South Park (season 1)

South Park
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	5
Release
Original network	Comedy Central
Original release	August 13, 1997 – February 25, 1998
Season chronology
Next → Season 2
List of South Park episodes

The first season of South Park, an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, aired on Comedy Central in the United States between August 13, 1997, and February 25, 1998, consisting of 13 episodes.

Episodes

No. in series	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date[1]	Production code	U.S. viewers (million)
1a	1a	"Cartman Gets an Anal Probe"	Trey Parker[2]	Trey Parker & Matt Stone	August 13, 1997 (1997-08-13)	101	0.98[3]
Cartman tells his friends Stan, Kyle, and Kenny he dreamt about being abducted by aliens. The boys realize that this did actually happen when Kyle's baby brother Ike is abducted also. They manage to rescue Ike while the aliens conclude that cows are the most intelligent species on the planet.
1b	1b	"Weight Gain 4000"	Trey Parker & Matt Stone	Trey Parker & Matt Stone	August 20, 1997 (1997-08-20)	102	N/A
The town prepares for an event involving Kathie Lee Gifford presenting an award to Cartman. He tries to lose weight but instead, becomes even more obese from a body gaining supplement called Weight Gain 4000. Meanwhile the boy's teacher, Mr. Garrison, attempts to assassinate Gifford.
1c	1c	"Volcano"	Trey Parker & Matt Stone	Trey Parker & Matt Stone	August 27, 1997 (1997-08-27)	103	1.0[3]
Stan's uncle Jimbo and his friend Ned take the four boys on a hunting trip in the mountains. Stan's father, a geologist, discovers that the mountain is a volcano about to erupt and convinces the townspeople to dig a trench for diverting the lava.
2a	2a	"Big Gay Al's Big Gay Boat Ride"	Trey Parker[4]	Trey Parker & Matt Stone[4]	September 3, 1997 (1997-09-03)	104	N/A
Stan's new, gay dog runs away and finds the town's most flamboyant, gayest man, Big Gay Al. South Park Cows lose a football game against a rival team as Jimbo and Ned fail to sabotage the game.
2b	2b	"An Elephant Makes Love to a Pig"	(uncredited)	Trey Parker, Matt Stone & Dan Sterling	September 10, 1997 (1997-09-10)	105	N/A
The boys try to breed a pig with an elephant and look for Dr. Alphonse Mephesto's help. Instead, Dr. Mephisto creates a clone of Stan that terrorizes the town.
2c	2c	"Death"	Matt Stone	Trey Parker & Matt Stone	September 17, 1997 (1997-09-17)	106	1.3[3]
Stan's grandfather attempts suicide and tries to enlist the boy's help. Kyle's mother organizes a boycott against the boys' favorite television series Terrence and Phillip in protest of its toilet humor.
3a	3a	"Pinkeye"	Trey Parker & Matt Stone	Trey Parker, Matt Stone & Philip Stark	October 29, 1997 (1997-10-29)	107	2.7[5]
Kenny is killed by the Mir space station and becomes a zombie. This goes unnoticed as he is thought to have dressed up for Halloween. The citizens who get bitten become zombies but instead are diagnosed with pinkeye.
3b	3b	"Starvin' Marvin"	Trey Parker	Trey Parker	November 19, 1997 (1997-11-19)	109	2.2[6]
A starving Ethiopian child is accidentally sent to South Park. Cartman is sent back to Ethiopia instead, while mutant turkeys assault the town.
3c	3c	"Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo"	Trey Parker & Matt Stone	Trey Parker	December 17, 1997 (1997-12-17)	110	4.5[7]
As a Jew, Kyle feels excluded from the rest of the town during Christmas and is comforted by Mr. Hankey, a talking, singing feces. Kyle's mom protests the school's Christmas play leading to the removal of all religious aspects of Christmas from the entire town.
4a	4a	"Damien"	Trey Parker	Trey Parker & Matt Stone	February 4, 1998 (1998-02-04)	108	5.1[8][9]
A new student arranges a boxing match between Satan and Jesus. The South Park residents bet on Satan due to his enormous size and muscular physique, but Satan throws the fight and wins everybody's money after having bet on Jesus.
4b	4b	"Tom's Rhinoplasty"	(uncredited)	Trey Parker	February 11, 1998 (1998-02-11)	111	4.1[10]
Mr. Garrison gets a rhinoplasty and quits teaching to become a model. Stan develops a crush on the substitute teacher, but she is discovered to be an Iraqi fugitive and is kidnapped by insurgents.
4c	4c	"Mecha-Streisand"	Trey Parker	Trey Parker, Philip Stark & Matt Stone	February 18, 1998 (1998-02-18)	112	5.4[11]
Mr. Garrison takes his class on an archaeological dig where Cartman finds a mysterious triangle. Barbra Streisand steals this triangle and becomes Mecha-Streisand, a giant robot that wreaks havoc upon the town.
5	5	"Cartman's Mom Is a Dirty Slut"	Trey Parker	Trey Parker & David R. Goodman	February 25, 1998 (1998-02-25)	113	6.4[12]
Cartman attempts to find his real father only to find that his mother slept with just about every man in town. Aided by Stan and Kyle, he manages to raise the money for a paternity DNA test after sending a video to America's Stupidest Home Videos.

References

1. "South Park Full Episode Guides from Season 1 on COMEDY CENTRAL". TV Guide. Retrieved February 2, 2012.
2. Littlefield, Kinney (February 1, 1998). "South Park is a Far-out Place to Play". AAP Newsfeed. LexisNexis. (subscription required)
3. Johnson-Woods, Toni (2007). Blame Canada!: South Park And Popular Culture. New York, New York: Continuum International Publishing Group. pp. 6–8. ISBN 0-8264-1730-2.
4. "Primetime Emmy Awards nominations for 1998 – Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming One Hour or Less)". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved January 24, 2012.
5. Pergament, Alan (November 5, 1997). "A High Point for Murphy Brown and Big Sweeps Premiere for Ch. 49". The Buffalo News. Buffalo, New York. Archived from the original on November 11, 2013. Retrieved May 9, 2015.
6. Duffy, Mike (December 16, 1997). "Rudeness rules! Comedy Central hit South Park is smarter than it looks". Detroit Free Press. p. 1D.
7. Houston, David (December 22, 1997). "South Park". City News Service. Los Angeles.
8. "Comedy Central's "Mecha-Streisand" Episode of South Park Breaks Its Own Ratings Record by a Nose With a 6.9 HH Rating Beating ABC". New York, New York: Business Wire. February 20, 1998.
9. McCabe, Janet; Akass, Kim (2007). Quality TV: Contemporary American Television and Beyond. I. B. Tauris. p. 91. ISBN 978-1-84511-511-1.
10. Freeman, Michael; Cooper, Jim (February 16, 1998). "Drawing in viewers; animation is breaking out around the dial as networks seek younger audiences". Mediaweek. Archived from the original on November 11, 2013. Retrieved May 9, 2015.
11. Kushman, Rick (February 25, 1998). "Goin' South". The Sacramento Bee. p. F1.
12. "The growth of trash TV concerns media watchers". The Augusta Chronicle. May 5, 1998. Retrieved January 17, 2012.

Other websites

• South Park Studios – official website with streaming video of full episodes