engage in as their waiting at the movie concession stand is particularly funny and oddly riveting 'Seinfeld' dialogue. Almost everything that surrounds the dog here, in my opinion, is absolutely 'Seinfeld' and I enjoy it for the most part.

I think this is a very good episode and just like with the two previous episodes of this season, "The Pen" worked surprisingly better for me a second time around. That said, this might be my least favourite of the three episodes so far purely for the fact that it is missing another additional zany element to this episode that would have made it even more dynamic. 'Seinfeld' has already experienced itself without Kramer in the acclaimed "The Chinese Restaurant" and while George somewhat tempered what otherwise could have been a particularly detrimental element to that episode, he too is unfortunately missing in this episode. "The Pen" features neither Kramer, nor George, arguably the two most memorable and dynamic characters whose sheer presence pretty much elevates any episode.

Thankfully, we have the Florida characters coming in to cover some necessary ground. Jerry's parents are absolutely a delight, Jack Klompus who is introduced here and Uncle Leo too makes a return. Each of these characters adds a particularly valuable dynamic to the episode that makes it an often hilarious ride but George and Kramer are such unique and irreplaceable entities to 'Seinfeld' that no compensation feels like enough compensation. It's just a pity given how good Larry David's screenplay here is that the Kramer and/or George element could not be integrated.

All that aside, this is an extremely funny episode. It largely centres on a pen, as the title would have you believe, and the episode pulls it off spectacularly. More and more, 'Seinfeld' is becoming "a show about nothing" even if creators Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld did not necessarily intend for the show to earn itself that label. It is just abundantly clear watching the first three episodes of this season, and "The Pen" confirms this belief even further, that 'Seinfeld' is finally finding its stride. The way in which Klompus' astronaut pen weaves in and out of the episode's narrative is particularly funny, as is Elaine's dilemma in this episode after she injures her back sleeping on the Seinfelds' sofa bed. Nothing feels particularly expendable within this twenty two minute episode and almost everything has that 'punch' factor. A notable example of this would be the episode beginning with Morty Seinfeld complaining about the missing scotch tape and even how effortlessly and naturally that pays off, almost not calling attention to itself. This is classic 'Seinfeld', even if it is 'Seinfeld' without neither George nor Kramer.

I adore "The Pen". Where the episode may not have quite the same pacing or energy of the previous episodes for my money, the writing is particularly strong and it needed to be strong if the episode were to work without both Kramer and George. Jason Alexander, as is particularly known now, was especially infuriated to have been left out of this episode that he threatened to quit if his character were ever written out of another episode. George Costanza was based on Larry David and Jason Alexander seemingly channelled his inner Larry David. It has now come full circle.

The idea of bringing an acclaimed and influential horror writer like Stephen King into the world of 'The X-Files' to do what is essentially intended to be a horror episode probably sounds like a great idea but I found "Chinga" anything but scary and that is an unusual statement coming from someone who has an embarrassing fear of dolls and their portrayal in film, as marked by the film Child's Play which still to this day remains a fairly effective horror film in my eyes.

"Chinga" could, and should, have been a lot of fun. Here is another episode that sees Scully and Mulder separated from one another as was often the case with the fifth season as the season's production was hampered by the ongoing production of the film, Fight the Future. The greatest thing to really happen to this episode is the way in which Chris Carter has written the dynamic of Scully and Mulder. Though it's no "War of the Coprophages" which did the same concept to greater effect, it's still very solid and there's plenty of humour in watching this, the best part of the script, come together nicely on screen thanks to an ever palpable chemistry between the stars.

And that's really all I particularly enjoy about "Chinga". Even the Scully/Mulder element is nothing profound but it's enjoyable in an episode that is otherwise somewhat of a chore. Stephen King's screenplay really misses the human element that is so often present in 'The X-Files' in that he fails at surface level characterizations, in this case the widowed mother who is going through hell with her young daughter. In most episodes, there would be a decent level of empathy that the viewer could project onto the supporting characters but there's nothing of the sort here.

Even more disappointing is how truly non-frightening this episode is and the doll in particular is terrible. The voice work done on the doll is the complete anthisesis of what it is intended for, which is to be creepy. Whenever the doll would say "I want to play" or whatever other remarks it would come up with, just prior to performing another killing, I was not scared but completely frustrated and uncomfortable that something so ineffective made its way into 'The X-Files', especially via the hands of an auteur (albeit in a different medium) like Stephen King.

