They’re often the smartest people in a reactionary town frequently visited by vapid celebrities. (Of course, the episode’s title, “Cartman Gets an Anal Probe,” also signaled much of what was to come.) The children are our eyes into the bizarre, titular Colorado town, which series creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone use to dissect the world we live in. In the nearly 23 years since that pilot debuted on Comedy Central in August 1997, 306 additional episodes of South Park have aired, most blending the pure and profane in a way foreshadowed by that opening minute. But it doesn’t stop them from throwing the word around.
The boys-with the possible exception of Kenny, who’s muffled by his trademark orange hood-have no answers. They’re interrupted by Kyle’s brother Ike, whom Cartman calls a dildo.
After the brief theme song performed by Primus and a gonzo credit sequence, we’re introduced to four crudely animated third-graders-Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Kenny McCormick, and, of course, the demagogue child-tyrant Eric Cartman-as they sing “School Days,” an innocent song from 1907 about an older couple looking back on their youth. It’s all there in the opening scene of the first episode of South Park.
