I didn't review last week's South Park because the Presidential Debate took its place, but we're right back into with "Insecurity." There was a lot that was great in this episode, using only a few jokes to move it along the entire time, but they were so funny that they held the episode up.

"Insecurity" gets started off after Ike sees his parents having sex with Gerald dressed up as the UPS man. Ike mistakes him for the real UPS man which starts a snowball effect, to which all of the men in South Park get involved. It breaks down to the guys needing to consult with an older man at the local bar, of which the scenes there were spot on. The older man starts comparing the UPS man to the milk man, and the only way to stop him was to go to drastic measures. The absolute best part of this entire bit was the simple pasteurized joke. It took me a second to get it but I couldn't stop laughing.

Cartman is in classic form as he demands his house be fitted with a top-of-the-line security system because he thinks his mother is going to be raped. The bit with him on the phone with the security company after an alarm is set off is spot on and one of the funnier running jokes in the episode. Having it upgraded to "In Security" led to a few laughs at the end, right before the joke had run its course.

The absolute best part of "Insecurity" was most definitely the Bane references. When I saw the Bane mask I was already cracking up, but after I heard them all talk I almost died. It wasn't just that the voice was dead on accurate, it was the things they were saying as well. The town trying to figure out what they were going to do with the Banes, which Mr. Mackey pointed out because "one Bane's bad enough, but we have like... like seven Banes," simply led further into the security system bit.

The episode, while only having a few dominant running jokes the whole time, was hilarious. At some points it felt like the jokes were about to get stale, but then they were changed enough or something new was added at just the right time to keep it from happening. This was one of the better episodes I've seen in a while.

Rating: 9/10

TL;DR "Insecurity" only had a few running jokes but they held their weight which led to a great episode.

Posted by Atkins under TV Reviews

After waiting for the mid season premiere of South Park for so long, I sat down on the couch the moment I got home from work with the intention of doing absolutely nothing but preparing for this week's episode. I put it on a pedestal, and fortunately Trey and Matt delivered.

"Sarcastaball" covered some topical subjects such as rule changes in the NFL to protect the players, like moving kickoff up the 35 yard line. Randy Marsh, being my favorite character in the show, made me glad that they created another episode centered around him. When he starts using sarcasm and literally can't stop it's one of the funnier running jokes throughout the episode. The best part was after people stopped taking his sarcasm seriously and everybody was throwing sarcastic jabs back and forth without the slightest break in the middle. At times it became so ridiculous I couldn't tell who was still being sarcastic and who was trying to be serious.

The slight poke at the replacement referees was absolutely hilarious if you were watching for it (it was fairly hard to miss). When the referees were trying to figure out if a player had scored or not, throwing up different hand signals, finally reaching an official review where the ref shouts "fuck it, it's a field goal" was absolutely hilarious.

I'm glad Butters, who is my second favorite character, was a main focus of the episode as well, but his bit wasn't nearly as funny as Randy's. It caused a chuckle or two at first but after a while I really wished that the kids would stop drinking Butters' Creamy Goo. When it led to players splashing it on their face I thought I was going to get a little sick. But fortunately Randy came to the rescue at the end simply stating what it actually was. Such a simple line but it was a great end to the bit. Also was anybody else dying at the fact that Randy ran over a kid and nobody cared as he laid there dead on the field?

It wasn't the greatest episode but is worth watching again.

Rating: 8/10

TL;DR "Sarcastaball" was a good opener after the mid season break. Some of the bits were funnier than others, but I would definitely watch this one again.

Posted by Atkins under TV Reviews

Sunday's episode of Game of Thrones, "A Man Without Honor," has been one of the best this season which is an accomplishment because this season has been great from start to finish. Things seem to be taking a turn for the worse for everybody which is adding a lot of conflict to the story.

Cersei's attitude seems to have taken a completely different turn from what we're used to seeing this week. When Sansa was panicking because she had gotten her "moon's blood," Cersei was actually there to console her for once. She tried to warn Sansa that with the more people she loves the weaker she is, and that even though she is to be married to Joffrey that doesn't mean she will love him. Cersei may have had a change of heart toward the matter after she revealed to Tyrion that possibly her incest with Jaime created a monster, much like what happened with the Targaryens. It was strange that after denying it before she now openly admits to Joffrey being Jaime's son.

