.gif)
South Park (season 1)
Encyclopedia
The first season of the American animated television series South Park
initially ran for 13 episodes on the US network Comedy Central
, from August 13, 1997 to February 25, 1998. The creators of the series, Trey Parker
and Matt Stone
, wrote and directed most of the season's episodes, while Dan Sterling
, Philip Stark
, Pam Brady
, and David A. Goodman
served as writers for some episodes as well. The narrative
of the show revolves around four children—Stan Marsh
, Kyle Broflovski
, Eric Cartman
and Kenny McCormick
—and their bizarre experiences in the titular mountain town.
South Park originated from Parker and Stone's 1992 animated short
, Jesus vs. Frosty. The low-budget, crudely-made film featured prototypes of South Parks main characters. Fox
executive Brian Graden
saw the film and in 1995 commissioned Parker and Stone to create a second short film, which became Jesus vs. Santa. This short more closely resembled what would become the style of South Park. It became popular and was widely shared over the Internet. This led to talks to create a series, first with Fox, then with Comedy Central
, where the series debuted on August 13, 1997. Comedy Central originally ordered only six episodes of South Park for the first season's initial run. However, when the show proved to be a success, it requested an additional seven, which Parker and Stone had to produce quickly. The show was released on DVD in November 2002 in region 1
, and in October 2007 in region 2 and 4.
The first season was a ratings success for Comedy Central. Its Nielsen rating
s rose from 1.3 for the first episode to 6.4 by the tenth episode. Several episodes received award nominations, including nominations for a 1998 Emmy Award
in the "Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour)
" and a GLAAD Award
in the "Outstanding TV – Individual Episode" category for the episode "Big Gay Al's Big Gay Boat Ride
". During the season, South Park won a CableACE Award
for "Best Animated Series", and was nominated for a 1998 Annie Award
in the "Outstanding Achievement in an Animated Primetime or Late Night Television Program". Critics gave the season mixed reviews, from rating it so offensive that it "shouldn't have been made" and "it doesn't just push the envelope; it knocks it off the table," to "coming pretty damn close" to being a "perfect" television series season.
{| class="wikitable" style="width: 100%; margin-right: 0;"
|-
! style="background: #787370; color: #ffffff;"| №
! style="background: #787370; color: #ffffff;"| #
! style="background: #787370; color: #ffffff;"| Title
! style="background: #787370; color: #ffffff;"| Directed by
! style="background: #787370; color: #ffffff;"| Written by
! style="background: #787370; color: #ffffff;"| Original air date
|-
|}
. Meeting in film class, they discussed filming a three-minute short film involving a boy who befriended a talking feces named Mr. Hankey. Although the Mr. Hankey short was never made, Parker and Stone created two Christmas-related animated shorts called Jesus vs. Frosty and Jesus vs. Santa, which served as precursors to the South Park series. The low-budget, crudely-made Jesus vs. Frosty film featured prototypes of the main characters of South Park, including Cartman
, Stan
, and Kyle
. Fox Broadcasting Company
executive Brian Graden
saw the film and in 1995 commissioned Parker and Stone to create a second short film that he could send to his friends as a video Christmas card. This was titled Jesus vs. Santa and it resembled the style of the later series more closely.
The video became popular and was widely copied and shared over the Internet. When the shorts began to generate interest for a possible television series, Parker and Stone conceived the idea of a South Park-like show with four child characters, but with a talking stool named Mr. Hankey as the show's main protagonist; they planned to call it The Mr. Hankey Show. They pitched the idea to Graden, but he rejected it and said, according to Stone, "I'm not putting poo on my network." Parker and Stone adapted their original idea into a show revolving around four children in the South Park Town, dropping Mr. Hankey as a protagonist. However, they planned to revive the character in a minor supporting role in a future episode. Later, when Comedy Central
expressed interest in the series, Parker and Stone brought up the idea of a Mr. Hankey episode during negotiations with network executives. During a meeting, Parker claimed to have asked "One thing we have to know before we really go any further: how do you feel about talking poo?" The Comedy Central executives were receptive to the idea, which Parker stated to be one of the main reasons he and Stone decided to sign on with the channel. The first episode of the series, "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe", debuted on Comedy Central on August 13, 1997, while Mr. Hankey debuted in the tenth episode, "Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo".