"Chinga" isn't offensive but I was particularly frustrated watching this episode. What I sought was not what I got and while that's not an inherent negative, this episode offered little to no fun. The mystery is weak, the suspense is non-existent, there are no real palpable stakes at play here and the idea of having a passive protagonist, which the show often does superbly in episodes like "Die Hand Die Verletzt", is not well handled here. If what you seek is a fun Child's Play sort of remake from one of the genre's great writers, then "Chinga" will be sure to disappoint. It's a surprisingly non 'X-Files' episode of 'The X-Files' that is probably the result of Stephen King's guest writing opportunity.

"The Truth" was written by Elaine Pope and directed by David Steinberg both of whom would only feature in a few additional writing/directing credits for the show. It's an interesting point, I think, to make given that "The Truth" is really the first episode in the series that was entirely helmed by crew members who would not maintain a particularly long lasting career with the series and therefore might not be as attuned to the sensibilities of the show. And yet, "The Truth" is very entertaining and funny and another good indicator of the third season of 'Seinfeld' as the point where the show really picked up. There's plenty to credit about Elaine Pope's fine script but it's also worth crediting the third season premiere as the point where the show really gained its voice and this episode rides that momentum high very nicely.

As with "The Note", the world of 'Seinfeld' is suddenly brimming with energy and characterization, dialogue and pacing are very well established here. All the storylines work very well, though none work anywhere near as well as that of George breaking up with a woman and calling her pretentious when she asked him for the truth about his reasons to break-up with her. It's just another absolutely classic George Costanza predicament and Jason Alexander once again knocks it out of the park. The scene in which he unleashes all his criticism of the girl he's dating is one of the show's funniest moments thus far courtesy of both Elaine Pope who realizes where 'Seinfeld' truly excels at and Jason Alexander for his impeccable delivery. He really has come to embody the character with these early season three episodes and it's no wonder that few characters in all of sitcom are arguably as beloved as he.

The other storylines are all very good supporting material. There's Jerry, who has unwisely put his faith in George dating the woman who happens to be an accountant after his recent tax gets audited. There's Elaine who is becoming fed up with Kramer and her roommate's sexual activities in her apartment. And lastly, there's a really minor side-plot of Kramer who finds a windshield on the side of the road and decides to make a coffee table out of it for his new girlfriend!

The central attraction of this episode is undeniably George and writer Elaine Pope wisely understands this and builds up an episode that adequately supports that storyline. Jerry's tax issue is seamlessly blended into the narrative and there's plenty of humour watching the scenario unfold after George breaks up with the girl. Kramer gets some outlandish material and as a result, we are treated to some wonderful Michael Richards physicality. Even Elaine finally is starting to get some material of her own, however small it may be so far, it works very well.

I simply found "The Truth" to be very entertaining. It helps that 'Seinfeld' is certainly on the rise as early into the third season as it is and as a result, this episode is brimming with life and energy. The show no longer feels like the stagnant cringe-fest of the first two seasons and now feels like a show on the rise towards legendary status. The dialogue is strong, the characters are developing into their now renowned personalities and the chemistry between the stars is really forming. Even more impressive is the fact that this episode was written and directed by two people who made their debut for the series here and ended up doing very little for the series as a whole, at least as far as episodes are concerned. And yet, they formed a stellar team and perfectly understood what 'Seinfeld' does best.

"The Note", which is the third season premiere, is my favourite episode of the series up to this point. In my opinion, none of the previous seventeen episodes across the first two seasons (not even "The Chinese Restaurant" and "The Revenge") embodied the tone, rhythm, pace and humour that has made 'Seinfeld' such an influential piece of television.

"The Note" begins with Jerry's stand-up and one of the more impressionable ones up to this point in the series where he observes the strangeness of people constantly recommending their doctors to others as "he/she is the best, you should see them" and ponders where the 'worst' doctors are. It's probably one of the more memorable stand-up bits up to this point in the series and it effectively opens up season three with great momentum.

"The Note" was written by Larry David and directed by Tom Cherones, the man often credited with giving 'Seinfeld' its aesthetic sensibilities. This episode is right up there as David's best yet and fits perfectly in line with the 'Seinfeld' legacy of today while Tom Cherones at this point has really begun to nail the 'Seinfeld' look. Jerry's apartment no longer looks quite as pale and ghostly as it did across the first two seasons and the tone, at least on a visual level, is set into motion.

