Who else misses the old school South Park?

[bartholen_v1legacy]

I like South Park, but in the recent years I've noticed I like the new shows less and less. Not because they're bad, but because they don't feel like what made South Park so special to me in the first place. I always liked the more simplistic design, the crappier animation and the more anarchic, sometimes completely messy stories more than the sharp, detailed art and more complex plotlines of today. I think the contrast between the sometimes very detailed artwork and overly simplistic character designs is simply jarring. I miss the old running gags of Kenny getting killed, "Screw you guys, I'm going home", Cartman's older, high-pitched voice... just so many things South Park seems to have rid itself of during its run I wonder if I'll ever love it again as much as the first 6 seasons.

Who else thinks the same? Do you like the modern South Park less or more, and why? Thoughts please.

 

[hooblabla6262]

I enjoy the new South Park over the old.
Old South Park was great, but I found that it didn't have the depth that the newest seasons have.
Animation wise, I prefer the newer seasons. Maybe I'm just not one for nostalgia.

The whole series is pretty amazing.
I'd recommend watching the documentary on how they make an episode. It's pretty cool.

 

[Verzin]

imo it's been going downhill for a long time. not to say it's not sometimes funny, but I think they've just run out of profound things to mock.

 

[Mr Fixit]

The old South Park used complete randomness to make it funny & that works to a certain point, but it starts to get old & stale. I think Family Guy has the same problem.

The new episodes are still funny & I like the new animation. Sometimes I do miss the old randomness, but they do throw one of those in every once in a while like the Canadian Wedding episode.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

I find 'funny' tends to have a fairly limited shelf life. It's why I prefer comedic shows with short seasons or a limited run, as they wear out their welcome MUCH faster than dramas.

South Park was relevant/funny back when it launched, and for a year or two afterwards. It's deliberately crude sensibilities were an effective form of shock humor. But shock humor tends to rely on...you know...shock.

I don't DISLIKE it now, or anything, but I definitely think its day has come and gone.

 

[antidonkey]

I miss the charm of the old animation style but that's about it. I like that just as much these days.....perhaps more since they can stay to topical with the short creation time.

 

[Queen Michael]

The latest episode is usually way better than the first one. On average, I like it more now. The gross-out humor was never completely my thing.

 

[Shia-Neko-Chan]

South Park is actually a really great show for me. They keep me happy during the semester and generally are still funny and imaginative, so I can't really say I miss the old South Park. The new South Park continues to keep my attention.

 

[Artina89]

While my favourite seasons of South Park are seasons 1, 2 and 3, I still like the newer stuff. The other day I was watching the Creme fraiche episode and the episode where Cartman becomes a NASCAR driver and found it absolutely hilarious. Its nice to go back to the older episodes from time to time though.

 

[CrazyGirl17]

Meh, I don't watch the show much unless an episode I like is on, so... yeah.

 

[Trucken]

I like the older episodes, but I don't know if I think they are necessarily better than the new ones. They're definitely different in style, but overall I'd say they're equally funny.

But I do miss the old style from time to time.

 

[Yellowbeard]

All things considered, South Park's done an amazing job of slowly changing over the years. They kept it from getting stale & boring without losing the original spirit of the show.

 

[Zhougdog]

South Park is just about the worst show on television. It has created a sub-culture of racists and anti-Semites. Its political views are disgustingly conservative as it tumbles aimlessly through tepid unrestrained offensiveness. Parker and Stone are the least creative individuals that have made it big.

 

[ninjaRiv]

Imo, season 14 was the last great season of South Park. Now, it almost seems as if they're more bothered about the message than the comedy but it was always the comedy that made what was said stick.

 

[Nepenthe87]

I like old-school south park for the balls-out insanity it had, and I like the new school south park for it's unrelenting assault on popular culture.

People think that south park has gotten too preachy with it's messages, but the thing is South park has always had a message, and that message is "what we are discussing is stupid". Just about every episode has had either kyle or stan starting a long speech with "I learned something today," and then having a long pointless diatribe about it. To me that has always been apart of the overall joke. Lots of people see it as them preaching off their politcal beliefs in the show, but as moviebob said in one episode, to me, there is no real political agenda in south park. It' just them making fun of things they don't like.

 

[Signa]

Both have their strong points. I know every time I go back to watch seasons 1-6, I'm disappointed that the show isn't like that anymore. But I know if it stayed that way the whole time, it wouldn't be half as entertaining as it is now in season 15.

 

[ninjaRiv]

South Park is just about the worst show on television. It has created a sub-culture of racists and anti-Semites. Its political views are disgustingly conservative as it tumbles aimlessly through tepid unrestrained offensiveness. Parker and Stone are the least creative individuals that have made it big.

I have to disagree with you there. They're a whole lot more sensitive, respectful and forward thinking than some people give them credit for.

Look at Jimmy and Timmy, two disabled characters. Both have their own personalities and are not defined by their disabilities. The majority of the cast treat them as friends and those that don't are, in actuality, the butt of the joke.

The Jewish character, Kyle, is one of the two protagonists. Yes Cartman spends his time insulting his religion but Cartman is not a good guy and they never pretend that he is. Kyle is smart, friendly and interesting.

Seriously, I can probably give you a huuuuge list of episodes that, for somebody who hasn't seen them, look like offensive, racist piles of shit but trust me, they're not. I will list these episodes! I'm serious, man, don't push me!!!

As for it not being funny, that's your opinion and I respect that. Not everyone has to find it funny. Personally, I think it's one of the funniest shows of all time.

 

[TheRightToArmBears]

I actually prefer the newer episodes. Ruthlessly taking the piss out of everything appeals to me much more than the classic episodes.

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

Who else thinks the same? Do you like the modern South Park less or more, and why? Thoughts please.

Although I enjoyed it at the time, I now actively dislike seasons 1 and 2 of South Park. They just didn't age well for me.

Seasons 3-4 I find pretty meh.

Seasons 5+ I still find pretty good. Although, as much as I like the multi-part episodes, they tend to make the seasons seem shorter.

But yeah, I still enjoying the show. More than I enjoy the old episodes, which I find rather off-putting. Not even sure why. Over exposure maybe?