South Park: Ranking Every Season From Worst To Best

2. Season 1 (1997)

In a historical scope, Season 1 of South Park has to rank near the top based solely on the show's freshness. Its ability to combine kids' innocent bathroom jokes, pop culture references, and cutting societal criticism into coherent episodes of television was something that had never been seen before, and really hasn't been seen since.

Those first thirteen episodes have a certain blithe energy tied not only to the idea of developing the boys' characters, but also to the fact that they were the nearly exclusive focus of the show. While Mr. Garrison and Chef are vital adult voices from the beginning, it's Stan, Kyle, Cartman, and Kenny who carry the stories and bring to the table the clear-headed child's reasoning that keys South Park's ability to slice to the heart of social and political issues. Uncorrupted by an excess of characters and the overdramatic plots that would get old a decade later, Season 1 still represents South Park's essence.

The episodes themselves are superb, with no duds among them. Out of the group, the sheer audacity of Mr. Hankey the Christmas Poo best represents the spirit of South Park, with its infectious musical numbers, absurdist take on religion, and depiction of societal coddling that is still so relevant. And as would be the case in all subsequent seasons, the characters are far more important than the plots: Garrison's masquerading as David Hasselhoff in Tom's Rhinoplasty, Jesus' decorum in fighting Satan in Damien, and Sheila Broflovski's maniacal leadership in Death are some of the highlights. Big Gay Al singlehandedly put South Park on the broader cultural map as a paragon of amoral progressivism.

Season 1 shows South Park in its infancy, the birth of a burning star. Parker and Stone would be chasing it for a long time before finally topping it.

Best Episode: Mr. Hankey the Christmas Poo

Worst Episode: Starvin' Marvin