Past Deadline

When did animation become TV's unsinkable genre?

It's been said before but surely bears repeating: we are in the Golden Age of animated comedy on television. At least, this is true of three series in particular that may never die and show no obvious signs of imploding (though I've buried "The Simpsons" creatively roughly a dozen times over the past several years, only to see it rebound time and again to make magic anew).

The three series of which I speak are "The Simpsons," which reaches an astonishing 20th season this fall; "King of the Hill," which Fox just today announced has been renewed for a 13th season; and Comedy Central's "South Park," which in its 12th season is remarkably still at the top of its game -- a huge testament to creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone. In fact, this past Wednesday, "South Park" trotted out a particularly inspired new half-hour that brilliantly spoofed the writers strike with its typical dead-on precision.

That episode, entitled "Canada on Strike," depicts the outlandish reverberations that result when the nation of Canada (clearly one of Parker/Stone's obsessions) declares that its citizens all are going out on strike for more money. It's spearheaded by the chief of the World Canadian Bureau -- the acronym of which is, inexplicably, WGA. After Canada's citizens nearly starve to death en masse while awaiting renumeration, they have to settle for restaurant discount coupons and bubble gum. The implication: that's what the real WGA in effect settled for, too. Ouch!

That a series around as long as has been this one can still fire bullseyes after reaching double-digits in terms of seasons is nothing short of shocking. The fact this genius surrounds a cartoon is all the more amazing.

I'm a better person for watching 'South Park,' dammit!

By Corey Padnos

(NOTE: Corey Padnos, 19, is a senior at Crossroads School in Santa Monica and a longtime actor and voiceover artist who has, among many other roles, played the voice of Linus Van Pelt in several Peanuts television specials. He also appeared in a pair of cameos on the Nickelodeon series "Zoey 101." This is Padnos' seventh post for Past Deadline.)

When I was 13, I started watching "South Park." For six years, I have loyally viewed this program. Yes, according to those who know these things, "South Park" is one of those Naughty Shows that kids aren't really supposed to watch. I was always well aware of that. Switching from Generic Kids Channel to Comedy Central was like moving from decaf to regular: it's more grown up and way better. However, my fellow fans and I watch "South Park" not merely for the gratuitous poop humor or spot-on cultural references. We watch it for the morals. Seriously.

"South Park" is one of the few shows on TV backed by genuine moral values. Feel free to reread that last line because I mean it. Every episode carries a moral to the story. Just last week, the message was to leave Britney Spears alone because she obviously lacks a head. The moral the week before involved how the AIDS epidemic is still alive and that we therefore shouldn't spread the virus to others simply because they make fun of you. My favorite episode taught me that it is never, ever OK to kill a bully's parents and then feed them to him. I love satire that takes a stand.

If you happen to be 13 years old and reading this post and have yet to watch "South Park," please start now. If you're somehow questioning this advice, please answer me this: what values does your favorite kiddie show impart to you? That it's possible -- even your duty -- to catch a monster or morph into a superhero? Or that failing that, you should at least buy the toy that can catch monsters and perform morphing feats? Hmm ... Sounds like a profound message to me. See, kids' shows have grown hopelessly moralism-challenged. The only thing they really teach is how to pester mom and dad into buying you tie-in merchandise, a.k.a. the moral majesty of the dollar bill. "South Park," by contrast, triumphantly rises above the crowd in boasting an authentic values system.

A little sad? Sure. Probably disturbing too. But true.

As a former child, I have been influenced, perhaps even guided, by "South Park" to become the young adult I now am -- for better or worse. I am socially conscious and ironically I seldom utter the "F" word because this show has demonstrated for me just how powerful that word is. It has helped me and those of my generation to become better, more responsible people. Whatever intelligence and savvy I may possess was taught me by my buddies Stan, Kyle, Kenny and (yes) Cartman. So, teens of the world, heed my words: Everything that I know I learned from crude cartoon icons. And trust me, you can learn too!

Read more about "South Park" in Reel Pop.

