SouthParkStudios.com

Hours of edgy, offensive fun; not for young kids.

Entertainment Value: High Graphics: Animation Playability: Easy Reading Level: Light Website: http://www.southparkstudios.com

Common Sense Note

Parents need to know that fans can go to this site and watch almost any South Park episode ever aired on TV -- many in uncensored form. That means 12 seasons of even more profanity, potty humor, cartoon violence, sex, and scathing satire. The site has a surprisingly tame, moderated bulletin board and a very old-school chat interface. (You have to register with an email address to post on the boards.) Users can buy South Park stuff from the Comedy Central store and download ringtones for $2.99 a pop, which requires entering a cell phone number. Games feature the same kind of tongue-in-cheek cartoon violence as the show (decapitating hippies with a giant drill, for example).

Families can talk about how South Park addresses serious social issues and whether or not teens "get" the satire. What topics seem to come up most often? Are the creators making good points or just being silly? Do you ever think the show goes too far? Does it feel wrong to laugh when Cartman says offensive things?

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Common Sense Review

Reviewed By: Susan Yudt

Remember the South Park episode where Cartman sued Kyle for sexual harassment? Or made chili out of Scott Tenorman's parents? South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone said they were tired of illegally downloading episodes of their own show -- so they created SOUTHPARKSTUDIOS.COM, which lets users watch all 12 seasons of episodes online.

The site has other fun features for the serious South Park geek: games based on show episodes (expect lots severed limbs), blog entries and artwork by South Park production staff, and forums for discussing favorite episodes and other hot topics. Users can create their own South Park style avatar to use on message boards. (Choose from kindergartener, fourth grader, adult, or Canadian.) Best of all is the characters section, which catalogs South Park's residents -- adult and child, major and minor -- including episodes, FAQs, sound clips, and more. Is SouthParkStudios.com a good Web site? Definitely. Is it a good Web site for kids? Definitely not.

South Park fans might also enjoy Family Guy and The Simpsons.

Reviewed: 04/01/2008

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Content		CS	adults	kids
Content
Sexual Content Lots of explicit sexual jokes and storylines. Occasional cartoon nudity.
Violence Plenty of gross-out cartoon violence in episodes and games -- the classic example is Kenny dying in hundreds of gruesome ways.
Language Some of the episodes are uncensored; you'll hear "f--k" and other profanity. The fifth-season episode "It Hits the Fan" contains the word "s--t" 162 times.
Message
	Social Behavior The show addresses serious issues using satire, which kids and younger teens may not get. There are both heroes (Stan and Kyle) and anti-heroes (Cartman).
	Commercialism The site links to the South Park section of Comedy Central's store. Users can buy ringtones on the site. There are a lot of banner ads and ads appear before the episodes.
	Drug/Alcohol/Tobacco Some of the episodes address drug and alcohol use, but mainly in a way that makes the user look foolish.
	Educational Value