Top 5 - South Park Season 3

9/7/2017

Honorable Mention - The Succubus

In the 'Succubus' episode, the boys are threatened by a girl who Chef is seeing, and falling in love with. Afraid that she's going to steal Chef away from them, they do some research only to find that she's a "Succubus" - some sort of evil being sent from Hell to suck the life out of men.

It's a good episode that explores the whole idea of romance stealing a best friend away. However, I hand it to 'South Park' for avoiding it being the best friend who's in trouble. The idea seems all the more threatening when it's your mentor who's in trouble.

What really makes this episode stand out, though, are Chef's parents. If you've ever hear the term "tree-fitty", chances are it came from here. Chef's parents consistently go on about the Loch Ness Monster and his asking for that small amount of change. It's a great episode, and kinda hard to keep off the initial list, but I just found the ones I chose more impactful.

Honorable Mention - Two Guys Naked in a Hot Tub

I might as well mention here that this is probably the only time a 2-3-parter will be separated on the list. The reason being, these episodes don't really connect to each other, save the fact that it's three different perspectives taking place on the night of a meteor shower. I like to simply call it the 'Meteor Shower Trilogy'.

In the first of them, Stan is made to go to a party with his parents. It plays on the idea that when your parents went to a party where you didn't know anyone, you would be forced to hang out with some kids you didn't know/like. Meanwhile, the title gets it's name from Randy Marsh and Gerald Broslovski "experimenting" in the hot tub by masturbating in front of one another. What follows is another good first Randy moment where he's just uncomfortable with Gerald through the whole episode.

This is pretty much the point the audience is officially introduced to Butters and the lesser known Dougie; the duo who would soon become Professor Chaos and General Disarray. Pip is in this one too, and I often considered it a sort of "passing of the torch" from Pip to Butters as the "lovable loser character". It's funny, but nothing spectacular.

Honorable Mention - Cat Orgy

Part 2 of the 'Meteor Shower Trilogy' is one that holds a special place in my heart, and it was actually a bit of a coin-flip between this and 'Jewbilee' for my #5 spot. So make no mistake, this one just missed it by a hair, for reasons I'll explain later.

'Cat Orgy' is another example of something like the 'Clubhouses' episode in that it reminds me of kids just being kids. The concept involves Cartman's mom heading out to the party mentioned in 'Two Guys Naked'. As she heads out, Shelly Marsh comes in to be Cartman's babysitter. I haven't really mentioned Shelly yet, so let me just say she's the portrait of an overly abusive older sister. The idea of her vs Cartman for run of the household lends itself to the unstoppable force meeting the immovable object concept. The results are hilarious, mostly because this is probably the first time Cartman ever gets put in his place.

The namesake of the episode comes from the side story involving Cartman's cat being in heat. She heads out seeking a mate, and comes back with several at a point where the house is empty. The cat orgy scene alone is pretty damn funny, but still pretty lowbrow.

#05 - Jewbilee

The last of the 'Meteor Shower' trilogy makes the list solely based on the fact that it was the only of the three that was truly adventurous. The other two end up being relatively grounded stories, whereas this one pressed some controversial buttons as only 'South Park' can do.

It starts with Kyle getting ready for Jew Scout Camp, when Kenny comes to the door, looking for someone to hang out with that evening. Kenny eventually gets to go with Kyle to the camp. Meanwhile, one of the Scout leaders is intent on resurrecting an evil spirit called Haman to be the new Jewish Leader. As for Moses (the thing from 'Tron' there in the picture), he is to be imprisoned in a conch shell.

On the other side of camp, we have Shlomo, the Squirts leader. This side story follows what Ike's doing, but focuses on Shlomo as a nerdy, cowardly leader who doesn't wanna be there - especially when the Squirts constantly get kidnapped by bears. It's definitely a weird episode, and it plays with the Jewish religion to the point of controversy, but so much of the dialogue here is just laugh out loud hilarious without cutting too deep. Fair warning, may offend some.

