Any show that lasts 25 seasons, plus numerous feature-length specials, is bound to have some unpopular outings, but there is a reason South Park season 3, episode 4, “Jakovasaurs,” is so despised online. South Park has never rested on its laurels. Since its inception, the popular — if controversial — animated satire has gone out of its way to shock audiences with edgy humor.
However, some of South Park’s riskiest creative choices have nothing to do with the show’s love of scatological jokes and mocking public figures. Sometimes, South Park’s decision to tell bigger, more ambitious serialized stories can raise the ire of fans and critics alike whereas, at other points, the show’s more experimental episodes leave viewers cold. Still, there is no mystery around the reason why the infamous fourth episode of South Park season 3 is frequently called the show’s low point.
“Jakovasaurs” took satirical aim at the Star Wars character Jar Jar Binks shortly after the release of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. In the episode, the titular annoying aliens descend upon South Park and irritate everyone — save for Cartman. The spoof proved too effective, and the episode is often cited as being one of the worst in South Park’s 25-season history precisely because the Jakovasaurs are even more annoying than their inspiration. While jokes like South Park’s ManBearPig were more misguided, when it came to sheer grating annoyance, few characters could match the titular characters of “Jakovasaurs.”
Interestingly, “Jakovasaurs” is not the South Park episode that the show’s creators singled out when asked about the show’s weakest outings. Trey Parker famously hated South Park’s wildly successful World of Warcraft parody during the episode’s production and both Parker and co-creator Matt Stone have mixed feelings regarding the show’s comedic retelling of Great Expectations. However, while both of those episodes had more ambitious premises that divided fans and the show’s creators, the problem with South Park’s “Jakovasaurs” was that the episode didn’t offer much more than a parody of an already irritating Star Wars character.
Even South Park’s worst jokes usually involve a solid storyline, something fans can depend upon even if the episode’s plot is just a transparent parody of current events. However, the “Jakovasaurs” didn’t get much of a story to themselves in their notorious episode, meaning they ended up outstaying their welcome even faster than the real Jar Jar Binks. While Jar Jar was undeniably a pain, he was part of a large cast in a movie with a complex plot, while the gag that “Jakovasaurs” arrived in South Park and wouldn’t leave was the episode’s entire conceit. Since “Jakovasaurs” didn’t meaningfully build on this idea or expand on the show’s criticisms of the Star Wars prequels, the South Park episode ended up annoying even those who hated the movies. As a result, “Jakovasaurs” ended up being one of South Park’s most-hated episodes, a title that the outing still boasts 22 seasons later.
