The world of South Park continues to get crazier! Randy Marsh faces the world’s worst Wheel of Fortune puzzle and the biggest crap, the homeless invade South Park, Cartman gets Tourette Syndrome, and Guitar Hero makes all the kids rock stars. The epic battle for Imaginationland brings the kids of South Park into a worldwide battle for the fate of the Earth.
South Park—Season 11 aired from March 7, 2007 to November 14, 2007 on Comedy Central. The series won an Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming One Hour or More) for the three episode series “Imaginationland” (which aired in the second half of the series from October 17, 2007 to November 11, 2010.
This is one of my favorite seasons of South Park. It is chocked full of great episodes which illustrate how not only South Park can be topical, but it also can have solid written series. The show also shows it has matured as it has aged and that both Trey Parker and Matt Stone can be juvenile (in a smart way), but also add some great political commentary.
There are so many great episodes in this run (and most of the “not great” episodes are still strong). The Wheel of Fortune episode alone is worth the box set, but you have the great merger of zombie movies with the homeless, and it looks at the popular Guitar Hero and does a great job exploring the pop-boom. As a person who played Guitar Hero a lot (and a bit of real “lame” guitar), this is a fun and true episode.
The cream of the crop in this season however is the three part “Imaginationland”. If you grew up in the ’80s, you can watch this episode over and over again and see characters that you grew up with. You get heroes like the Copper Kid from Silverhawks, Snarf from ThunderCats, and Strawberry Shortcake, and villains like the trolls from the animated 1977 Hobbit, the Gmork from The Neverending Story, and Goro from Mortal Kombat…plus a return of Cartman’s evil Woodland Critters from Season 8’s “Woodland Critter Christmas”. It is fun to try to see which characters you can see (and pause it to see more. The whole episode also ties in things like First Blood, Stargate, and Lord of the Rings. It is a crowning achievement for the series and could have been another featured film like South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut.
South Park—Season 11 shows that the long running series still has teeth. It is a great show which is smart and stupid at the same time. Unlike something like Family Guy which goes for the one-off jokes, South Park crafts the shows around the jokes. If you left South Park years ago, you should check out South Park—Season 11 if you want a good ride.
South Park—Season 11 Complete Episode Guide:
11.1 With Apologies to Jesse Jackson Airdate: 03/07/07
Randy makes a big mistake on Wheel of Fortune and offends the African-American community of the United States. Stan finds himself at odds with Token at school. Randy meets with Jesse Jackson to apologize but finds himself ostracized and hated for being “N*!@*er Guy”. A little person guest speaker at South Park finds himself confronted by his biggest challenge in Eric Cartman.
11.2 Cartman Sucks Airdate: 03/14/07
Cartman’s attempt to get the perfect gag picture of Butters backfires when he’s accused of being gay. When Cartman tries to get him back, Butters is labeled as bi-curious by his parents and sent away to camp to be cured.
11.3 Lice Capades Airdate: 03/21/07
A lice outbreak is occurring Colorado, and Clyde finds he’s infected. A louse named Travis finds their world is alive and tries to find a way to save his only child Hope before his world is destroyed. Clyde realizes his classmates can’t find his secret and tries to find a way hide his infection.
11.4 The Snuke Airdate: 03/28/07
A Muslim student comes to class, and Cartman tries to prove that he is a Muslim terrorist. As Cartman and his friends try to uncover the men behind the attack, the government tries to stop the snuke in Hillary Clinton’s snatch.
11.5 Fantastic Easter Special Airdate: 04/04/07
Stan questions the reasoning behind the Easter Bunny and finds himself a target of the Easter Bunnies. When Stan discover his father is involved, he learns about the secret Hare Club for Men and their battle with the Catholic Church
11.6 D-Yikes Airdate: 04/11/07
Mrs. Garrison is dumped again and takes it out on the students. When they are assigned to write about The Old Man and the Sea, Cartman, Stan, Kyle, and Kenny decide to hire Mexican workers to write their papers. Garrison meets a lesbian and learns there could be more to sex. When Garrison learns that the bar has been bought by Persians, Mrs. Garrison leads the thirty lesbians against the Persian masses.
11.7 Night of the Living Homeless Airdate: 04/18/07
South Park is overrun by homeless men and women and try to find a way to deal with the problem. Cartman decides to take advantage of the homeless and begins jumping over them. When Kyle makes the mistake of giving to the homeless, more homeless people begin showing up.
11.8 Le Petit Tourette Airdate: 10/03/07
Cartman learns about Tourette’s Syndrome and realizes it is his opportunity to say whatever he wants without getting in trouble. When Kyle believes Cartman is faking, Kyle is forced to understand that Tourette’s Syndrome is a true problem. When Cartman begins to show real signs of Tourette’s, his opportunity to be on Dateline might be a disaster.
11.9 More Crap Airdate: 10/10/07
When Randy is constipated and finally passes his load, Randy finds it is the biggest dump he’s ever taken. As Randy shows off the crap, he learns that he’s beaten Bono for the world’s largest crap. When Bono challenges his record, Randy decides he has to fight back. As Randy tries for the new biggest crap, Bono’s secret is revealed.
11.10 Imaginationland Airdate: 10/17/07
When Cartman claims to see a leprechaun, he bets Kyle that he is telling the truth or Kyle will have to suck his balls. When Cartman proves he’s telling the truth, the children of South Park learns that the leprechaun is out to warn of a terrorist attack and that the fate of the world might hang in the balance. The boys travel to Imaginationland where all invented creations live in harmony, but the terrorist attack upon Imaginationland takes hold of the world’s imaginations (and leaves Butters a hostage of the terrorists).
11.11 Imaginationland, Episode II Airdate: 10/24/07
The barrier with the dark side of Imaginationland has been shattered by the terrorists, and Imaginationland has been invaded. Stan and Kyle travel to Washington, D. C., and the government tries to force the barrier to Imaginationland open to stop the terrorists. Cartman sets out to force Kyle to pay up on their bet. Butters meets with the Council of Nine.
11.12 Imaginationland, Episode III Airdate: 10/31/07
Cartman tries to make Kyle settle his bet once and for all as Stan finds himself pulled into Imaginationland. The government decides that the only way to shut down the terror in Imaginationland is to use nuclear weapons against the Earth’s imagination. Butters finds he’s the most powerful person in Imaginationland since he’s a creator and possibly Earth’s only hope. Al Gore’s attempts to stop Man-Bear-Pig could ruin everything.
11.13 Guitar Queer-O Airdate: 11/07/07
Stan and Kyle are becoming kings of Guitar Hero and get contracts as their scores grow…but will their success destroy them and their friendship? Stan find himself pulled into the world of Heroin Hero when the pressure gets too big, and Kyle finds he has to start from scratch. Randy finds that he can’t play Guitar Hero and that real guitars are for old people.
11.14 The List Airdate: 11/14/07
The boys of South Park learn that the girls have ranked all of the boys at South Park in order of their cuteness. Kyle learns that he’s the ugliest kid in class and that Cartman is cuter than him. Kyle tries to deal with his new status, and Stan and Wendy sets out to appeal the girl’s list to find out why Kyle was voted last.
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