History BrokenBase / SouthPark

* As of late, the morals of certain past episodes, particularly those focused on environmental activism, have retroactively created quite a bit of controversy. [[Recap/SouthParkS8E8DoucheAndTurd "Douche and Turd"]] and [[Recap/SouthParkS10E6ManBearPig "[=ManBearPig=]"]] in particular have been singled out for promoting political apathy and dismissing the reality of climate change, respectively. Fans have harshly debated whether the whole show is guilty of promoting problematic messages or if episodes like these two are aberrations. It says a lot when Trey and Matt went apologized for their depiction of Al Gore and went on to make a two-part episode to show that [=ManBearPig=] is indeed real and a very serious issue (Al Gore is still portrayed as an AttentionWhore though, albeit one that was right).

* As of late, the morals of certain past episodes have retroactively created quite a bit of controversy. [[Recap/SouthParkS8E8DoucheAndTurd "Douche and Turd"]] and [[Recap/SouthParkS10E6ManBearPig "[=ManBearPig=]"]] in particular have been singled out for promoting political apathy and dismissing the reality of climate change, respectively. Fans have harshly debated whether the whole show is guilty of promoting problematic messages or if episodes like these two are aberrations. It says a lot when Trey and Matt went apologized for their depiction of Al Gore and went on to make a two-part episode to show that [=ManBearPig=] is indeed real and a very serious issue (Al Gore is still portrayed as an AttentionWhore though, albeit one that was right).

* As of late, the morals of certain past episodes have retroactively created quite a bit of controversy. [[Recap/SouthParkS8E8DoucheAndTurd "Douche and Turd"]] and [[Recap/SouthParkS10E6ManBearPig "[=ManBearPig=]"]] in particular have been singled out for promoting political apathy and dismissing the reality of climate change, respectively. Fans have harshly debated whether the whole show is guilty of promoting problematic messages or if episodes like these two are aberrations. It says a lot when Trey and Matt went apologized for their depicition of Al Gore and went on to make a two-part episode to show that [=ManBearPig=] is indeed real and a very serious issue (Al Gore is still portrayed as an AttentionWhore though, albeit one that was right).

When you combine a fandom like this one with a PeripheryDemographic consisting of [[EstrogenBrigade teenage girls]] and younger viewers overall, [[BrokenBase fandom divides]] are inevitable.

* "Timmy 2000"'s TakeThat towards Music/PhilCollins. While making fun of celebrities is par for the course for this show, and Collins is a rather divisive figure in music, many felt their reason for targeting Phil Collins was far more petty than others, which was the fact that "[[WesternAnimation/{{Tarzan}} You'll Be In My Heart]]" [[AwardSnub beat]] "[[WesternAnimation/SouthParkBiggerLongerAndUncut Blame Canada]]" for best original song at the Oscars. Some pointed out if [[{{Misblamed}} they really wanted somebody to blame for being snubbed]], [[MisplacedRetribution it should have been the Academy]]. Not helping matters is that they have another TakeThat towards Collins in ''VideoGame/SouthParkTheStickOfTruth'', meaning that they're still bitter about it 14 years later. Some were okay with it, but others were accusing Trey and Matt of being sore losers. They've also played two Music/PeterGabriel songs in a more favorable light[[note]]The "Book of Love" cover in "[[Recap/SouthParkS19E6TweekXCraig Tweek x Craig]]" and "Shock the Monkey" in "[[Recap/SouthParkS7E14Raisins Raisins]]"[[/note]], feeding into the VocalMinority elitist opinion of preferring Gabriel to Collins.

* "Timmy 2000"'s TakeThat towards Music/PhilCollins. While making fun of celebrities is par for the course for this show, and Collins is a rather divisive figure in music, many felt their reason for targeting Phil Collins was far more petty than others, which was the fact that "[[WesternAnimation/{{Tarzan}} You'll Be In My Heart]]" [[AwardSnub beat]] "[[WesternAnimation/SouthParkBiggerLongerAndUncut Blame Canada]]" for best original song at the Oscars. Some pointed out if [[{{Misblamed}} they really wanted somebody to blame for being snubbed]], [[MisplacedRetribution it should have been the Academy]]. Not helping matters is that they have another TakeThat towards Collins in ''VideoGame/SouthParkTheStickOfTruth'', meaning that they're still bitter about it 14 years later. Some were okay with it, but others were accusing Trey and Matt of being sore losers.

* In general, fans argue whether ''South Park'' was better as a lighthearted, yet vulgar Creator/MontyPython-esque sitcom, or the darker political satire of later episodes.

With a fandom consisting of mostly [[EstrogenBrigade teenage girls]] and younger viewers overall, [[BrokenBase fandom divides]] are inevitable.

