The ‘South Park’ episodes Trey Parker calls “terrible”
Recognised as one of the longest-running animated TV shows of all time, South Park has become a staple of modern culture, consistently lampooning every major talking point, both trivial and world-changing. Created by friends Trey Parker and Matt Stone in 1997, the show has enjoyed 26 series and well over 300 episodes, treating fans to endless tales about the eccentric adventures of school chums Cartman, Kenny, Stan and Kyle.
Whilst seasons five to eleven of the show are considered the ‘gold standard’ by fans across the world, the show remains beloved to this very day, even if the tone and content have been altered. Where the show previously relied on creating stories that existed within the world of South Park, Colorado, more recently, Parker and Stone have taken more inspiration from real-life events, finding a way to talk about the 2016 Presidential Election and the Covid-19 pandemic.
The change proved divisive, though, in the long run, it has simply shown just how versatile Parker and Stone are as filmmakers and creatives, adapting to their own new tastes. Many still consider the likes of such episodes as ‘Woodland Critter Christmas’, ‘Make Love, Not Warcraft’, and ‘AWESOM-O’ to be the best of the bunch, and the creators agree themselves, naming two of these among their favourite instalments of the series.
Vocal in their reflection on the series, the pair named the aforementioned trio among some of their favourite episodes, but they also did the opposite, naming a few that they would rather forget about forever.
Among the dishonourable pack were such episodes as ‘Chef Goes Nanners’, ‘South Park Is Gay’ and ‘Stanley’s Cup’, but none compared to a group of instalments they despised. “If I had to permanently erase anything from the library, it would basically be anything before season four,” Parker told The Hollywood Reporter, “It’s just embarrassing to watch. OK, we were, like, 26, 27. But it’s like, ‘Really? We thought that was funny? We thought that was well-written? Oh my God, this is terrible’”.
Whilst Parker is undoubtedly making reference to the comedy of the early series, which is even more puerile than the show is known for, it’s also likely that he isn’t fond of the rudimentary art style. When South Park first started in 1997, cutouts were used to make the pilot episode, but, contrary to popular belief, whilst the style stayed the same, only the first instalment ever used this DIY animation technique.
Take a look at the pilot episode of South Park below.
