Lets get one thing straight. All animated series preceeding the advent of "The Simpsons", owe homage to Matt Groening. This includes "South Park" , "The Family Guy", "Beavis and Butthead", "King of the Hill", "Rug Rats" and several others. Often the similarities rise to the level of blatant plagerism, while other times instances of Groening's influence materialize in a far more subtle way - Obvious only to the hard core Simpsons fan. Nonetheless, Matt Groening is the pioneer. Trey Parker and his co-creator ( Matt something ? ) , ought to make a public acknowledment that the success of South Park was fueled by the pioneering work of Matt Groening. They owe homage. Now, having said that - I will add this. Yes, South Park has it's moments of originality. Yes, there are times where the show is funny. Yes, comparing South Park to the Simpsons is an apple - orange comparison. Yes, I am reluctant to legitimize South Park any more than I already have by writing this article - However, the show has ascertained widespread popularity, and the purpose of this article is to enlighten all those who favor South Park over the Simpsons. South Park fans are entitled to their opinion, but oft need to learn respect for the comic genius of Matt Groening. Now, let's get on to apples and oranges. Lets talk levels of humor. The Simpsons, works on a variety of levels. There is no one brand of humor associated with the show. On an intellectual level, the show is brilliant - The writing is loaded with social commentary in it's cast of characters, plots, and dialogue. There are poor attempts to weave social commentary into South Park at times, but never even coming close to the brilliance of the Simpsons. Furthermore, the rare occasion where South Park writers do make futile attempts at intelligent humor, are directly influenced by guess who ? You got it, the real deal - The Simpsons. Now....At the opposite end of the spectrum, there is crude, base level humor - The stuff by which South Park earned it's popularity. Here in lies the distinction between the two series. If you are intellectually lazy, and find things like living human pheces, and other 'doody' type humor to be your cup of tea - Then you are a South Park fan. Crude humor is the basis for South Park - It's their turf, and that's okay. But if South Park is to be a crude doody humor show, it would behoove the writers to purge all attempts at intellectual humor. The average SP fan simply will not appreciate intellectual humor, and would like to see more doody material. Earth to Matt and Trey - Shut up, and continue writing your Mr. Hanky doody humor sketches - It's the only thing SP has going on. Your attempts to be funny on the Simpson level are rediculous. Character development ... Realistic humor...The Simpsons ? Chock full of everyday observations which are never seen in the context of humor, until Matt Groening illustrates them that way. Again, brilliant stuff. South Park ? I can't even tell how old the kids are supposed to be. I mean, Im told that they are supposed to be 10,11 12 years old. But whatever the case, it's impossible to tell because there are times where the cast behaves as young kids, and times where their behavior and vocabulary reflect that of eighteen year olds. The characters are poorly developed, and inconsistent in their behavior. And the voices ? I can barely make it through a SP episode because of those rediculous voices. In summary, South Park is a doody humor show, and favored by intellectually lazy fans. Your hard core Simpsons fan is far more intelligent than your hard core SP fan. Must humor require intellectual stimulation ? No. Its perfectly okay to have a doody humor show, and perfectly okay to desire laughter without thought. But SP fans must recognize: 1) The poor attempts at intellectual humor in SP. 2) Acknowledge that the attempts are inspired by the true genius and pioneer Matt Groening 3) Demand an end to these attempts 4) Request as much doody humor as possible. Let Me Reiterate: Earth to Matt and Trey - Shut up, and continue writing your Mr. Hanky doody humor sketches - It's the only thing SP has going on. Your attempts to be funny on the Simpson level are rediculous. TShavel@aol.com
God - 03/02/99 09:34:09
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Which is better: Simpsons or South Park?: The Simpsons
What's your favorite character?: Ralph Wiggum
Who's your least favorite character?: Grandpa´ Simpson