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South Park: Volume 1
review by Zach B.
Studio: Warner/Rhino
Running Time: 100 Minutes
Retail Price: $19.99
Features: Comedy Central Trailer, Trey Parker and Matt
Stone Intros
Specs: 1:33:1 Standard, English Dolby Digial Surround
Stereo
No one could account what kind of phenom "South Park"
would be when it debuted during August 1997. I must admit, I
was one of the watchers who tuned into the first broadcast,
and after it ended, I was hooked to the show. I thought it
was hilarious, really original too. I taped the episode, and
from episodes then and on, and have seen them tons and tons
of times. Of course, the show spawned a hit movie and a ton
of catchphrases "They killed Kenny!", "Respect my
authori-tah!" etc.) I consider myself a fan from the start,
and was happy that Warner and Rhino were releasing episodes
every year on DVD. Now I could finally replace my worn out
tapes.
This first volume of South Park features the first four
episodes. The first, the pilot which got me into the show
and probably still my favorite, is "Cartman Gets An Anal
Probe". We meet the kids of South Park, Kyle, Stan, Kenny
and Cartman. Cartman gets an anal probe from aliens who
mutilate cows, and even though he thinks it is a dream,
Kyle's little brother, Ike, gets kidnapped from them and
it's about to them, with the help of their school Chef named
Chef and Stan's crush, Wendy Testiburger, to save Ike.
The second episode, "Volcano", follows the boys as they
go on a camping trip with Stan's uncle Jimbo and his war
buddy Ned. There, Ned favors Kenny more to Stan, and Cartman
tries to scare everyone else by dressing up as the woodland
creature "Scuzzlebutt". But it turns out the real
Scuzzlebutt will help save the day when a volcano near where
they are camping is about to eruptt and could kill them all.
"Weight Gain 4000" has Cartman bulking up for a TV
appearence after he forges an essay (he basically steals
"Walden" and puts his name on it) and Kathie Lee Gifford
comes to South Park. However, the children's teacher, Mr.
Garrison, has a score to settle with Kathie Lee.
Finally, the last episode on the disc is the Emmy®
nominated "Big Gay Al's Big Gay Boat Ride", which features
George Clooney as the voice of Stan's gay dog, Sparky. Stan
is a bit upset over his dog being gay, and loses interest in
playing for the big football game which everyone is counting
on him for. However, Big Gay Al comes to the rescue and
shows Stan all about homosexuality through history.
These episodes have gone on to become South Park
classics, and this disc's offering is sure to please all
fans of the show.
This volume of South Park is presented in its original
aspect ration for television, which was 1.33:1. First and
foremost, there is no annoying Comedy Central logo at the
bottom of the screen. As for everything else, the transfer
is excellent. Colors are really bright, and detail is also
very good. You can really see right into the construction
paper.
The sound is fine. You may recall that some of the older
discs had a "popping noise". Anyhow, the box claims it is
Dolby Digital Surround Setreo. It sounded like perfect
stereo to me, no surrounds. There's not much to say about
this disc, except the fact the dialogue is clear and easy to
hear. My only complaint is that they still kept the beeps
in, so whenever someone curses, you don't get to hear it.
Nothing impressive at all. Some commentaries from Trey
and Matt would have been nice, but instead we get stuck with
exclusive introductions, which when you come down to it,
most are good for a chuckle and that's it. These intros were
on the VHS releases too. Also, there's a long preview
advertising Comedy Central shows.
While this is a disc that should be in any South Park
fans collection, I find it a bit disappointing with the lack
of features and the average sound (plus the bleeps!). Still,
the video is nice and these are good episodes. The price is
also right. If you're a fan of the show, make no mistake and
pick this disc up.
 (4/5 (average of all four
episodes), NOT included in final score)
(4/5)
 (3/5)
 (.5/5)
(3/5,
NOT an average)
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