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“South Park has become an American institution,” said Paul Harris in The Observer. “It is loved, loathed and feared. It is also a work of genius.” Find out why with three whole series (that’s 47 episodes), on BT Vision now.

From the moment South Park first aired in 1997, it was obvious that things had come a long way since Mickey Mouse.

For starters, there were no loveably cute cartoon animals.

In their place stood a quartet of potty-mouthed pre-pubescents, whose sole aim in life was to create havoc for the adult world.

Over the years, Cartman, Kenny, Kyle and Stan - arguably the most famous quartet since The Beatles - have faced down world religious leaders, heads of government, Tom Cruise and even their own network bosses, Comedy Central.

As Oliver Burkeman pointed out in The Guardian, “Criticising South Park for being offensive is a bit like criticising Antiques Roadshow for focusing too much on old things.”

Series three found the lads getting to grips with everything from deforestation to meteor showers, spontaneous combustion and the Sexual Harassment Panda.

Along the way they took sideswipes at religious intolerance, homophobia and the insidious effects of peer pressure.

South Park came with its own warning that “due to its contents it should not be viewed by anyone”, but it became required viewing for millions.

“Television has seen few explosions of bad language, atrocious taste or scalpel-sharp satire to compare to South Park,” said Mark Monahan in The Telegraph.

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Tags: animation, comedy, Isaac Hayes, Matt Stone, On Demand, Paramount, Trey Parker

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