Scholar Stephen Groening later commented that the show appeared as part of a reaction to the culture war
s of the 1980s and 1990s in the United States, in which issues such as Murphy Brown
's motherhood, Tinky Winky's sexuality, and The Simpsons
' family values were extensively debated. The culture wars, and political correctness
in particular, were driven by the belief that relativism
was becoming more relevant to daily life. Groening explained that South Park "made a name for itself as rude, crude, vulgar, offensive, and potentially dangerous". Its critics argued that the Stan, Kyle, Cartman, and Kenny were poor role models for children while its supporters celebrated the show's defense of free speech.
The pilot episode, "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe", received poor results from test audiences. Parker later acknowledged that he and Stone felt pressure to live up to their previous two shorts, and as a result, "tried to push things ... maybe further than we should". He said that later episodes focused more on making fun of topics considered taboo "without just throwing a bunch of dirty words in there". Based on the poor test audience results, Comedy Central executives were unsure whether they wanted to order any additional episodes after "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe". However, when Internet buzz began to generate about the two original shorts, the network paid Parker and Stone to write one more episode, but opted not to commit to a full Comedy Central series until after reading the script. The resulting script was "Weight Gain 4000", which Parker and Stone wrote while they were working on their 1997 comedy-action film, Orgazmo
. In writing the script, the duo sought to give Comedy Central executives an idea of how the series would be and how each episode could differ from the others. The network liked the script and agreed to commit to a series when Parker and Stone said they would not write another individual episode script until they signed off on a season of at least six episodes.
Comedy Central originally ordered only these six episodes for the first season's initial run, but when the show proved to be a success, they requested an additional seven, which Parker and Stone had to produce quickly. "Pinkeye", the first new episode to be produced, was aired on October 29, 1997, two and a half months after the show's premiere. Parker and Stone made three holiday episodes ("Pinkeye", "Starvin' Marvin" and "Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo") that aired over the course of three months. The remaining four episodes aired later, in February 1998.
"Cartman Gets an Anal Probe" was the only episode animated completely with traditional cut paper
, stop-motion animation techniques. Almost all subsequent episodes were fully computer-animated using Power Animator or Maya
. By the animation of the eighth episode, "Damien", much of the drawing and animation responsibilities that had been initially handled by Parker and Stone, were now being delegated to a team of animators. Parker and Stone credit "Big Gay Al's Big Gay Boat Ride" with helping elevate the series during the early part of the season, and felt that "Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo", the show's first official Christmas special, raised South Park to a new level of popularity and relevance. Parker said of it: "This was the episode that just vaulted everything."
' s first season was a ratings success for Comedy Central. The show's first episode, "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe", earned a Nielsen rating of 1.3, translating to 980,000 viewers, which was considered high for a cable program
in the United States at the time. It increased slightly by the third episode, "Volcano", and by the sixth episode, "Death", the show had reached a 1.7 rating. The ratings continued to rise rapidly from the seventh episode on, each one earning a 3.8 ("Pinkeye"), 4.8 ("Starvin' Marvin'"), 5.4 ("Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo"), 6.4 ("Damien"), and 6.9 ("Mecha-Streisand") respectively. This corresponded to an increase to 5.4 million viewers in 3.2 million households. The season finale, "Cartman's Mom is a Dirty Slut" received a Nielsen rating in the 8.0 range, as well as over 300,000 viewers when first aired in Canada in August 1998.
Despite high ratings, reviews from television critics for the season were mixed. "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe", the first episode of the series, received generally negative reviews after airing. L. Brent Bozell, founder and then-president of the Parents Television Council
, gave an unfavorable review of the episode, stating: "South Park is so offensive that it shouldn't have been made. It doesn't just push the envelope; it knocks it off the table." Bruce Fretts of Entertainment Weekly
thought poorly of the writing and characters, stating that "If only the kids' jokes were as fresh as their mouths" and "It might help if the South Park kids had personalities, but they're as one-dimensional as the show's cut-and-paste animation". Calling the series "sophomoric, gross, and unfunny," Hal Boedeker of the Orlando Sentinel
believed that the episode "makes such a bad impression that it's hard to get on the show's strange wavelength".
