South Park isn't just a crudely animated, potty-mouthed, politically incorrect and insanely funny series that takes shots at celebrities and politics. It is also a wellspring of pop-culture satire that regularly lampoons science fiction, fantasy and supernatural movies, TV shows, games, etc., with a keen eye.
Series creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone know their sci-fi. We picked the top seven South Park sci-fi moments, based on creativity, astute satire and downright belly laughs.
1. "Imaginationland". In a three-part epic, terrorists attack the land of imagination in a thinly veiled political metaphor. Imaginationland is populated by every fantasy creature from films, books and even the Bible. Freeze any frame and look around to see which of your favorite characters are in the background: Orcs, Mogwai, Luke Skywalker, Aslan and many more. Where else could you see Woodland Critters rape Stargate's Kurt Russell and Wario join Jason Voorhees and Freddy Krueger to terrorize Strawberry Shortcake?
2. "The Return of the Fellowship of the Rings to The Two Towers." When the boys' tape of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring gets switched with their parents' porno, Backdoor Sluts 9, they form their own fellowship to return it to the video store (named Two Towers). This spoof of Rings got everything right, from Butters' becoming Gollum after viewing "the one videotape" to Jimmy's shouting, "You shall not pass!" at a horde of sixth-graders pursuing the fellowship. Even Rings director Peter Jackson loved this.
3. Kenny's Halloween Costume. In the Halloween episode "Korn's Groovy Pirate Ghost Mystery," featuring guest stars Korn, the boys solve a supernatural mystery Scooby-Doo style. The show-stopping scene has Kenny dressed as RoboCop's nemesis, ED-209, complete with clunky robotic biped walk. Of course, he loses the costume contest to Wendy in her Chewbacca costume, a running joke from the previous year's Halloween special.
4. Cartman Gets an Anal Probe. Man, no matter how far South Park evolves past its vulgar basics, the show is still all about Cartman's butt. In the series' premiere episode, Cartman gets abducted by Communion-esque aliens who probe him from behind. The rotund rageaholic spends the rest of the episode farting fire and ultimately launches a satellite from his ass. Oh, the subtleties of intellectual humour.
5. Lesbian 300. When Mrs. Garrison (the sex-changed Mr. Garrison) seeks solace with the women at the bar Les Bos (get it?), he/she defends them against Persian developers who want to renovate it. Complete with slow-motion and rock music, the lesbians act out the movie 300, with perhaps the most disturbing resolution between Garrison and Xerxes.
6. Scientology Video. In "Trapped in the Closet. South Park exposes the Church of Scientology with a complete animated portrayal of the religion's supposed alien mythology. Tom Cruise hides in Stan's closet (get it?), while the boys learn about Xenu and Thetans. All the while, text flashes onscreen: "This is what Scientologists actually believe!" This spoof caused Scientologist Isaac Hayes, who voices Chef, to leave the show. To be fair, the episode "The Return of Chef" makes fun of the "Trapped in the Closet" episode by explaining the origin of Chef's Super Adventure Club with the text: "This is what Super Adventure Club Actually Believes!"
7. Timmy's Time Machine. In the episode "Fourth Grade," the boys wish to travel back in time to third grade, where everything was better. Two Star Trek fans help them build a time machine out of Timmy's wheelchair, debating the exact number of original series episodes along the way. (Can you believe one of them actually thinks there were only 72?) Meanwhile, the fourth-grade teacher goes through training with a Yoda-like Mr. Garrison to face her bratty new class.
-Fred Topel