Ygritte out in the north with Jon Snow was a good change of pace as most of their interactions were on the lighthearted side. Most of it was Ygritte teasing Snow about him having never slept with a girl before and taking an oath to live the rest of his life without it, that while he claims to be free he's basically held captive by an oath he took. Things take a sour turn for Snow when Ygritte gets away from him and finds more wildlings to capture him. It doesn't seem like they plan on killing him right away so we'll have to see how this plays out.

Arya and Tywin still have some of the best conversations of the entire series and watching them on screen is some of the best dialogue you can find on TV. Tywin's interactions with Arya could even lead you to believe that he truly enjoys talking with her and would like to get to know more about her, as she's far too intelligent for the lies she tells to keep her identity a secret.

Jaime had more screen time this week as it focused on him and his cousin Ser Alton Lannister, with Jaime's eventual attempt to escape. Even though Jaime is one of the most underhanded characters in the show he's also one of the most entertaining. While being lambasted by Catelyn for killing his own cousin and how everybody wants his head, Jaime still attacks Catelyn for having a bastard son due to her "honorable" husband Ned Stark, continuing to question where she happened to find Brienne because she's so huge.

Daenerys and Jorah run into even more trouble in Qarth as the theft of her dragons was solely so that Xaro could become the King of Qarth, after making a deal with the warlocks. I'm not really sure how Daenerys will get out of this situation as she no longer has her dragons, Xaro and the warlocks plan to keep her in the house of the undying and she no longer has any allies she can truly rely on. I thought that she would have all the power in this season with her dragons but she has consistently turned out to be helpless.

Rounding out the episode is Theon who in an attempt to keep from being humiliated by any means necessary sets out on a hunt for Bran and Rikkon. With each passing moment he seems to be growing more and more mad, trying to display his authority over everybody. At the end when he strings up the charred bodies of the two boys you can tell that he has completely lost it and his actions will cost him dearly.

With only two episodes left this season it will be interesting to see how this all plays out. It seems as though none of the characters have the upper hand in any of their conflicts and the world grows more and more unstable.

Rating: 10/10

TL;DR "A Man Without Honor" stuck to the theme of no honor throughout the entire episode, with great interactions and compelling scenes to keep the tension heightened.

Posted by Atkins under TV Reviews

This week's Game of Thrones episode "The Old Gods and the New" was one of the best this season. It wasn't filled with action sequences from start to finish, but each situation that was encountered by every character was intense and kept you on the edge of your seat.

The episode opens up to Theon taking Winterfell. I would have liked to see the actual battle that led to that, but the scenes that it led to more than made up for it. Theon's takeover of Winterfell went largely without much violence, even though Theon proved how despicable his actions were, all while somehow retaining the feeling that he's trapped, trying to please his crew without harming those of Winterfell. Everything fell apart though when Sir Rodrik spit in his face, which prompted his crew to suggest that he be put to death. The ensuing decapitation of Sir Rodrik by Theon made you despise Theon for not simply taking control over the situation the way he wanted to.

Back in King's Landing Joffrey continues to be the most despicable person on the planet. Joffrey demanding that people be killed simply because somebody threw something at him showed that he doesn't know what he's doing, as it incited a riot that nearly ended in Sansa being raped and murdered. Tyrion losing his normal self-control and hitting Joffrey was the best part of that whole scene for me. Tyrion, while seeming to be underhanded in the first season, has consistently been the voice of reason for the Lannisters in the second.

Robb seems to be having some down time with the war at hand, and we can see his interactions with Lady Talisa showing that he may have some affection for her. The only problem is that Robb is still promised to one of the Frey daughters, a debt that must be paid as Catelyn needs to remind him. When news reaches him about Theon's betrayal things go back to a more hectic state. Robb can't travel all the way back to Winterfell and abandon his front lines, so he has to send somebody to take the castle back for him.

Jon Snow is still far out in the north where him and the Night's Watch take on the task of sneaking up and killing wildlings, which is where we also meet Ygritte. Jon is put in charge of killing Ygritte but makes the grave error of letting her live, which she takes as an opportunity to run from him. After he catches up to her he realizes that he's now out on his own as he can't find any of the Night's Watch. This could be a serious situation as many people freeze to death in the north, so he has to huddle up to Ygritte to stay warm.