When "Weight Gain 4000" aired, many writers in the mainstream media were still debating the longevity and the overall quality of South Park. With the series still in its earliest stages, the episode continued to shock many due to the characters frequent use of profanities. Nevertheless, several reviewers felt "Weight Gain 4000" was a significant improvement over "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe", and felt it went in a much more satirical direction. Several media outlets described the fifth episode of the season, "An Elephant Makes Love to a Pig
", as one of the most popular early South Park episodes. Tom Carson of Newsday
said it was the most outrageous South Park episode until "Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo" aired three months later. Many reviewers also said the mere title demonstrated the crudeness and originality of South Park.
Years later, Jeremy Conrad of IGN
wrote in a DVD review that he thinks it is rare when a television season is "perfect", but "the first season of South Park comes pretty damn close. Almost every single episode in this three-disc set is a classic and each is still funny as hell even after so many viewings over the years."
South Park became one of the first television series to be bootlegged via the Internet, just as The Spirit of Christmas did before it. College students digitized many episodes from the first season and streamed them online for friends who were unable to receive Comedy Central, due to its unavailability at the time.
in 1998 in the "Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour)
" category, but lost to the The Simpsons
episode "Trash of the Titans
". The same episode was also nominated for a GLAAD Award
in the "Outstanding TV – Individual Episode" category, but lost to another The Simpsons episode "Homer's Phobia
". "Volcano", the season's third episode, was nominated for an Environmental Media Award in the "TV Episodic Comedy" category. However, the eventual recipient of the award was the The Simpsons episode "The Old Man & the Lisa".
During the series first season, South Park won a CableACE Award
for "Best Animated Series", and was nominated for an Annie Award
in the "Outstanding Achievement in an Animated Primetime or Late Night Television Program" category. In 1998, the two creators of the show, Matt Stone and Trey Parker won the "NOVA Award" given by the Producers Guild of America
for the most promising producers in television.
Six first season episodes were released in a three-VHS set on May 5, 1998, marking the first time South Park was made available on video. The set included "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe", "Weight Gain 4000", "Volcano", "Big Gay Al's Big Gay Boat Ride", "An Elephant Makes Love to a Pig" and "Death". The first DVD releases came later that year, when the first twelve episodes were released by Warner Home Video
on October 27 on the compilation collections South Park, Volume 1, Volume 2, and Volume 3. The last episode of the season, "Cartman's Mom Is a Dirty Slut", was released on the South Park, Volume 4 on December 14, 1999.
South Park – The Complete First Season was originally released by Warner Home Video, as a three-disc region
1 DVD box set in the USA on November 12, 2002, and received an MA rating. The season was re-released on June 27, 2004 along with the re-releases of the second
and third season
by Paramount Home Entertainment
. As well as every episode from the season, the DVD release features bonus material including episode introductions for every episode, two Christmas carols by Eric Cartman and Ned, a short clip featuring Jay Leno
, and another one in which the four boys present at the 1997 CableACE Awards. Commentaries for each episode were initially produced by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, but when the two found out that the commentaries were to be edited, they requested the commentaries to be pulled off altogether. Instead, the commentaries were released unedited byComedy Central on a set of five CDs. South Park: Complete Series 1 was released on October 4, 2007 in region 4, and on October 22, 2007 in region 2, and received a 15 rating. "Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo" was released again on November 13, 2007, on the compilation DVD Christmas Time in South Park.
The distribution licenses for six episodes of the South Park' s first season ("Volcano", "An Elephant Makes Love to a Pig", "Pinkeye", "Damien", "Starvin' Marvin", and "Mecha-Streisand") were purchased in 2000 by the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
-based company and website SightSound.com. The site made the episodes available for download $2.50 for a two-day copy, and $4.95 for a permanent copy. It was one of the first experiments with downloadable television videos, thus making South Park one of the first shows legally obtainable on the Internet. In March 2008, Comedy Central made the first season's episodes as well as almost all the other South Park episodes available for legal streaming
from within the United States on the South Park Studios website, and later from within Canada, and the United Kingdom.
South Park
South Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
initially ran for 13 episodes on the US network Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
, from August 13, 1997 to February 25, 1998. The creators of the series, Trey Parker
Trey Parker
Trey Parker is an American animator, screenwriter, director, producer, voice artist, musician and actor, best known for being the co-creator of the television series South Park along with his creative partner and best friend Matt Stone.Parker started his film career in 1992, making a holiday short...
and Matt Stone
Matt Stone
Matthew Richard "Matt" Stone is an American screenwriter, producer, voice artist, musician and actor, best known for being the co-creator of South Park along with creative partner and best friend, Trey Parker....