#04 - Korn's Groovy Pirate Ghost Mystery

In the third Halloween episode, the cast is joined by Korn. A local radio station ends up sponsoring a "Halloween Haunt", featuring the band. Priest Maxi, however, doesn't like the ideas of Halloween or metal music, so he leads a protest.

The boys end up getting scared by a bunch of fifth-graders at the Halloween Haunt, using "pirate ghosts". In an attempt at revenge, Stan decides it best to dig up Kyle's deceased grandmother to bring back and return the scares.

Meanwhile, Korn poses as pretty much the Scooby-Doo gang. After seeing the pirate ghosts, themselves, they take it upon themselves to solve the mystery of the pirate ghosts. Eventually it becomes members of Korn teamed up with the the South Park boys, which in it of itself is a pretty cool idea for the time. One very important note about this episode is that it's actually where the song 'Falling Away from Me' debuted!

#03 - Are You There God? It's Me, Jesus

In 'South Park's version of a Millennium episode, Cartman kicks things off by informing the boys that he's hit puberty due to having his first "period". This happens to Kenny as well, and deciding he needs to fit in, Kyle lies about it. In actuality, Cartman and Kenny are bleeding from their anuses due to a bad stomach virus. Having not received his "period" yet, Stan is shunned by the other boys and left alone.

Meanwhile, the residents of South Park believe that the new millennium marks a special enough occasion for Jesus to bring his father to Earth. Believing that the Earth isn't ready for his appearance, however, God opts out. This contrasts with Stan praying to God for his period. Both being let down, eventually they both learn the important lesson that if God did everything for them, their life would have no purpose.

I, myself, am agnostic, but the big lesson to be taken away from this is a valuable one nonetheless - we can't rely on any sort of higher power to live our lives for us. We must inevitably face our own problems head on. It's one of the deeper episodes, whether you're religious or not... but, there IS a big reveal as to what God looks like here, so just be ready for the unexpected.

#02 - Chinpokomon

I daresay that if this was any other person's list for the same thing, this would most likely end up at #1. For me, it's damn close. The episode involves the overall popularity of 'Chinpokoon' and obviously farces the impact 'Pokemon' has on kids.

Throughout the episode, the kids collect the Chinpokomon, play the Chinpokomon game, and even end up signing up for a Chinpokomon camp. Being so into it, the boys don't realize they are being brainwashed. They are told that upon becoming true Chinpokomon champions, they will be able to "destroy the evil power". It turns out that Japan actually has a much more sinister scheme up their sleeve, using the boys as brainwashed soldiers.

Being the kid who never got into Pokemon, this one holds a special place in my heart as I often feel like I'm seeing it as an "outsider" of sorts. I relate more to Kyle in the episode who just can't keep up with the ridiculous trend. I love seeing just how brutal the whole brainwashing scheme gets, as I feel like it might as well be that bad in reality. With the invention of 'Pokemon Go', one can even watch this episode again with new appreciation. And I'll be fair, I have also been brainwashed by popular toys... as a matter of fact, LEGO still has it's claws dug into me.

#01 - Rainforest Shmainforest

It's simple, this is just one of my favorite all-time episodes. It might even make my Top 5 episodes as a whole. Certainly Top 10. It's made even more special by the appearance of Jennifer Aniston playing the choir teacher, Ms. Stevens.

When Stevens visits South Park Elementary, she introduces her choir "Getting Gay with Kids" and explains their cause of saving the rainforest. The boys make fun of them, namely Cartman, and as punishment they are sent with the kid's choir to South America to see the rainforest first hand. The whole time, Cartman provides some of the best comic relief we've seen him do up to this point. He and Miss Stevens contrast beautifully - especially when they manage to get themselves lost. To hear Jennifer Aniston's voice say such harsh things to Cartman throughout the episode is nothing short of hilarious. If you get the chance, you MUST watch it uncensored for her big climactic scene.

I have always found this episode to be completely underrated. It's barely ever mentioned when reviewing the entire show, and if it is, it tends to get the push to the back of the line. There have definitely been better episodes before and since, but I highly recommend this one for a good, controversial laugh - again, uncensored it you can manage it, if only for Aniston's "freak out" scene.

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