South Park: Ranking Every Season From Worst To Best

4. Season 5 (2001)

When audiences and critics look back upon South Park fifty years from now and a new generation of fans begins watching the show on whatever new-fangled devices exist in 2065, there's only one place for the discussion to start, and that's with Scott Tenorman Must Die.

Until he had Scott Tenorman's parents chopped up, made into chili, and fed to him, Cartman was just a pathetic little bigoted jerk, more apt to be the butt of the other boys' jokes than to pose any serious threat to someone's life. But planning a double murder to exact revenge for being tricked out of $16.12 crossed a Rubicon. Today's Cartman, the most manipulative character on television and South Park's beating heart, doesn't exist without Scott Tenorman Must Die, which makes it the most important episode of the entire series.

Aside from the show's most iconic episode, Season 5 contains a number of other very important developments. One of these is the introduction of Jimmy Valmer in Cripple Fight. More memorably, though, Parker and Stone kill off Kenny for "real" and set the stage for his replacement by Butters. Doing so makes for an unexpectedly emotional episode of the show, the first real indication that it could handle serious topics with some actual gravitas instead of just mocking the ideas of death, love, and tragedy.

With Kenny gone, the stage is set for Butters' rise with Butters' Very Own Episode - his first exclusive feature and an outstanding dive into his character. With the best episode in series history backed by strong emotional moments, great new characters, and a high floor of quality, Season 5 ranks as one of South Park's best.

Best Episode: Scott Tenorman Must Die

Worst Episode: How to Eat With Your Butt