It also helps that this episode is genuinely funny and most of the humour feels well-earned and not so much on the cringe inducing end of things as was often the case in the first two seasons. George's predicament feels like a classic one for the character in retrospect and here it is played out in a really satisfying way. Jason Alexander gives one of his very best performances so far in the series and plays out the sheer awkwardness he feels to precision, especially in the scene where he receives his massage from male hands.

The most important thing to say about "The Note" is that it's funny and that is has such an eye for pacing and rhythm. Where the first two seasons often felt very stagnant, this episode feels that much more alive. The dialogue hums with such momentum and purpose, never feeling as though it is belaboured as was the case with the first two seasons, and the show has now begun to really find its voice. One notable example of this is the brief argument George and Elaine have after George discovers that his massage therapist is a man and wishes to swap with Elaine's, who is a woman. The dialogue feels absolutely palpable in that it is easy to imagine people getting into an argument like that but 'Seinfeld' being a comedy, it finds humour in the scenario.

While my memory on much of the third season is a little vague, this is definitely the season where 'Seinfeld' really begins to take on a mainstay presence and is a season filled with innumerable classic episodes.

"The Chinese Restaurant" is all that. It is the first really great 'Seinfeld' episode that happens to be a landmark episode in television given its bold intentions of creating an entire episode around an utterly mundane scenario, confined to a single setting. 'Seinfeld' would time and time, particularly in the two subsequent seasons, re-create the 'characters trapped in a confined setting for the duration of the episode' formula and in my opinion, often to greater effect in episodes like "The Parking Garage" and "The Limo" but that really defies the purpose and legacy of "The Chinese Restaurant.

This is the first episode that is mostly littered with a more classic 'Seinfeld' sense of humour. It begins with the gang, bar Kramer (whose absence is arguably one of the slightly diminishing factors in how this episode is viewed today in slightly lesser light) arriving at the titular Chinese restaurant, discussing the need for greater local law enforcement and garbage collectors. Jerry then proposes the idea of a dual cop/garbage man whose job it would be to clean the rubbish off the street when he's not doing his police work (i.e: often cleaning the rubbish off the street). It's a funny, natural and intriguing little conversation that quickly thereafter is concluded and "The Chinese Restaurant" has begun.

Bar a few moments that don't really work for me, notably Elaine's attempt to go through with Jerry's 'dare' of stealing food off from someone's plate (I especially dislike the 'effect' of Elaine whispering to the people at the table), this episode is endlessly fascinating and fun. It perhaps does not stand the test of time, at least in my opinion, as one of the show's funniest episodes but is nevertheless a mostly funny and impressive episode for the time, not just in terms of the television sitcom but also 'Seinfeld' as a series, which even in its second year, did not demonstrate particular confidence about itself.

"The Chinese Restaurant" is one of the earliest episodes that is befitting of Seinfeld's legacy as "the show about nothing" since so much of the episode is based around the utterly mundane and everyday happenstances that one could expect in social circumstances, be it people selfishly hogging public payphones or the seemingly endless wait in queues or recognizing someone in a public place that looks familiar, but one you may not necessarily know by name.

George's entire situation is particularly amusing to me, especially his ranting and exasperation at the people in front of him at the payphones and it provides 'Seinfeld' with some early vintage George Costanza. His entire complication that arose with the girl he was dating is also particularly amusing, notably in terms of Jason Alexander's fantastic performance and the writing, and how it to great comedic effect attempts to add an aura of dignity to George's precarious situation. The entire dialogue in that scene is particularly funny to me.

"The Chinese Restaurant" is certainly a classic, both of 'Seinfeld' and arguably the sitcom genre in television. It did something quite remarkable by staging its main characters into an extremely confined space and creating an episode's worth of comedy and depth out of something so trivial. In my opinion, there are better episodes that reuse this device in the coming seasons and it largely has to do with 'Seinfeld' finding a clearer voice for itself by then but "The Chinese Restaurant" is an admirably, funny and all-round entertaining early episode. Perhaps a little dated in instances, but an iconic classic of both the series and the medium of television.

