Mini-DVD Review: Christmas Time in South Park; Solomon's Weekly Rant: Cartoons on Thanksgiving on Nick at Nite; NFL Thanksgiving Games

Saturday, November 24, 2007

Mini-DVD Review: Christmas Time in South Park; Solomon's Weekly Rant: Cartoons on Thanksgiving on Nick at Nite; NFL Thanksgiving Games

It is Saturday, so that must mean it is time for mini-DVD reviews and Solomon's Weekly Rant! First up, are the mini-DVD reviews. Today we take a look at Comedy Central/Paramount's Christmas Time in South Park. South Park of course is the popular cable animated series that is full of laughs for all ages. Join Cartman and the gang for all the holiday fun. Get your hats & coats on! See skees53's mini-DVD review of Christmas Time in South Park:

Christmas Time in South Park (Comedy Central DVD, $19.99) lets us all celebrate the holidays with our favorite foul-mouthed children from South Park, Colorado. The single disc release brings seven Christmas themed episodes of the Comedy Central hit series together in one compilation. Some may be confused and think that this has already been released on DVD, but it hasn't--there was a 2000 release called Christmas in South Park which was released by Warner Brothers that contained only three episodes, only one of which carried over onto this DVD. Many great Christmas classics are included on this DVD. Kyle thinks he is going crazy when a piece of crap (literally) starts talking to him in "Mr. Hankey the Christmas Poo." The kids all decide to spend Christmas with Cartman's family when a family friend--Charles Manson--decides to break out of prison with Cartman's uncle in "Merry Christmas Charlie Manson!" Mr. Hankey returns in "Mr. Hankey's Christmas Classics." Mr. Hankey is too busy with his wife and three... nuggets... in "A Very Crappy Christmas," so it is up to the boys to return the Christmas spirit to South Park. Cartman has been naughty so he decides to help the citizens of Iraq, with the help of Jesus and Mr. Hankey, in "Red Sleigh Down." Kyle's brother Ike is going back to Canada after his birth parents come to take him back, but how will the boys react when they find out that the town is spending money to bring Ike back instead of buying Christmas gifts? Find out in "It's Christmas in Canada." Finally, Stan helps the Woodland Critters build a manger in "Woodland Critter Christmas," but it all backfires in the typical South Park fashion.
The DVD doesn't come in the standard type case that you would expect for a single disc release, but instead comes in packaging that looks like one of those Little Golden Books that we all used to read as a child. It almost makes the set appear to be a nice thing that you can watch with the whole family, but don't be fooled. After all, it IS South Park. The packaging includes a description and the original airdate of each and every episode and also includes a memorable quote from each episode. The video and audio quality of the episodes tends to vary from episode to episode, mostly because these episodes are taken from all of the first eight seasons, but in general there are no real issues to be concerned with. The episodes all appear to be unedited, running at their original 22 minutes each.
The DVD has nothing to offer as far as special features are concerned, and every single one of these episodes can be found in one of the previous season releases of South Park. So, this DVD may not be particularly impressive to the average South Park fan, but for those that must own everything related to South Park or those that simply love Christmas episodes are certain to enjoy the DVD. This isn't a bad DVD at all, but it would have been nice if they could have thrown in some holiday related special features to spice up the set a little bit. A release like this really shouldn't be a plain episodes only release, especially when every episode on it has already been released on DVD at least once. But if you can pick this set up at a reasonable price (under $10 or so), then you'd probably be happy with the set and be glad to have it. Head on up to South Park and look for the bargains!
-- Reviewed by skees53

(4/5 stars)

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Solomon's Weekly Rant
Saturday, November 24, 2007
"Cartoons on Thanksgiving on Nick at Nite; NFL Thanksgiving Games Being Treated Like the Super Bowl"
By Solomon Davis

I came home around 11:10pm on Thanksgiving night to watch some sitcoms like George Lopez and Fresh Prince and found out that Nick at Nite decided to air Rugrats movies after 11pm?? How many children would be up watching cartoons after 11pm? And to make things worse, at midnight there was a filler airing of SpongeBob which made me think it was 9am in the morning. Do the people at Nick at Nite think parents let their kids stay up later at night because there is no school the day after Thanksgiving? There are no children up watching cartoons after midnight and Nick at Nite felt the need to remove all the regularly schedule sitcoms to entertain kids after 9pm to 12:30am which is the dumbest programming decision by Nick at Nite in 2007. Maybe Nick at Nite can air Christmas cartoon specials like Jimmy Neutron from 1am to 6am on Christmas Eve since there are no kids sleeping on Christmas Eve.

NFL games on Thanksgiving Day are still a regular season game so why do fans have to watch musical performances at halftime like it is Super Bowl Sunday? The guys in the studio can easily just talk about what happened during the first half of the game and preview the upcoming NFL games on Sunday. But to extend halftime just so someone can get on stage and sing is just plain stupid. It's bad enough we have to stomach these pointless musical performances like Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake during halftime of the Super Bowl, so can we at least have a regular halftime show on Thanksgiving day?

My Weird TV Moments of the Week:
Sunday, November 18, 2007: On Sunday Night Football, the Buffalo Bills kicked a field goal to cut the New England Patriots lead to 42-10 in the 4th quarter and the coach of the Bills started clapping? Think they were going to come back?
Monday, November 19, 2007: Good Morning America - On "Melody's Money Minute," her holiday shopping tips was, "use CASH instead of CREDIT." She gets paid to tell GMA viewers that OBVIOUS TIP? HA!

Agree or disagree with Solomon? Discuss it here.

DISCLAIMER: Remember, Solomon is not the voice of SitcomsOnline. He is just stating his opinions and does not reflect what SitcomsOnline says or thinks. It is just his 'View' but it is always quite entertaining.