The season continued to focus on the exploits of protagonists Stan, Kyle, Cartman, Kenny and Butters in the fictional Colorado mountain town of South Park.

The 13th season satirized such topics as the ACORN scandal, Japanese whaling, piracy in Somalia and the marketing tactics of The Walt Disney Company.

Celebrities were spoofed throughout the season, including the Jonas Brothers, Kanye West, Carlos Mencia, Paul Watson and Glenn Beck, all of whom publicly responded to their portrayals.

The episode "Fishsticks" attracted particular media attention due to rapper Kanye West's declaration that its jokes about his arrogance were funny but hurt his feelings.

Saturday Night Live cast member Bill Hader, who had previously worked as a consultant on the show, was credited as a producer starting in season 13.

[30] Some critics have said that this short turnaround process helps South Park stay fresh and allows the show to address current events in a timely fashion.

[23] The 13th season introduced the characters Katie and Katherine, stars of a television show, The Queef Sisters, that consists largely of vaginal flatulence jokes.

They are female equivalents of long-time characters Terrance and Phillip, who are initially angered at the competition from Katie and Katherine, but end up romantically involved with them.

[31] Season 13 also marked the final appearance of long-time supporting character Gordon Stoltski, the third grade student who read the morning announcements for South Park Elementary.

Viewers able to find the alien in the episode could enter a contest, with the grand winner getting an animated version of himself or herself placed in the South Park opening credits starting the next season.

[26] "Fatbeard" was based on real-life piracy in Somalia, which began receiving increasing international media attention in 2008; the Somali pirates are portrayed in a sympathetic light in the episode.

[40][41] In the episode, Cartman makes outrageous claims with no basis in fact under the guise that he is simply asking rhetorical questions and seeking further discussion, a practice for which Beck has been criticized.

Cartman interprets the large number of minorities at his favorite water park as a sign of the 2012 phenomenon, the prediction that cataclysmic events will occur in the year 2012, which is said to be the end of the Mayan Long Count calendar.

[35][47] "The Ring" featured parodies of the pop-rock boy band Jonas Brothers and a foul-mouthed, greedy, physically violent Mickey Mouse, satirizing the Walt Disney Company's exploitation of family-friendly morals to disguise its profit motive.

[52] In response to fan requests, the full 90-second version of the song was made available for download on South Park Studios the week the episode aired.

Some songs also emphasize the band's belief in sexual abstinence, with lyrics like, "Who needs sex and drugs and partying when we can cook a meal and sit around and watch Netflix?

[58] In the episode "Whale Wars", Cartman plays the video game Rock Band and performs a rendition, praised by critics, of the Lady Gaga song "Poker Face".

[62] From knocking celebrities off their high horse, to tackling social issues, to just plain pointing out the ridiculous nature of our every day lives, South Park Season 13 had more cultural impact than most animated series could ever dream of.

He said the season had some low points, particularly "Eat, Pray Queef", but that episodes like "The F Word" and "Dances with Smurfs" delivered significant social commentary.

[63] Ben Flanagan of The Tuscaloosa News said the 13th season was one of the strongest yet for South Park, and that the series continued its tradition of entertainingly combining gross-out comedy with social satire.

Club, agreed that the season was uneven, with several episodes "you kinda shrugged your shoulders at",[65] but others like "Butters' Bottom Bitch" that he found "pretty damn funny".

[67][68] On September 13, 2009, during the MTV Video Music Awards, West interrupted an acceptance speech by country singer Taylor Swift, walking on stage, grabbing the microphone and praising her competitor Beyoncé Knowles.

[71][72] In the episode, the South Park boys attempt to change the official definition of the word "fag" from an anti-homosexual slur to a term describing loud and obnoxious Harley bikers.

[76][77] The blog post drew substantial media attention; Daniel Kreps of Rolling Stone said: "Many have tried, all have failed, but in the end it only took four animated children from Colorado to topple Kanye West's ego.

[82] Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson, the stars of Ghost Hunters who were also mocked in "Dead Celebrities", said they loved the parody and encouraged fans to watch the show on their Twitter accounts.

"[85][86] "Pinewood Derby" drew considerable media attention in Mexico when it first aired due to its depiction of Mexican President Felipe Calderón.

Media reports indicated the decision stemmed from the episode's depiction of Calderón irritating the international community and frivolously spending alien-provided "space cash" on water parks.

The crew of USS Bainbridge, the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer that participated in the rescue of Richard Phillips from Maersk Alabama, contacted the South Park creators to commend them on the episode.

Ensign Jonathan Sieg, the Bainbridge public relations officer, wrote, "Pretty much everyone onboard our ship—from Captain to seaman—is a huge fan of South Park, and when we heard about the episode 'Fatbeard', as you can imagine, we were thrilled and very interested to watch.

[5][6] Parker and Stone decided to submit "Margaritaville" for an Emmy Award because they had received a large amount of positive feedback about the episode from adult viewers.