South Parkhas produced some of the best episodes in the history of adult animation.Episodes likeWoodland Critter Christmas,The Passion of the Jew, and theImaginationland trilogyhave become favorites among fans. But with 26 seasons under their belt, dozens of great quality episodes go somewhat overlooked by fans and critics.
Some break from the show’s style to deliver something unique, while others focus on characters not usually seen in the spotlight. But they all add to the unique, controversial, and irreverent legacy that South Park continues to leave in its wake.
10"Pip" — Season 4, Episode 14
Taking a break from the typical episode format, “Pip” chooses to focus on the titular character by providing a South Park take on his original story —Charles Dickens’sGreat Expectations. Narrated by guest starMalcolm McDowellas “a British person,” Pip retells the original book with no involvement from any other regular South Park characters.
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It’s certainly not as well-regarded by fans as most episodes, but it makes for a remarkable experiment. If nothing else, it still keeps a strong sense of humor about its own existence and deviates from the book in some quite funny ways.
9"Eat, Pray, Queef" — Season 13, Episode 4
Terrance and Phillip have been used as stand-ins for South Park itself, having foul-mouthed comedy and earning the scorn of parental groups around the world. In “Eat, Pray, Queef,” they face new rivals in the form of the Queef Sisters. Much like them, they express comedy primarily in the form of farts, albeit in another specific way.
The rivalry begins a national divide across America, as the sisters’ brand of fart-oriented comedy wins them fans with ladies but outrage from the men. It’s a fun examination of the double standards in comedy imposed on genders.
8"Broadway Bro Down" — Season 15, Episode 11
Randy discovers that if he takes Sharon to see the national tour ofWicked, he will get a specific form of pleasure out of it. Soon afterward, he takes her to every show on Broadway and decides to write his own stage musical.
This soon gets him the attention of other bros - Broadway composersStephen Sondheim,Andrew Lloyd Webber,Elton John, andStephen Schwartz, who help him with his new show. But when Shelly’s new date takes her to Wicked, Randy must save her from Broadway the only way he can — dressing up asSpider-Manand wrecking the set.
7"Free Hat" — Season 6, Episode 9
The boys head to the cinema to see a reissue ofThe Empire Strikes Back, only to notice the film has been digitally altered with terrible new enhancements. They decide to form a protest group against these new additions, promising people a free hat if they come.
Sure enough, they recruit many members, albeit members, under the belief this is a group meant to free serial killer Hat McCullough from prison. Now they must fight againstGeorge Lucas,Steven Spielberg, andFrancis Ford Coppolaif they want to save their favorite movies(and also free a convicted murderer).
6"Royal Pudding" — Season 15, Episode 3
Once again, Canada is positioned as a stand-in for England, and the royal wedding is underway. But the princess is kidnapped at the altar, and Kyle’s little Canadian brother Ike must go to save her.
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Meanwhile, Mr. Mackey is directing Ike’s class in a play warning against the dangers of tooth decay. The problem is Mackey cares way too much about the perfection of his play and begins verbally abusing both the class and Kyle when he’s forced to take Ike’s position. But both subplots have more to do with each other than it seems.
5"Breast Cancer Show Ever" — Season 12, Episode 9
Watching Cartman’s schemes is funny, but watching him get some form of karmic comeuppance is always satisfying. In Breast Cancer Show Ever, Wendy puts on a presentation in class about breast cancer, and Cartman can’t resist making several rude jokes. Finally having enough, she decides to fight him after school.
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He tries everything to get out of the situation - playing the victim, insincerely apologizing, lying to her parents, purposely trying to get detention. But in the end, Wendy sticks to her guns and beats the ever-loving snot out of him.
4"You’re Getting Old/Ass Burgers" — Season 15, Episodes 7 & 8
Stan is getting older, and all the joy he used to feel is now being sucked away. Everything around him sounds like garbage, and he can only see the bad side of everything.To make matters more complicated, his parents separate, and his depression is misdiagnosed as Asperger’s Syndrome.
When Cartman hears about the latter, he misunderstands and starts selling burgers for the other kids. The secret ingredient is that he stuffs the burgers down his underpants before serving. It’s a two-parter that examines the troubles of growing up, all while showing another hilarious Cartman scheme.
3"You Got F’d in the A" — Season 8, Episode 4
Only South Park could connect a standard dance movie plot with sudden violence. One day, the boys are suddenly accosted by a group of dancing kids from Orange County and get served. This seemingly confusing and inconsequential act suddenly becomes a matter of grave importance, and soon they’re challenged to a dance competition.
When Stan tries to recruit Butters, the latter reveals his hilariously dark past with tap dancing. Will he join the team and win? Will the boys have the last dance against the Orange County boys?Or will Butters’ dark past repeat itself?
2"The Losing Edge" — Season 9, Episode 5
The boys’ parents have recruited them into the town’s little league baseball team for the summer, and none of them are happy about it. They decide to start losing on purpose to get out of playing, so they can play video games for the rest of their vacation.
Unfortunately, all the other little league teams in the state have the exact same idea, so the boys keep winning regardless. Meanwhile, Randy has taken up his own sport — getting drunk and fighting other dads at the games.
1"A Nightmare on FaceTime" — Season 16, Episode 12
Randy comes home one day as the proud new owner of the town’s Blockbuster Video store. Unfortunately, nobody rents DVDs anymore, so the store sees no customers. On Halloween, Stan wants to trick or treat with the rest of the boys, but Randy continually insists customers will come and forbids him to go.
Running out of options, Stan uses an iPad, skateboard, and stick to go with his friends over FaceTime. In a funny spoof ofThe Shining, Randy succumbs to cabin fever, as he starts seeing spirits imploring him to keep the store open, going on a semi-murderous rampage.
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