4th Grade (South Park episode)

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South Park episode
"4th Grade"
"Welcome to the fourth grade."
Episode no.	59
Airdate	November 8, 2000
South Park - Season 4 April 5, 2000 – December 20, 2000
Cartman's Silly Hate Crime 2000 The Tooth Fairy Tats 2000 Quintuplets 2000 Timmy 2000 Pip Cartman Joins NAMBLA Cherokee Hair Tampons Chef Goes Nanners Something You Can Do with Your Finger Do the Handicapped Go to Hell? Probably 4th Grade Trapper Keeper Helen Keller! The Musical Fat Camp The Wacky Molestation Adventure A Very Crappy Christmas

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List of all South Park episodes

"4th Grade" is the title of episode 412 of the South Park television series. This fourth season episode originally aired November 8, 2000 and covers the main characters' first day of fourth grade. The three previous seasons of the program featured the main characters in the 3rd grade with Mr. Garrison in the role of teacher. This grade-change plot device allowed the writers to introduce a new teacher, Ms. Choksondik and also make a new opening sequence in which the show was said to be "Faster", have "more explosions" and that "You love it".

1 Synopsis
2 Kenny's Death
3 Trivia
4 See also

[edit] Synopsis

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

This episode marked a new beginning within the South Park series as the children move into the 4th Grade. Unknown to them who the teacher is, Stan, Kyle, Kenny, and Cartman decide to show dominance so before the beginning of class, they come up with an idea in order to express their dominance over their teacher (at 8:35 AM, they would stand up on the desks, pull their pants down at the same time, and say "Kiss my ass" simultaneously). However, upon meeting the teacher, Ms. Choksondik, the children decide it is best not to interfere with her teaching as she is actually quite frightening. However, Cartman, not caring as usual, stands up and pulls down his pants to the teacher. However, upon seeing no one else in the class followed the plan, he is quite annoyed. Ms. Choksondik is shown as a middle-aged woman with grossly large breasts which she doesn't seem to notice or be ashamed of, also in a twist of irony, the children do not notice how her name sounds so they come up with their own insulting names, despite the fact that her name is demeaning enough. The children realise that they took the ease of the 3rd grade for granted and do not want to go through a whole year in 4th grade so they seek help from two Star Trek fans by asking them if they are able to create a time-travelling device in order for the children to go back to their 3rd grade class. The Star Trek fans decide that Timmy's electric wheelchair would make a good inertia device. Meanwhile, Ms. Choksondik reports that she is unable to teach the children in her class so she would like to speak to Mr. Garrison (who was fired in Cherokee Hair Tampons after he was believed to be gay) but she is unable to be given any information. The next day in class, the children go with their plan of travelling back to 3rd grade but the plan backfires and instead of portal back in time being created, Timmy is driven right through the class wall in his uncontrollable wheelchair. If he stops the wheelchair, it would explode because of the materials it is carrying. After a while, a portal opens and Timmy is thrown into the past. Ms. Choksondik then goes on a journey to find Mr. Garrison in order to learn how to handle her new class. Mr. Garrison trains Ms. Choksondik, then comes to the realization that he needs to admit and confront his homosexuality, which leads to the episode's conclusion where the children accept the 4th grade, Timmy comes back with a lot of "souvenirs" from the eras he had visited, and Mr. Garrison openly acknowledges his homosexuality to Principal Victoria, Chef and Mr. Mackey.

[edit] Kenny's Death

Kenny is put onto a relay, which rolls down the road straight on at Timmy's out of control wheelchair. While trying to cut the wires on Timmy's wheelchair, Kenny misses the wheelchair and goes straight past it. Kenny hits a pothole, flips over onto his face and is pulled back, dragging his face along the road, killing him.

Stan comments (sarcastically): "Well who didn't see that coming?"

Surprisingly, in a later scene directly after Cartman says: "Au revoir, teacher," Kenny is sitting next to Stan in the class again. He is seen up until one of the nerds yells: "I'll kill you!" In the next scene, Kenny is nowhere to be found.

[edit] Trivia

This episode references a "Geek Debate" attempting to determine how many episodes of Star Trek exist. The debate centers on the status of the episode "The Menagerie." Additionally, both amounts of episodes quoted by the geeks (72 and 73) are incorrect. 80 episodes were produced, 79 of which were aired. It should also be noted that the two geeks actually switch their stances throughout the episode. The geek in the black shirt actually changes stances in a single scene. At first, he argues that "There aren't 73 episodes of Star Trek, there are 72!" A few seconds later, he refuses to concede the opposite, stating "And live in a world of 72 original Star Treks? I don't think so! I don't want to live in that world."
Parodies The Empire Strikes Back with Mr. Garrison acting like Yoda while training Ms. Choksondik how to handle the children. Mr. Garrison even speaks in a Yoda-like voice for a moment.
Timmy, whose vocabulary has previously appeared to be mainly restricted to his own name, manages in this to expand his vocabulary to "Please help me!". Two episodes later, he will learn to utter the name of his co-star/pet turkey Gobbles.
This episode features a new opening, used until the end of the fifth season.
The geek's room is littered with aliens from other episodes—including a toy Marklar, a poster of the South Park alien and Spooky Fish on their door, breaking the fourth wall.
Cartman says "Ha ha, charade you are" to Ms. Choksondik, a reference to Pink Floyd's song “Pigs (Three Different Ones).” This is the third time he cites this song, first in “Cat Orgy” and later in “Scott Tenorman Must Die.”
The South Park series 3 Timmy figure by Mezco includes the time machine from this episode.
The situation with Timmy unable to stop the wheelchair or get off it is a parody of the movie Speed.
This was the first episode to air after the new Comedy Central Logo.
Ms. Choksondik has a more British accent and a higher voice than in later episodes. She is also a lot stricter than in the other episodes.
The stickers on Timmy's wheelchair after returning from the past are of the Enola Gay, the Royal Air Force (R.A.F.) and 4th Platoon (which could be a reference to the platoon in Forrest Gump.)