Top 5 - South Park Season 8

9/22/2017

Honorable Mention - Woodland Critter Christmas

Let's just get this out of the way right away; I always kinda found this episode to be on the overrated side. I'm not saying it isn't still a good episode, but to say it's the best of the Christmas episodes feels like a bit much. It seems to be a pretty common disconnect I have from other 'South Park' fans, so take my opinion with a grain of salt.

The premise plays like some classic animated Christmas special, complete with rhyming narration. Stan comes across a group of woodland critters, all with meant-to-be unoriginal names like "Rabbity the Rabbit" and "Deery the Deer". They first ask Stan for help to put a star on their Christmas tree, to which he obliges. Later that night, they come to Stan's room and explain that Porcupiney the Porcupine is pregnant with their savior. Being that it's a sort of Mary and Joseph situation, Stan helps them out with what they need. I don't wanna give away too much for anyone who may not have seen it, but the rest of the episode is all about twists and turns, and truth be told, it IS rather well-executed.

It comes down to personal taste for me, however. There's a lot about this episode I find funny and smart, but there's a lot of it I find cruel as well. This is opinion is generally followed by an "it's meant to be cruel", and that's honestly fair. Considering the biggest twist of the episode, I really can't argue that point. The truth of the matter is, I can't explain why I find this one so incredibly harsh when an episode like 'Scott Tenorman Must Die' made one of my Top 5's without spoiling the episode altogether. Anyway, it IS one of their strongest episodes despite what I think, so it deserves acknowledgement at least.

Honorable Mention - Douche and Turd

During a pep rally, the South Park Elementary School mascot gets protested against by PETA, due to it being a cow. PETA demans that South Park change their school's image. Disappointed with their choices, Kyle and Cartman come up with opposing ideas for joke candidates but disagree on whether it be a giant douche or a turd sandwich; a gag that would later be repeated with Season 20's portrayal of Clinton vs Trump.

Stan, however, is distraught on his options once it boils down to voting for a douche or a turd. He is pursued by the masses though, as there's a misunderstanding that Stan might not understand the importance of voting. The truth is, Stan thinks it is important, but between a douche and a turd, it seems ridiculous. This whole premise is punctuated with the fact that people end up pressuring Stan to vote for the candidate they want.

There's a lot of laughs to this episode, and I always kinda found myself lumped in with Stan when it comes to politics. It's not that I don't care, but when it comes to picking the "lesser of two evils", it does tend to be a hard thing to have to accept. That said, I DO vote based on personal opinion, so no lectures necessary.

Honorable Mention - Awesome O

This one almost made the list, as it's a pretty classic episode that centers on the duo of Cartman and Butters. This time around, though, Cartman totally gets his, and it's pretty entertaining to watch it all unfold.

Cartman shows up at Butters' hosue disguised as a robot named AWESOME O,, claiming to help him out, be his friend and listen to his secrets. Butters reveals a lot of personal stuff, but just as Cartman is about to reveal himself, Butters mentions that he knows one of Cartman's most embarrassing secrets. Cartman asks about it, and Butters reveals that he has video footage of him dancing around, dressed up like Britney Spears, teasing a life-size cutout of Justin Timberlake. He intends to use it the next time Cartman decides to humiliate him. With this, Cartman realizes it'll get out upon his reveal, so he decides it best to keep the act up. The problem is, Butters believes he's his robot friend, and really doesn't let him out of his sight. It goes from Cartman having to sleep beside him, to Cartman starving and dying of thirst because, as a robot, he "doesn't have to eat", to Cartman having to go on vacation with him.

It's just one of those entertaining situations that gets worse and worse as it goes on. I love Butters' naivety in this episode, as it's sort of what helps move the story along. Meanwhile, as much as I enjoy Cartman, there IS something to be said about watching him suffer for once. The beautiful thing is how it ends, which I won't spoil completely, but it's just another reason for me to route for Butters.

#05 - The Jeffersons

Some may not agree with my decision to go with this episode, as it involves Michael Jackson, just a few years before his death. This was mainly triggered by the infamous MTV interview in which it's more or less revealed that Michael was, in a word, odd. BUT that's kinda what I do enjoy about it.

A father and son move into the neighborhood who call themselves the Jeffersons. The boys greet a boy named Blanket at the door upon heading over to see who has moved in. Blanket wears a paper mask to hide his face, and explains that they moved to South Park to escape city life. Mr. Jefferson (obviously Michael with a mustache) greets them as well, and takes them to the back yard where it looks like one big, fun carnival. The boys have a good time, but all the while Stan and Kyle realize that Mr. Jefferson is completely neglecting his son while he has fun, himself. Cartman being his selfish self fails to notice the same, and figures this to be pretty much heaven on Earth.