, wrote and directed most of the season's episodes, while Dan Sterling
Dan Sterling
Dan Sterling is an American television producer and writer who has worked on many successful television shows, including King of the Hill, Kitchen Confidential, The Daily Show, South Park and The Sarah Silverman Program....
, Philip Stark
Philip Stark
Philip Stark is an American television and film screenwriter. A native of Houston, Texas, Stark graduated with a degree in Radio-Television-Film from The University of Texas at Austin in 1995....
, Pam Brady
Pam Brady
Pam Brady is an American writer and television producer, best known for her work with Trey Parker and Matt Stone.-Career:Pam Brady first met Parker, Stone and Jason McHugh while working under Brian Graden at 20th Century Fox. Brady suggested that the two make a weekly version of their student film...
, and David A. Goodman
David A. Goodman
David A. Goodman is an American writer and producer and a graduate of the University of Chicago, earning an BA in 1984. He was one of the executive producers of Family Guy, beginning its fourth season, joining the show as a co-executive producer in season three...
served as writers for some episodes as well. The narrative
Narrative
A narrative is a constructive format that describes a sequence of non-fictional or fictional events. The word derives from the Latin verb narrare, "to recount", and is related to the adjective gnarus, "knowing" or "skilled"...
of the show revolves around four children—Stan Marsh
Stan Marsh
Stanley Randall "Stan" Marsh is a fictional character in the animated television series South Park. He is voiced by and loosely based on series co-creator Trey Parker. Stan is one of the show's four central characters, along with his friends Kyle Broflovski, Kenny McCormick, and Eric Cartman...
, Kyle Broflovski
Kyle Broflovski
Kyle Broflovski is a fictional character in the animated television series South Park. He is voiced by co-creator Matt Stone. Kyle is one of the show's four central characters, along with his friends Stan Marsh, Kenny McCormick, and Eric Cartman...
, Eric Cartman
Eric Cartman
Eric Theodore Cartman is a fictional character in the American animated television series South Park. One of four main characters, along with Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, and Kenny McCormick, he is generally referred to within the series by his last name...
and Kenny McCormick
Kenny McCormick
Kenneth "Kenny" McCormick is a fictional character in the animated television series South Park. He is one of the four central characters along with his friends Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, and Eric Cartman. His oft-muffled and indiscernible speech—the result of his parka hood covering his...
—and their bizarre experiences in the titular mountain town.
South Park originated from Parker and Stone's 1992 animated short
Short subject
A short film is any film not long enough to be considered a feature film. No consensus exists as to where that boundary is drawn: the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all...
, Jesus vs. Frosty. The low-budget, crudely-made film featured prototypes of South Parks main characters. Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
executive Brian Graden
Brian Graden
-Biography:Graden grew up in Illinois and graduated from Hillsboro High School in 1981. He graduated from Oral Roberts University in 1985 with a degree in business, and later graduated with an MBA from Harvard University....
saw the film and in 1995 commissioned Parker and Stone to create a second short film, which became Jesus vs. Santa. This short more closely resembled what would become the style of South Park. It became popular and was widely shared over the Internet. This led to talks to create a series, first with Fox, then with Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
, where the series debuted on August 13, 1997. Comedy Central originally ordered only six episodes of South Park for the first season's initial run. However, when the show proved to be a success, it requested an additional seven, which Parker and Stone had to produce quickly. The show was released on DVD in November 2002 in region 1
DVD region code
DVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region...
, and in October 2007 in region 2 and 4.
The first season was a ratings success for Comedy Central. Its Nielsen rating
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
s rose from 1.3 for the first episode to 6.4 by the tenth episode. Several episodes received award nominations, including nominations for a 1998 Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
in the "Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour)
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming less than One Hour)
The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program is a Creative Arts Emmy Award which is given annually to an animated series which is judged to have been the best...
" and a GLAAD Award
GLAAD Media Awards
The GLAAD Media Award is an accolade bestowed by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation to recognize and honor various branches of the media for their outstanding representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and the issues that affect their lives...
in the "Outstanding TV – Individual Episode" category for the episode "Big Gay Al's Big Gay Boat Ride
Big Gay Al's Big Gay Boat Ride
"Big Gay Al's Big Gay Boat Ride" is the fourth episode of the first season of the animated television series South Park. It originally aired on September 3, 1997 on Comedy Central in the United States. The episode was written by series co-founders Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and directed by Parker...
