South park V.S. The simpsons

I saw this debate and I thought it looked like oodles of fun. Without further ado, I shall proceed to my argument. First of all, I do not regularly watch either show, but I have seen many episodes of both, so I do certainly feel qualified to take this debate. Now, to start off with, the gentleman who writes the Simpsons, Matt Groening, is from Portland, OR. Everyone knows that Oregonians are intellectually and comically superior to the citizens of the other 49 states. I am trying to think of something witty to follow this up with, but I can't think of anything. Jokes such as that last "argument" seem to happen much more often in South Park than they do in The Simpsons. While many of their jokes are extremely funny, it is not particularly uncommon for them to use a joke that looks like it could be promising but then falls flat. That happens much less often in The Simpsons. The reason for this, as you alluded to earlier, is that The Simpsons use a more tried and true style of comedy. South Park experiments more with their comedy style, so, while it can lead to more variety and potential success, it often does not and instead just ends up as a bad joke. You also mentioned that the jokes are "speedy, obvious, and pretty lame" in the Simpsons. I contend that that is a matter of opinion, and could actually be a good thing. Now, I must admit that I am a fan of stupid comedies that are probably older than you. I have many episodes of Monty Python's Flying Circus memorized. I don't know how many times I've seen Airplane! or Blazing Saddles. I still have not seen The Hangover or even Borat. My point is, many people happen to like stupid comedies that are "pretty lame." As you mentioned, and I'm sure any voter would agree on, South Park is incredibly vulgar. Since we are arguing what the better show is, we would have to consider what the better show is for everyone. Now, I wouldn't show either show to a young child, as neither are particularly savory, but The Simpsons is much more family friendly, yet it is still funny for adults. Not only is South Park completely inappropriate for anyone under the age of 40, children would probably not even find it funny. I know children who like The Simpsons, and I know adults who like The Simpsons. Also, since we agree that South Park is offensive, that means that it could offend people (what a concept!). Eric Cartman is the epitome of a xenophobic, violent bigot. While it is obviously as comedy, it could still be taken the wrong way. Even though I don't generally get offended by comedy, there have been times where I've thought that South Park goes overboard. The Simpsons is not prone to that problem As you mentioned, South Park makes fun of real world issues more than The Simpsons. While this might well be the case, it does not necessarily make it more funny. While I often do like comedy that centers on real world issues, I also enjoy comedy which does not. So, while it can be a good thing, it's not necessarily always a good thing. And, you mentioned that South Park parodies both sides, that is only true to an extent. South Park has lampooned liberals far more often than it lampoons conservatives. While the writers claim that that is only because liberals are mocked less often, they do not deny that it happens. [http://en.wikipedia.org...] You mentioned that the Simpsons is older and worn out, so to speak. However, it says a lot that The Simpsons has survived for over 20 years. While South Park may also run for that long, The Simpsons already have. Clearly, if the audience didn't like the Simpsons anymore, FOX would cancel the show. But they haven't canceled the show, and they don't look like they will. And I've seen Monty Python and the Holy Grail hundreds of times, and I still think it's hilarious, so your argument that old jokes don't work is clearly only true to an extent. Lastly, South Park has a lot of characters with no obvious main character. While you could (correctly) say that it is the same way with The Simpsons, the show obviously centers on the Simpson family (duh). This makes for much more cohesive programming. South Park often is not cohesive for this reason, and can become confusing at times. The Simpsons eliminates that problem by having a main family. I am eagerly awaiting your response!