* Butters's prominence. While most do like his character, others still think that he's [[SpotlightStealingSquad overused]] to the point he's the de facto fourth boy instead of Kenny, who has been largely DemotedToExtra. It doesn't help that a new episode in Season 26 was scheduled to air on March 22 (Kenny's canon birthday) only for it to be a Butters episode, which didn't sit well with Kenny fans.

* Butters's prominence. While most do like his character, others still think that he's [[SpotlightStealingSquad overused]] to the point he's the de facto fourth boy instead of Kenny, who has been largely DemotedToExtra. It doesn't help that a new episode in Season 26 was scheduled to air on March 22 (Kenny's canon birthday) only for it to be a Butters episode, which didn't sit well with some fans.

* Season 23 has been generally received fairly well, but there are some elements that make it divisive. On one hand some are annoyed by the over-reliance on [[CreatorsPet Randy]] [[SpotlightStealingSquad and the Tegridy Farms story arc wearing out its welcome]], after Trey & Matt stated they would not do serialized storylines anymore; on the other, relying on minor characters in the second half alienated other viewers. Other topics of contention are an underwhelming and forgettable 300th episode (after the epic two-parter and ContinuityCavalcade that were "200" and "201"), overuse of meta-textual humor (with Randy representing the show's creators and their decisions), the controversy on the topic of transgender athletes that several reviewers felt was handled poorly, and some episodes like the one with Butters and the Mummy, perceived as weird for the sake of it (reviewers reading it as a TakeThat to Trey Parker's then-recent divorce doesn't help), with nothing particularly insightful or amusing about them.

* Their critique on Donald Trump has been this. Some fans don't mind either because they seem him as an {{Acceptable Target|s}} or because they attack everyone. Another group of fans think the jokes have gotten old and feel the show is beating a dead horse with the heavy use of plots or subplots focused on critiquing him and wish they would just move on to something new.

** Made worse due to the fact that years after his introduction, PC Principal is still around and Trey and Matt have introduced even more characters that represent or ridicule PC culture (like Strong Woman and the PC babies). While the former may have more or less calmed down since his introduction season and has a smaller role since, some fans feel the PC culture era has overstayed its welcome and that Trey and Matt are now beating a dead horse whenever they feel like it.

** The fandom became even more fractured as later seasons began incorporating season-long story arcs. The thing with ''South Park'' is, though, that it can sometimes be as polarizing to its fanbase as it is to people in general. Combine that with [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters a town full of people]] and the tendency for [[NegativeContinuity things to stay relatively the same despite earth-shattering events]], and you end up with a show that can have half its fanbase loving how it's using a character/joke/plot/etc., and the other half ''hating'' it, meaning the whole thing is constantly a Broken Base, over any number of issues from any given episode.

** Then there's the way Season 20 was handled in general. Some people feel that dropping the episodic nature of the show in favor a serialized approach that focuses on a few set topics (i.e. the Alt-Right movement, the 2016 election, Internet trolling) is Trey and Matt continuing their evolution in terms of storytelling that started back in Season 18. Meanwhile, others felt that this approach results in a major lack in humor when compared to earlier years. Still, others feel that Season 20 started out strong, but that its [[DeweyDefeatsTruman dependence on the outcome of the 2016 election]] made the last few episodes [[AbortedArc horribly backfire]].

* As of late, the morals of certain past episodes have retroactively created quite a bit of controversy. [[Recap/SouthParkS8E8DoucheAndTurd "Douche and Turd"]] and [[Recap/SouthParkS10E6ManBearPig "[=ManBearPig=]"]] in particular have been singled out for promoting political apathy and dismissing the reality of climate change, respectively. Fans have harshly debated whether the whole show is guilty of promoting problematic messages or if episodes like these two are aberrations.

* Season 23 has been generally received fairly well, but there are some elements that make it divisive. On one hand some are annoyed by the over-reliance on [[CreatorsPet Randy]] and the Tegridy Farms story arc wearing out its welcome, after Trey & Matt stated they would not do serialized storylines anymore; on the other, relying on minor characters in the second half alienated other viewers. Other topics of contention are an underwhelming and forgettable 300th episode (after the epic two-parter and ContinuityCavalcade that were "200" and "201"), overuse of meta-textual humor (with Randy representing the show's creators and their decisions), the controversy on the topic of transgender athletes that several reviewers felt was handled poorly, and some episodes like the one with Butters and the Mummy, perceived as weird for the sake of it (reviewers reading it as a TakeThat to Trey Parker's then-recent divorce doesn't help), with nothing particularly insightful or amusing about them.

* On who is really the fourth member of Team Craig: Tweek or Jimmy? The South Park wiki states they are both members in some capacity and most fans just expand the group to five and include both characters. Still doesn't stop some fans from continuing the war, though. Jimmy would be the most logical choice as his presence was much more well known. However, following Season 19 with the [[OfficialCouple Creek uprising]], Fans and fanartists have been drawing Tweek as the fourth member while making Jimmy what Butters (a fifth member).

