Top 30 South Park Episodes Ranked - Looper (2023)

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VonThompson-Smith/Updated July 11, 2022 4:49 p.m. EST

Approaching his 25th anniversary on TV"Sud Parkis an absolutely unique institution, even among the small crowd of animated comedies that have been around since the '90s.

It hasn't experienced the perceived quality flaws that have faded The Simpsons' legacy, and has never gotten lost in the jumble of too many Seth MacFarlane shows like Family Guy. While "South Park" has produced its fair share of episodes that haven't aged well, that can largely be attributed to creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone's penchant for timely social commentary.

"South Park" has served as a more comprehensive record of the cultural zeitgeist than just about any other fictional television series over the past quarter century. Of course, some episodes will feel dated. But if you look at it another way, episodes like this offer valuable insight into things that pop culture once thought important and now mostly consist of asterisks and footnotes. In certain instances, these "South Park" spoofs landed a 16th minute in their window of fame, and it's the aftertaste that still lingers.

For example, there's a 2004 episode called Stupid Spoiled Whore Video Playset that satirizes Paris Hilton. Hardly anyone under 30 has any idea who Paris Hilton is these days...unless they may have seen the Stupid Spoiled Whore Video Playset.

So, which "South Park" episodes have stood the test of time? About 300 episodes after the series debut, which ones are considered the true crème de la crème? Let's take a closer look with the help of IMDb.

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The human and technical mechanics behind "South Park" have always run like well-oiled, hilarious, irreverent machines. It's perhaps the show's great anachronism that it could come across as the class clown but has the work ethic of the teacher's pet.

Maybe that explains how Trey Parker and co. could take a basic idea like Butters, who works as a pimp, and then carry it for twenty minutes without running out of breath prematurely.

As the show's moral compass, Butters did not condone the business model sex workers were forced into. At the end of season 139th episode, Butters instead preferred a world where sex workers could safely pursue their profession while enjoying the same labor benefits that other industries offer without the "protection" of violent pimps.

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Most of the Google image results for this episode are far more inappropriate than what you see above. But let's just say medicinal fried chicken has provided a good-natured ripple to the legalization movement. Specifically, it showed people obtaining medical permits for marijuana under dubious pretexts, some lugging grotesquely overgrown testicles in wheelbarrows.

While 1983's "Scarface" rivals "Star Wars" in terms of the number of parodies, at least the subplot of theThe third episode of the 14th season-- centered around Cartman's rise in the illicit fried chicken trade -- goes beyond simply re-enacting the "hello to my little friend" scene. In fact, "Medicinal" gave the impression that Trey Parker and Matt Stone had high regard for the Brian De Palma-directed staple, making the "Scarface" references seem more like homages than anything.

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After the airing of the 200th episode of "South Park" (appropriately titled "200") in 2010, a religious fringe groupPostedwhich some interpreted as a threat to the lives of Matt Stone and Trey Parker. Later, the same group came under the suspicion of law enforcement after a bomb attack thatfor a while appeared potentiallyaimed at the corporate headquarters of Viacom - the parent company of Comedy Central - in Times Square.

Although history hasn't conclusively shown that "South Park" was almost murdered because of this cartoon, the fact that a scenario along those lines seemed entirely plausible at the time gives you an idea of ​​the intensity that surrounded "200".

Today, the episode (and its second half "201") is not available to stream or download due to security concerns. But at least the 14th episode of season 5 garnered some good reviews before being indefinitely removed from the audience.

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Like contemporaries”The Simpsons" And "Rick und Morty,” “South Park” lashes out at the philosophy every now and then. That doesn't always hit the mark, but "Cartmanland" (Season 5, Episode 6) succeeds in providing an insightful, straightforward commentary on the big picture.

The show posited that due to the random nature of the universe, good things inevitably happen to terrible people. But maybe that's fine as long as we can trust horrible people like Cartman to be jerks who, after delivering the happiness, screw themselves straight back into the cesspool of misery and shame where they belong.

"Cartmanland" is one of four Season 5 episodes to appear on IMDB's Top 30 list. So if there is such a thing as a golden age for "South Park," it could be 2001.

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The stakes in "South Park" usually feel light and fluffy, even as the humor turns dark. However, inpenultimate episode of the fifth season, the boys had to deal with an unbelievable tragedy that even Cartman couldn't smile and shrug at.

