20: Starvin Marvin – Season 1, Episode 8
Starvin Marvin has a special place in my heart. I remember staying up late at night as a seven-year old child, tuning into Channel 4 and being utterly amazed at what I was seeing. Sure, I shouldn’t have been watching a show like South Park then, but I had no idea what was really going on. The very first episode of the show I have loved for the last 15-20 years that I ever watched was Starvin Marvin.
I rewatched the episode in my preparation for this list, worried that it wouldn’t hold up and let me down like so many of my other treasured childhood favourites (damn you, Flubber!) but needless to say the episode is still brilliant.
Starvin Marvin is one of the first episodes where the show’s penchant for social commentary really began to shine through. Principle Victoria refusing to take care of Marvin, stating that she does her part and pledges a few dollars a month, Cartman and the boy’s families needlessly throwing away food at an all you can eat buffet, and mocking Kenny’s family because they can’t afford it. The episode still feels as biting and important today as it would have been back then.
It is also laugh out loud hilarious, Cartman being mistaken by the secret agents as a starving Ethiopian still has me in tears every time I watch it, as does Marvin’s subsequent reaction.
19: The Coon Trilogy – Season 14, Episodes 11-13
Continuing on from the season 13’s excellent The Coon episode, the trilogy explores the back story of Mysterion and takes the show into fantastical realms, introducing HG Lovecraft’s Cthulhu into the mix as the episode’s antagonist.
Mysterion’s back story is brilliant and ties together one of the show’s longest running gags and the introduction of even more of the kids as superheroes is a great touch as well. The episodes are also the inspiration for the upcoming South Park: The Fractured but Whole video game, that looks even better than Stick of Truth.
18: Asspen – Season 6, Episode 2
Asspen is South Park’s equivalent of when a soap would do a one off special and visit Blackpool, and it revels in all the tropes that come with it whilst also putting the authentic South Park spin on things.
Roped into a time-share sale, the parents take the boys away to Aspen, a near by ski-resort to get away from South Park for a few days. Whilst the parents end up on a ridiculous mission to escape the time share salesman the boys, notably Stan, find themselves in a plot to save a local youth center by racing a local moron down a huge mountain.
The episode is notable for a number of reasons, first and most obvious is that it takes place in a totally different setting to what we’re used to. Secondly it is one of the first episodes where Butters is a part of the group following Kenny’s Death, leading to some great moments, notably Cartman giving him a Hitler tache, and finally it is the episode that introduced us to Thumper, the ski instructor who blessed us with the ‘you’re going to have a bad time’ meme.
17: Woodland Critter’s Christmas – Season 8, Episode 14
Abortions, bloody orgies, Satan worshipping, Santa massacring cute little animals, what else could you want from a Christmas special? Woodland’s Critter Christmas may well be the most twisted Christmas specials ever created. It’s also hilarious from start to finish.
There are so many great moments in the episode – Stan’s constant arguments with the narrator are great, the Critter’s bloody soaked orgy is hilarious and the final line ‘Except for Kyle, who died of aids’ never fails to raise a smile.
The ending reveals that of course, the whole episode was a Christmas story being presented to the class by Cartman, and well, what else did you expect really?
16: All about Mormons – Season 7, Episode 12
Long before they were on broadway with their smash hit, The Book of Mormon, Trey Parker and Matt Stone were parodying the religion on South Park. All about Mormons is commonly voted as one of the show’s best episodes, and with good reason.
When Gary, a new boy arrives at the boy’s elementary school, everyone is quick to gang up on. Stan goes to fight him and before he knows it, he is around his house having dinner and learning the story of his religion.
The episode is at its best when it is recounting the story of Joseph Smith, with the not so subtle ‘dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb’ musical accompaniment. This is the only part of the episode though where the show actually attacks the religion, with the episode ended on a rather surprising note. Parker and Stone later admitted that they found it difficult to parody the religion, because whilst the whole thing is kinda stupid, most Mormons they had met were actually decent people, and the episode drives this home through out.
Originally published December 14, 2016. Updated April 16, 2018.
