By the way, the title of this post is a reference to the episode, not an admission of any problems this author may have. I swear! This week’s South Park was a perfect example of a great idea being funnier than the overall execution. The episode, titled “Over Logging”, brought to light South Park’s obsession with the internet, Mr. Garrison’s subtle assertion of masculinity, and Randy’s love of Brazilian fart porn. It centers on the idea that we are now completely dependent on the internet for all information, and would be lost without it.

At the Marsh household, Stan, Randy, and Shelly are all wasting time on the net, while Sharon tells them all it’s time for bed. It was nice to see Shelly return. I can’t remember if she’s been featured in an episode since she dated Skylar back in Season 3. Before anyone can finish what they’re doing (especially Randy, who’s intent on watching some porn before bed) the internet goes down, leaving the family confused. They go to Kyle’s house to use their internet, but they’re having the same problem. Turns out all of South Park’s internet is down, and they’ve gathered in the street to talk about it. Mr. Garrison’s in the crowd, and this elicits a laugh from me because he’s dressed in a robe and holding a pipe — just what a man who used to be a woman who is now a man again would wear to feel more masculine.

8 days later, the family is still without internet access. Randy is sick, but can’t figure out what’s wrong because he can’t go on Web MD. When they finally can’t take it anymore, the Marsh family packs up and heads out West, the “Californee Way.” I laughed at “Californee” the first few times, but it wore itself out after a little while. At this point, the episode switches to black and white. There’s a whole section where they stop and sing a song with other folks looking for the internet, and say Californee a bunch of times. I think it’s a reference to “Grapes of Wrath” but I really just found myself hoping for a big payoff. And it did come. Literally.

When Randy and the family make it to Silicon Valley, the internet is being rationed out at a campsite in 40 second increments. Randy pulls aside a Red Cross worker and tells him he hasn’t jacked off in two weeks and really needs to, but can’t do it out in the open. When he’s pushed aside, Randy clenches his balls in agony. Some sketchy guys notice and lure him into the internet porn simulator, which is a brilliant idea. Basically, it’s a cardboard box that looks like a computer. You sit down and tell it what you want, then someone draws a picture and holds it up. There’s just something funny about Randy driving all the way to California to look at a fake internet when he could have easily just picked up a Playboy at home. Regardless, he just can’t get aroused by the poorly drawn versions of Japanese girls puking on each other, and the struggle continues.

At the same time, the government is trying to communicate with the internet, which is just a router located in a bunker somewhere. There’s a funny Close Encounters of the Third Kind reference, but other than that, this part of the episode lacks punch. The climax (yep) comes (uh huh) when Randy breaks into the room they store the internet at night and downloads all the sick porn he can possibly think of. Japanese girls puking on each other, elephant bestiality, but surprisingly, no 2 girls, 1 cup. Randy starts making ridiculously loud noises that wake up the entire camp. They think he’s being attacked by an animal, so they bust in and find him completely covered in his own spunk. (When was the last time you heard spunk, by the way?) I mean, it’s ridiculous. All over the walls, the computer, Randy’s entire body. He starts making up excuses about ghosts coming in and sliming him, and it’s easily the best moment of the episode.

Somehow Kyle figures out how to fix the internet, so he goes down to the bunker, unplugs the router, then plugs it back in. Problem solved. It’s funny because it’s true! Well, it’s true anyway. Like I said, this storyline was kind of bland. The episode ends with Randy dressed in a weird Indian outfit giving a speech about responsible internet use. It took some research to find out what they were referencing (On Deadly Ground?) and I’m not sure how it was relevant to this episode. Overall, taking a shot at our internet dependency is funny, and seeing Randy Marsh covered in ejaculate is damn funny, but it took a while to get to the big joke at the end, and funny in concept doesn’t always translate to funny in execution. Now get off the internet and live your lives!

South Park “Over Logging” Review: 2 Japanese Puking Girls Out of 5

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 17th, 2008 at 1:30 am and is filed under South Park Reviews, TV. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.