This short 17th season of the cult animated comedy series from Trey Parker and Matt Stone features only 10 episodes, but still serves up some solid quality laughs for a show that was never expected to last more than a few years. The set opens with Cartman using social media to protest NSA surveillance of his “private” information, and takes on the Affordable Care Act in a segment in which preschooler Ike goes through puberty due to a medication mix-up. But the highlight is a three-part story arc that weaves together Black Friday shopping, the war between the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One video game consoles, and the HBO series Game of Thrones into an epic spoof that concludes with a wicked parody of the infamous “Red Wedding” episode—complete with betrayals, zombie shoppers, a literal war-zone in the shopping mall, and a caricature of author George R.R. Martin. The series continues to drop in timely references, meaning that some of the details date quickly, but it's still a lively mix of social, political, and cultural satire that routinely crosses boundaries of taste. Compiling all 10 episodes from 2013, extras include mini-commentaries by Parker and Stone, and deleted scenes (the Blu-ray release also features crowd-sourced Twitter comments—via subtitles—on all episodes). Recommended. (S. Axmaker)
South Park: The Complete Seventeenth Season
Paramount, 2 discs, 220 min., not rated, DVD: $22.99, Blu-ray: $42.99 Volume 29, Issue 6
South Park: The Complete Seventeenth Season
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