Santa Claus In August
It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of South Park. Yes, on the surface it’s nothing but sacrilegious toilet humor. Truth to told, though, this show is very, very clever and well-informed. 
Lately I’ve been taking advantage of the fact that I work at home. For three weeks now I’ve watched an episode or two (sometimes for the eighth time) at lunch, you know, sprawled on the couch in my sweats with three days’ beard growth and a bowl of Cheerios. Ah, the glorious writing life!
South Park is definitely funnier if you’ve watched from the beginning. The character dynamics are full of well-laid history and inside jokes, but ya can’t go wrong with a Christmas Special. My favorite part is this segment with a Jesus/Santa duo singing Duran Duran.
I’m watching on DVD because I’m a Neanderthal, but you can find today’s fare for free at http://www.southparkstudios.com/clips/257092
I don’t have cable, so I ask my grown children for South Park DVD’s for Christmas. They must think I am living my second childhood. Actually, I’m still in my first childhood. One of my favorite episodes is the “Imagination Land” trilogy. It captures the essence of how we got roped into the war in Iraq, in part due to the populace being scared into a state of fear, with our imaginations “running wild.” The battle scene between the Islamic terrorists and the residents of Imagination Land is incredible. Many of the scenes are takeoffs on the beach invasion scene in “Saving Private Ryan.” I also like the “All About Mormons,” and the one with Tom Cruise and the Scientologists.
Aha ha. What’s up, Earl? We have cable but not the time to watch commercials, so I’m all about the DVD sets myself.
Interesting trivia fact: Parker and Stone originally considered their “Imagination Land” concept for a second feature-length South Park film, but, typically, they decided another film was too much work, so they broke this storyline into three regular-length episodes instead.
My favorite at the moment is probably the Season 10 spoof on Buck Rodgers. It helps that I’m the same age as Parker and Stone, and grew up with all of the same mass culture. When they start making fun of John Carpenter films or 1970’s TV shows, I get every little bit of snark.