Bandwagon Bonanza: The trouble with South Park

I remember the first few episodes of South Park, when nobody knew about the show. On the internet, there were only a few web sites devoted to it. Nowadays, they're more numerous than Simpsons web sites.

Back in August and September, there was an e-mail based message board where me, Taison Tan- the creator of the South Park Information Center, and about ten other people had intelligent conversations about South Park. People talked about how they introduced others to South Park, and gave reviews about the new episodes. Whenever I walked around in a South Park t-shirt, nobody knew what the show was, and it was nice being a part of something that nobody knew about it, but probably should.

Then, after the first six episodes, and South Park gained some publicity, people starting watching the show and wearing the shirts, not because they liked the show, but because "it was cool". Being a fan of South Park wasn't fun anymore, and the show became less funny when everybody knew what you were talking about the next day. I had a video tape made of every South Park related material ever showed on TV, and all the stuff just on the web, absolutely commercial free. I lost interest in South Park, and I canceled the project.

It seems that all the extra straws finally broke the camel's back, and South Park is becoming a soon-forgotten fad, instead of an underground show, as the original five minute short was. I still watch the show, and look forward for the new episodes, but it's no longer the show I once remembered.

This is a first draft. It'l