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Reviewed by Peter
Film:	B+
Video Quality:	B
Audio Quality:	B-
Special Features:	C+
DVD Review:	B

South Park The Hits Volume 1 is a compilation of Trey Parker and Matt Stone's favorite episodes from the still outrageous groundbreaking animation series. After looking at the list of episodes included it is no wonder why these are some of their favorite episodes. Unfortunately I noticed that their list tends to totally ignore some of the earlier and classic episodes that made this series groundbreaking. What can't be denied is that the episodes included are much edgier than older episodes and depending on your taste, you'll either fall over laughing or be outright disgusted.

Episode List

Stupid Spoiled ... Video Playset: Paris Hilton visits South Park for the launch of her new store. While there Paris' meets a horrible fate resulting in her having to find a new pet. Paris also has some negative effects on the girls of South Park, who view her as their idol.

The Return of the Fellowship of the Ring To The Two Towers: The boys of South Park dress up to play the characters from Lord of the Rings. When Mr. Marsh asks the boys to bring the movie to Butters house they begin their "mythical" journey. Meanwhile Mr. Marsh and the rest of the parents gather to plan on how to deal with the boys accidentally being given an adult video.

Best Friends Forever: The release of the Sony PSP causes mass panic in South Park with everyone wanting to get one. When Kenny, the PSP's best player, is in a near fatal accident Stan and Kyle fight for his life while Cartman tries to end it. Meanwhile Kenny gets caught in a battle between Heaven and Hell.

Good Times With Weapons: The boys get hold of some martial arts weapons while at a fair and set out to wreak havoc. They quickly get into trouble with their newly acquired weapons and fear punishment from their parents.

Casa Bonita: Kyle is having his birthday party at Casa Bonita and Cartman is not invited. When Cartman finds that Butter is his replacement he tricks Butters into hiding so he can take his place.

Awesom-O: Cartman pretends to be a robotic gift to Butters. While Cartman plans on gathering embarrassing information on Butters, he quickly discovers that if he is caught the joke's on him.

Trapped In The Closet: The notorious episode where Scientologists believe that Stan is the reincarnation of founder L. Ron Hubbard. Mayhem follows when Stan snubs Tom Cruise who secrets himself in Stan's closet and refuses to come out.

Towelie: An escaped towel with a drug problem finds the boys and causes their new game system to be kidnapped. The boys must now decide between Towelie and their game system.

Red Hot Catholic Love: When the Church decides to have a cruise for the children of South Park the kids' parents are quickly disturbed. Father Maxi decides to go to the Vatican in order to change the perceived image of the Church. Meanwhile Cartman discovers a new way to eat food.

Scott Tenorman Must Die: Cartman makes a purchase from Scott to aid him in becoming more mature. When Cartman finds out he's been scammed, he sets out on a diabolic plan to punish Scott.

Picture Quality

These episodes are presented in the Full Screen format (1.33:1) that they were originally aired in. This takes nothing away from the DVD presentation since it simply preserves the original aspect ratio. Colors are great and the video does not appear to suffer from many problems. One noticeable flaw was some pixelation during dark scenes, such as the ending of Awesom-O.

Audio Quality

This DVD was released with the original stereo sound. The characters' voice levels are very good. The audio does not suffer from any major problems. The only slight problem that was noticed was an influx and deflux in voice levels.

Special Features

All episodes include brief commentaries by Matt Stone and Trey Parker that offer some insight into the selection of the episode and what inspired it.

The best feature here is the inclusion of five extra episodes. They include:

It Hit's The Fan: When a curse word is allowed to be used on television it quickly causes a frenzy that results in it being used more often. As a result, the people of South Park soon find out why it's called a curse word.

Timmy 2000: A new student is diagnosed with attention deficit disorder when another diagnosis might better explain his problem.

The Death Camp of Tolerance: Mr. Garrison is once again teaching the boys. When he learns that he can sue the school for millions if he's fired over his sexual preferences, he pulls out all the stops to get the axe.

The Spirit of Christmas: The original episode that sparked the creation of the South Park series. It pits Jesus against Santa with the boys caught in the middle. This episode is uncensored and includes plenty of foul language.

Summary

Without a doubt these are some of the funniest South Park episodes ever produced, and it is no wonder why they rank as some of Parker and Stone's favorites. Those South Park fans who have been buying the box sets for each individual season won't need this set because all of these episodes have or will be included in the seasons box sets. Those who are fans but don't own all of the seasons on disc, or those who have never seen the show but are are curious should pick this set up.