KennyMcCormick - a normal character and the tent pole of Stan, Kyle and Cartman's circle of friends - was slowly dying of muscular dystrophy. Cartman took it upon himself to protest government restrictions on stem cell research in hopes that medicine and science could save his pal. Meanwhile, Stan and Kyle have faced grief, anger, and troubling existential consequences.

What kind of god would kill a sweet kid like Kenny before he could experience the full spectrum of joy in life? This god would have to be like this... well, an outdated insult to a boy of unmarried parents.

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Having survived and thrived for more than 300 episodes (so far), the longevity of "South Park" is a formidable achievement, particularly in the animated comedy genre where surviving beyond a season or two is quite challenging even for onefar-Lover Serie.

But compared to The Simpsons -- which has more than 700 episodes and 32 seasons -- South Park's longevity is a slip.

"South Park" articulated its own futility in the face of Springfield's overwhelming dominance in The Simpsons Already Did It (Season 6, Episode 7) with a self-referential storyline in which Professor Chaos materialized all of his ideas for world dominance and Destruction has already been seen in The Simpsons reruns — but maybe he shouldn't feel bad about it.

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From the start, many current-event-inspired takes have fueled "South Park." With "Cartman Sucks" (Season 11, Episode 2), the show presented homophobia as an absurd tragedy and drew no punches with its criticism of conversion therapy.

As a result, religious organizations berated LGBT youth with "Pray the Gay Away" programs, while a prank on Butters went awry and Cartman had a gay panic. Butters' father sent him to Camp New Grace to "cure" him of apparent bi-curiosity.

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In 2014, all of pop culture was talking about "Game of Thrones.” It was the perfect time for A Song of Ass and Fire (Season 17, Episode 8), part of a three-part arc dedicated to satirizing what was then the most popular television series.

Featuring numerous jokes about dragons, incest, and a sheer genitalia overload, "Song" not only did a great job of parodying "GoT" in its prime, but also may have predicted many of the series' excesses it did last season disabled . Viewed today, "Song" is a reminder of how popular the show was and how mature it was as a subject for parodies.

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The Game of Thrones parody trilogy raced to its brutal end with Titties and Dragons (Season 17, Episode 9). While the Red Robin wedding wasn't as traumatic as her inspiration from "The Rain of Castamere' the animated Black Friday commentary (mixed with real footage of shoppers rampaging through malls on the Friday after Thanksgiving) was just as painful to watch.

This episode got pretty reckless with its not-so-celebrity cameos. A crazed Black Friday shopper castrated George R.R. Martin, while Bill Gates was revealed as a brutal killer with prison-style Microsoft tattoos.

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Some may argue that "South Park" began to show its age when it satirized overblown political correctness. Looking back, "Sponsored Content" (Season 19, Episode 8) feels more connected to 2021 than any other episode in the top 30.

The episode, which debuted in 2015, took aim at clickbait, online advertising, AI technology and political correctness, all in a plot that angered PC Principal with an insensitive word in the school newspaper. Allegations of ableism, attempts at censorship, beatings of Hillary Clinton and Caitlyn Jenner, and GEICO sponsorship follow.

Years later, concerns about sponsored content, invasive AI, and political correctness have only increased. "Sponsored Content" feels a lot like an episode that viewers need to watch today, not just to voice concerns, but to laugh at the absurdity of it all.

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Calling Mormons a frequent "target" of Matt Stone and Trey Parker's comedy may be half true, but their attitude toward the Church of Latter-day Saints resonates with fascination rather than contempt. Before the kingpins of Snark rolled out their fixation on the Broadway musical The Book of Mormon, there was All About Mormons (Season 7, Episode 12).

When a new family called the Harrisons moved to town, the South Park characters were amazed at how nice and perfect they seemed - and determined to put a stop to it. Much like the Book of Mormon, the episode went out of its way to not just mock, but to enlighten. When characters asked questions about Mormonism, he also pointed out all the things about its founding that don't make sense. Of course, all of this was absurdly entertaining as well, essentially making it the blueprint for The Book of Mormon some 5 years before that show opened on Broadway.

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Butters first appeared in 1997's "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe," but he was primarily a background character — that is, until "Butter's Very Own Episode" (Season 5, Episode 14).