'South Park' Boys Land a Piece of the Golden Goose

It's hard to believe that the twisted souls who bring "South Park" to the world, Matt Stone and Trey Parker, have turned out to be absurdly smart businessmen as well. But you can't argue with what they were able to snare in their new multi-pronged production deal with Comedy Central that was signed on Friday and announced today in the New York Times (one of those infuriating exclusives that's horribly unfair, as it should have been our exclusive). No matter. In order to keep the mega-talented duo, the network had to literally hand them the keys to the vault and assure them, "Half of this is yours."

In an unprecedented arrangement, Stone-Parker not only extended their pact to produce "South Park" for three years (which brings it to an unfathomable 15th season) and not only forged with the network a wide-ranging new digital distribution arrangement; they also are guaranteed a 50-50 split with Comedy Central of all advertising revenue generated by the show and any on-air spinoffs they create.

This kind of production deal is simply staggering in that the one line networks know never to cross is that which allows the talent to become your de-facto equal business partner, wherein the split of ad revenues effectively turns the relationship into a joint venture. But Comedy Central just crossed it, which could well open the floodgates to future arrangements with others now that at least one TV entity has paved the path.

My take: It's a smart move for everybody. Comedy Central knew it had to step up to ther plate and do something revolutionary or risk losing its most consistently valuable asset in Stone-Parker, a blow nearly on the same level as losing 'The Daily Show." They're young and immensely talented, their most clever work still arguably ahead of them. And they remain an industry unto themselves via "South Park," which as the NY Times piece points out remains the network's highest-rated series a dozen seasons in and has generated hundreds of millions of dollars in DVDs, licensing and from broadcast syndication.

It also makes perfect sense from the perspective of Stone and Parker in that they have more creative freedom at Comedy Central than they would practically anywhere else. And it isn't as if they had to sacrifice a bundle in potential compensation to remain. Word is the deal is worth about $75 million to the guys over the next four years. They've also got a huge back-end profit participation in "South Park" that gives them enormous bargaining table clout, which probably wouldn't be available elsewhere.

This continues to remove some of the grassroots subversive bad-boy sheen from Stone-Parker. But the ongoing rewards of semi-maturity make it all but impossible to resist.

YouTube loses its funny

The party's over.

Head on over to YouTube today, and try and click on any number of Comedy Central-related clips -- of which there are hundreds, including "South Park," "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report" -- and you will see the message linked above.

Based on blog reports (including one at the revered Boing Boing), YouTube has begun mailing members with cease and desist style notices, citing copyright infringement, and isn't waiting for members to take down the videos themselves; they're just stripping them clean.

This can't come as much of a surprise; once Google made the site a $1.65 billion business, it opened up some deep pockets that make it ripe for litigation. And like a snowball gathering speed, momentum and volume in the past weeks, YouTube is going to be Just Like Everywhere Else now.

What it is, however, is classic big business hubris that will lessen not just public opinion of Comedy Central, but of YouTube. One of the primary reasons YouTube was worth $1.65 billion is that fans knew they could host and view the clips they wanted to see, when they wanted to see them, there. YouTube turned a blind eye to copyright infringement; Comedy Central turned the same blind eye. Both profited and benefited from this "I can't hear you, la la la" mentality -- they earned publicity, goodwill among users (many of whom are likely already viewers or Apple subscribers), and viewers got what they wanted.

And if Comedy Central thinks they're already giving viewers what they want on their own site, they're in for a rude awakening. One blogger has listed the reasons YouTube is superior to Comedy Central's viewer, noting:

You have tiny little videos that can’t be resized. It’s like watching TV from the next room through the keyhole of a closed door.

He's also got a thought or two on the whole CC Web site:

Flashing banner ads? Is that some kind of a Comedy Central joke that’s over my head? There’s this company called Google that showed everybody that annoying your customers isn’t necessary to get them to click on things. Instead, their idea is to give people what they want. You might also want to check out their website for some layout ideas.

So, here we are, copyright flags waved, videos removed, and nobody's happy. YouTube is on its way to being the Friendster of the year. What no one who tries to harness the Internet seems to yet understand is that it expands, contracts and spreads organically. Put a leash on it, and those who made it so popular in the first place run off to another spot that doesn't require such restrictions. As we've reported here recently, there'll no doubt be some kind of pirate site up within hours -- if there isn't already -- which will host not just clips of "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report" (we know there are already tons of sites for "South Park" episodes) but whole episodes. For a time, YouTube had that beast under control, and now -- it's over.