Arya is still Tywin's cup bearer and the scenes with those two interacting are some of the best of the show. This week seemed less about Arya contemplating killing Tywin and more the two of them talking about their families. This allowed the audience to see that Tywin is probably the most noble and honorable of the Lannisters and you can respect him. When Baelish shows up to speak with Tywin it was a very tense moment as it seemed like he would notice Arya almost immediately. She was able to stay out of his line of sight, but gets into trouble once again when one of the members of Tywin's war council catches her with a note. Then she has to use another kill-name with Jaqen to keep from being found out.

Rounding out the episode is Daenerys who can't seem to find any help in Qarth. She still doesn't want to marry Xaro simply for money but nobody else in Qarth wants to help her simply because it seems like a bad investment. It's when Xaro is explaining to Daenerys that you don't always have to take the noble path to do things when they find that her dragons had been stolen. With the only thing that makes her important now gone, it will be exciting to see just how she plans on getting them back from what appears (to me at least) to have been taking to the House of the Undying.

This episode might not have had many battles in it but was filled with tense moments throughout. The script was very well written and kept you engaged the entire time, without going off into unimportant tangents. One of the best episodes this season and a must watch.

Rating: 10/10.

TL;DR "The Old Gods and the New" is one of the best episodes of the season and a must watch.

Posted by Atkins under TV Reviews

Last week I missed a Game of Thrones review and for that I'm sorry. I was extremely tired on Sunday and missed it. I won't bog you down with a quick recap but instead get right into this week's episode. 

After last week left off with that smoke abomination being born into the world this episode picked up right from there. With Robb not caring for the Iron Throne, Renly agreed to take down King's Landing once he dealt with his brother Stannis. Unfortunately the Stannis shaped smoke monster came into Renly's tent and as soon as it seemed things were looking up for the Starks, killed Renly. With only Catelyn Stark and Brienne in the tent it appears that Brienne is the one who murdered Renly, so they now have to head back to Robb's encampment. You have to wonder if Brienne killing the guards made it worse, but telling them a smoke monster killed Renly probably wouldn't go over well. 

Now with Renly dead Stannis arrives to fold Renly's army into his own. With this advantage he now has the superior numbers and force to take King's Landing. Even though he now has the superior numbers, Davos informs Stannis that his men whisper Melisandre is the one giving the orders while Stannis merely follows them. With this information he decides to leave Melisandre out of his raid of King's Landing, otherwise people might look to her as a ruler instead of him. It's possible that this won't go over well with Melisandre and turn sour for Stannis since we've seen what she's capable of, but only time will tell.

Tyrion has found himself in the predicament of apparently being the only person in King's Landing who realizes it's very possible that they might lose the war. With Cersei believing that she can buy whatever she needs for protection and Joffrey in charge of the defense of the city, Tyrion realizes that if he doesn't step in and do something the city could be in a lot of trouble. Joffrey's plan to simply launch a mixture called wildfire at enemy forces could easily burn the city itself to the ground, so he takes on the task of having the wildfire made for himself. What he plans to do with it is anybody's guess at this point.

Turning to Daenerys, who hasn't had much time in the spotlight this season, she's now in the city of Qarth. Everybody reveres her as the Mother of Dragons, consistently trying to gain favor with her. One person of note is Xaro who offers a marriage proposal to her. The proposal would also come with enough money to buy ships and armies of her own to take the Iron Throne. While this is what Daenerys wants, Jorah insists that rich men don't become rich by offering more than they're going to receive. A great piece of advice that Daenerys takes to heart, and she decides they'll find another way through the Narrow Sea.

Rounding out the episode is Arya who is now under the service of Tywin. While Tywin is technically supposed to be the villain here he's not mean to Arya and their interactions are always great ones. When she stares in his eyes and says that any man can be killed, it's a great moment. Also she comes across Jaqen H'ghar who she let out of the Night Watch's custody, and is now in service of the Lannisters. Since she saved the lives of him and the other two men, he tells her he now owes her three lives in exchange. Her first choice is the one who tortures everybody known as The Tickler, and he comes through be sending him to his death.

