South Park: "TSST!" Review - IGN (original) (raw)

Ahh, South Park, it seems like we just welcomed you back and now you're leaving. This week saw the last new episode of the show until October, but it was a very fun, Cartman-centric installment. Titled "TSST!" the episode found Cartman in trouble at school for getting into another average childhood prank; chaining a classmate to a flag pole and giving him a hacksaw, after telling him he'd drank poisoned milk and would have to cut his leg off to get the antidote. His doting mother finally got the message that help was needed, and what better place to find it then on reality TV?
So in came a representative from Nanny 911, though sadly not the briefly glimpsed "Nanny Skekis," who looked just like any true Jim Henson fan would guess. Nanny Stella thought she could get Cartman to do what she wanted, but her attempts to take away his videogame were met with, "Stop trying to bogart my Xbox you fat bitch!" Soon, having her mouth spit in and suffering through other assorted misery, Nanny Stella was out. Super Nanny was then called in, but she too failed, as we cut to a mental ward three weeks later, where a doctor gravely informed Cartman's mom that, "I'm afraid Super Nanny is in a deep state of mental psychosis," and that, "She spends most of the time sobbing and eating her own excrement."

Cartman's mom has a big problem, explaining, "I don't know what else to do about my son's behavior problems. We've been through every nanny reality show on television!" But the doctor has a surprising suggestion for her… call in the Dog Whisperer! That's right, Cesar Millan himself could be the answer to her problems.

Now here's my confession: I've never seen Dog Whisperer. In fact, I didn't realize as I was watching "TSST!" that Cesar Millan was the actual name of the host of the show. And according to my esteemed coworker Jeff Otto, the episode was especially great if you were familiar with Millan. That being the case, I gotta say, things were pretty damn funny all the same.

Millan treated Cartman like a dog in every sense, insisting that neither he nor Cartman's mom pay attention to him when he was trying to beg for something. Millan constantly pinched the back of Cartman's neck, making him cry out in pain and kept coaching Cartman's mom on becoming the "aggressive-dominant" one in the household. They even took Cartman for a walk on a leash, with Millan making sure that it was her, and not Cartman, who was leading the way. It was amusing to realize that Cartman has been portrayed as such an evil little bastard at this point, that any abuse he suffers is fun to watch.

Cartman learns to obey

This was all too much for Cartman, who finally ran away, only to find that no one would let him stay with him. Kyle, Stan and Kenny sure weren't going to help, and even the pathetic Butters said, "My parents won't let me bring homeless people home anymore." When he was forced to go back home, Millan's response was a deadpan, "Oh look, it came back."

Everything in Cartman's life changes, as he's forced to endure the indignities of a healthy meal. His perfectly over the top response was, "What the hell is this? Skinless chicken, boiled vegetables and salad?! This is just like Auschwitz!" But Millan made sure Cartman's mom didn't back down, saying, "Don't reason with it. Don't argue with it. Just dominate it."

Finally, Cartman began to break, and the funniest moment of the episode had to be seeing him shuffle over to the couch with his head down and lean against his mom, in the most canine way possible. Of course Cartman is still Cartman, and trying to make it all stop, figures the easiest thing to do is to kill his mom. This leads to an hysterically trippy sequence where Cartman has his own version of the devil and angel appear on his shoulders, in the form of giant heads of energy that come out of the sides of his head. Things get more surreal as, screaming in horror, Cartman actually transforms into some sort of demon, even as he runs away from his mom's room, unable to stab her as intended.

And it seems that Cartman had finally been defeated, as he gave up fighting and apparently subdued his inner demon, becoming the kind of boy who eats grapefruit and some lean ham for breakfast. But Cartman's mom's own codependency strikes at the end, when Millan rebuffs her attempts at friendship, and desperate to be wanted, she lets Cartman have whatever he wants and unleashes the evil little boy within again.

While not among the terrific episodes that began the season, this was a very fun installment of the show, and a nice spotlight on Cartman and what it might take to finally make him obey. The show now goes on hiatus, but I'm sure Matt and Trey will come back recharged and ready to attack someone or something in the fall.