". During the season, South Park won a CableACE Award
CableACE Award
The CableACE Award was an award that was given from 1978 to 1997 to honor excellence in American cable television programming...
for "Best Animated Series", and was nominated for a 1998 Annie Award
Annie Award
The Annie Awards have been presented by the Los Angeles, California branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood since 1972...
in the "Outstanding Achievement in an Animated Primetime or Late Night Television Program". Critics gave the season mixed reviews, from rating it so offensive that it "shouldn't have been made" and "it doesn't just push the envelope; it knocks it off the table," to "coming pretty damn close" to being a "perfect" television series season.
Episodes
|-
! style="background: #787370; color: #ffffff;"| №
! style="background: #787370; color: #ffffff;"| #
! style="background: #787370; color: #ffffff;"| Title
! style="background: #787370; color: #ffffff;"| Directed by
! style="background: #787370; color: #ffffff;"| Written by
! style="background: #787370; color: #ffffff;"| Original air date
|-
|}
Development
The idea for South Park originated in 1992 when creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone were students at the University of ColoradoUniversity of Colorado at Boulder
The University of Colorado Boulder is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado...
. Meeting in film class, they discussed filming a three-minute short film involving a boy who befriended a talking feces named Mr. Hankey. Although the Mr. Hankey short was never made, Parker and Stone created two Christmas-related animated shorts called Jesus vs. Frosty and Jesus vs. Santa, which served as precursors to the South Park series. The low-budget, crudely-made Jesus vs. Frosty film featured prototypes of the main characters of South Park, including Cartman
Eric Cartman
Eric Theodore Cartman is a fictional character in the American animated television series South Park. One of four main characters, along with Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, and Kenny McCormick, he is generally referred to within the series by his last name...
, Stan
Stan Marsh
Stanley Randall "Stan" Marsh is a fictional character in the animated television series South Park. He is voiced by and loosely based on series co-creator Trey Parker. Stan is one of the show's four central characters, along with his friends Kyle Broflovski, Kenny McCormick, and Eric Cartman...
, and Kyle
Kyle Broflovski
Kyle Broflovski is a fictional character in the animated television series South Park. He is voiced by co-creator Matt Stone. Kyle is one of the show's four central characters, along with his friends Stan Marsh, Kenny McCormick, and Eric Cartman...
. Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
executive Brian Graden
Brian Graden
-Biography:Graden grew up in Illinois and graduated from Hillsboro High School in 1981. He graduated from Oral Roberts University in 1985 with a degree in business, and later graduated with an MBA from Harvard University....
saw the film and in 1995 commissioned Parker and Stone to create a second short film that he could send to his friends as a video Christmas card. This was titled Jesus vs. Santa and it resembled the style of the later series more closely.
The video became popular and was widely copied and shared over the Internet. When the shorts began to generate interest for a possible television series, Parker and Stone conceived the idea of a South Park-like show with four child characters, but with a talking stool named Mr. Hankey as the show's main protagonist; they planned to call it The Mr. Hankey Show. They pitched the idea to Graden, but he rejected it and said, according to Stone, "I'm not putting poo on my network." Parker and Stone adapted their original idea into a show revolving around four children in the South Park Town, dropping Mr. Hankey as a protagonist. However, they planned to revive the character in a minor supporting role in a future episode. Later, when Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
expressed interest in the series, Parker and Stone brought up the idea of a Mr. Hankey episode during negotiations with network executives. During a meeting, Parker claimed to have asked "One thing we have to know before we really go any further: how do you feel about talking poo?" The Comedy Central executives were receptive to the idea, which Parker stated to be one of the main reasons he and Stone decided to sign on with the channel. The first episode of the series, "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe", debuted on Comedy Central on August 13, 1997, while Mr. Hankey debuted in the tenth episode, "Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo".