YouTube is dead. Long live the next YouTube.

-- Randee Dawn

UPDATE (10/31): A random search for "South Park," "Daily Show" and "Colbert Report" turns up clips still present and accounted for on YouTube -- and playing just fine. Perhaps there's been a little corporate re-thinking here.

Tossing the DVD and TV set altogether ... Part 2

R.I.P. "AllSimps.com."

Yeah, we reported it on September 27; sometime between then and now, the site which purported to provide pretty much every "Simpsons" episode for easy, non bit-torrented download, is gone with the Schwinn.

From the site:

I have been asked by fox to close this site. Thank you

I do think my site was legal, but I'm sure Fox doesn't think so and I dont want to take the risk. So...

Here are links to other sites that inspired me to create this one.

Heh.

The good news -- at least, depending on how you look at it -- is that there are any number of sites out there willing to pick up the torch and start running (for "The Simpsons," "South Park," "Family Guy" or other shows), until doused with a bucket of "cease and desist" water from the legal folks. My personal favorite has a very un-PC name, but what makes them the most fun right now is that their front page has a pissy warning (provided here, poor punctuation and language included):

Updated October 15th:
Other sites are stealing our shit. We work hard finding these episodes, then sorting through them and bringing them to you. Then other assholes are copying our exact HTML, (javascript and all) and putting their names on it. If this keeps happening the cartoon portal is going to be member's only. Sorry.

Hee! They're completely ticked that the stuff they stole ... is being stolen. Hubris, thy nickname is Internet.

But on the other side, Denial, thy name is Network/Cable TV. No matter how many Googles merge with YouTubes, no matter how many suits file suits, the fact is that the software is out there to make these files, the will is out there thanks to people with a lot of time on their hands and the know-how, and the TV shows are out there. Cut off one head, and two more sprout up in its wake.

-- Randee Dawn

'South Park' Begins Season 10 As a (Gasp) Respected Veteran

What kind of world is this when "South Park" -- which has turned the sport of disrespect into an art form -- is given its due as a sage, iconic, historically consequential slice of the television landscape? As it kicks off season 10 tonight at 10 on Comedy Central, that's what this arch, subversive, sophomoric and altogether brilliant animated spoof of the political and pop culture worlds has managed to achieve. It's now the longest-running adult-themed animated series ever to show on cable and one of the longest cartoons to run on TV anywhere (trailing only "The Simpsons" and on a par with "King of the Hill").

What's so impressive about what co-runners Matt Stone and Trey Parker have achieved is their attaining such lofty status while harboring a complete disdain for the way the whole Hollywood game is played. They not only bite the hand that feeds them, they pretty much devour it on a regular basis. They seem to remain completely unimpressed with themselves, taking their art seriously but themselves not at all. They're all about the joke. Nothing else matters. They have no cows, sacred or otherwise. They live only to shoot down the pompous, the crazy, the sanctimonious and the arrogant, and this they do with uncanny razor-sharp precision.

My good friend Cathy Seipp today filed an edition of her consistently insightful column "From the Left Coast" for National Review Online about "South Park" in which she points out that while it may sometimes appear that Parker and Stone are liberal, in fact Stone once noted that they may "hate conservatives" but "really hate f***ing liberals." The bottom line is that they are nobody's tool and nobody's puppets, exerting the kind of near total creative license that others can scarcely even dream about.

They can get away with just about anything at this point, whether it be showing Christopher Reeve sucking the stem cells out of fetuses or depicting the prophet Mohammed long before it was fashionable to challenge the decree that Mohammed's likeness never be seen. Putting Tom Cruise into a closet last season was far down the list of controversial "South Park" moments in terms of thumbing its nose at convention and political correctness.

So it's no wonder that Parker and Stone are inspired to keep making the show despite being so financially well off at this point. In no other job would they have this kind of freedom. It thus makes perfect sense to milk this particular cow until the udder is dry -- which is great news for those of us who appreciate a comedy that remains alone in its refusal to censor itself or in any way conform.

