Oh absolutely. I mean, some of their episodes from 20 years ago already feel like timeless classics. Just looked over the season 9 lineup, which somehow was 20 years ago. You've got Randy fighting Bat Dad in the Losing Edge, the Death of Eric Cartman, and Die Hippie Die. And, while the episode may not have been as great, the end of Willzyx absolutely slays me.

I totally get being too offended to enjoy it but I don't think it's particularly accurate to claim it only has a narrow audience, it is literally one of the most valuable franchises on television in part because it targets a large swathe in the middle. (Despite what the internet would have us believe, I think there is a large group of folks in the middle who can laugh at the craziness on both the Left and Right.)

I'm reminded of my mom's stance on rap and hip hop, which is essentially, it might be really good and a valid form of art but there's just too much vulgarity and misogyny for her to ever enjoy it, which is fair.

But, comedy is subjective. When I look back at the last few years, the specials over the last half decade, I come to quite the opposite conclusion, there are great episodes with an occasional dud but a hit ratio higher than most shows currently on air and a "oooh, that's an interesting take" miles beyond anything else.

This year has been very good because there's just so much material to work with. But for years and years they've only had 1-2 good episodes per season. They're not particularly good writers because unless society gives them something easy to mock, they struggle hard. They're basically bullies that if you don't give them easy material to work with, they've got nothing.

Those low quality episodes are worse than a waste of time. They directly detract from the satire that South Park otherwise survives on.

"Satire requires a clarity of purpose and target lest it be mistaken for and contribute to that which it intends to criticize."

Their insistence on making fun of everything makes them no more politically significant than all of the punk bands of the 80's and 90's... A footnote in history that otherwise did nothing but make the uninformed fools clutch their pearls and a bunch of teens cheer for that which they could never understand.