How the "South Park" guys became an American institution

[Brian Damage]

As I watched Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the creators of Comedy Central's "South Park," collect armloads of Tony awards for their satirical musical "The Book of Mormon" Sunday night, a disquieting and thrilling realization popped into my head: These potty-mouthed clowns might very well be America's greatest and most consistently inventive humorists.

Of course they have competition. There's "The Daily Show," for sure, though I'd argue that Jon Stewart's version is as much a news program as a comedy series. But for audacity, visual flair, musical chops, verbal invention and gut-busting silliness, not to mention consistency of vision over time, I think the "South Park" boys trump all comers -- including the creators of "The Simpsons," a landmark show that started to flag halfway into its endless run, and Seth MacFarlane of "Family Guy," whose show has its moments but has never quite risen to the heights of conceptually driven insanity that Parker and Stone reach so often. At their best, I'd put Parker and Stone up there with "Monty Python's Flying Circus," "SCTV," Ernie Kovacs, the Marx Brothers, George Carlin and W.C. Fields, all of whom skated along the edge of the surreal and willfully outrageous, doing pirouettes and blowing raspberries at anyone who tried, like yours truly, to call them great and significant.

Their success is all the more remarkable when you consider what true outsiders they were, and to some extent still are. Back in 1992 they were just a couple of students at the University of Colorado who'd produced a goofy little short film titled "The Spirit of Christmas." Within five years -- thanks to help from Fox executive Brian Graden, who gave them $2,000 to turn the short into a "video Christmas card" that he could send to friends and birthed the very first viral video sensation -- they'd landed a Comedy Central show, "South Park."

http://www.salon.com/entertainment/t...ving_humorists

[MrCleveland]

I enjoy "South Park". They make us laugh about love...and other things again.

And you know, you learn something on that show....

[Retro4Life]

The first couple of times I saw SP I didn't like it at all; just seemed trashy and vulgar for its own sake.

But then I kept watching and slowly I began to realize that these guys are almost always saying something very original and pointed, not to mention logical. They're a very common sense team, and they loathe political correctness. And I love the way they don't play favorites; they bash everyone and everything, all across the political, social and religious spectrum.

I read that Parker said something like "I hate conservatives, but I really ******* hate liberals." And this even handedness comes out in the show.

I'd say I largely agree with this article. I sometimes still cringe at their apparent need to go for the gross out, but underneath it all is an obvious intelligence.

And it really makes me laugh!