South Park has referenced, lampooned and generally made fun of basically anything you can imagine. Any and every semi-popular property has either been a focused target of ridicule, or a fun little side-gag to be enjoyed by the keen observer.
Even the more critically loved niche hobbies, such as Magic the Gathering or board game hobby in general, have been centrepiece items for the odd episode – but I can openly say I never would have expected that Warhammer in any form would get proper attention.
Clearly, I am not a clairvoyant, because in episode 6 of the 26th season the game is on full display, with a shocking amount of respect being given to it’s mention.
Serving as a solid B-plot for the episode, Randy struggles to come to grips with how his son wants to spend his spring break – playing Warhammer 40k with Token Tolkien for its entirety. Myself being a consummate professional nerd, I imagine Randy’s issue with his sons choice is his concern that he won’t get to experience partying as he did back in the day – with a fairly thick dollop of political commentary on how the Liberal manifesto is making young men feel ashamed of who they are. It’s a pretty great premise, if only for the transparent spotlight on how overtly toxic Randy’s idea of a good time can be.
Away from social and political commentary however, the presentation of Warhammer 40k within the show is both absurdly accurate and incredibly respectful.
Some of those model bases are NOT regulation size
The iconic models that define the tabletop experience are not crudely re-drawn simulacrums, instead they are actual photos of the units as they appear on the tabletop. Essential rulebooks and resources are present, and even the voice over for gameplay calls are spot on and reflect the current incarnation of the game.
Christ, they even spotlight a specific gameplay phase as to why Stan can’t help his father any time soon – y’see, it is currently the Psychic Phase, and Stan has a whopping 5 psyker units to get through.
That’s a lot of telekinesis, Kyle.
Randy communicating how most unlearned observers feel when seeing tabletop hobby for the first time
Sure, you might get a tad hung up on what Stan is doing with such a psyker-heavy presence within his Sisters of Battle army, or the lack of unit coherency for some of those squads – but honestly it’s just a bit of fun.
Probably the most fun part for me is appreciating how well-researched the whole thing is; a cursory google easily reveals that Trey Parker is a confirmed tabletop hobby enthusiast – so it’s not like they had to go dredging up a ton of strange lingo to get up to speed. They could have easily made up a bunch of semi-believable terminology and had the Imperial Nerds duking it out with the Dork Angels – hardcore fans would still have been thrilled to see their hobby on screen – but they actually went the extra mile and captured it accurately.
Careful now Stan, dot those eyes carefully
My only gripe would be that the episode wrapped up with a message about appreciating the people that help make you a better person – which was overtly dripping with Trump commentary. A fine message, if a little spongey.
It would have been cool to see something about recognising that if a hobby brings someone joy, maybe don’t be a dick about it. But realistically, the Warhammer stuff was on the far end of the B-plot – so I can’t complain. It was just neat to see my dorky plastic obsession appear in a TV show.
Were you surprised to see Warhammer 40k in South Park? Let us know in the comments or on social media.
