Top 10 South Park Episodes of All Time

Thought I'd do a bit of random blogging today. Andrew and I have been discussing this topic for a while so I thought I'd throw in my two cents. South Park, which has just begun its 14th season on television, has certainly had its share of laughs and controversy over the years. It has evolved quite a bit since it's inception (watch Eric Cartman in any first season episode and compare his presentation with that of any current version of himself). And unlike The Simpsons, who waited 18 years before making a feature film, South Park took advantage of the series' early popularity and produced a feature film between seasons one and two (A side note - my friend Matt and I never got a chance to see the movie in the theaters so we were quite happy when his mom managed to rent a copy for us after its VHS release. We were forewarned by the video store clerk that they attempted to play the movie on the video store monitors only for them to have to turn it off less than five minutes in due to the movie's vulgarity. Needless to say we were certainly entertained).

Now, three episodes into season 14, I will attempt to compile a list of my ten favorite South Park episodes. I'll include a few runner-ups since it is nearly impossible to squeeze this list into 10 episodes. Also, multi-part episodes will be listed as a single episode.


1-Towelie - Towelie may very well the best "worst character ever." A talking Towel who goes around giving advise on proper towel use and proper towel safety, but who also likes to get really high. The episode begins with Cartman finding Stan's mom's used tampon in a garbage can. In order to distract them from their finding, Stan's mom buys them an Okama Game Sphere, the hot new video game system on the market. After returning from school one day, they find their Game Sphere missing, with a ransom note in its place, stating that they must turn in Towelie (who they had met a few days prior) in order to get their Game Sphere back. What ensues is a soap opera of a story in which they manage to get their Game Sphere back (with a little help from Towelie, of course) and more importantly, Towelie gets high. I think its fair to say that when we take a shower, we won't forget to bring a towel.

2-The Jeffersons - A former college roommate of mine advised me of how disturbed he was after watching this episode, thus leaving me intrigued. After watching it, I had to agree, yet I found hysterically entertaining as well. The portrayal of Michael "Jefferson" Jackson is frightening, yet outrageous. Can't get enough of Mr. Jefferson in his Peter Pan costume, yet I also can't rid myself of the image of him kissing Cartman. 'Nough said.
(Photo courtesy of southparkstudios.mtvnimages.com)

3-Butters' Very Own Episode - Up until this point, all we knew about Leopold "Butters" Stotch was that he was a classmate of the four boys at South Park Elementary and that he was being recruited to replace Kyle upon his extended death. Butters was an innocent, well mannered (always referred to Cartman as Eric), and extremely naive boy who consistently found himself getting grounded by his father for his mischievous activities. It wasn't until this episode that we learn of the hidden and disturbing nature of Butters' family life. Butters discovers that his father secretly visits gay bathhouses and upon telling his mother, she turns psychotic, painting her house green and attempting to drown Butters in the family station wagon. Butters, oblivious to what is actually going on, can only think about his family's upcoming trip to Bennigans restaurant. Butters eventually makes it home and rejoins his friends in their adventures.

4-Scott Tenorman Must Die - I think we all knew that Cartman was the "bad boy" of the bunch but I don't believe we really understood the psyche of Eric Cartman until we saw him butcher Scott Tenorman's parents and feed them to Scott as a part of his homemade chili. Of course, Cartman proves himself to be as stupid as he is cruel, when he purchases pubes for 10 dollars earlier on in the episode.

5-Cripple Fight - The name of this episode alone makes me want to crack up. We had already been introduced to Timmy, South Park Elementary's token handicapped child. In this episode we are introduced to Jimmy Valmer (formerly Swanson), a stand up comedian with a stuttering problem and a disease mildly reminiscent of Polio. Jimmy's new found popularity makes Timmy jealous and battle royale ensues, which Cartman creatively calls "Cripple Fight." What gets lost in this episode is the side story, featuring Big Gay Al's ousting as Boy Scout leader in favor of closeted child molester Mr. Slippyfist. Big Gay Al begs to remain as scout leader, even if he promises to be a little less gay - pinky swear?
(Photo courtesy of Ign.com)

6-Le Petit Tourette - When Cartman discovers Tourette's Syndrome, he believes he can convince people he suffers from the neurological disorder while managing to say whatever he wants. He manages to convince MSNBC's Chris Hanson to do a special on Tourette's (in place of his acclaimed series To Catch a Predator). Kyle teams up with a child who actually suffers from the Syndrome and manages to convince a slew of child predators to arrive at the live television special, only for all of them to shoot themselves upon the site of Chris Hanson. The episode itself was actually noted as being somewhat accurate in its portrayal of Tourette's Syndrome.

7-Proper Condom Use - Upon discovering that the boys have discovered how to "milk a dog," the parents of South Park become concerned that the children have not been taught sexual education at a young enough age. Thus, Mr. Mackey and Ms. Choksondik are instructed to teach sex ed to their respective sexes. Mr. Mackey, who lacks any real knowledge of sexuality himself, provides the boys with inadequate information, while Ms. Choksondik induces boy-hating fear into the girls. What ensues is a boy vs girl battle. Let us not forget the semi-nude scenes featuring a sexual encounter between the two teachers and Mr. Garrison's demonstration of proper condom use to his kindergarten class.

8-Good Times With Weapons -The boys purchase ninja weapons from local carnival. Through their ninja personas, they battle Dr. Chaos and his evil sidekick. Things take a turn for the worst when Kenny launches a ninja star into Butters' eye. In the end, Butters winds up dressed up like beaten dog and we are forced to watch Cartman in the nude. The most impressive part of this episode is still the Japanime style animation created for this episode.


9-Ladder to Heaven - "Where were you when they built the ladder to heaven?" The boys are at it again. In an attempt to locate the winning ticket from a Willy Wonka-esque contest, they realize that Kenny had the ticket but has since deceased. They decide to build a ladder to heaven to find out where the ticket is. The world remains inspired by what they perceive as the boys' desire to be with their friend, when all they really care about is the ticket. Cartman proves his stupidity once again by drinking "chocolate milk" made from Kenny's ashes.

10-Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo - It seems like eons ago that Kyle cried "lonely Jew," Cartman called Sheila Broflovski a "stupid bitch," and Mr. Hankey said "Howdy Ho." Kyle feels left out of South Park's holiday celebrations and his only friend seems to be Mr. Hankey, the talking Christmas poo who "goes out of the toilet and gives presents to people with high fiber in their diet." Of course, no one believes him and he winds up in jail (only to be bailed out by Chef, who speaks very highly of Mr. Hankey).



Just Missed:
Imaginationland Trilogy - Butters turns out to be the messiah of our imaginations!
Tiger Woods - If only EA Sports could produce such a video game.
Christian Hard Rock - Cartman proves himself to be a genius, proves fans of Christian rock to be naive, and the writers prove Lars Ulrich to be a huge crybaby.
Dead Celebrities - Michael Jackson is back!
Kanye West - The sad thing about this episode...if the joke were true, Kanye West might actually think that he's a gay fish.

The episode that has not yet been written that should be: Towelie meets Mr. Hankey. Let your imaginations run wild! (Courtesy of BuddyTv.com)

(All other photos courtesy of wikipedia.org)