After five years, Stan, Kyle and Cartman had become too cynical to appear as frail, wide-eyed children. As a result, Butters' role was bolstered to bring a sense of sincerity back into the show through his trusting nature and limited intellectual talents.

Butters' mom and dad subsequently had some martial issues, which resulted in the boy finding himself on a road trip to remember. By the end of the episode, Parker and Stone had made some jokes about famous murder suspects who were eventually exoneratedSheapproved in 2011 may have been rash.

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It somehow took "South Park" four seasons before it got around to addressing pedophilia with "Cartman Joins NAMBLA" (Season 4, Episode 5).

Tired of the company of Stan, Kyle, and Kenny, Cartman logged into a chat room. He described himself as a young boy in search of a mature new social circle. Of course, he ended up in the ranks of the North American Man-Boy Love Association and remained amazingly unaware of the intentions of its members.

This and other shenanigans resulted in a pack of naked child molesters, their intended victims, a police squad, North American look-alike Marlon Brando, and a French waiter crawling down a hotel corridor all at once. In addition, Kenny chased his pregnant mother with a butt.

Looking back years later, this might just be one of South Park's darkest episodes - which is really saying something.

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The world never got an official theatrical sequel to 1999's South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut. But the "Imaginationland" three-part season 11 episodes10, 11 and 12 — might be as close as fans will ever get.

The saga began on a dark note when numerous imaginary characters - including Ronald McDonald, Santa Claus and a few Care Bears - were killed in an attack by an al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist cell, which also brutally abused and kidnapped Butters. Meanwhile, after a dispute over the existence of goblins, a court ordered Kyle to suck Cartman's testicles for 30 seconds -- which seems only slightly less plausible than al-Qaeda executing a lucky bear.

In Imaginationland, the terrorists destroyed the wall that separated the good and bad lands. Butters was eventually called upon by the Council of Nine (including Jesus, Gandalf, Popeye, and Wonder Woman) to help take the land back from the evil characters, and Al Gore (sort of) saved the day.

Rarely has an episode of an animated feature gotten so epic, and never before has a series been so crossover-heavy while simultaneously scoffing at the absurdity of what made it so cool. If you had to show a newcomer an episode of South Park (and cheat and show them three), you could do worse than the Imaginationland trilogy.

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Immiddle chapterof "Imaginationland," the evil pseudo-characters overran the benevolent half of Imaginationland's technically non-existent plane. The terrorists were destroyed during the attack, led by somehow copyrighted versions of Freddy Kreuger, Jason Voorhees, a xenomorph from the "Alien" franchise, Wario, and other monsters from the realm beyond reality. Although Butters was no longer captive, he was unable to return home.

As all of this goes on, the US government has forced Stan and Kyle to help them undo the damage al Qaeda has done to America's imagination. Also, Cartman appeared completely naked for unrelated (and totally unnecessary) reasons. As mentioned, the episode is the turning point in a second SouthPark movie.

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Imexciting finalefrom "Imaginationland," Morpheus from the "Matrix" series fought Freddy Kreuger, while Popeye fought Darth Maul in the midst of an epic Tolkien-style battle between the armies of good and evil.

The bad guys seemed on the verge of victory until Butters turned the tide by bringing Santa back to life. Jolly Ol' Saint Nick was badly burned in the opening part of "Imaginationland," but immunity from physical death is part of the fun of being an abstract concept "South Park" itself later had to admit was avery legitimate concern.Finally, the wish Cartman wanted to grant during the arc finally came true... well, sort of.

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Some might say that pop culture is turning its wheels, but conditions have improved in one important respect — here in 2021 there are several widely viewed television programs featuring cartoon characters swearing like sailors whose upbringing didn't include lessons in social decency.

Thanks to "South Park" on HBO Max, profanities that were once masked with bleeps now flow undisguised and freely for all to hear. But in "Le Petit Tourette" (Season 11, Episode 8), because normal standards and practices would ruin the gag of Cartman faking Tourette's Syndrome as an excuse for constant swearing, the episode allowed us the rare opportunity of untweeted naughty words heard television in 2007.

The F-word was the line that Comedy Central's "South Park" wasn't allowed to cross — which is wild because they didn't seem to have that much of a problem with Cartman yelling aAwayoffensive and possibly disturbing anti-Semitic slurs at Kyle.

