By Robert Scucci | Published 1 minute ago South Park’s third season was full of surprises, like the unofficial Meteor Shower Trilogy that recounts the same evening from multiple perspectives. My favorite Season 3 Easter egg, though, is how “Starvin’ Marvin in Space” was the only episode at the time to feature a cold open. In the Season 3 mini commentaries, Trey Parker and Matt Stone said they skipped the usual opening theme because they were seriously considering turning Starvin’ Marvin in Space into its own series separate from South Park canon. The cold open was meant as a proof of concept. Though we never see Starvin’ Marvin again after this episode, I can’t help but wonder how far they could have stretched the concept if they went full-tilt into a sci-fi spinoff about a little Ethiopian boy traveling through space to battle Christian missionaries, Sally Struthers, and hostile alien races. Starvin’ Marvin In Space “Starvin’ Marvin in Space” is one of those absurd early South Park episodes that doubles as a scathing takedown of televangelists, Christian missionaries, government overreach, and that godawful “Soaring So High” song that plays on repeat as the boys and Marvin travel to the planet Marklar. When the peaceful Marklars, who refer to every person, place, and thing as “Marklar,” arrive in Africa and are immediately mauled by lions, Marvin’s village investigates the alien ship left behind. Fed up with missionaries forcing religion on his people in exchange for food and supplies, Marvin boards the ship to find a new home free from religious interference. Meanwhile, the CIA learns about the Marklar spaceship and tracks down the boys to locate it. The group teams up with Marvin for an intergalactic adventure, while the CIA recruits Sally Struthers, portrayed in the episode as a Jabba the Hutt-like figure. Struthers, who hoards food donations for herself, caves to temptation when offered a Chocolate Yum Yum Bar and becomes an ally to the government. Back on Earth, televangelist Pat Robertson catches wind of the spaceship and launches a campaign to raise money for his church’s XT-9000 spacecraft. His mantra, “God wants you to send us money,” becomes the rallying cry for sending missionaries to Marklar to spread the word of Christ across the galaxy. The Untapped Spinoff Potential In the Season 3 commentary, Parker and Stone mention that while doing press for South Park in New York, a reporter told them she’d seen a show about a space-traveling Ethiopian boy, Sally Struthers, and the CIA, and wanted to see more of it. She had no idea it was a one-off episode of South Park. The commentary ends with Parker and Stone expressing regret that they never followed through on the idea. The potential for a spinoff was always there, and it’s part of what makes this episode such a hidden gem. We haven’t seen Starvin’ Marvin since because, canonically, he and his people are living peacefully on Marklar. Once the show moves beyond the Donald Trump arc that’s dominated Seasons 27 and 28, maybe it’s time to revisit this idea and find out what they’ve been up to for the last 26 years. Source: https://www.giantfreakinrobot.com/ent/comedy/south-park-sci-fi-spinoff.html