Top 10 Amazing Small Details In South Park

1997 not only marked the debut of “South Park,” but also a feature film Trey Parker and Matt Stone collaborated on. Following a Mormon missionary who becomes a porn star/superhero, “Orgazmo” certainly earned its NC-17 rating. Although the film bombed financially and critically, Stone and Parker aren’t afraid to embrace it. In the “South Park” pilot, an “Orgazmo” poster can be found on Cartman’s door. Considering Cartman’s love of gross-out comedy, it’s not surprising that he still has the poster on his door in several other episodes. Orgazmo also makes a couple appearances in the form of a trophy, once at an award ceremony with Kathie Lee Gifford and again when the boys win a dodgeball championship. It’s not an Emmy, but it’ll do.

When Cartman lands himself in juvenile hall for chucking a rock at Token, he’s given the prison number 24601. To the average viewer, this might just sound like a random number. Fans of author Victor Hugo and composer Claude-Michel Schönberg, however, will know that Cartman shares the same prison number as Jean Valjean. Where Valjean was arrested for stealing bread, Cartman is far more deserving of being behind bars. Seeing how Parker and Stone would later dominate the Tonys with “The Book of Mormon,” their knowledge of musicals shouldn’t come as a shock. Although Cartman is assigned this number, his uniform actually reads, “26354.” This number is a nod to Rick Deckard’s ID in “Blade Runner,” giving us two references for the price of one.

Throughout this season 3 episode, Cartman channels Will Smith in “Wild Wild West,” mixing gunslinging with rapping. This subplot takes on a whole new meaning when you consider that “Wild Wild West” came out the same day as “South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut.” This episode aired only a couple weeks after the two films hit theaters. Parker and Stone weren’t exactly thrilled that their movie got beaten at the box office by the critically panned western. According to Parker, though, many underage moviegoers bought tickets to the PG-13 “Wild Wild West” and then snuck into the R-rated “South Park” movie. Plus, where “Bigger, Longer & Uncut” received an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song, “Wild Wild West” won a Razzie for Worst Original Song.

“South Park” has made its fair share of “Star Trek” references over the years, but even the most diehard Trekkers probably didn’t pick up on this one. Enraged that his son has joined a boy band, Randy Marsh bashes his head into a china cabinet after screaming, “No! Nooo!” In this brief instance, you might’ve noticed that Randy suddenly sounds less like Trey Parker and more like a certain Starfleet captain. That’s because the audio is apparently taken from Jean-Luc Picard himself, Patrick Stewart. The way Randy smashes the glass is even reminiscent of a similar scene in “Star Trek: First Contact” when Captain Picard loses his temper. That’s cool and all, but it still doesn’t answer how many original “Star Trek” episodes there are.

One of the most famous moments in the entire series sees Timmy and Jimmy face off in a street brawl. What most viewers don’t realize is that the fight is a direct parody of Roddy Piper and Keith David’s smackdown in “They Live.” The angles, dialog, and fight choreography are recreated almost to a T. Even the setup is similar, except Jimmy wants Timmy to put on a hat instead of sunglasses. This wouldn’t be the last time “South Park” borrowed from a movie to stage a fight. When Cartman and Wendy duke it out in the “Breast Cancer Show Ever” episode, it’s executed in a manner just like the final fight from “Snatch.” Upon delivering the final blow, Wendy also mimics Daniel Plainview’s famous final line in “The Will Be Blood.”

Where some animated shows like “The Simpsons” have a special guest star virtually every week, “South Park” mostly sticks to its principal cast. In the rare case “South Park” books a big name, the creators usually saddle them with an absurdly small part. Jerry Seinfeld once asked if he could voice a character but backed out; they asked him to play a random turkey. George Clooney, however, agreed to voice Sparky the dog in one episode, even though the character just barks. Jay Leno signed on to voice Mr. Kitty in another episode, but only got to make cat noises. Although these were throwaway roles, Leno did previously voice himself in a special short while Clooney later voiced Dr. Gouache in the “South Park” movie.

Since Kenny’s coat muffles almost everything he says, you wouldn’t think much thought goes into his dialogue, but Kenny’s lines are in fact scripted. That being said, chances are most of them wouldn’t make it past the censors if they weren’t incomprehensible. He is perhaps at his most profane in the intro song. While the lyrics Kenny sings have changed throughout the seasons, there’s always something insanely dirty coming out of his mouth. Kenny’s lines are so graphic that we’re not going to repeat them here. Let’s just say that over the years, Kenny has talked about his preference of the female form, the size of his primary sex organ, and what he’d like to do with Britney Spears.

Disney has Hidden Mickeys; “South Park” has hidden aliens. The Visitors first appear in the pilot episode, “Cartman Gets an Anal Probe.” Since then, these aliens have popped up in more than 75 episodes, although you’d need a pause button to catch them all. Occasionally an alien image will appear on a poster, picture, or everyday items like money. Other times, an alien can be seen amidst a large crowd of people. Random aliens have also been found casually hanging out in the background from time to time. Some aliens are so elusive that they blend right into the background, as if they’re camouflaging. Seeing how Earth is an intergalactic reality show, it makes sense that there’d be a few aliens working on location.

Before “Ralph Breaks the Internet” or “Ready Player One,” “South Park” had the ultimate clash of fictional characters in the “Imaginationland” trilogy. In this image alone, you can spot Optimus Prime, Count Chocula, Ronald McDonald, the Blue Meanies, a Care Bear, and Raggedy Ann and Andy. Now just imagine that attention to detail spread throughout three whole episodes! The 200th and 201st episodes were also huge ensemble pieces, reuniting virtually every celebrity the show has ever mocked, from Martha Stewart to Jared Fogle. Both episodes are full of callbacks as well, including Tom Cruise getting easily offended, Muhammad not being able to make public appearances, and Scott Tenorman’s connection to Cartman. Speaking of which, Tenorman’s Chili Con-Carnival is totally inspired by the Joker’s “The Killing Joke.”

Before we get to our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions:

Trey Parker & Matt Stone’s Band: DVDA
“Clubhouses”

“South Park” Lost the Oscar to Phil Collins
“Timmy 2000”

One of Us
“Butters' Very Own Episode”

A Virus
“Cancelled”

Trey Parker & Matt Stone Were in “BASEketball”
“The Passion of the Jew”

“South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut” is basically one giant middle finger to the Motion Picture Association of America. In Parker and Stone’s eyes, it doesn’t make any sense that a movie full of senseless violence can get away with a PG-13 rating as long as it doesn’t have too many four-letter words. “Bigger, Longer & Uncut” went through a lengthy fight with the MPAA to secure an R rating. Apparently the film would’ve been rated NC-17 had it featured 400 swear words or more. So, just to push the envelope to the edge of what the MPAA considers “bad taste,” the “South Park” movie packed in 399 swear words, 146 of which were f-bombs. We wonder if the MPAA considers “Barbra Streisand” a profanity?