"Big Gay Al's Big Gay Boat Ride", the fourth episode in the season, takes on homosexuality. One of my favorite things about South Park is that there is no sacred cows and this episode is the start of taking on very taboo topics. I was extremely young when this episode came out so I can't say how controversial it was back then, but I can relate it to today's issues regarding Gay Marriage but I digress. "Big Gay Al's Big Gay Boat Ride" was interesting, funny, and just nice to watch.
The plot centers around Stan and his dog, Sparky. This episode begins with Stan presenting to Kyle, Kenny, and Cartman his new dog Sparky (George Clooney). Stan boasts that Sparky is the toughest dog on the mountain because of what breed Sparky is, but Cartman contests and says Sylvester, a homeless, wild dog is tougher. We discover Sparky's sexual orientation when the boys antagonize the dogs to fight. Sparky literally "kicks ass" and that lays the groundwork for the episode. In the meantime Stan is also tasked with defeating an arch-rival, Middle Park Elementary in a football game that has them losing to a +70 point spread. Cue Jimbo and Ned to help add more heat to the fire as they boast about how good Stan is and end up placing huge bets that South Park will beat the +70 spread, hilariously, everyone else places high bets that South Park will beat the spread; this prompts Jimbo and Ned to find a back-up plan that involves the Middle Park mascot, a bomb, Richard Stamos, and "Loving You". Meanwhile we get Stan trying to figure out what is wrong with his dog. Considering Sharon, Stan's mom hasn't been introduced into the show yet, Stan can't go to her, but instead goes to the next best thing, his teach, Mr. Garrison. Stan asks Mr. Garrison about homosexuality and Mr. Garrison's response was absolutely hilarious. Mr. Garrison tells Stan that gay people are evil and starts listing off absolutely horrendous attributes of gay people. Stan is increasingly taking his mind off of the football game and now tries to ask Jesus about homosexuality and when Jesus tries to answer he gets cut off right before his answer. After this Stan starts getting depressed as he doesn't want a gay dog; sadly, Sparky, is outside listening to Kyle and Stan talk and decides to run away and ends up at Big Gay Al's Big Gay Animal Sanctuary. Stan discovers his dog ran away and decides he won't attend the football game but goes to find his dog. Stan stumbles upon the Animal Sanctuary and finds Sparky but still doesn't understand that being gay isn't a choice so Big Gay Al shows Stan the history of gay people and eventually comes to terms that he can't change his dog and accepts Sparky for who he is. Better yet, he returns to the football game, beats the spread, and leads everyone to find their long-lost pets. Hilariously, Richard Stamos kills a horse at the end after hitting a High-F that he couldn't hit before.
Overall, this episode was a great beginning to the South Park "soapbox" that handles political, social, and civil issues. I found this episode fun, intelligent, and still hilarious with some dialogue like "That dog is a gay homosexual." Overall, this episode earns a solid 9 out of 10.
New Characters Introduced: Big Gay Al, Jesus, Pip, Sparky Times Kenny Died: 1 Total Times Kenny Died in Series So Far: 4
The plot centers around Stan and his dog, Sparky. This episode begins with Stan presenting to Kyle, Kenny, and Cartman his new dog Sparky (George Clooney). Stan boasts that Sparky is the toughest dog on the mountain because of what breed Sparky is, but Cartman contests and says Sylvester, a homeless, wild dog is tougher. We discover Sparky's sexual orientation when the boys antagonize the dogs to fight. Sparky literally "kicks ass" and that lays the groundwork for the episode. In the meantime Stan is also tasked with defeating an arch-rival, Middle Park Elementary in a football game that has them losing to a +70 point spread. Cue Jimbo and Ned to help add more heat to the fire as they boast about how good Stan is and end up placing huge bets that South Park will beat the +70 spread, hilariously, everyone else places high bets that South Park will beat the spread; this prompts Jimbo and Ned to find a back-up plan that involves the Middle Park mascot, a bomb, Richard Stamos, and "Loving You". Meanwhile we get Stan trying to figure out what is wrong with his dog. Considering Sharon, Stan's mom hasn't been introduced into the show yet, Stan can't go to her, but instead goes to the next best thing, his teach, Mr. Garrison. Stan asks Mr. Garrison about homosexuality and Mr. Garrison's response was absolutely hilarious. Mr. Garrison tells Stan that gay people are evil and starts listing off absolutely horrendous attributes of gay people. Stan is increasingly taking his mind off of the football game and now tries to ask Jesus about homosexuality and when Jesus tries to answer he gets cut off right before his answer. After this Stan starts getting depressed as he doesn't want a gay dog; sadly, Sparky, is outside listening to Kyle and Stan talk and decides to run away and ends up at Big Gay Al's Big Gay Animal Sanctuary. Stan discovers his dog ran away and decides he won't attend the football game but goes to find his dog. Stan stumbles upon the Animal Sanctuary and finds Sparky but still doesn't understand that being gay isn't a choice so Big Gay Al shows Stan the history of gay people and eventually comes to terms that he can't change his dog and accepts Sparky for who he is. Better yet, he returns to the football game, beats the spread, and leads everyone to find their long-lost pets. Hilariously, Richard Stamos kills a horse at the end after hitting a High-F that he couldn't hit before.
Overall, this episode was a great beginning to the South Park "soapbox" that handles political, social, and civil issues. I found this episode fun, intelligent, and still hilarious with some dialogue like "That dog is a gay homosexual." Overall, this episode earns a solid 9 out of 10.
New Characters Introduced: Big Gay Al, Jesus, Pip, Sparky Times Kenny Died: 1 Total Times Kenny Died in Series So Far: 4