It's an episode that totally pokes fun at Michael in all his weird glory, but it manages to tackle the issue of Michael being sorta selfish, himself. He shows love to his son, but he still wants to have fun, himself, because he missed out on childhood. A very valid point is brought up by Kyle at the end of the episode as well, and though it pokes fun at Michael, it doesn't REALLY make him a villain when it's all said and done, so much as a guy with a lesson to learn. Frankly, I'm just damn glad they didn't focus on his child molestation charges AGAIN.

#04 - Goobacks

In the year 3045, Earth becomes overpopulated and overcome with poverty. As a result, a man is sent back to present day (2004 at the time) to look for work. The idea is that the money he makes can be stashed in the bank and gain interest so that by the time his time comes around, the family will be well off.

Because this works very well, several other future immigrants come to town seeking work. Due to their willingness to work for super cheap, they are given jobs very easily, laying many people off. This of course leads to the famous 'South Park' associated phrase "They took our jobs!" as it gets funnier and funnier with every mention. Nothing beats the time Stan says it though. One of the best moments from this season in my opinion.

The episode serves as a pretty funny satire of illegal immigration, and the desperate ways we go about keeping our jobs. It clearly makes light of both sides of the argument, and it's a great example of the parents of South park getting stupidly out of hand. In case you wonder what a "Gooback" is, it's essentially the racist term for the future people, who always seem to enter the present through a portal that leaves them with a purple gooey substance stuck to them.

#03 - Something Wall-Mart This Way Comes

This whole episode serves as a farce on Wal-Mart's overwhelming power over us as a cheap retail company. When a Wall-Mart (in the episode it's 2 L's) is erected in South Park, the townspeople flock there to check out their bargains. Of course, Wall-Mart's bargains are so good that some of the local stores end up shutting down because they can't do business anymore.

Eventually, several townspeople even end up working for Wall-Mart for a 10% discount on their already cheap products. This includes Randy Marsh, who is by far the best part of this episode. He ends up being so incredibly helpless against Wall-Mart's power that things get really melodramatic with him. It's easily one of my favorite Randy episodes. Anyway, soon, South Park becomes a sort of ghost town, and due to it's power, the townspeople decide they don't want it there anymore, burn it down, and see it pop back up again overnight.

Eventually, Stan, Kyle and Kenny decide to do what they can to stop Wall-Mart. Meanwhile, of course, Cartman plots against them, attempting to do what he can to protect the Wall-Mart. It's a really fun episode made for just about anyone who has worked in retail, especially if they have been a part of Wal-Mart at some point (I'd imagine).

#02 - The Passion of the Jew

While the boys are playing 'Star Trek' in a minivan, Cartman and Kyle get into an argument about Kyle's Jewish heritage. As a result, Cartman dares Kyle to watch 'The Passion of the Christ', as it would prove to him that "everyone hates the Jews". Kyle sees it, becomes mortified, and it terrorizes his thoughts to the point where Kyle asks his synagogue about apologizing for crucifying Jesus. Angered, the members of the synagogue head to protest the movie.

Meanwhile, Cartman forms a fan club for the portion of people who loved the controversial film. The people, of course, think they're part of something important that spreads the awareness of Christ dying for our sins. Cartman, on the other hand, takes this as an opportunity to lead them, going full Hitler against the Jewish community. And yeah, this is Cartman, so it gets pretty rough. In fact, it's referenced in future episodes about as much as references to 'Scott Tenorman Must Die'.

But then there's my favorite part of the episode, Stan and Kenny checking the movie out. They claim it sucks, want a refund, and dub it a "snuff film". They make up about half of the episode, as they venture out as far as Mel Gibson's house to get their money back. Mel Gibson, himself, makes for one hell of a highlight in the episode as well. It's clever, it's risky, and in the end, the punchline is pretty damn funny.

#01 - Good Times With Weapons

This episode would most likely end up making my Top 5 of all time, I love it so much. At a county fair, the boys come across a booth selling authentic weapons from the far east. They want to purchase them, but are told they have to be 18 years old, at least, to buy them. They quickly make up a brutal sob story, though, and the booth owner gives in.

The boys have a great time playing Ninjas (which would be AWESOME to see as the theme for the third 'South Park' game if they make one) but tell Butters he can't join them. Feeling rejected, Butters dawns his alter-ego, Professor Chaos and acts as a villain to the other boys. That is until Kenny ends up throwing a shuriken (ninja star) directly into his eye. This is still one of the best laugh out loud 'South Park Moments' in my opinion, it still gets me every time. The rest of the episode plays as part ninja adventure, part emergency cover up situation. They even try to take Butters to the vet after the incident, dressed up as a dog, so as not to get in trouble by their parents.

As you can tell by the corresponding picture, much of it is done in an anime style as well. And yes, once again, this is a "kids being kids" episode, which make up most of my personal favorites. I think perhaps the highlight of the episode is when the boys get into a fight, and some really badly "translated" song lyrics cue up. The song is very short, but it's called 'Lets Fighting Love', and I'm quite sure it can be YouTubed.

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