By Mark O’Neill
Contributing Writer, [GAS]

Did South Park go too far this time?   That’s the question being posed by the Los Angeles Times after South Park came back this week from a several month hiatus.

To me, the question is ridiculous.  South Park ALWAYS goes too far – that’s what makes the programme so popular.  It intentionally sets out to shock.  But what I think has shocked the LA Times is the sight of Steven Spielberg and George Lucas raping Harrison Ford and then raping a stormtrooper.

“We all saw it happen,” says Jimmy, “Do you remember that scene with Indiana in the refrigerator? It didn’t make any sense, Stan.”

But this is ADULT humor!  I think sometimes people forget that.   In the midst of people crying out “what about the children?!”, people forget that this is not actually a children’s programme.

Raping Harrison Ford aside, the episode tries to make the point that Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull sucks big time (or “sucks donkey balls” as Cartman would say), and the whole raping thing is that Lucas and Spielberg have “raped” the franchise for their own ends.   So there is a serious point in there – somewhere, sort of.

Elsewhere, Cartman and Butters dress up disguised as Chinese people and infiltrate a Chinese restaurant.  This is all part of Cartman’s plan to talk to other Chinese people so they can discover the plans for the Chinese invasion of the United States.   But the police soon surround the restaurant and Butters starts shooting everyone in the balls.

To me, the episode was hilarious but what about you?   Was the whole raping thing totally out of control?  DID they go too far?

Oh and by the way, the full episode is available online at South Park Studios if you want to watch it.   It seems to be available outside the US too.