Scholar Stephen Groening later commented that the show appeared as part of a reaction to the culture war
Culture war
The culture war in American usage is a metaphor used to claim that political conflict is based on sets of conflicting cultural values. The term frequently implies a conflict between those values considered traditionalist or conservative and those considered progressive or liberal...
s of the 1980s and 1990s in the United States, in which issues such as Murphy Brown
Murphy Brown
Murphy Brown is an American situation comedy which aired on CBS from November 14, 1988, to May 18, 1998, for a total of 247 episodes. The program starred Candice Bergen as the eponymous Murphy Brown, a famous investigative journalist and news anchor for FYI, a fictional CBS television...
's motherhood, Tinky Winky's sexuality, and The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
Political correctness
Political correctness is a term which denotes language, ideas, policies, and behavior seen as seeking to minimize social and institutional offense in occupational, gender, racial, cultural, sexual orientation, certain other religions, beliefs or ideologies, disability, and age-related contexts,...
in particular, were driven by the belief that relativism
Relativism
Relativism is the concept that points of view have no absolute truth or validity, having only relative, subjective value according to differences in perception and consideration....
was becoming more relevant to daily life. Groening explained that South Park "made a name for itself as rude, crude, vulgar, offensive, and potentially dangerous". Its critics argued that the Stan, Kyle, Cartman, and Kenny were poor role models for children while its supporters celebrated the show's defense of free speech.
Orgazmo
Orgazmo is a 1997 comedy film written by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the creators of the animated series South Park, and directed by Parker.-Plot:...
. In writing the script, the duo sought to give Comedy Central executives an idea of how the series would be and how each episode could differ from the others. The network liked the script and agreed to commit to a series when Parker and Stone said they would not write another individual episode script until they signed off on a season of at least six episodes.
Comedy Central originally ordered only these six episodes for the first season's initial run, but when the show proved to be a success, they requested an additional seven, which Parker and Stone had to produce quickly. "Pinkeye", the first new episode to be produced, was aired on October 29, 1997, two and a half months after the show's premiere. Parker and Stone made three holiday episodes ("Pinkeye", "Starvin' Marvin" and "Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo") that aired over the course of three months. The remaining four episodes aired later, in February 1998.
"Cartman Gets an Anal Probe" was the only episode animated completely with traditional cut paper
Cutout animation
Cutout animation is a technique for producing animations using flat characters, props and backgrounds cut from materials such as paper, card, stiff fabric or even photographs...
, stop-motion animation techniques. Almost all subsequent episodes were fully computer-animated using Power Animator or Maya
Maya (software)
Autodesk Maya , commonly shortened to Maya, is 3D computer graphics software that runs on Microsoft Windows, Mac OS and Linux, originally developed by Alias Systems Corporation and currently owned and developed by Autodesk, Inc. It is used to create interactive 3D applications, including video...
. By the animation of the eighth episode, "Damien", much of the drawing and animation responsibilities that had been initially handled by Parker and Stone, were now being delegated to a team of animators. Parker and Stone credit "Big Gay Al's Big Gay Boat Ride" with helping elevate the series during the early part of the season, and felt that "Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo", the show's first official Christmas special, raised South Park to a new level of popularity and relevance. Parker said of it: "This was the episode that just vaulted everything."
Reception
South ParkCable television in the United States
Cable television in the United States is a common form of television delivery, generally by subscription. Cable television first became available in the United States in 1948, with subscription services in 1949. Data by SNL Kagan shows that as of 2006 about 58.4% of all American homes subscribe to...
in the United States at the time. It increased slightly by the third episode, "Volcano", and by the sixth episode, "Death", the show had reached a 1.7 rating. The ratings continued to rise rapidly from the seventh episode on, each one earning a 3.8 ("Pinkeye"), 4.8 ("Starvin' Marvin'"), 5.4 ("Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo"), 6.4 ("Damien"), and 6.9 ("Mecha-Streisand") respectively. This corresponded to an increase to 5.4 million viewers in 3.2 million households. The season finale, "Cartman's Mom is a Dirty Slut" received a Nielsen rating in the 8.0 range, as well as over 300,000 viewers when first aired in Canada in August 1998.
Despite high ratings, reviews from television critics for the season were mixed. "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe", the first episode of the series, received generally negative reviews after airing. L. Brent Bozell, founder and then-president of the Parents Television Council
Parents Television Council
The Parents Television Council is a U.S. based advocacy group founded by conservative activist L. Brent Bozell III in 1995 using the National Legion of Decency as a model...
