History BrokenBase / SouthPark

* "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 [[DisproportionateRetribution 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.

** "Ass Burgers" also got some flak for saying that Asperger's doesn't actually exist, with people being split on whether the characters saying it (namely, a bunch of people using Asperger's as an excuse to be [[DisabilityAsAnExcuseForJerkassery assholes who use the disorder as an excuse to be assholes]]) were supposed to be right or not.

* 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 transgendered 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, with nothing particularly insightful or amusing about them.

** He is also hated by Cartman's fan who are just less vocal (because obviously) or they are very annoyed by his sometimes Buzzkilly nature. Some fans will point out for he genocided a lot of Canadian and just how hypocritical he can be at times, especially now that Cartman (aside from the whole Heiman debacle) seems to be going back to a Jerkass (with just a side of LargeHam) than a full out Sociopath.
*** 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]].

** He is also hated by Cartman's fan who are just less vocal (because obviously) or they are very annoyed by his sometimes Buzzkilly nature. Some fans will point out for he genocided a lot of Canadian and just how hypocritical he can be at times, especially now that Cartman (aside from the whole Heiman debacle) seems to be going back to a Jerkass (with just a side of LargeHam) than a full out Sociopath.

** 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]].

* "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 [[DisproportionateRetribution far more petty than others]], which was the fact that "[[Disney/{{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.

* 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.

* Their critique on Donald Trump has been this. Some fans don't mind either because they seem him as an AcceptableTarget 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.

** 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 find his actions too realistic 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, which devastated some fans that a [[ShipSinking popular shipping is gone]], while [[CatharsisFactor satisfying others]] that she no longer in an abusive relationship.]]

* There are two main views on the show as a whole: either it really [[GrowingTheBeard hit its stride]] when it moved from a show comprised 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.

* Their critique on Donald Trump has been this. Some fans don't mind either because they seem him as an AcceptableTarget 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.
* Similar to the "Ass Burgers" example, fans have been split on whether [[Recap/SouthParkS22E8BuddhaBox "Buddha Box"]] is meant to suggest that anxiety disorders as a ''whole'' are fake, or if it's just intended to criticize a specific few using the disorder as an excuse to be an antisocial jerk.

* Their critique on Donald Trump has been this. Some fans don't mind either because they seem him as an AcceptableTarget 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.

** It goes FromBadToWorse 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 find his actions too realistic 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, which devastated some fans that a [[ShipSinking popular shipping is gone]], while [[CatharsisFactor satisfying others]] that she no longer in an abusive relationship.]]

* Cartman has been turning into a BaseBreakingCharacter to many of those same fans. On one side, there are the fans who love his CrossesTheLineTwice MagnificentBastard 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.

* "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 [[DisproportionateRetribution far more petty than others]], which was the fact that "[[Disney/{{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.

* "Timmy 2000"'s TakeThat towards Creator/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 [[DisproportionateRetribution far more petty than others]], which was the fact that "[[Disney/{{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.

* "Timmy 2000"'s TakeThat towards Creator/PhilCollins. While making fun of celebrities is par for the course for this show, [[LoveItOrHateIt and Collins is a rather divisive figure in music]], many felt their reason for targeting Phil Collins was [[DisproportionateRetribution far more petty than others]], which was the fact that "[[Disney/{{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.

* There are two main views on the show as a whole: either it really [[GrowingTheBeard hit its stride]] when it moved from a show comprised solely of [[BlackComedy crude, shock-value humor]] to one focused just as much on social/political satire/commentary, or it completely [[JumpingTheShark 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 base breaker to many of those same fans. There are the fans who love his CrossesTheLineTwice MagnificentBastard villainy and the show [[BreakoutCharacter would not be the same without him]], while others feel that he's becoming a completely irredeemable asshole who commits MoralEventHorizon-grade evil acts at least once per season. Basically, the split comes from whether you think his antics are still funny or if his actions starting in "Scott Tenorman Must Die" 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 bad behaviors, possibly as an AuthorsSavingThrow meant to cater to both camps in a balanced manner.

* "You're Getting Old" and "Ass Burgers". Many fans weren't happy with these episodes for being overly dramatic, derailing the characters (especially Stan), and ultimately led to absolutely nothing but [[StatusQuoIsGod more of the same]], while bashing both Stan and the audience at the same time.
* A lot of other characters have been fanbase breakers themselves:
** Butters was probably the first example. He went from EnsembleDarkhorse when he was a side character to being hated by a lot of fans due to his becoming one of the main characters, 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 stealing screentime away from Stan, while some others are happy to see him focused on more often.
** Randy Marsh's increased role is 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]].

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

** Cartman's arc in Season 20 was especially contentious. He started making more of an effort at improving himself and get past his former 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]].]]

* Cartman has been turning into a base breaker to many of those same fans. There are the fans who love his CrossesTheLineTwice MagnificentBastard villainy and the show [[BreakoutCharacter would not be the same without him]], while others feel that he's becoming a completely irredeemable asshole who commits MoralEventHorizon-grade evil acts at least once per season. Basically, the split come from whether you think his antics are still funny or if his actions starting in "Scott Tenorman Must Die" 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 bad 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 (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]].]]
* "You're Getting Old" and "Ass Burgers". Many fans weren't happy with these episodes for being overly dramatic, derailing the characters (especially Stan), and ultimately led to absolutely nothing but [[StatusQuoIsGod more of the same]], Stan and the audience at the same time.

