In preparation for South Park: The Stick of Truth, which comes out next week for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC, here are the 10 best episodes of South Park, presented in no particular order.
(Note: this was a hard list to make. There are too many great South Park episodes, so some couldn’t make the cut. Feel free to drop your own favourites in the comments below.)
1) Scott Tenorman Must Die
Synopsis:
When a young boy makes the transition into manhood, he is blessed with certain physical attributes. In Cartman’s case, he gets pubes. After the other boys tell him that pubes don’t count unless you grow your own, Cartman realises he’s been tricked. When Scott Tenorman won’t give him his money back, Cartman goes medieval on him. Radiohead guest stars and plays a role in Cartman’s elaborate plan for revenge.
Why: Cartman was really just a foul-mouthed fat kid until he decided to get revenge on Scott Tenorman. That was the turning point. Now he’s a brilliant sociopath, and the best character on television. (Watch here.)
2) Cancelled
Synopsis:
An alien satellite dish is placed in Cartman’s butt. Shortly after, the boys are abducted by the aliens that installed it. They find out that the planet Earth is simply an intergalactic reality show. When word gets back to their home planet, the aliens decide to cancel the show. Something must be done.
Why: Jeff Goldblum, the taco crapping ice cream, the Joosians… “Oh man, I can’t believe I sucked your jagon.” (Watch here.)
3) Asspen
Synopsis:
When the boys hit the slopes of Aspen, Stan is challenged to race the best skier on the mountain. In the tradition of the epic ski adventure movies of the 80’s, he must win the race in order to save the youth center, get the girl and free the trapped spirits of the Wakacha Vampire Indians.
Why: When a South Park parody is on, it’s on. And they absolutely nail the 80s teen comedy in this one. (Watch here.)
4) Good Times With Weapons
Synopsis:
South Park takes on the look of Japanese Anime. The boys are transformed into Japanese Warriors after they buy martial arts weapons at a local flea market. Their sworn enemy, Professor Chaos, confronts them and a highly stylised battle ensues.
Why:
(Watch here.)
5) Make Love, Not Warcraft
Synopsis:
There’s trouble in the online gaming world when a mad gamer won’t play by the rules. The boys dedicate their lives to defeating the renegade and saving the World of Warcraft.
Why: The best thing about South Park‘s much-discussed World of Warcraft episode isn’t the ridiculous concept or even the authentic animation (produced with help from Blizzard themselves.) It’s that Trey Parker and Matt Stone are funny enough to do an episode about gaming addiction without resorting to Big Bang Theory-style cheap jokes and hackneyed punchlines. This one’s a classic. (Watch here.)
6) Fishsticks
Synopsis:
Cartman decides to help Jimmy with his comedy routine. Everyone loves the new joke they come up with. The joke starts to take off and it even hits all the late night talk shows. The boys are thrilled with how popular it’s become until somebody tries to take all the credit.
Why: Gay fish, yo. (Watch here.)
7) The Black Friday Trilogy
Synopsis:
Anticipation for the biggest shopping day of the year is building. The dark days of winter are coming and that can only mean one thing: the fight to be the first in the mall on Black Friday has begun. The boys prepare to battle the crowds the day after Thanksgiving to get the best deal on the new gaming systems.
Why: The three-part Black Friday series just aired last fall, but it deserves a top slot on the list for hitting the next-gen console wars so well. Plus, the trilogy segues directly into Stick of Truth. (Watch part one here.)
8) Chinpoko Mon
Synopsis:
Stan, Kyle, Cartman and Kenny are caught up in the latest fad from Japan: Chinpoko Mon! In their effort to collect everything Chinpoko Mon, all the children in South Park have become fanatics. Meanwhile, the Japanese toy manufacturers have hidden anti-American messages in all their products, thereby enlisting children throughout the U.S. to aid in completing their Primary Main Objective: bombing Pearl Harbor again.
Why: Because I lose it every time I see the kids turn Japanese. Also, shoe. (Watch here.)
9) Woodland Critter Christmas
Synopsis:
Stan is approached by a group of adorable woodland critters and asked to help them build a manger in anticipation of the birth of their Lord and Saviour . Stan complies, only to find out that they serve Satan.
Why: South Park has gone to some really dark, brutal places over the past two decades. This was the best by far. (Watch here.)
10) It’s Christmas In Canada
Synopsis:
The Brovlofski family is dealt a devastating blow when Ike’s Canadian birth parents show up unexpectedly and want their baby back. When the townspeople decide to forego Christmas gifts and take up a collection to get Ike home to South Park, the boys are distraught. Before all the money for their Christmas presents gets spent, they hightail it to Canada to bring Ike home themselves.
Why: Because it’s a musical. (Watch here.)
Comments
55 responses to “The 10 Best South Park Episodes”
All great episodes. Make Love Not Warcraft and Good Times With Weapons are my personal favourites. Suuuuper excited for The Stick of Truth!
Yep agree.
Unfortunately season 17 is rather…boring….and the Edward Snowden episode is silly and seemingly pro-NSA….
There are a few I like, but I tend to agree. I’m sure I read somewhere that Matt and Trey wanted to end South Park at season 15, but were contracted to do more. You can kind of tell.