, gave an unfavorable review of the episode, stating: "South Park is so offensive that it shouldn't have been made. It doesn't just push the envelope; it knocks it off the table." Bruce Fretts of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
thought poorly of the writing and characters, stating that "If only the kids' jokes were as fresh as their mouths" and "It might help if the South Park kids had personalities, but they're as one-dimensional as the show's cut-and-paste animation". Calling the series "sophomoric, gross, and unfunny," Hal Boedeker of the Orlando Sentinel
Orlando Sentinel
The Orlando Sentinel is the primary newspaper of the Orlando, Florida region. It was founded in 1876. The Sentinel is owned by Tribune Company and is overseen by the Chicago Tribune. As of 2005, the Sentinel’s president and publisher was Kathleen Waltz; she announced her resignation in February 2008...
believed that the episode "makes such a bad impression that it's hard to get on the show's strange wavelength".
When "Weight Gain 4000" aired, many writers in the mainstream media were still debating the longevity and the overall quality of South Park. With the series still in its earliest stages, the episode continued to shock many due to the characters frequent use of profanities. Nevertheless, several reviewers felt "Weight Gain 4000" was a significant improvement over "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe", and felt it went in a much more satirical direction. Several media outlets described the fifth episode of the season, "An Elephant Makes Love to a Pig
An Elephant Makes Love to a Pig
"An Elephant Makes Love to a Pig" is the fifth episode of the first season of the animated television series South Park. It originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on September 10, 1997. In the episode, the boys of South Park try to force Kyle's pet elephant Biff to crossbreed with...
", as one of the most popular early South Park episodes. Tom Carson of Newsday
Newsday
Newsday is a daily American newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties and the New York City borough of Queens on Long Island, although it is sold throughout the New York metropolitan area...
said it was the most outrageous South Park episode until "Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo" aired three months later. Many reviewers also said the mere title demonstrated the crudeness and originality of South Park.
Years later, Jeremy Conrad of IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
wrote in a DVD review that he thinks it is rare when a television season is "perfect", but "the first season of South Park comes pretty damn close. Almost every single episode in this three-disc set is a classic and each is still funny as hell even after so many viewings over the years."
South Park became one of the first television series to be bootlegged via the Internet, just as The Spirit of Christmas did before it. College students digitized many episodes from the first season and streamed them online for friends who were unable to receive Comedy Central, due to its unavailability at the time.
Awards
Some episodes of the first season received nominations for several entertainment awards. The season's fourth episode, "Big Gay Al's Big Gay Boat Ride", was nominated for an Emmy AwardEmmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
in 1998 in the "Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour)
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming less than One Hour)
The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program is a Creative Arts Emmy Award which is given annually to an animated series which is judged to have been the best...
" category, but lost to the The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
episode "Trash of the Titans
Trash of the Titans
"Trash of the Titans" is the 22nd episode of The Simpsons ninth season and the 200th overall. It originally aired on the Fox network on April 26, 1998...
". The same episode was also nominated for a GLAAD Award
GLAAD Media Awards
The GLAAD Media Award is an accolade bestowed by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation to recognize and honor various branches of the media for their outstanding representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and the issues that affect their lives...
in the "Outstanding TV – Individual Episode" category, but lost to another The Simpsons episode "Homer's Phobia
Homer's Phobia
"Homer's Phobia" is the fifteenth episode of the eighth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 16, 1997. In the episode, Homer dissociates himself from new family friend John after discovering that John is gay...
". "Volcano", the season's third episode, was nominated for an Environmental Media Award in the "TV Episodic Comedy" category. However, the eventual recipient of the award was the The Simpsons episode "The Old Man & the Lisa".
During the series first season, South Park won a CableACE Award
CableACE Award
The CableACE Award was an award that was given from 1978 to 1997 to honor excellence in American cable television programming...
for "Best Animated Series", and was nominated for an Annie Award
Annie Award
The Annie Awards have been presented by the Los Angeles, California branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood since 1972...
in the "Outstanding Achievement in an Animated Primetime or Late Night Television Program" category. In 1998, the two creators of the show, Matt Stone and Trey Parker won the "NOVA Award" given by the Producers Guild of America
Producers Guild of America
Producers Guild of America is a trade organization representing television producers, film producers and New Media producers in the United States. The PGA's membership includes over 4,700 members of the producing establishment worldwide...
for the most promising producers in television.
