The Jeffersons (South Park)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For the sitcom, see The Jeffersons. For other uses, see Jefferson.
| South Park episode | |
| "The Jeffersons" | |
 Mr. Jefferson sleeping with the boys |
|
| Episode no. | 117 |
|---|---|
| Airdate | April 21, 2004 |
| South Park - Season 8 March 17, 2004 – December 15, 2004 |
|
|
|
|
| ← Season 7 | Season 9 → |
|
|
|
| List of all South Park episodes | |
"The Jeffersons" is episode 807 of the Comedy Central animated series South Park. It originally aired on April 21, 2004.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
Michael Jackson moves into South Park under the assumed name of Michael Jefferson. Jackson's real name is not mentioned in the episode (thereby avoiding any defamation claims from the real Michael Jackson), but the Mr. Jefferson character very closely parallels the real Michael Jackson (Mr. Jefferson was denied a real childhood and therefore is living as a child now, he has had extensive plastic surgery, he has a child named Blanket, he dangles his son out of a window and he sleeps with Stan, Kyle, Cartman and his son). When the boys go to visit their new neighbor, they meet his son Blanket, who always wears a mask. Mr. Jefferson has amusement rides in his backyard, a grand selection of arcades and other assorted toys. The boys first meet Mr. Jefferson and Kyle, noticing how he neglects Blanket, keeps a special eye on Blanket. Soon after, the boys tell all the other 4th graders to come to the Jefferson's. Kyle feels bad for Blanket because Mr. Jefferson seems to want to be a kid, not want to have one. However, Cartman defends Mr. Jefferson, claiming Mr. Jefferson told him he's his best friend. When the parents meet Mr. Jefferson they find his obsession with children unsettling. At the dinner table, the parents discuss the issue of Kobe Bryant's sexual assault case. Mr. Jefferson voices how he thinks it's wrong how the police treat wealthy black men.
At the police station, the police get a report that a wealthy black family bought a house at South Park with cash. The chief plans to take Jefferson down just like Bryant.
At night, Mr. Jefferson sneaks over to Stan's house and Cartman follows along. Kyle also shows up with Blanket. They ask Mr. Jefferson to go back home but to no avail. Hesitantly, Stan must share his bed with Kyle, Blanket, Cartman and Mr. Jefferson because they are not leaving. At one point, Cartman and Mr. Jefferson comment on how beautiful they are in bed, with each responding "Yeah?", and "Yeah". Eventually the two close their eyes and move in for a kiss. Stan wakes up screaming, and is somewhat relieved to not see the two kissing after all.
In the morning, Mr. and Mrs. Marsh are alarmed when they find Jefferson on their son's bed. The problem is quickly resolved when Jefferson offers them both $100.
The Jeffersons return to their home just when the police wake up in their squad car. The chief is surprised by Jefferson's appearance (he doesn't look black), and think someone made a mistake. He states that he doesn't have the stomach anymore, but still vows to frame "rich, black men".
Later that day, when Kyle passes by Blanket's window, he asks him if he would like to learn how to chop wood. Mr. Jefferson arrives and tells Kyle that Blanket would rather play, and proceeds to dangle him out the window to show him how Blanket can 'fly'.
Blanket is terrified and begins to cry. In an attempt to calm him down, Mr. Jefferson plays the 'Nose-Grabbing' game with Blanket. Blanket tries it too, but pulls his father's nose off, terrifing the boy even more.
Mr. Jefferson is on the phone with the doctor because he's now literally falling apart, while in the meantime the Santa Barbara Police confirm that Mr. Jefferson is the person they are looking for. Stan, Kenny and Kyle go to the Jeffersons to rescue Blanket, with Kenny dressed as Blanket, but Mr. Jefferson catches them and proceeds to throw Kenny (thinking he's Blanket) up in the air and through the ceiling. The kids run out of the house, where they are greeted by the police. They say they are charging him with child molestation, but Cartman runs in front of them and says angrily he is sick of people tormenting Mr. Jefferson. Kyle tells Mr. Jefferson that he should act more like a parent to Blanket than a kid. Mr. Jefferson agrees. He decides to give away all his money to get the police off his back, and sings a song to celebrate.
[edit] Kenny's death
- Kenny is accidentally thrown into the ceiling by an overexcited Mr. Jefferson. This is the first time since Super Best Friends that Kenny dies without his parka.
[edit] Trivia
- At the start of the episode, Cartman, referring to the as-yet unidentified neighbours, says, "I hope it's not Austrians. That's the last thing this town needs." Yet Cartman idolizes Adolf Hitler, who was native to Austria. So why did he say this?
- Blanket nearly says Mr Jefferson is Michael Jackson. He says "Guys, this is my dad, Michael Ja-" and Mr Jefferson interrupts him with "Jefferson! Martin Jefferson." This might hint that he is trying to mask himself and is hiding.
- Kenny is seen in this episode without his orange parka wearing a mask similar to Blanket's. It is the only time in the whole television series when his speech is heard clearly. He is voiced by Matt Stone. Outside he says "Aren't I too big to be Blanket" and while in Blanket's room, Kenny says "Alright, but you guys owe me for this". Stan replies "Dude, whatever. At least you finally get to do something". This of course hints at Kenny's lack of involvement in many recent episodes.
- In the episode's DVD commentary, the creators said they deliberately put off doing a Michael Jackson episode for a long time because they felt that making fun of Michael Jackson was so common nowadays it's almost become a cliché. But the only reason they ended up doing one was because of how they felt for his treatment on his children, and also because they were almost completely out of other ideas.
- Also revealed in the commentary, is Trey and Matt's love for Bo' Selecta!, a sketch show which regually impersonates Michael Jackson.
- The lead detective (Serg. Yates) that organizes the sting against Mr. Jefferson, is also featured in the previous episode Christian Rock Hard.
- In the claw machine Cartman uses at the beginning of the episode, there is a doll that looks like Clyde Frog. Another Toy is a Chinpokomon.
- At the beginning of the episode the kids are seen riding tricycles. However, as they attend the fourth grade, they would be far too old to ride them.
- This is the only episode in season 8 in which Kenny dies.
- At the start of the episode stan comments "Hey look, dude. Somebody bought the donovan's old house. This could be clyde's family.
[edit] goofs
- When Cartman is shouting at the police for their treatment of Mr Jefferson, he mentions that he heard Jefferson had plastic surgery and thought it was a lie, but Mr Jefferson's plastic surgery is never mentioned at any point in the episode. Nobody even knew that Mr Jefferson had plastic surgery, not even Blanket.
[edit] References to pop culture
- In Mr. Jefferson's living room, there is an arcade machine in the background that contains a scenery from "Zelda II: The Adventure of Link." Another arcade machine features a scenery of Super Mario Bros. 2.
- In Blanket's room, the Ark of the Covenant from Raiders of the Lost Ark is visible.
- An Ewok doll can be seen in Blanket's room.
- After the plastic surgery on Mr. Jefferson's face falls apart, he resembles the zombie version of Michael Jackson from the music video for "Thriller." Mr. Jefferson is even wearing the same red leather jacket as Jackson wore in that video.
| Preceded by: "Goobacks" |
South Park episodes | Followed by: "Douche and Turd" |
