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Being that South Park is in its 16th season, I expected last week to be the episode that really started to show its age. Well, I was close, because this week’s episode was the one that did it. I don’t go looking to write bad reviews, or mediocre reviews, but when I believe something is not up to snuff (and I love my snuff), I have to call it out. I thought “Raising the Bar” was sort of slapped together with a few separate ideas, and while it finally culminated into something that worked narratively, I didn’t think it was all that funny. And that’s really the first thing you have to look for in reviewing a comedy, especially one as prolific and groundbreaking as South Park. I’d forgive almost anything as long as it’s funny, but this week was light on the laughs. I hope this isn’t a trend, but you try coming up with comedy gold after 16 seasons.

So the cold open of the boys at Wal-Mart surrounded by fat people in motorized carts was a promising premise. A promising premise of preposterous proportions, if you’re a fan of alliteration. I like how fast the writers are able to fit in current pop culture staples like Candy Corn Oreo’s right after it took off as the new crazy food item everyone has to try, and then hate, and then make fun of (remember the Double Down?). So the social commentary of obesity was introduced as the theme of the episode, which is fine. I didn’t quite understand the ‘handicapped people taking advantage of small things like theme park lines’, so is that a thing that’s happening, or just absurdism? Anyways, I got to see Cartman drive around like an idiot while he was doing his usual shtick, and that made me chuckle. There were a lot of tiny gags I wanted to see expounded, like the cow tipping bit and the subsequent waggling of fat people’s legs.

But the big push this week was all about Honey Boo Boo, who I had to look up on the internet before I wrote this review, not going to lie. The ads on Comedy Central made it seem like that was going to be the main storyline, but unfortunately it was just a side gimmick to score some points. I don’t know if I was missing some specific references to the show, since obviously I don’t watch it because I’m not a terrible human being, but the relevance of it will fade away eventually, and I don’t expect this to become a timeless episode. What made even less sense, and was even less funny, was the unexpected and sort of outdated reveal of James Cameron. It was by far the worst part of the plot, and not a single element of it even came close to making me laugh. The crew, the song, the third person dialogue; it all didn’t work. It seems like it could be worked into a better joke, but simply adding that he has to go back to the set of Avatar 2 isn’t really pushing any boundaries. Predictable jokes, with absolutely no pay-off at the end, because we never even see this alleged ‘bar at the depths of humanity’.

This episode actually reminds me of an earlier one, an absolute classic that handled the same types of jokes of an overzealous celebrity. “The New Terrance and Phillip Movie Trailer”, featuring the famous Russell Crowe Fighin’ Around the World show, kept popping up in my head. All of the same stuff is covered here, but there was an irreverence and freshness to Russell Crowe sailing around with his sailboat, it was the comedy equivalent of lightning in a bottle. At one point Michelle Obama proclaims she wants to fight childhood obesity, and then promptly beats up Cartman, because if there is anyone who is the physical manifestation of that, it’s him. But this joke was done better when Russell Crowe was fighting cancer, or more accurately, people with cancer, and I felt this episode lacked anything new that we haven’t seen before. Token seemed to have a nice opportunity to shine, but even his presence couldn’t lift the material up. I like how they diverted from the typical role Token provides for the show, but his ulterior motives ended up fizzling out with the three other plots going on. There were too many subpar ideas crammed into one story, and it watered down any real funny moments.

The one thing that managed to break my cynicism was the appearance of Randy Newman. Once I heard him sing the Fatty Doo Doo theme song, I said immediately that they needed to bring him into the picture. Although it was brief, I appreciated his deep sea diving escapade. Any Randy Newman impersonation is funny to me, so my hats off to them for including it. I thought there should have been more from Mr. Newman and less of James Cameron, but what are you going to do? Also, where did the jab at Bill Clinton come from? There was a very vague sense of something being talked about this episode, and the ending speech by Kyle only alluded to a larger argument I didn’t fully understand. I know people are awful, and in general life in a post 9/11 world has been horrible, with reality TV and shitty music, and these things have been brought up before in better ways. But we got a good fight between Cartman and Honey Boo Boo, blood and all. The guy yelling “tip assist” got me, but there was very little in this episode that ultimately I found redeeming or genuinely hilarious. So hopefully next week gets better, because I can start to see the stretch marks of South Park as clear as Honey Boo Boo’s scar. Also, I’ll try and keep up with pop culture so I don’t miss anymore Honey Boo Boo discussions that I’ve been so desperate for in my life.

-Jared