South Park: The Complete Second Season

“Screw you guys, I'm going home!” Oh, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, what a tangled web you've woven with the antics of four blasphemous boys in South Park, CO--I know I'm addicted. This landmark 18-episode 1998-1999 sophomore season set includes some of the most memorable episodes from the Emmy-nominated popular cult series, beginning with the unorthodox opener “Terrance and Phillip in Not Without My Anus”--an April Fool's Day joke delaying the outcome of the first season cliffhanger “Cartman's Mom is a Dirty Slut,” which is continued in season two's "Cartman's Mom is Still a Dirty Slut” (where Cartman finds out his father is…his mother!). Other notable episodes include “Ike's Wee Wee,” “Chickenlover” (a wayward bookmobile worker wreaks sexual havoc on the town's poultry population), “Summer Sucks,” and “Cow Days.” Real standouts include “Chef's Chocolate Salty Balls” with its double entendre title song; “Clubhouses,” in which Stan's parents enjoy a quickie divorce and reconciliation (real quick) and the boys explore the charms of Truth or Dare; and “Gnomes,” a thought-provoking tale about domineering corporations, coffeehouse competition, and underwear-stealing goblins. My favorite episode here is “Chef Aid”--an ode to the boys' smooth-talking cook buddy that features a voice cast including Ozzy Osbourne, Elton John, Rick James, the late Joe Strummer, Ween, and Johnny Rotten. Clever, offensive, and dead-on in its humor, this hysterical compilation includes brief intros by the creators (including a facetious “Makin' Bacon with Macon” cooking show where they feed a pig pork products) for selected episodes (all of which they deem as their “favorite episode”), a “Goin' Down to South Park” doc with Stone and Parker, and the music video for Chef's “Chocolate Salty Balls." Highly recommended. (J. Williams)