They have already become worse than The Simpsons.
I too only watched through the episode because I thought they must have something up their sleeve. I figured there would be a pay off moment, so all of it made sense. Despite how seemingly bad the first half of the episode was, I reminded myself that Trey Parker was at the helm so I kept watching. I've been doing this, denying the state of the show, for the past two years. I don't think the episode was analogical. Nor do I understand why The Book of Mormon is supposedly taking up so much of their time. It has been on stage for over twelve months. Unless Trey happens to be making changes to every single performance, his position as writer/director is pretty much over. During the initial stages of production, I understood to some extent. Now, I don't.
The only explanation is that he doesn't care about South Park any more; and, by extension, that he doesn't care about his loyal fans. If "Faith Hilling" is an allegory, then South Park is as stupid as cats with pieces of bread on their head and we are the idiots that tune in. Trey has outgrown the toilet-humour laden animation; we have not. Now that he has made it big on Broadway, South Park is beneath him. We are beneath him. The declining quality of the show, and Trey's indifference towards it, is an insult to us. The people who made him rich. The people who tuned in every week for sixteen years. His obligation belongs both to Comedy Central and to the people that love him; making a shitty episode only fulfils the first part.
If South Park is going to still exist until the end of 2013, he owes us more than shit. His fans will continue to tune in, out of loyalty, and will continue to be disappointed. There is no justification for this. The same thing goes for The Simpsons and Star Wars. Unfortunately, Trey Parker, is becoming/ has become another Matt Groening or George Lucas figure. He is not only tarnishing his own reputation, he is ruining a legacy. He is saying fuck you to his fans; because he has better, more sophisticated, fans now. Broadway fans.
Watching the latest episodes of South Park is like watching as Steven Spielberg rapes Indiana Jones. The only difference is that Indiana Jones 4 was an entertaining film, despite it's flaws. Indy is still alive after being sodomized by his creator; South Park is being fucked to death. I say fuck Trey Parker. Fuck him in his stupid ass. I can't help but tune in any more than Star Wars fans could help buying a ticket to Episode III. South Park is one of my favourite shows, of all time. And every week I watch as it is destroyed, carelessly, by this hypocritical asshole. It is like having part of my childhood surgically removed without anaesthetic. Watching South Park leaves me feeling depressed and angry. There is no explanation, psood0nym. Trey just doesn't give a shit about us any more.