Why I do not particularly care for "Pandemic" is something that I have struggled to understand. It by no means is anywhere near the abominable "The China Probrem" nor even the problematic "Eek, a Penis!" which both to varying extents indicated South Park's inevitable decline and yet, "Pandemic" leaves me largely indifferent.
The most enjoyable aspect of this episode for me is actually Randy and his newfound sense of joy with owning a video camera. He goes around and decides to film every single thing he deems important, whether it be helping his father (or is it father-in-law?) go to the toilet or a desperate conversation among the adults after Stan, Kyle, Kenny, Cartman and Craig mysteriously disappear. It's such a silly yet amusing side story that added a lot of entertainment value for me and I cannot deny the sense of joy I had watching terrified parents talking about the whereabouts of their children only to then reveal that Randy had been filming it all!
The main story involves Stan and co (this time including Craig) frustrated with the growing epidemic of Peruvian flute bands and fed up with the inability to cease this growing crisis and realizing the potential for easy cash, set up their own band. Only soon afterwards, the government begins deporting all Peruvian flute bands and with it the kids back to Guantanamo Bay.
This is the sort of blown-up satire that South Park have handled many times previously such as in the famous "Christian Hard Rock" for example but here, the satire feels perhaps a little stale. The idea of bringing Craig, one of my favourite side characters on the show, to a more central focus for this two-parter seemed like a great decision to keep the show feeling fresh and vital even into its twelfth season but unfortunately, Craig feels a little poorly handled. Perhaps it is the almost inevitable consequence of giving him a little too much screentime but I really didn't find him particularly enjoyable in this one. His constant frustration towards the kids, which is perfectly justified, felt like rather poor material for the character and unfortunately, that is almost all he does throughout the episode: whine about his misfortunes, again justified, but repetitive. At least the ending gives what may be a sense of importance to the character in this two parter.
There's also the idea that Kenny in particular appears to quickly become very fond of these flute bands and the visual of him dancing felt particularly out-of-character. It feels at once too exaggerated and too out-of-character which might be a by-product of him being one of the least utilized and lesser interesting characters (at this point) on the show.
"Pandemic" certainly isn't that bad but the satire and comedy just did not hit as well as many other episodes for me. Randy is fantastic and he gets an entertaining side story that eventually intertwines into an amusing parody of the film, Cloverfield but for the most part, the central story which I'm sure was a compelling issue of sorts at the time felt a little stale. It feels like South Park re-treading familiar territory, just handled less precisely here.
The most enjoyable aspect of this episode for me is actually Randy and his newfound sense of joy with owning a video camera. He goes around and decides to film every single thing he deems important, whether it be helping his father (or is it father-in-law?) go to the toilet or a desperate conversation among the adults after Stan, Kyle, Kenny, Cartman and Craig mysteriously disappear. It's such a silly yet amusing side story that added a lot of entertainment value for me and I cannot deny the sense of joy I had watching terrified parents talking about the whereabouts of their children only to then reveal that Randy had been filming it all!
The main story involves Stan and co (this time including Craig) frustrated with the growing epidemic of Peruvian flute bands and fed up with the inability to cease this growing crisis and realizing the potential for easy cash, set up their own band. Only soon afterwards, the government begins deporting all Peruvian flute bands and with it the kids back to Guantanamo Bay.
This is the sort of blown-up satire that South Park have handled many times previously such as in the famous "Christian Hard Rock" for example but here, the satire feels perhaps a little stale. The idea of bringing Craig, one of my favourite side characters on the show, to a more central focus for this two-parter seemed like a great decision to keep the show feeling fresh and vital even into its twelfth season but unfortunately, Craig feels a little poorly handled. Perhaps it is the almost inevitable consequence of giving him a little too much screentime but I really didn't find him particularly enjoyable in this one. His constant frustration towards the kids, which is perfectly justified, felt like rather poor material for the character and unfortunately, that is almost all he does throughout the episode: whine about his misfortunes, again justified, but repetitive. At least the ending gives what may be a sense of importance to the character in this two parter.
There's also the idea that Kenny in particular appears to quickly become very fond of these flute bands and the visual of him dancing felt particularly out-of-character. It feels at once too exaggerated and too out-of-character which might be a by-product of him being one of the least utilized and lesser interesting characters (at this point) on the show.
"Pandemic" certainly isn't that bad but the satire and comedy just did not hit as well as many other episodes for me. Randy is fantastic and he gets an entertaining side story that eventually intertwines into an amusing parody of the film, Cloverfield but for the most part, the central story which I'm sure was a compelling issue of sorts at the time felt a little stale. It feels like South Park re-treading familiar territory, just handled less precisely here.
