4 out of 5

Creator: Trey Parker, Matt Stone

Covers Seasons 1 – 16

When it premiered in ’97 (post the pre-show fun that one could dig up on the internet) the show mined the ‘kids say the darndest things’ humor for its first few episodes, surprising those who looked past the bleeps with some incredibly inspired and challenging jokes that ran the gamut of humor from satire to surreal.  In retrospect, 16 seasons later (as of this review), the show had evidence of its longevity in its stylistic consistency – the creator duo of Parker and Stone have always lampooned timely events and included stupid celebrity cameos; this type of humor, when relied upon exclusively, sinks most shows – and SP has had its lulls for sure – but for the most part, they’ve used such topical matter as buffer for some secondary zany plotline or as a springboard idea.  Willingness to embrace change has also been the boon, ditching ongoing gags like Kenny’s many deaths, updating the animation style, even shaking up the lineup of the initial four stars of Stan, Cartman, Kyle and Kenny.  A fascinating in-show mythology – odd for a non-storyline-centric comedy show – has slowly formed, and perhaps the best sign of growth is how side characters have become more than just one joke favorites – Butters and Stan’s dad are fully realized in their own right.  Of course, just like ANY long running show, there are lesser-than moments – by-the-books episodes, and post an amazing ramp up to the brilliant seasons right before and after the SP movie, there was an apparent quality struggle while they re-found the spark, trying too hard to preach and not just tell a joke, but a soul-searching in-episode meta examination of this concept (season 15) brought the magic back.  There will always be a question of when to call it quits for something like this, but as long as the creators keep enjoying what they’re doing, I’ll support letting the show run free, assured it will find its way to enough moments of genius to put flash-in-the-pan shows to shame.