How does a long running comedy show stay fresh and successful? For "South Park", the formula has been to remain hyper-topical, using vulgarity and extremely raunchy material to rip on anything and anyone current in pop culture, politics, or anything else in the headlines. In a recent episode from its 14th season titled “It’s a Jersey Thing” the timely targets are characters from the fad of New Jersey themed reality TV shows. The Colorado town is put under siege as the entire country east of them is taken over by New Jersey. While Cartman tries to destroy Kyle when it is discovered he is actually from New Jersey, the town desperately seeks help from unwilling allies to join in their fight against the threat of becoming “west Jersey.” The tale comes to a happy end when Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaeda agree to help "South Park" and beat back New Jersey’s advance by smashing commercial airliners into them.
While the subject matter of this episode is current, making it intriguing at first to see just how the writers will mock it, it is hard to ignore the fact that the show is so old and has constantly and tirelessly attacked the topical. There are moments of disappointment in jokes that seem repetitive of things in episodes past, while examples of commitment to quality writing help the viewer stay engaged enough to get to the funny parts. The result of this is a successful but uneven ride through funny highlights and a few uninspired lows. Strong short format writing helps this episode remain memorable, rather than just a forgetful string of random jokes.
Given the sheer amount of times "South Park" has attacked popular figures making them appear extremely disgusting, offensive, and monstrous, the caricature of Snookie (from MTV’s “Jersey Shore”) here falls flat. The diminutive orange loud mouth is portrayed as a deformed shrew type, sexually assaulting anything it can catch. This idea is fairly rote for the series, which may hinder it from being humorous to regular viewers of the program. However, this creature is not simply revealed for a random laugh peripheral to the storyline. The Snookie monster serves as a main plot point when Kyle is able to redeem himself to Cartman (remember Cartman wanted to annihilate the New Jersey native) by using his instinctual trash talking and club brawling skills to defeat the monster as it was raping Cartman in his ass. Here the integration of a sub par joke into the overall theme and story is an asset and benefits the overall enjoyment of the show.
The funniest theme in this episode is the fact that the town is so overjoyed and appreciative of Al-Qaeda hijacking airplanes and decimating New Jersey. Jokes about September 11th and the resulting war on terror are common on South Park, and once again the show’s age can make them seem repetitive. Here however, the jokes are funny not only because of how over the top offensive they are, but because even after a decade of joking about it, it remains such a fertile topic to be offensive about. The current political climate is still extremely sensitive to these issues, and "South Park", particularly in this episode, has a knack for making that sensitivity seem completely ridiculous. Take for instance the climactic scene of the terrorists plowing the planes into the ground. The fleet of aircraft is hilariously massive, and the explosions so cartoonish, devotees will be hard pressed not to giggle at the spectacle.
This episode is sure to be appreciated by fans of the show familiar with the topic. The jokes, while sometimes tired, are as offensive and crude as the show’s reputation. There is little here to dissuade critics, whether those are people who are offended by its content or have grown weary of some of the reused concepts in this episode. However, it is evident that thought was put into story and structure, and enough of the jokes attempted succeed to make this a quality episode in the series’ extensive catalogue.
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