Big Gay Al's Big Gay Boat Ride

Big Gay Al's Big Gay Boat Ride is one of the LGBT-themed episodes of South Park. The episode was written by series co-founders Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and directed by Parker. In this episode, Stan's dog, Sparky, is revealed to be gay after humping a rival male dog. Under peer pressure, Stan tries to make him more masculine, and as a result, Sparky runs away and ends up at Big Gay Al's Big Gay Animal Sanctuary. Stan comes to understand homosexuality and tries to make everyone in South Park accept it.

"Big Gay Al's Gay Boat Ride" addressed open homosexuality in a way that was uncommon for television at the time, which created some anxiety among Comedy Central executives. The network initially objected to offensive remarks made by sports commentators in the episode, but the comments were kept in at the insistence of Parker and Stone. George Clooney made a guest appearance as Sparky, a small role with no dialog except for dog barks. The episode marked the first appearance of Big Gay Al.

The episode received generally positive reviews for its portrayal of homosexuality. Creators Stone and Parker considered it their favorite episode of the first season, noting that it helped elevate the credibility and relevance of South Park during its early days. It was nominated for both an Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program and a GLAAD Award, and was the episode submitted when South Park won a CableACE Award for Outstanding Animated Series.

Plot
Stan's new dog Sparky follows the boys to the bus stop one morning. Stan believes Sparky to be the toughest dog in South Park; but, when Sparky suddenly jumps on top of another male dog and begins humping him energetically, Cartman declares that Sparky is homosexual. At football practice for the school's team, the South Park Cows, Stan's Uncle Jimbo and his friend Ned show up and ask Coach Chef whether the boys can beat the betting spread of 70 points for the Cows' game against the Middle Park Cowboys. Impressed by a play from Stan, who is the quarterback and star of the team, Jimbo and Ned go to the bookmaker, where Jimbo bets $500 on the Cows. As a result, everyone else bets all their money on the team, and they threaten Jimbo if the Cows lose. Intimidated, Jimbo and Ned seek a back-up plan and learn that John Stamos' brother Richard will be singing "Lovin' You" at half-time. Consequently, they plan to detonate the mascot for Middle Park, by placing a bomb to explode when Richard Stamos sings the high F note in the song.

After practice, Sparky appears and mounts another male dog. The next day, after class, Stan asks his teacher Mr. Garrison what a homosexual is, prompting Mr. Garrison to claim that "gay people are evil". As a result, Stan attempts to make his dog heterosexual. Later, Sparky overhears a frustrated Stan ranting about how he wants a butch dog instead of a gay dog. This prompts Sparky to run away to the mountains, ending up at Big Gay Al's Big Gay Animal Sanctuary.

Concerned about his dog, Stan goes to look for him, missing the start of the football game. When Stan finds Sparky at the Big Gay Animal Sanctuary, Big Gay Al takes Stan on a boat ride through his sanctuary and gives a speech about how homosexuality has been around for a long time, which eventually makes Stan accept his dog's homosexuality. Meanwhile, Richard Stamos fails to hit the high note of the song at half time. Returning to the final moments of the game, Stan steps in as the quarterback, passing the ball to Kyle for a touchdown that beats the betting spread as time runs out. In his speech after the game, Stan tells the people of South Park about the Big Gay Animal Sanctuary and that "it's okay to be gay". He leads the people to the site of the Sanctuary, but it has mysteriously disappeared; people's runaway gay pets, however, return. Before leaving, Big Gay Al thanks Stan for making everyone understand homosexuality. Although the Cows beat the spread, Richard Stamos appears to prove he can hit the high note that he missed earlier, triggering the bomb and killing the Middle Park team's mascot.