Pretty Soon, You'll Be Able To Just Toss the TV Set and DVD Player Altogether

Earlier this week, my very talented blog colleague Steve Bryant and many others discovered a Website offering viewing online of pretty much every episode of "The Simpsons" ever to air, which means nearly 400 of them.

Now, there's a place in cyberspace that's done the all-"Simpsons" site one better -- or actually, four. It features not only all of the "Simpsons" installments but also what appears to be every episode of "South Park," "Futurama," "Family Guy" and "American Dad" as well, all in one convenient freeloading slice of cartoon heaven. And it's even reasonably fast, without much in the way of pauses and interruptions. Not terrible quality, either. Enjoy it while you can. The lawyers can't help but file that cease-and-desist order any minute now. The only reason it hasn't been taken down already is those same barristers are no doubt looking to pile up the billable hours first.

Recalling Mr. Gibson's First 'South'-ern Exposure

No matter what "South Park" co-conspirators Trey Parker and Matt Stone manage to do to Mel Gibson from here in any future spoof, it's impossible to imagine them topping what they already did in April 2004 during his "Passion of the Christ" glory with their own uproarious "The Passion of the Jew" episode.

This clip is just about the funniest thing I've ever seen. Poor, poor Mel.

Counting the Days Until 'South Park' Spoofs Gibsongate

Until then, this Emmy ad will have to do. ADD: However, the ad was apparently not designed as a Mel Gibson reference. (D'oh!)

News Flash: 'South Park' Boys Go Legit! (Kinda Sorta)

The above headline may be a bit of an exaggeration, granted, but not a huge one. It even seems to be dawning on "South Park" rabble-rousers Matt Stone and Trey Parker themselves that there's suddenly a dangerous, insidious, potentially edge-depleting respectability to them and their public persona, dressed as they were in clothes that appeared downright clean while addressing TV critics Thursday morning at the TCA Press Tour event in Pasadena.

Consider that The Boys (whenever there are two of any male team, they must be called The Boys by law) have now not only won a Peabody Award and an Emmy Award and received another Emmy nomination for their notorious "Trapped in the Closet" episode; they've also started teaching writing classes. They also measure their responses a lot more carefully and seem to genuinely, suddenly care. Seriously.

"Winning an Emmy really was kind of a worst nightmare," Stone admitted on Thursday.

"It was like being the punk rock kid and winning student of the month," Parker added.

But by the same token, they are in their mid-30s now. You can only do the whole uncontrollable brat thing for so long before it starts looking a little silly on a grown man. "Yeah, we don't want to lose our edge but you also want to grow old gracefully," Parker added. "I think we're still doing really fucked-up shit. But we do care now that the story be really good."

It also isn't as if they've been dodging controversy lately or anything. Stone and Parker let it be known they were less than pleased that Comedy Central pulled a planned March rerun of "Trapped in the Closet" after Tom Cruise threatened not to promote "Mission: Impossible III" if the network didn't (they've since rescheduled it to run next Wednesday). As Stone said, "It's tough to work for people you think are holding one of your episodes hostage, but it's obviously water under the bridge now because it's going to air."

It also didn't strike anyone as particularly un-edgy when the guys made a couple of episodes this past season that skewered fellow animated series "Family Guy," the Fox show that got resurrected against all odds. Stone and Parker gave the impression via "South Park" that they didn't find the show particularly funny. "We got flowers from 'The Simpsons' and a call from 'King of the Hill' saying we were doing God's work," Parker said. "It's not just our opinion."

As for "Trapped in the Closet," which earned the pair international props for its lambasting of Scientology and spoof of Cruise and the surrounding gay rumors, Parker said Thursday that voice Isaac Hayes -- a longtime Scientologist -- asked the producers to remove the episode from future DVD releases after it originally aired in November. They refused, ultimately leading to Hayes' asking to be released from his contract early this year. "We knew that might happen," he added.

With "South Park" officially celebrating 10 seasons on the air beginning Oct. 4, Parker and Stone remain a bit flabbergasted that it has come to this for a show they never thought would make it past episode six. Of season one. But these are now different guys than they were way back when. They're far savvier, more mature and appear to bathe a lot more regularly. But it doesn't mean they've sold out, only that all of us grow up. But don't tell anyone. It's probably bad for business.