** 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 newfound obsession with stopping Cartman. Some also blame him for stealing screentime away from Stan, while some others are happy to see him focused on more often.

* There are two main views on ''South Park'': either it really [[GrowingTheBeard hit its stride]] when it moved from a show comprised solely of [[BlackComedy crude, shock-value humor]] to one focused just as much on social/political commentary, or it completely [[JumpingTheShark went to hell]] by turning into an AuthorTract. The fandom became even more fractured as latter 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.
* Believe it or not, Cartman has been a victim of this in later years by the same fans. Yes, a good fan base loves Cartman because he is funny as hell and the show would not be the same without him, but some viewers claim that Cartman's ComedicSociopathy was exaggerated into him becoming an asshole extremely callous and lack of feelings with his friends and even family, and would not be very strange call it a challenge as TheScrappy in his humor becoming in DudeNotFunny. Many people hate Cartman by episodes like the end of "Kenny Dies". He is mostly hated by Kyle's fans.
* A similar case would be Cartman's fight between him and Wendy. Several fans of the series (even fans of Cartman) felt comfortable that Wendy would have won in the fight with him. While there are other fans who hated her even more since she won.
* And let's not get started on "You're Getting Old" and "Ass Burgers". Several fans weren't happy with these episodes for being overly dramatic, derailing the characters (especially Stan), and ultimately led to absolutely nothing but an excuse to bash Stan and the audience at the same time.
* The existence of anime-style fanart and the ShipToShipCombat in the fandom itself have caused further splitting of hairs.
* A lot of characters have been this for the show, as well:

** Kyle went from this 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 newfound obsession with stopping Cartman. Some also blame him for stealing screentime away from Stan, while some others are happy to see him focused on more often.
** Then there's Cartman himself, and whether his antics are still funny or if his actions starting in "Scott Tenorman Must Die" rendered him beyond sympathy and likeability.
** Randy Marsh's increased role is 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.

* Season 17 has also caused this. Apart from the widely-loved Black Friday trilogy, some have pegged it as one of the worse seasons due to its shorter length and overly topical nature, while others cite it as an improvement over the last few seasons.
* Season 18 in general can also be considered this with a few episode exceptions some Fans finding it more topical and less funny than season 17 and having a continuing story while others think the continuing story and more topical nature improved it.
* Season 19 continues the previous season's more topical approach to comedy and fans are still divided as to whether or not it made the season smart and more focused or just draining. In particular the season's focus on "PC Culture" and modern social justice moments, proved to be a big divider. For some the season tackled the hypocritical and self-serving attitudes of modern progressivism (and neoliberalism) in a smart way that few other shows were able to. Others feel that it was a very arduous and {{Anvilicious}} diatribe against the people trying to fix the social inequalities inherent in America.

** Then there's the way Season 20 is 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]].

** Randy Marsh's increased role is 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.

** There are two main views on ''South Park'': either it really [[GrowingTheBeard hit its stride]] when it moved from a show comprised solely of [[BlackComedy crude, shock-value humor]] to one focused just as much on social/political commentary, or it completely [[JumpingTheShark went to hell]] by turning into an AuthorTract. The fandom became even more fractured as latter 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.
** Believe it or not, Cartman has been a victim of this in later years by the same fans. Yes, a good fan base loves Cartman because he is funny as hell and the show would not be the same without him, but some viewers claim that Cartman's ComedicSociopathy was exaggerated into him becoming an asshole extremely callous and lack of feelings with his friends and even family, and would not be very strange call it a challenge as TheScrappy in his humor becoming in DudeNotFunny. Many people hate Cartman by episodes like the end of "Kenny Dies". He is mostly hated by Kyle's fans.
** A similar case would be Cartman's fight between him and Wendy. Several fans of the series (even fans of Cartman) felt comfortable that Wendy would have won in the fight with him. While there are other fans who hated her even more since she won.
** And let's not get started on "You're Getting Old" and "Ass Burgers". Several fans weren't happy with these episodes for being overly dramatic, derailing the characters (especially Stan), and ultimately led to absolutely nothing but an excuse to bash Stan and the audience at the same time.
** The existence of anime-style fanart and the ShipToShipCombat in the fandom itself have caused further splitting of hairs.
** A lot of characters have been this for the show, as well:
*** Butters was probably the first example. He went from EnsembleDarkhorse when he was a side character to being hated by a lot of fans due to his becoming one of the main characters, and his perceived {{Flanderization}}. Nowadays, he's used less often, but more effectively.
*** Kyle went from this 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 newfound obsession with stopping Cartman. Some also blame him for stealing screentime away from Stan, while some others are happy to see him focused on more often.
*** Then there's Cartman himself, and whether his antics are still funny or if his actions starting in "Scott Tenorman Must Die" rendered him beyond sympathy and likeability.
*** Randy Marsh's increased role is 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.