Comedy Central's "South Park" Remains One of the Most Topical Series on Television
Parker and Stone know how to present both sides of a story with unflinching clarity and then weigh in with their own opinions.
How do Trey Parker and Matt Stone do it? Last week, with the country consumed by the tragedy of Terri Schiavo, and in what would be the final hours of Schiavo's life, Comedy Central telecast an episode of Parker
and Stone's "South Park" that dealt directly with the issues surrounding this sad story. It was as timely as television can be without being live.
This wasn't the first time the "South Park" duo turned out a topical script with a startling speed so foreign to the plodding Hollywood creative process. In 2001 they sent their show's arrogant, rotund hero Cartman
and his buddies to Afghanistan in search of Osama bin Laden just a couple weeks after the attacks of 9/11. Last year the gang reacted to the controversy surrounding "The Passion of the Christ" while Mel Gibson's film was
still in the early weeks of its historic theatrical release.
As with those episodes, and so many others, the rudeness and sheer lunacy of the Schiavo-inspired "South Park" story built to a climactic sequence that addressed real-life controversies with a clarity and
thoughtfulness not usually detectable amid the deafening chorus of bombastic bloviators and pompous pontificators who are frequently plunked before the cameras to talk about current events on so many broadcast
and cable news programs. Parker and Stone know how to present both sides of a story with unflinching clarity and then
weigh in with their own opinions, often providing some of the most incisive and levelheaded commentary on television.
And God Created the Sony PSP
In the "South Park" episode, quiet Kenny, the little boy in the red hoodie who has died countless violent deaths over the nine-year run of the series, had the life snuffed out of him once again when he was run
over by a truck. After his soul went to heaven he learned that God had called him directly because of his extraordinary skill at playing "Heaven vs. Hell," a Sony PSP game that was, according to St. Peter, "built by God to
determine who on earth had the best skills to defeat the armies of Satan." Sure enough, Satan had mustered his evil forces for a
final assault on heaven, and only Kenny had the ability to command God's army, repel the evildoers and save all of creation.
The fate of the universe was suddenly jeopardized when, back on earth, a team of doctors managed to bring the deceased Kenny back to life, sustaining him with a feeding tube. "He's in a persistent vegetative
state," a doctor told Kenny's relieved parents. "Kenny is the same as he ever was, except now he's more like a tomato." With the feeding tube,
the doctor continued, "we can keep Kenny the Tomato alive for years!"
Kenny had expressed his feelings about life support in his will, but his lawyer misplaced the final page of the document containing his statement. Cartman wanted the feeding tube removed because Kenny left him his
Sony PSP and petitioned the Colorado Supreme Court to allow Kenny to die, even though Kenny's parents and friends wanted him to remain alive. It became a major media story, with crowds forming outside the
hospital calling for the feeding tube to either remain in place or be removed. A woman was arrested for trying to bring food to Kenny. (It was the former Mr. Garrison, whose sex change operation was graphically
depicted in last month's season premiere.)
Satan pitched a fit when the court ordered Kenny's feeding tube removed, fearing that his army would be conquered if Kenny died for good and his soul were allowed to return to heaven. His ghoulish advisor had
the answer. "I will do what we always do," he hissed. "Use the Republicans!" With that, the advisor was off to Washington, where he
influenced our Congressional leaders to call for the reinsertion of Kenny's feeding tube.
Is Nothing Sacred?
Meanwhile, Kenny's lawyer located the final page of his will, the content of which expressed the common-sense logic and compassion of Parker and Stone at their best. "If ever I should be in a vegetative
state and kept alive on life support," the document read, "please for the love of God don't ever show me in that condition on national television." Kenny's request silenced both factions and likely gave more than a
few viewers pause after days of watching footage of the stricken Schiavo on the news.
All religious concerns aside, would anyone among us would want footage taken in the aftermath of a devastating health crisis telecast to millions of people around the world, especially if we had no say in the
matter? Leave it to Parker and Stone -- two of America's most insightful storytellers -- to focus on the most intimate detail of a mammoth controversy and frame it in a way that would resonate with everyone,
regardless of their point of view.
P.S. Kenny's soul was allowed to return to heaven, just as God intended, and the hordes of hell were forced into speedy retreat, preserving the universe and the afterlife for all time to come. It is not that much of a
stretch to suggest that this was Parker and Stone's canny way of reminding their viewers that we all have value and a purpose, each
and every one of us. Or, they were just trying to piss someone off.
