Big Gay Al's Big Gay Boat Ride
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| Season | s01 |
| Episode | e04 |
| Written By | Trey Parker |
| Production Code | 0104 |
| Original Air Date | 1997-09-03 |
Episode Chronology
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Story
When Stan discovers his new dog Sparky is gay, he becomes so confused he loses his will to play in the big Homecoming Football game against North Park.
Description
Stan gets a new dog named Sparky, who turns out to be gay. Frustrated, he wishes out loud for a butch pet. Sparky overhears and runs away.
The distraction couldn't come at a worse time, because Stan quarterbacks the school football team, the South Park Cows, who are about to play the Middle Park Cowboys. Jimbo bets that the boys can beat the game's absurd 72-point spread, and everyone in the town follows suit. They vow to make Jimbo pay if he steers them wrong.
Jimbo and Ned decide to improve the odds. Learning that John Stamos' brother, Richard, will sing "Lovin' You" at halftime, they wire the opposing team's mascot, a horse named Enrique, with a bomb that's set to explode when Richard hits the song's high F note.
Stan ditches the game to look for Sparky. On the edge of town he meets Big Gay Al, proprietor of Big Gay Al's Big Gay Animal Sanctuary, where Sparky now lives. Big Gay Al takes Stan for a voyage on Big Gay Al's Big Gay Boat Ride -- an excursion into the history of gayness. Stan accepts Sparky just as he is, and they return to town together.
Meanwhile, back at the game, South Park is getting pummeled. At halftime Richard Stamos sings, but he fails to hit the fateful high F note and the bomb on Enrique doesn't detonate. Suddenly Stan and Sparky appear. Stan takes the field and lofts the ball to Kyle, who scores a touchdown as the clock runs out. The final score is 73 to 6 -- South Park beats the spread.
Stan leads the townspeople to Big Gay Al's Big Gay Animal Sanctuary, only to find it gone. However the pets are still there, and they joyously reunite with their former owners. Stan finally spots Big Gay Al, who thanks him for helping find homes for his charges. Then he steps into a suitcase, closes it and rockets off into space. Then Enrique finally explodes.
What I Learned Today
"It's OK to be gay! Being gay is just a part of nature and a beautiful thing!"
Memorable Quotes
- "Stan's dog's a homo!" (Eric Cartman)
- "I'm super, thanks for asking!" (Big Gay Al)
- "Oh my! I haven't seen a Jew run like that since Poland, 1938!" (Sports Announcer)
- "Football is like making love to a really beautiful woman. You can't always score, but when you do, it makes all the trying worthwhile." (Chef)
- "We treat star athletes better because they're better people." (Mr. Garrison)
- "You know what they say, 'you can't teach a gay dog straight tricks.'" (Chef)
Characters
Kyle Broflovski
Eric Cartman
Kenny McCormick
Clyde Donovan
Jerome "Chef" McElroy
Herbert Garrison
Ned Gerblansky
Character Debuts
Stan's homosexual dog Sparky is introduced along with Big Gay Al. We also meet Bill Allen and Fosse McDonald, the boys' classmates who like to call things gay.
Finally we can see Jesus Christ on his show Jesus and Pals.
Fosse McDonald
Jesus Christ
Body Count
Kenny McCormick
Locations
Middle Park Elementary
Original Songs
- Gay is Okay!
- Lovin' the football
- Now You're a Man! (DVDA)
Behind The Scenes
Where Did The Idea Come From
Trey and Matt wanted to write about a boy trying to convince his dog not to be homosexual. The episode explores and promotes tolerance of homosexuality, pushing the boundaries of conservative attitudes toward homosexuality at the time. Trey and Matt credit this episode and "Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo" for elevating South Park's credibility early on with their moral themes.
Pop Culture References
Shout Outs
Sparky is voiced by George Clooney.
Big Gay Al's Big Gay Boat Ride is a parody of the ride It's a Small World, the popular attraction in several Disneyland theme parks. Both are water rides that feature animatronic dolls of different ethnicities dancing and singing. An animatronic version of Brian Boitano can be seen gaily ice skating.
Big Gay Al's peculiar departure at the end of the episode is an homage to a scene from the movie Seven Faces of Dr. Lao.
Even though the assignment was on "Asian Cultures", Cartman gives a presentation on the 1980's detective show Simon and Simon, saying "And so you see, Simon and Simon weren't brothers in real life. Only on television." He gets a D-.
Stan wishes his dog Sparky would be "a Rin Tin Tin". Rin Tin Tin was a German Shepherd who starred in multiple Hollywood film in the '20s and '30s and gained international fame.
Pwn'd
John Stamos' older brother, Richard. Though he probably doesn't count, because Matt and Trey made him up.
Hugh Grant. When Pip who isn't equipped with a helmet gets pummeled during the game, one of the announcers says, "I haven't seen an Englishman take a blow like that since Hugh Grant."
Bonus Factoids
- This is the first episode in South Park that centers around the topic of homosexuality and it certainly isn't the last.
- This episode was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program. "Big Gay Al's Big Gay Boat Ride" was also nominated in the Outstanding TV - Individual Episode category for the 1998 GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) Media Awards. Lastly, this episode was submitted when South Park won a CableACE Award for Outstanding Animated Series.
- Mr. Garrison is called out for being gay for the first time. Chef mentions how "he, of all people, should be accepting towards gays," sighting his overt gay tendencies. Garrison denies it as he will continue to do until he finally confronts his homosexuality in "Fourth Grade".
- A few equations written on Mr. Garrison's chalkboard do not mathematically make sense, such as "πr2=2πr". πr2 calculates the area of a circle while 2πr calculates the circumference. They do not equal to one another unless r=0 or r=2.
- Two Visitors can be seen in the bleacher crowd as the Middle Park team gets off its bus.