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South Park 23.09 Review – “Basic Cable”
Loading...Member when the boys went to the cable companies to try and get their packages changed?
*rubs nipples*
The game has changed as cable is out and streaming is in. Matt and Trey’s take on the subject is nothing new. Streaming has dominated for years and there are no signs of it slowing down. Disney+ is only proving how much room streaming has to grow as everyone and their mom has damn Disney+ or someone’s Disney+ account. The Mandalorian is a hot topic, and though I’ve never seen an episode, I’m sure it’s fantastic. The cable stuff was low hanging fruit, but Matt & Trey still juiced it for some good jokes.
The joke about Hollywood unoriginality hit home and was layered. Maybe it wasn’t Marvel that created the first giant movie universe, but they certainly perfected. Nowadays, you have to watch a movie, a tv show, read the comic book, check the twitter feed, and buy the merchandise just to know what’s happening in the Marvel universe.
The layer is that South Park not only presented an unoriginal idea tonight (streaming vs. cable), but they did a Scott Malkinson special, and brought back The Whites, One For The Ladies, and PC Babies, thus showing off the larger South Park Universe.
The diabetes jokes and references hit home for me as my wife has diabetes. I can’t tell you how many times that monitor goes off to alert her. I’m pretty sure hers is busted, but it gets no less annoying. Always have juice on hand. Always. And chocolate. All the guys going after the new girl could been seen as a callback to Bebe’s boobs. And it was nice to see Scott get your cliche comedy happy ending.
It feels like this whole season has been used to set up tonight’s episode, which has me curious as to where they go next week. With Tegridy Farms have its season finale, South Park has leaned into spin-offs this season. There are threads tying episodes together, but if you haven’t watched all season, “Basic Cable” works as a standalone.
Scott Malkinson proved to be more than his diabetes in “Basic Cable” as we finally got to see more…than his diabetes. We’ve only known him as the kid who gets ripped on for the diabetes, and while that’s what initially linked him to Sophie, by the end of the episode we had more background and personality traits.
And Scott’s dad was the star despite limited lines. Give him more screen time moving forward.