This season is shaping up nicely and while there aren't battles in every episode the conversations and interactions between the characters can keep you entertained. I think that "The Ghost of Harrenhal" moved the story along a good amount leading to what seems to be an epic battle between every faction. The Night's Watch is moving in on King-Beyond-The-Wall Mance Rayder, Stannis will shortly be moving to attack King's Landing, Daenerys will soon find a way to head to the Iron Throne, Robb Stark is on a rampage in the North and Tyrion is trying his best to bolster defenses for an imminent attack. You can feel the tension building.

Rating: 9/10

TL;DR "The Ghost of Harrenhal" progressed the story along a great deal while setting up the foundation for a giant battle towards the end of the season.

Posted by Atkins under TV Reviews

After last week's episode took a turn towards weird I was a little skeptical about "Cartman Finds Love." I've had high expectations throughout the entire season with episodes being hit or miss, so I was glad to see this one being a complete hit. From start to finish I was dying laughing. The way the episode opened up immediately into the new girl being black and Cartman assuming Token liked her because he's a racist was pure gold. 

In addition to the jokes that involved the main story there were other gems that were thrown in for good measure. I don't know if it was just me but when Cartman was sitting in the classroom with Token and Nichole, Garrison explaining Game of Thrones was one of the funniest moments in South Park for me. It was one of the few moments that I wished Cartman would be quiet so that I could hear what Garrison was saying, but having it in the background made it that much better.

Once Cartman confronted Nichole to tell her that Kyle wouldn't be interested in her because they were gay for each other was another great bit. In all of South Park Cartman always tried to make other people seem gay, so watching him turn it on himself was hilarious. It made it even better how nonchalant he was about it and the jokes just flowed out. While it would normally seem that Cartman was doing it just to screw Kyle over the fact that he just wanted Nichole and Token together made it funnier.

Everything going further into the episode from Cartman's "Cupid Me," locking Token and Nichole in the locker room and Cartman singing "I Swear" all were unbelievable bits that held their own weight and kept you laughing. There were plenty more as well but you'll have to watch the episode for yourself to see all of them. Rounding out the episode at the Nuggets game and singing to Kyle with Brad Paisley was a great final touch.

With this being the midseason finale this was the way to close it out. One of the funniest episodes I've seen in a while and I'm glad that South Park still has the flair and comedy when they put their minds to it. At some points you might think that Matt and Trey have lost it but they clearly still have it.

Rating: 9/10

TL;DR "Cartman Finds Love" was one of the best episodes of the season with hilarious bits and crude humor all around.

Posted by Atkins under TV Reviews

When I watched "I Should Have Never Gone Ziplining" I wasn't sure what to think. The show tried some new things that were hilarious but some were a little odd. It started out great with the boys trying to figure out how to end their Spring Break. The way the show was mocking "I Never Should Have Survived" was funny and gave the show a new twist. Once they got to the ziplining place is where the episode really starts to pick up.

Ziplining is something that you'll hear from everybody that they do when they go on vacation and I'm very glad this episode poked fun at it. More so when they're introduced to the couples and families (which are on every tour you ever go on who I hate to my very core) is when they realize something is horribly wrong. When they're shown the safety video and somebody asks a question I died laughing.

The opening 15 minutes goes on in this fashion and it's great the whole way. From Cartman freaking out in the shuttle, to the bit with yuppies using "to make a long story short," to the same guy asking questions over and over is priceless. Once they got up to the zipline though everything looked like it might turn better for the boys. Then Cartman goes down the zipline and when he gets to the other side shouts "it's totally fucking stupid dude" was funny.

The detailed explanation about what was happening in Cartman's bowels was also a funny bit, especially when he shits his pants and denies it. Once they had to head back and take horses because Cartman was feeling sick thanks to Diet Double Dew (Dew The Math) is where I thought the episode would take a wild turn into something really funny. Instead it continued on with the bit of yuppies who go on tours and take pictures of everything. It was a little worn out at this point but still funny. This bit ran the whole episode which I wasn't a fan of because at the halfway point I wanted to see some different jokes.

When the episode switched into the live action set I almost turned off my TV. This almost ruined the whole episode for me and I'm not really sure what Matt and Trey were thinking other than they needed something to fill time or couldn't think of anymore jokes. The actors playing the part were horrible, the bit wasn't in the slightest bit funny and it actually made me mad that I was watching it. Part of the reason I watch South Park is because the characters are hilarious and the jokes are things you wouldn't ever see. Swapping out characters for mediocre actors in a real, boring setting was just awful.