* There are two main views on the show as a whole: either it really [[GrowingTheBeard hit its stride]] when it moved from a show composed solely of [[BlackComedy crude, shock-value humor]] to one focused just as much on social/political satire/commentary, or it completely [[SeasonalRot went to hell]] by turning into an AuthorTract. The fandom became even more fractured as later seasons began incorporating season-long story arcs. The thing with ''South Park'' is, though, that it can sometimes be as polarizing to its fanbase as it is to people in general. Combine that with [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters a town full of people]] and the tendency for [[NegativeContinuity things to stay relatively the same despite earth-shattering events]], and you end up with a show that can have half its fanbase loving how it's using a character/joke/plot/etc., and the other half ''hating'' it, meaning the whole thing is constantly a Broken Base, over any number of issues from any given episode.

* Cartman has been turning into a BaseBreakingCharacter to many of those same fans. On one side, there are the fans who love his CrossesTheLineTwice [[TheSociopath Sociopathic]] villainy and are responsible for turning him to the series' BreakoutCharacter; on the other side, there are the fans who feel that he's become a completely irredeemable JerkAss who commits MoralEventHorizon-grade evil acts at least once per season. Basically, the split comes down to whether one believes his antics are still funny or if his actions starting in "Scott Tenorman Must Die" have rendered him beyond sympathy and likability. He is especially hated by Kyle's fans. In later seasons, Cartman has been getting punished more often for his worse behaviors, possibly as an AuthorsSavingThrow meant to cater to both camps in a balanced manner.
** Cartman's arc in Season 20 was especially contentious. He started making more of an effort at improving himself and get past his bigotry (albeit still going about it in a very insensitive and tone-deaf manner), even [[TookALevelInKindness taking a level up in kindness]] when he began dating Heidi Turner. Some fans embraced the change as an interesting new direction to take the character, others hated it due to [[WeWantOurJerkBack wanting the jerk Cartman back]], and still others believed it was all just an act and Cartman was planning an elaborate revenge scheme against everyone. In the end, the base was shattered even more when it turned out [[spoiler:that Cartman's attempt at self-improvement ''was'' genuine and he didn't have any plans for revenge... but he nevertheless suffered a perhaps inevitable backslide into his old jerkass ways and is now [[BitchInSheepsClothing passive-aggressively hiding it from his girlfriend]].]]
** It goes FromBadToWorse in Season 21 when Cartman becomes an emotionally abusive boyfriend to Heidi. Some fans loved that he's back to his old LaughablyEvil {{Jerkass}} self, while others found his actions too realistic and reprehensible to ever be funny. Then Heidi becomes Cartman's DistaffCounterpart as a result, which caused some fans to find it a funny and interesting move, while also other fans to find the move redundant since Cartman is still there being himself. Then Heidi [[spoiler:breaks up with Cartman for good at the end of the season, which devastated some fans that a [[ShipSinking popular ship has been sunken]], while [[CatharsisFactor satisfying others]] that she is no longer in an abusive relationship.]]

* A lot of other characters have been turning into base breakers as well:
** Butters was probably the first example. He went from an EnsembleDarkhorse when he was a side character to becoming TheScrappy for a lot of fans due to his [[AscendedExtra increased prominence]] and his perceived {{Flanderization}}. Nowadays, he's used less often, but more effectively.
** Kyle went from a JerkWithAHeartOfGold with traces of TheWoobie to a DesignatedMonkey and a {{Foil}} for Cartman. Some fans do not like his Designated Monkey status, while others are annoyed by his obsession with stopping Cartman and feel he's gone over into HeWhoFightsMonsters territory. Some also blame him for [[SpotlightStealingSquad stealing screentime]] away from Stan, while some others are happy to see him focused on more often.
** Randy Marsh's increased role in later seasons was either met with amusement or irritation, some going as far as to say that Randy's bone-headed attitude has helped run the show into the ground. [[TakeAThirdOption Still others like Randy, but feel he's best when used sparingly]].

* On who is really the fourth member of Team Craig: Tweek or Jimmy? The South Park wiki states they are both members in some capacity and most fans just expand the group to five and include both characters. Still doesn't stop some fans from continuing the war, though.
** Jimmy would be the most logical choice as his presence was much more well known. However, following Season 19 with the [[OfficialCouple Creek uprising]], Fans and fanartists have been drawing Tweek as the fourth member while making Jimmy what Butters (a fifth member).
*** Also, a more minor and probably nowadays non-existent pick: is Nathan a part of Team Craig? This was bigger in the older season preferably in 'South Park is Gay' where he is seen with Craig, Tweek and Token (although, out of context, he could be mistaken for Clyde).