I don't really consider "The Phone Message" to be a great 'Seinfeld' episode as much as I consider it to be a very decent and above average early episode of the show. I am sure that statement alone will have me crucified by many and while the laughs are slowly but surely beginning to land with the show, I am more impressed by the blueprint of the show becoming closer and closer to the show that it is today remembered as. The best thing the episode does, hands down, is absolutely nail the character of George Costanza and Jason Alexander gets to really dig into some very interesting material that absolutely screams classic George.

"The Phone Message" wholly works because of George and it's his episode out and out. Elaine has a few moments, nothing too remarkable and Kramer has a very amusing almost meta scene in which he is effectively mocking some of Seinfeld's stand-up routine (although I think this material would work later down the series, especially as the show really becomes a hit and Kramer would return to some of his mimicry of Jerry later on, to better effect in my opinion). Jerry himself gets a decent little piece about dating a girl and finding his relationship with her muddied after finding out she enjoys a television commercial that he despises. It really showcases the mundane nature of 'Seinfeld's' observational comedy as well as the utterly selfish nature of its characters and while the material here doesn't really reduce me to laughter, it's decent enough and more interestingly shows 'Seinfeld' edging closer to the show it would become.

Let's return to George here though as he is absolutely fantastic. First he manages to do the almost impossible, get himself a date with a woman who genuinely seems to enjoy his company. He's then invited into her apartment late in the night for "coffee" which he doesn't clue into its ulterior signal and then upon learning his mistake, attempts to fix it and ends up getting himself into far greater complications after leaving a series of increasingly angry messages on her phone.

This is it. This is the George Costanza that I absolutely adore and this is the real beginnings of the character whose pure brilliance has made 'Seinfeld' almost transcendent. This is a classic George predicament and it is achieved in the earlier days of 'Seinfeld' and "The Phone Message" is among the best episodes yet for my money. It doesn't quite nail the timing, the efficiency and the all-out hilarity of 'Seinfeld' down the road but it really showcases the overall series coming together in retrospect.

On a side note, I do think the 8.6 rating on IMDb can be somewhat problematic, especially to first time viewers of the show. While I consider this episode entertaining and funny with bursts of brilliance, a lot of it works for me in hindsight. A first time viewer might find his desire to continue watching Seinfeld a little halted should an episode as highly rated as this really underwhelm he/she.

Before I go any further, I must state two things. One, I have never before seen 'Six Feet Under' so the task of reviewing a pilot to a show that I have never been exposed to is difficult for me. And secondly, I have given this episode a distinguished star rating that I very rarely give to movies or TV shows/episodes and for this episode, a pilot, to earn it must say something about how much of an immediate impression the series has made with this one episode.

The opening credits is the viewer's first glimpse into this series and right here, I was glued to this show. The hypnotic, mildly dark and gloomy score combined with the elegant, stylized cinematography that invites the viewer into the world of the show completely spoke to me. By the end of the opening credits, I was invested into the series before a moment of 'actual' footage began. There's only one other pilot to a show that accomplished a similar feat for me personally and that was 'Twin Peaks'.

To combine such contrasting tones of humour and drama around the sensitive and deeply personal subject matter of death is a risky endeavour to put it simply and the end result could have very easily been a disaster. But because of realistic characters at the forefront as well as a restrained use of black comedy within the script, Alan Ball has created a wholesome work.

All the characters introduced here are simply fantastic and I mean no hyperbole. Among all, my favourites were Peter Krause and Michael C. Hall as brothers Nate and David Fischer respectively. There's immediately such high tension between the two characters that I cannot wait to see play out during the show and both Krause and Hall are simply magnificent here. I hope the quality level of their performances do not drop because they translate such wonderful humanity to the characters from script to screen.

The cinematography deserves another mention outside of simply the opening credits. This is a beautifully shot episode, superbly framed (many great uses of high angle shots and tight framing) and beautifully lit (whether it's having the camera bask in the warmth of the daylight or immersing the camera into gloomy scenarios) and the direction is equally fantastic. The cinematography serves the direction and the direction does a stellar job of bringing the material to life.

I absolutely adore this pilot episode. It's one I was hoping to enjoy but for it to have made such a high immediate impression was not something I was necessarily expecting. The world that is created here by Alan Ball is one that I find totally immersive once this first hour ends and the pacing within the hour is perfect. It's an episode that hits the nail on the head for both the drama and the comedy, an uneasy task and in doing so, creates such a uniquely engaging world. The characters all feel so sincere, credit to excellent writing and wonderfully honest lead performances. I cannot sing praises enough for this episode and am curious how it holds up in the context of 'Six Feet Under' as a whole.

