'Joining the Panderverse' Takes its Place Among the Best 'South Park' Episodes of All Time

As I wrote a few weeks ago when this trailer was first released, the premiere episode of the newest season showed a ton of promise:

And I'm happy to report back that it not only didn't disappoint, it exceeded expectations. And demonstrates once again that there's no one on television that can turn spin current social trends into comedy gold like Trey Parker and Matt Stone. I'll give a close second to It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia a close second. And the fact that show can still hit tape measure home runs like "Celebrity Booze: The Ultimate Cash Grab" and "Dennis Takes a Mental Health Day" in their 16th season is the live action sitcom equivalent of Tom Brady winning a Super Bowl MVP at age 43. And all other comedy shows of our time pale in comparison to these two.

That Parker and Stone can produce an all-timer like "Panderverse" after 330 episodes proves South Park is nothing less than one of the great achievements in TV history. As they've described it, the whole premise of the show when it debuted in 1997 was that everyone in town was doing insane things, while Stan and Kyle stood there blinking and trying to make sense of it. And yet from that simple concept, they've managed to capture the zeitgeist of our times better than anyone. 

Without giving too much away beyond the trailer, "Panderverse" deals with the people of South Park being race- and gender-swapped by versions of themselves from an alternate universe. It all ties into Disney doing exactly that with all their IP. Cartman having nightmares about LucasFilm CEO Kathleen Kennedy as the monster under his bed who wants to replace him with a woman of color.  Stan and Kyle meanwhile aren't mad about the identity politics as much as the are the lazy writing of just throwing a mulitverse explanation into every movie. PC Principle insisting it shouldn't matter that their little fat racist friend just got replaced with a grown woman. In the midst of it all there's a B-story about the men in town stuck with worthless college degrees no one needs and being absolutely useless when it comes to doing simple handyman tasks. Just layer upon layer of spot-on social satire. 

And like South Park when it's at its best, no one comes away unscathed. The internet is lousy with angry nerds who scream about how Kennedy has ruined their adult childhoods with the way she's treating their fictional heroes. And I raise my hand as being one of them. Because I've had it with the likes of Luke Skywalker and Indiana Jones being turned into cynical, bitter old hermits just so some dull, perfunctory Mary Sue character can be introduced and save the universe in the span of two hours. But even though I'm right, doesn't mean I'm not being ridiculous. And "Panderverse" uses Cartman as the stand in for me and all the YouTubers who are way too invested in movie protagonists. While at the same time ripping her and Disney for their unimaginative, recycled, shitty filmmaking. 

And the MacGuffin they use to explain how she keeps making the same basic movie over and over again is brilliant. It uses Disney's own story-telling contrivances against them. Spoiler:

But the alternate dimension Kathleen Kenned? That is peak South Park.

I can't say for sure that "Panderverse" is the best episode they've ever done. You'd have to go through a hell of a list of quality shows over 25 years to make that case. I've said before "Scott Tenorman Must Die" is my personal favorite and the highest rated on IMDb. I have a soft spot in my hear for any episode that features Butters, especially when he was Professor Chaos or "The Return of the Fellowship to the Two Towers," when the boys go on a quest bring a DVD back to the video rental store (kids, ask your parents about those) because they wanted Lord of the Rings but got a porn by accident. And after seeing the porn, Butters turns into Gollum and stalks them to get back his Precious. And don't sleep on the Tom Cruise closet one.

But I can say with certainty that, all things considered, this latest one is right there among those all time classics. And I cannot wait to see the next one. It'll also have a lot to live up to. But Parker and Stone have given us every reason to think it will.