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Here we have the beginning of the aforementioned arc, which also included "A Song of Ass and Fire" and "Titties and Dragon". Combine the trio and you have arguably one of the more apt pop culture spoofs ever produced by South Park.

In "Black Friday" (Season 17, Episode 7), rampant, violent consumerism swept the city as the holiday season approached. Several characters reminded us that "winter is coming," and it was up to the social workers who made up the mall's security staff to stem the onslaught of Black Friday discount shoppers.

South Park and Game of Thrones don't have much in common, but both programs love killing off characters -- especially benevolent male authority figures. The parody trilogy doesn't disappoint in that regard.

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In "Christian Rock Hard" (Season 7, Episode 9), Cartman formed a Christian rock band whose songs were filled with random sexual innuendos. Stan and Kyle joined caricatures of several famous musicians to protest free song downloads from Napster - which was a hot topic for the music and tech industries in 2003.

As subjects for satire, multi-millionaire rock stars panicking over file sharing and the band's interim popularity Creed both go very specifically to the early '00s and are little more than a footnote today. But "Christian" nailed the absurdity of the era with such precision that it sounded more like a prescient historical account than a collection of outdated pop culture references.

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When the words "South Park" and "Christmas" appear in the same neighborhood, it's hard to think of anything other than the image of Mr. Hankey, the Christmas poop version of the "South Park" Top 30.

Some have argued that Mr. Hankey was a gross one-note gag that received far more attention than it deserved. The featured appearance of "Woodland Critter Christmas" (Season 8, Episode 14) lends some credence to this idea.

In the classic episode, a gang of red-eyed, talking woodland creatures recruited Stan to help with chores surrounding their savior's birth while withholding important details that might make him ponder. We later learned that Woodland Critter Christmas itself wasn't quite what it seemed — and South Park captured the landing at one of its most disturbing moments.

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While it may be an absolute feast of smirks, "Trapped in the Closet" (Season 9, Episode 12) was buzzed for reasons beyond its humor.

For starters, Scientology's relentless broadcasting of "Closet" led to Isaac Hayes (Chef's longtime voice)leave the show. But Trapped also garnered plaudits for giving the business to the organization founded by L. Ron Hubbard, so maybe it was worth it, even if it meant killing Chef next season.

"Trapped In the Closet" is said to have annoyed the Scientologist Tom Cruise so much that hethreatened not to show his promotional appearancesfor "Mission: Impossible III," unless Viacom -- the then parent company of Comedy Central and "MI III" studio Paramount Pictures -- stopped airing the episode.

If the alleged attempt to censor "South Park" had any merit, it clearly failed. The episode remains in rotation to this day.

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The seventh episode of the 10th seasonis a bit like one of the fast-paced dialogues between Lorelai and Rory on "Gilmore Girls" — no one in the audience is supposed to understand 100 percent of the pop culture references, but most people should understand and appreciate at least 20 percent.

If you happen to be a fan of quasi-instructional reality television programs from the mid '00s, this is the "South Park" episode for you. If you haven't had cable during this time but watch a lot of cult sci-fi/horror movies, the jokes on "Tsst" will rise several feet above your head...up to a scene parodying the end of "Altered States." from the 1980s will make your face and organs mutate with jubilation.

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Whenever a celebrity, institution, entertainment genre, or anything else from the real world invades the "South Park" universe, it is usually subjected to some degree of parody... except in the anime episode.

Good Times With Weapons never really seemed to poke fun at anime. Instead, the aesthetics of Japanese action/sci-fi animation were simply incorporated into "South Park". It was basically the opposite ofWhat happened that one time on "FLCL"?

Season 8 premierealso provided a warning against mimicking what we see in escapist fantasy media. Ironically, after Good Times With Weapons, you might never touch a throwing star again.

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Although its main characters are all children, thanks to factors too numerous to list here, "South Park" is able to indulge in levels of depravity untouched by its contemporaries. Bart Simpson is a troublemaker; But in terms of the damage it can do, The Simpsons draws a line with shoplifting. Beavis and Butthead are too stupid to pose much of a threat to anyone but themselves.

Meanwhile, in "Casa Bonita" (Season 7, Episode 11), Cartman manipulates Butters into allowing the whole town to consider him a potential murder victim. It was all part of an elaborate plan for Cartman to take Butters' place at Kyle's birthday party, which Cartman only wanted to attend because it was at a Mexican restaurant he liked.