Cannot recommend highly enough.

"The Coon" is such an entertaining and excellent spoof of comic book movies, more specifically The Dark Knight which was all the rage (and still is to some extent) when it was first released in 2008. When a show goes on for as long as South Park has, it should be a welcoming refreshment to have an episode that is as atmospherically distinctive as "The Coon". None of this is to say that South Park feels recycled by this point because it doesn't but rather that "The Coon" is ever more so a uniquely entertaining episode of this show.

Cartman dresses up as a superhero and calls himself 'Coon' as he attempts to bring South Park's escalating 'crime' rate down but his time in the spotlight may be taken over by another masked superhero who calls himself Mysterion. This enrages Cartman who learns that Mysterion is one of his classmates.

"The Coon" is so visually spectacular that it completely nails the style and atmosphere of comic book movies, then and today, and more importantly, precisely captures the atmosphere of The Dark Knight as a parody. The visual of a silhouetted Cartman as Coon is one of my absolute favourite visuals of the show and the slithering manner in which he moves around is yet another excellent visual joke int he episode.

Some of my favourite elements of the episode include the broad parody of The Dark Knight and not just in terms of visuals, music and overall atmosphere but also in terms of the episode's 'commentary' of the Coon, whether or not he is a hero or a vigilante. Of course no one else besides Cartman services this parody and that's exactly why it works. After a night of saving the town of the degradation of society and its underbelly, Cartman is excited to spread the 'rumour' of Coon, the town's own personal superhero, and the awkwardly stiff manner in which he attempts to engage his friends into a political discussion was priceless. This is a great vocal performance by Trey Parker and I feel the need to say it simply because I have found his performance in the past couple of seasons a little more inconsistent but here, he's spot on.

We also get to welcome back Professor Chaos, his ally General Disarray and even the Police Chief character among others all of whom are appropriately used. There's hardly a wasted moment in this episode and that's why it works so well because of the ever present sense of urgency and momentum. It's a non-stop laugh riot that works because South Park as a series has a tremendously fleshed out world that even the broadest of parodies of a movie, nothing more, can feel genuine and even palpable.

All in all, "The Coon" is an excellent, imaginative and precise parody of The Dark Knight that puts some of its beloved characters into new and interesting territory.

I expected truly terrible results from "Eat, Pray, Queef" given terrible earlier experiences with the show's Terrence and Phillip centric episodes, namely the second season premiere and the episode from the fifth season. They simply are not interesting characters in the least and the only joke that comes from their constant fart humour is the fact that the boys love it so much and watch it as if it were a prestigious piece of television.

Thankfully, "Eat, Pray, Queef" has an actual purpose. It's best stuff is everything that takes place within the town of South Park and the ironic humour that comes from just how grossed out and offended the boys get over the girls finding some mild sense of joy and humour from queefing is hilarious. The Marsh dinner table scene with Sharon queefing a number of times is a great example of what works about this episode. Not only is it funny seeing Randy and Stan so offended by her actions but to see one of the show's more grounded characters acting in a slightly immature fashion is fantastic. It really drives the message that the episode ultimately arrives at which is how easily men (I happen to be of the male gender myself) can get offended by humour where they are put into the place of being the butt of the joke.

Unfortunately, there's a part of this episode that doesn't work as well and that's the entire Terence and Phillip angle for me. I never enjoy these characters on-screen, and for the most part that's part of the point (we're supposed to see how stupid they are and how stupid South Park in its purest form of 'toilet humour' can be) but in episodes that revolve more strongly around them, I usually lose interest.

There's still a few moments that are great in this part of the story, namely the fight that erupts between Terence and Phillip AND Katherine and Kate while/after having sex. There's a funny moment where you realize that the place they're staying at has two beds in the same room and that both couples have been having sex practically next to each other!

For the most part though, Terence and Phillip bore me and while there's a nice message in this episode, this part of the episode is bogged down a bit. Otherwise, "Eat, Pray, Queef" surprised me and I certainly don't see it being anywhere near as bad as some of South Park's other attempts. There's a strong and relevant modernist feminism statement that is cleverly realized.