South Park: Attacking the TSA

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Yes, the TSA does seem to go overboard here and there. Yes, it does take longer to go through the airport now than it did in 1998. Yes, it can be a pain to empty your water bottle only to refill it five minutes later, or have to bring junky shampoo on a trip because you don't have small bottles of your good one. But, all in all, it really isn't that big a deal. And I tend to fly at least twelve times a year, so I'm "inconvenienced" more than many. When I started watching this new season of South Park, I didn't know where they were going with the toilet scene. When I realized that Matt Stone and Trey Parker were going to poke fun at the TSA, I was intrigued. I was hoping for a few good laughs, if nothing else. Nope. I was really very disappointed by this episode, and not just because I don't care for scatological humor. The seance stuff was bad, Cartman had a minimal, rather uncharacteristic role, and the funniest part came fro Stan, of all people. Let's hope for better, because otherwise the show is just going down the drain.

South Park "Reverse Cowgirl" (S16E01): The kids are over at Clyde's when his mother yells at him for leaving up the toilet seat. She makes a big deal of it, embarrassing her son. [poor kid. is this really the kind of thing that needs to be handled when people are over?] Cartman only makes it worse by telling everyone at school what happened. Over the next few minutes, Clyde's mom comes to school to yell at him again, and then dies, having fallen into a toilet while flushing, creating a suction that rips out her internal organs. [I was shocked at what a ridiculous idea this is!] She's even in a toilet in her coffin. [over the top. done.]

photo courtesy: Comedy Central

Men and women begin arguing about whose responsibility it is to put down toilet seats, and soon a Toilet Safety Administration (TSA) is created, to install seatbelts on toilets. Officers stroll by people's bathroom windows and write tickets if folks (like Stan) don't wear their seatbelts while using the toilet. [this was funny.] Public restrooms are even worse - you have to go through security before using one, and officers must wipe the bottoms of customers. [and now the funny is starting to get weird.] Soon, stalls are removed and security cameras are put in, leading Cartan to have a town meeting to suggest that everyone just bolt down their toilet seats. Women don't want men peeing on the seats, and men don't want to pee sitting down, so they get nowhere.

Because Clyde feels so bad at what happened, he and his friends decide to sue the inventor of the toilet, but he died in 1692. A sketchy lawyer says that they can sue anyone, and they have a sue-ance, costing $3,000 (conveniently, the amount that Clyde received from his mother's life insurance). [the kids are generally pretty smart, so I was a bit taken aback when they fell for this nonsense.] Clyde, Stan, Kyle, and Jimmy take part, and the lawyer claims they reach the wrong spirit, so it costs extra to try again. [of course.] The town soon takes part, and the ghost of Clyde's mom comes to place all of the blame on Clyde. [booo! :(] Then, the inventor's ghost appears, stating that the toilet was designed to be sat on facing the tank, rather than having one's back to the tank, which solves many of the problems. [plus, Butters gets to be "right," and how often does that happen?]

The episode ends with Clyde flipping up the toilet seat anyway. [figures.]