Tonight’s episode brought the “Black Friday” arc to a close so hilariously and brilliantly that it’s hard to believe there’s still another episode left in the season. There’s no way next week can top the last three episodes, so we may as well prepare ourselves for disappointment. But it’ll be well worth it. There’s…

It’s been an uneven season for South Park but the last two weeks prove there’s still plenty of life left in the show. As it continues to execute an homage/parody of Game of Thrones, it manages to weave in the social critique that gives the show its depth, the biting satire that helps give support to the dick and fart…

South Park is a show that’s set the bar high for satire with some of its best episodes. Sure, there have been plenty of lows, but there’s always plenty of grist out there for the show to take shots at. Problem is, there’s so much out there that sometimes its easy to lose focus on what the target is, and there’s a…

There are “controversies”—debates that are kind of dumb to begin with—and there are Controversies—the debates that define who we are as a populace in the 21st Century. South Park episodes like “About Last Night…” so perfectly satirize the idiocy of people taking something too seriously. And then there’s tonight’s…

It’s been a long stretch—nearly 11 months—since the last episode of South Park, and during that time, there’s been plenty of grist for the mill. The time has also given Matt Stone, Trey Parker, and the rest of the writers a chance to take a break, take a breath, and come out swinging. In a way, they pick up where they…

Hey, you like podcasts? Make sure you check out Reasonable Discussions, the A.V. Club podcast. Podmass comments can be directed to podmass@avclub.com.

Hey, you like podcasts? Make sure you check out Reasonable Discussions, the A.V. Club podcast. Podmass comments can be directed to podmass@avclub.com.

South Park and politics have always been a terrific mix, with the topic bringing the best out in the show’s sharp satire. And the show has also gotten good episodes in the few times it’s used President Obama, particularly season 12’s “About Last Night,” which made great use of the left-wing’s blind optimism and the…

Leonard Cohen, “Democracy”
One of several seven-minute epics anchoring Cohen’s 1992 record, The Future, “Democracy” has a line between snark and sincerity that can be hard to parse. On paper, “Democracy” is a hymn to, well, democracy: an ode to the reformers who imagine a better world “on a visionary flood of alcohol”…

Hey, you like podcasts? Make sure you check out Reasonable Discussions, the A.V. Club podcast. Podmass comments can be directed to podmass@avclub.com.

Hey, you like podcasts? Make sure you check out Reasonable Discussions, the A.V. Club podcast. Podmass comments can be directed to podmass@avclub.com.

To listen to these and other podcasts, visit Podcast Central, our podcast hub.

Hey, you like podcasts? Make sure you check out Reasonable Discussions, the A.V. Club podcast. Podmass comments can be directed to podmass@avclub.com.

To listen to these and other podcasts, visit Podcast Central, our podcast hub.

Thus far into this season, one thing I’ve noticed is the way the show has been less centered on the four main characters. With the exception of “Raising the Bar,” Stan, Kyle, Kenny, and Cartman haven’t been the main focus in this half of the season. And in “Bar,” when they were, there were plenty of other ancillary…

There’s No Place Like Home debuts tonight on ESPN at 8 p.m. Eastern.

1. “You talkin’ to me?,” Taxi Driver (1976)
For much of Taxi Driver, Robert De Niro’s Travis Bickle rages in voiceover against “whores, skunk pussies, buggers, queens, fairies, dopers, junkies,” whatever “scum” he perceives responsible for his marginalization. And when his attempt at romancing a glamorous campaign…

Hey, you like podcasts? Make sure you check out Reasonable Discussions, the A.V. Club podcast. Podmass comments can be directed to podmass@avclub.com.

1. Jello Biafra And The Guantanamo School Of Medicine, “SHOCK-U-PY!” 
The earnestness of the Occupy Wall Street movement, coupled with its grassroots foundation and up-with-people message, all but guaranteed a tidal wave of cringe-inducing Occupy anthems. Former Dead Kennedys frontman and longtime leftie agitator Jello…

Hey, you like podcasts? Make sure you check out Reasonable Discussions, the A.V. Club podcast. Podmass comments can be directed to podmass@avclub.com.

South Park’s ability to satirize the culture we ingest so often has been one of the series’ strengths over its run. From Paris Hilton to World Of Warcraft, Matt Stone and Trey Parker have always been able to carve up these figures and, in their own way, shame us by showing how shallow we are by investing so much time…

Hey, you like podcasts? Make sure you check out Reasonable Discussions, the A.V. Club podcast. Podmass comments can be directed to podmass@avclub.com.