While the episode started out great and was funny most of the way through, the repetition of the same jokes and the live action sequence nearly killed the entire thing for me. It wasn't as bad as I'm making it out to be but if you watched it and shut off your TV two-thirds of the way through I wouldn't be surprised.

Rating: 7/10

TL;DR "I Should Have Never Gone Ziplining" started out great but ended up repeating the same jokes over and over, almost being ruined by a live action sequence.

Posted by Atkins under TV Reviews

This week's episode of Game of Thrones picked up right where it left off. Craster brings Jon Snow back to his camp and uses him as a reason to make everybody leave. I honestly thought that it was going to take another turn with Snow being held captive, but being the reason that the Night's Watch has to leave camp is just as bad. Mormont wasn't as hard on Snow as I thought he was going to be, possibly so that he'll learn that they have to do whatever it takes to protect people from whatever is out there in the north.

Theon's story went a little bit differently than I was expecting it to, or at least hoping it to. He gets into an argument with his father that the only reason he had to go live with the Starks in the first place was because he was basically given away. I thought this would be enough for Theon to warn Robb that Theon's father was planning on ambushing the north to take it back from the Starks, but Theon burned his warning letter and swore an oath to Pyke. I'm still hoping that he'll choose to help the Starks in the end but at this point that's not how it's looking.

In King's Landing Tyrion came up with a brilliant scheme in order to figure out who would betray him, mainly because all the former King's Hands kept dying. His plan to tell different people different stories in order to see who would betray him to the queen was genius. He seems to be the only person in King's Landing who comprehends how underhanded everybody is and that it's doing no good for the war that they're currently losing. Personally I think Tyrion is the best character of the second season so far. 

Arya also has run into trouble traveling with the Night's Watch. The knights that had come for Gendry before are back, and Yoren isn't going to give Gendry up anytime soon. Sadly Yoren has to take on the knights and ends up being killed. With that happening the knights capture all the kids, but Arya turns the tides. She points out that one of the kids that the knights killed was Gendry, because he always carries the boar's helmet around all the time. So we'll see how well her ploy plays out.

This episode wasn't as eventful as the ones before it but progressed the story along fairly nicely and I'm guessing that more fighting will ensue soon enough.

Rating: 8/10

TL;DR The story progresses along in Game of Thrones nicely with battles of wits more than steel in this episode.

Posted by Atkins under TV Reviews

After last week's episode I was on the fence with how "Butterballs" would turn out. Right out of the gates you could tell this episode was going to be magical, and it didn't disappoint. It got right back to the roots of South Park poking fun at topical events and crude humor everywhere, it was the South Park we all know and love.

Opening up into the episode Butters was worried about a bully taking his lunch money three days in a row. The bully turning out to be his grandma was hilarious, I didn't see it coming and her lines were all great. Whether it was when she was trying to make him eat a urinal cake or Stan and company mimicking Butters because they thought he was excited when his grandma was actually stabbing him with a fork was priceless. When Butters broke out his old Professor Chaos costume to confront her only to have her dressed up as a villain threatening him with "gummy bears" damn near made me piss myself.

With Bucky Bailey's Bully Busters (trademark) addressing the school was phenomenal if only for Bucky asking the girl he called up if kids made fun of her for pulling her pants up to her tits. His bullying of Mr. Mackey and Stan which inevitably led to the bathroom bullying gag was able to hold its own weight and keep the gag rolling without getting stale.

If you couldn't figure out the bit with Kyle telling Stan he would end up "naked, jacking it in San Diego," it was in reference to the creator of KONY 2012 breaking down in public and jacking it. An obscure reference but still worked whether or not you knew what it was in reference to anyway. The ending song and montage was hilarious simply because of the bits thrown in to help it along.

This is the South Park that I know and love and I'm glad to see it making a return to what makes it funny. There were enough topical jokes with random bits and gags to keep you laughing throughout the entire episode. Even if you didn't understand the references they still held their weight and kept you entertained. I can only hope that Matt and Trey keep up this amount of hilarity in upcoming episodes.

Rating: 9/10

TL;DR "Butterballs" was a return to what South Park used to bring to the table and everybody should be pleased.

Posted by Atkins under TV Reviews