Good times with weapons is brilliant. Possibly their best ever 😀
Lets, fighting looove! 😛
Subarashii chin chin mono
Kintama no kami aru
Sore no oto sarubobo
Iie! Ninja ga imasuuuuuuuu
Hey Hey Let’s Go! kenka suru
Taisetsu na mono protect my balls
Boku ga warui so let’s fighting
Let’s fighting love…
Let’s fighting love…
Kono uta chotto baka
Wake ga wakaranai
Eigo ga mecha kucha
Daijoubu, we do it all the time!
Now…. IN ENGLISH!!!!!!
I have a wonderful penis
And testicle hair
That’s the sound of a sarubobo
No! It’s the ninjas
Hey hey let’s go fight!
The important thing is to protect my balls
I’m bad, so let’s fighting
Let’s fighting love…
Let’s fighting love…
This song is a little stupid
It’s hard to make sense of
Its English is messed up
That’s OK! We do it all the time!
:O
Hahaha! I picture Trey singing that and just bust out laughing.
For the Australians who can’t use the South Park site (seriously, why even post the links…) download a program called Spotflux which will let you trick your browser into thinking it’s in the US. Speeds will be affected but I can watch the episodes fine.
how about the coon trilogy?
I like any episode about Randy Marsh, he is so godammed stupid.
That moment you realise that this weeks episode is a Randy episode…. so good 😀
“For what? Arresting me for what? I’m not allowed to stand up for myself? I thought this was America! Huh? Isn’t this America? I’m sorry, I thought this was America!”
Haha, yes!
The Losing Edge is my personal favourite episode.
Creme Fraiche was his pinnacle for me.
After that episode came out my friend and I invented a game in which we would try to sneak a tub of Creme Fraiche into each others food shopping.
a tie between it and the startling for me. “I’M…SO….STARTLED”
I quite enjoyed Medicinal Fried Chicken. If you wanted an episode to show the depths of a character’s stupidity – there it was…
Stan? St… STAN?!?!
lol the jerking off in a hottub episode was a classic.
i was about to say!
my two favourite Randy episodes:
– the one where he battles Bono for taking the biggest shit
– The medicinal marijuana episode where Cartman becomes a drug kingpin dealing in KFC and randy microwaves his balls to get medicinal weed legally but they grow so huge he bounces around town on them
I was ready to contest the list with a few of my personal favourites, but I think I have to agree with a top ten list in it’s entirety, for the first time ever.
agree
I was too, it was a pleasant surprise, though I haven’t seen anything past season 12 as I gave up there. I do want to add ‘The Red Badge of Gayness!’
Love everyone one of these but you really need to add the Guitar Hero episode!!! THAT was freaking brilliant. Then again i was a guitar hero nerd so meh.
Guitar queer-o was a great episode. “YOU BLEW IT!”
I was also a guitar hero nerd so probably why I found it so funny.
Imaginationland 3 part series was favourite. Kurt Russell to the rescue !!!!!
Reading this list made me miss South Park a lot. Haven’t seen anything past season 12.
My fav would have to be BeBe’s boobs destroy society, but yours is still a great list.
Edited: Imagination land trilogy has to be on this list and you should be ashamed for omitting it.
Sir! Its coming from Sector 2!
Whys it so easy for kids to break into the pentagon?
Sector 2?
Yeah, BeBe’s Boobs was classic!
It’s encouraging to see that there’s some episodes from the new series in the list. It was losing steam when I last watched it so never got back to it after a mid-season break, might have to get back to it one of these days.
hello children!
no ‘The Return of Chef!’ love?
I know it’s not technically South Park, but what about “Not Without My Anus”.
A fave of mine not included was when the internet went out and they all went trekking to California (?) ala the gold rush times.
The best was the ‘hand drawn’ porn requests and Randy re-painting the room in his own colour lol
Also, “The internet” being a Linksys WRT54G
Over Logging
Broadway Bro Down people.
I still like the first one the best.
“Scott Tenorman Must Die“, “Make Love not Warcraft” & “Butters’ Very Own Episode” are my top 3.
Butters’ Bottom Bitch, Do you know what I am saying…
What about the episode ‘Succubus’ where Chef’s dad always talking about how the loch ness monster wanted Tree Goddam Fiddy!!
Oh and the Goddam Mongolians!! You wreck my city wall!!
Sooooo many great ones to choose from – what about some of the classic eps from season 8 with butters – Casa Bonita is a personal favourite of mine. I just love seeing butters get pwned by cartman
I reckon I’d have to rewatch every episode before I could even come up with a top 10. The nostalgia critic did a pretty good top ten though, worth checking out.
What about when all the guys get testicular cancer to get legal pot, that’s my fav of all time. Bouncing down to the pot shop on their balls and Randy has to beg his wife to make eye contact, I nearly wet myself.
Cartman Sucks is pretty funny. Most of the episodes are pretty funny.
Two days before the day after tomorrow is still my favourite episode. However I’ve fallen off South Park lately. Maybe the game will get me back into it.
The show has been on the air too long to pick 10, there are heaps of episodes just as good as these (Lil Crime Stoppers, Christian Hard Rock and the Meteor Shower 3 part arc to name a few).
What about Imaginationland?
Gray Dawn is one of my all-time Favorite episodes, along with Red Hot Catholic Love
Personally, love Sexual Harassment Panda, Good Times With Weapons, Toilet Paper and The Return of the Fellowship of the Ring to the Two Towers, but that’s culling soooo many great ones.
How does the Lord of the Rings episode not make the cut? That was brilliant!
No Death Camp of Tolerance?
Intolerance will not be tolerated.
Ignorant. That list is ignorant.