Written by Nicole Elsasser

I took great efforts to resist South Park for years. My perception of the show was that is was a lowest-common-denominator cartoon filled with nothing but bathroom humour and common topical references akin to Family Guy. This was not appealing to me in the slightest and so I steered clear. That is until one day recently when I begrudgingly decided to take a quick peek at what all the fuss was about. To make sure I gave the show its due, I turned to my most South Park enthusiastic co-worker for some advice on how to get into a show with an overwhelming 13 seasons under its belt. He explained that South Park is, contrary to my perception, a very smart show. But he said to be won over, I should avoid the earlier seasons, which provide more of the bathroom humour I was trying to avoid. He suggested starting in the most recent season and heading backward which is precisely what I did. It wasn’t long until I was totally smitten with South Park and realized that rather than a handful of homogonous obnoxious children, the characters were well developed and even charming. And so, if you too would like to get into South Park, here is a selection five top-notch episodes to ease the skeptics into the show.

Casa Bonita (Season 7)
Kyle is having his birthday at a Mexican themed restaurant and amusement park and chooses to invite Butters instead of Cartmen. This episode showcases not only how adorable Butters is, but also the true nature of Cartmen’s deplorable character, which is an important detail to understand about the show.

Man Bear Pig (Season 10)
In this episode Al Gore is feeling sorry for himself when nobody responds to his message of the dreaded Man Bear Pig, a horrible beast that he believes to be an imminent threat. The boys feel sorry for him and indulge the ex vice president but end up finding themselves in a sticky situation as a result.

The Losing Edge (Season 9)
Randy, Stan’s father plays the most prominent role of all the South Park adults and this episode not only shows his character off really well but also displays the relationship between adults and children that is particularly funny throughout the show.

Trapped in the Closet (Season 9)
In this episode South Park takes on yet another religion; something they are known for doing with hilarious results. Specifically this time they focus their attention on scientology. This episode’s other highlight is a storyline where Tom Cruise, John Travolta and R Kelly refuse to come out of Stan’s closet.

Whale Whores (Season 13)
This is one of the more political episodes but really shows South Park’s ability to be topical while being very clever. This episode plays off of issues raised in the documentary The Cove and depicts Japanese people rampaging through the world murdering whales and dolphins. The boys set out to stop these atrocities but find out that the Japanese have a surprising motive behind their actions.