Cartman is, of course, a monster - and it seems likely that if he existed in the real world and/or were aging in real time, he would be in prison right now.

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"South Park" pulls a lot of mileage out of Cartman leading Butters to put himself in various absurd and/or dangerous circumstances, so it's nice to see the repulsive little psycho in "AWESOME-O" finally get a bucket Kentucky Friedcomeuppance Eats. (Season 8, Episode 5).

But why would Cartman dress up like Britney Spears and sing and dance around a Justin Timberlake cutout? Spears and Timberlake ended their long-term relationship in 2002. When "AWESOM-O" hit the airwaves in April 2004, Britney and Justin were old news, and Spears would announce her engagement to backup dancer Kevin Federline within months.

That minor historical misstep aside, it still remains one of the funniest episodes of SouthPark ever made. Cartman devoured a tube of toothpaste, ran screaming from a Hollywood executive's sexual advances, and was kidnapped and experimented on by the US military.

Did these seemingly divine punishments teach Cartman the flaws in his behavior? Looking back years later, viewers can say with absolute certainty: they didn't.

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Does Cartman deserve a chance to redeem himself? Probably not, but Stan and Kyle accidentally get him to tryEpisode 6 of Season 9.

After an unfathomable KFC-related transgression, Stan and Kyle decided the best way to deal with Cartman was to pretend he didn't exist. Cartman decided that if no one could hear him, he must have been a ghost. Consequently, he spent most of the ensuing 22 minutes of screen time apologizing and behaving altruistically in a ridiculous attempt to secure a comfortable afterlife for himself. In the midst of all these benefits, Cartman managed to send Butters to the mental asylum. Apparently, just being around Cartman can wreak havoc on your health, wealth, and personal freedom.

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Im7th episode of the 18th season, "South Park" parodies 1990's "Total Recall," 1999's "The Matrix," 2010's "Inception," and maybe even 1992's "The Lawnmower Man," while asking us an important existential question: If we can do the computer simulation we could all possibly live in and find out what the non-simulated world looks and feels like, would we want that? What if we left the simulated world and woke up to find that our "authentic" flesh-based selves were fifth-dimensional, bloated, and sluggish?

The episode is particularly significant because Butters slammed his father straight into the trash as hard as he could. A memorable moment in South Park history, to be sure.

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A more or less reverential satire of a film the writers know its target audience has largely seen and enjoyed doesn't sound like a potentially all-great episode of South Park in a vacuum. In fact, it sounds a little obvious and lazy. But there's a lot more to effective comedy than a unique premise.

The guys' search in the video store – that's itthe 13th episode of the 6th season, which aired in 2002 when blockbuster was still in vogue, ended with their parents miraculously explaining depraved sexual acts in graphic detail without prompting, as far as their little ones knew. The moment is awkward to the point of sublime hilarity, making the whole episode triple watchable even if you have no idea and don't care what happened in The Lord of the Rings.

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Theeighth episode of season 10, much like Good Times with Weapons before it, fused the utterly simplistic and utterly distinctive animation of "South Park" with a style borrowed from an action genre that, to say the least, could never have been made with cardboard cutouts.

A decent part of the episode took place in the MMO universe "Warcraft" rendered with video game style graphics. In the usual "South Park" reality, the boys fully engage in a physical downward spiral of snacks, caffeinated drinks, and lousy personal hygiene while their minds become steeped in what a non-player might confuse with digital Dungeons & Dragons . "

In order to spend as much time and attention as possible on defeating a high-level player who is hunting lower-level players for cheap thrills, Cartman stops leaving his computer to go to the bathroom. This forces his long-suffering mother to do bucket service on command - one of South Park's most amusing and disgusting moments at the same time.

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The idea of ​​adorable children at the center of an animated program filled with dark humor and graphic violence was the original selling point for South Park.

This tension between innocence and nihilism reached its climax in the final three minutes of Scott Tenorman Must Die (Season 5, Episode 4). The result is considered by many to be the greatest achievement in South Park history.according to IMDb.

In "ScottTenorman," Cartman found himself in a pubic hair feud with high schooler Scott Tenorman. Cartman feigned incompetence, naivety, and delusional complacency throughout the episode, ultimately unveiling a master plan that -- well, if you haven't seen it already, you need to track the episode down. Suffice to say, the little fella fooled the audience along with poor, poor Scott.