Media release
| South Park – The Complete First Season | ||
| DVD Set Details | ||
|
||
| Special Features | ||
|
O Holy Night "O Holy Night" is a well-known Christmas carol composed by Adolphe Adam in 1847 to the French poem "Minuit, chrétiens" by Placide Cappeau , a wine merchant and poet, who had been asked by a parish priest to write a Christmas poem... " video The Tonight Show with Jay Leno The Tonight Show with Jay Leno is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that initially aired from May 25, 1992 to May 29, 2009, and resumed production on March 1, 2010. The fourth incarnation of the Tonight Show franchise made its debut on May 25, 1992, three days following Johnny... CableACE Award The CableACE Award was an award that was given from 1978 to 1997 to honor excellence in American cable television programming... s |
||
| Release Dates | ||
| Region 1 DVD region code DVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region... |
Region 2 DVD region code DVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region... |
Region 4 DVD region code DVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region... |
| November 12, 2002 | October 22, 2007 | October 4, 2007 |
Six first season episodes were released in a three-VHS set on May 5, 1998, marking the first time South Park was made available on video. The set included "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe", "Weight Gain 4000", "Volcano", "Big Gay Al's Big Gay Boat Ride", "An Elephant Makes Love to a Pig" and "Death". The first DVD releases came later that year, when the first twelve episodes were released by Warner Home Video
Warner Home Video
Warner Home Video is the home video unit of Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., itself part of Time Warner. It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Video . The company launched in the United States with twenty films on VHS and Betamax videocassettes in late 1979...
on October 27 on the compilation collections South Park, Volume 1, Volume 2, and Volume 3. The last episode of the season, "Cartman's Mom Is a Dirty Slut", was released on the South Park, Volume 4 on December 14, 1999.
South Park – The Complete First Season was originally released by Warner Home Video, as a three-disc region
DVD region code
DVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region...
1 DVD box set in the USA on November 12, 2002, and received an MA rating. The season was re-released on June 27, 2004 along with the re-releases of the second
South Park (season 2)
Season two of South Park, an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, began airing on April 1, 1998. The second season concluded after 18 episodes on January 20, 1999...
and third season
South Park (season 3)
Season Three of South Park, an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, began airing on April 7, 1999. The third season concluded after 17 episodes on January 12, 2000.- Episodes :-External links:...
by Paramount Home Entertainment
Paramount Home Entertainment
Paramount Home Entertainment is the division of Paramount Pictures dealing with home video founded in late 1975.-History:...
. As well as every episode from the season, the DVD release features bonus material including episode introductions for every episode, two Christmas carols by Eric Cartman and Ned, a short clip featuring Jay Leno
Jay Leno
James Douglas Muir "Jay" Leno is an American stand-up comedian and television host.From 1992 to 2009, Leno was the host of NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Beginning in September 2009, Leno started a primetime talk show, titled The Jay Leno Show, which aired weeknights at 10:00 p.m. ,...
, and another one in which the four boys present at the 1997 CableACE Awards. Commentaries for each episode were initially produced by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, but when the two found out that the commentaries were to be edited, they requested the commentaries to be pulled off altogether. Instead, the commentaries were released unedited byComedy Central on a set of five CDs. South Park: Complete Series 1 was released on October 4, 2007 in region 4, and on October 22, 2007 in region 2, and received a 15 rating. "Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo" was released again on November 13, 2007, on the compilation DVD Christmas Time in South Park.
The distribution licenses for six episodes of the South Park
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
-based company and website SightSound.com. The site made the episodes available for download $2.50 for a two-day copy, and $4.95 for a permanent copy. It was one of the first experiments with downloadable television videos, thus making South Park one of the first shows legally obtainable on the Internet. In March 2008, Comedy Central made the first season's episodes as well as almost all the other South Park episodes available for legal streaming
Streaming media
Streaming media is multimedia that is constantly received by and presented to an end-user while being delivered by a streaming provider.The term "presented" is used in this article in a general sense that includes audio or video playback. The name refers to the delivery method of the medium rather...
from within the United States on the South Park Studios website, and later from within Canada, and the United Kingdom.
External links
- South Park Studios – official website with streaming video of full episodes.
- The Comedy Network – full episodes for Canada