South Park 22.06 Review – ‘Time to Get Cereal’

If you’ve followed these reviews this season then you’ll know that I’m pretty easy to please. Focus on the children, don’t get super political and preachy, throw in nostalgia. It’s a formula that’s worked ever since episode three and Matt and Trey went back to the well once more on Wednesday with “Time to Get Cereal.”

Almost immediately, we get the return of ManBearPig, who we thought was trapped in Imaginationland. Upon seeing the half man, half bear, half pig; an Al Gore return was all but certain. And sure enough, super cereal Al Gore was back in South Park. In fact, he never left. He just went bowling.

The episode was slow, but didn’t lack in funny moments. The arc of Yates just wanting to play RDR 2 and his certainty that the killings were school shooting, even at a Baskin Robins, never failed to put a smile on face. We’ve all been there. We just want to play the new video game we got our hands on and real life gets in the way.

Matt and Trey continued the trip down nostalgia lane by bringing back Satan and then Stan’s Grandpa at the very end. I’m a sucker for a Satan cameo. He constantly delivers whenever he’s on-screen and Wednesday was no different. Satan sitting in the library with glasses on is simply a visual you’re not going to find in other television shows.

The penultimate scene with Stan giving the “I’ve learned something today” speech — I know he didn’t use those words, but we all know what I’m referring to — was an obvious play on Tuesday’s election night and the mistake of electing Trump. Doing it in this manner, instead of beating fans over the head with President Garrison and trying to find comedy in a situation that is already comically real, works so much better.

The reveal that Stan’s Grandpa was the one that made the deal works on an election level as well. Obviously it was old people who put Trump in office. Right?

It also set up a sequel and possibly a trilogy. While I had my qualms with serial seasons of South Park, there’s no denying Matt and Trey’s ability to put a two-parter or trilogy together. “Cartoon Wars” and “Imagination Land” remain high on the list of great South Park episodes.

Cartman was once again excellent in his role. It’s not really a surprise that this show goes as Cartman does. He’s been the face of the series from the jump and when he’s delivering one-liners and not giving a fuck, the show is at it’s best. Not caring about the dead kid and “I’m not poor” were perfect uses of Cartman.

And let’s not forget. All of this could have been prevented if we all just listened to Al Gore.

7.9

The final score: review Good

The 411

On one hand, this episode was everything I love about the series. From the quick one-liners to the nostalgia to the subtle and not so subtle hints of real life. Matt and Trey have stuck with a winning formula ever since the third episode and it's paid off for them. On the other hand, this was an obvious first episode to a bigger picture. It doesn't diminish how good it was, but I want to see the full product. If the follow up lives up to the hype, this episode gets a boost.