Weight Gain 4000

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South Park episode
"Weight Gain 4000"
Cartman, after consuming too much Weight Gain 4000
Episode no.	2
Airdate	August 27, 1997
South Park - Season 1 August 13, 1997 – February 25, 1998
Cartman Gets an Anal Probe Weight Gain 4000 Volcano Big Gay Al's Big Gay Boat Ride An Elephant Makes Love to a Pig Death Pink Eye Damien Starvin' Marvin Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo Tom's Rhinoplasty Mecha-Streisand Cartman's Mom Is a Dirty Slut

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List of all South Park episodes

Weight Gain 4000 is the third episode of Comedy Central's animated series South Park, although it is often advertised as the series' second episode. It originally aired on August 27, 1997.

1 Plot
2 Kenny's Death
3 Trivia
4 References to pop culture
5 Goofs
6 External links

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Cartman wins the "Save Our Fragile Planet" essay contest, and it is announced that Kathie Lee Gifford will come to South Park to present the award to him. This enrages Wendy, who believes Cartman cheated.

The town becomes a flurry of excitement as everyone prepares for Kathie Lee, including Mayor McDaniels, who is organizing a big event to showcase the town and further her career. Chef, who is to sing at the event, hopes this will enable him to have sex with Kathie Lee.

Meanwhile, the children are asked to be in a play to honor Kathie Lee with Mr. Garrison as the director. However, Mr. Garrison, with help from Mr. Hat, plots to kill Kathie Lee for upstaging him and Mr. Hat with a rendition of "If They Could See Me Now" during a national talent show when they were children. Mr. Garrison plots to shoot Kathie Lee from the book depository, a plan that is analogous to Lee Harvey Oswald shooting John F. Kennedy from the Texas School Book Depository.

The Mayor tells Cartman that he needs to get in shape for Kathie Lee's visit. He sees a commercial for Weight Gain 4000, a bodybuilding supplement and purchases some, thinking it will help him bulk up for the big day. Cartman fails to note that exercise must coincide with the consumption of the product in order to attain the desired results. Consequently, he suffers an exponential fat gain. While Cartman elevates his obesity to the next level, Mr. Garrison visits a gun store to purchase a rifle.

Wendy discovers Mr. Garrison's plan while sifting through the essays in his files to confirm that Cartman cheated. As it turns out, Cartman simply procured a copy of Walden by Henry David Thoreau and wrote his name on it.

Wendy and Stan try but fail to stop Mr. Garrison when he goes to the book depository. He misses Kathie Lee but hits Kenny in the head, propelling him into the air where he is promptly impaled on a flagpole, and ultimately foils Trotter's chance to be on TV that day.

The episode ends with Mr. Garrison in a mental hospital (with Mr. Hat in a straitjacket) and Cartman appearing on Geraldo because of his morbid obesity, where he comically states "Follow your dreams. You can reach your goals, I'm living proof...Beefcake, BEEFCAKE!!!" Also, Chef succeeds in fornicating with Kathie Lee.

[edit] Kenny's Death

Accidentally shot by Mr. Garrison, propelled into the air by the shot and impaled on a flagpole.

[edit] Trivia

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Weight Gain 4000

Kenny's death was re-used in "The Biggest Douche in the Universe," a Season 6 episode, with Rob Schneider (who had Kenny's soul trapped in him) as the victim.
At the beginning of this episode, there are obscene and sexual phrases written in the classroom blackboard in Spanish.
When Cartman and Kyle are fighting, Kyle says "You're such a fat ass, that when you walk down the the street, people say GOD dammit that's a fat ass". That is a reference to the Spirit of Christmas skit. But in place of "fat ass", Kyle says "fat fuck".
The Geraldo Rivera on this episode is completely different from the one in the 10th season episode "A Million Little Fibers", which is a lot more similar to the real Geraldo. The model used in this episode resembles Randy, Stan's father.

[edit] References to pop culture

Mr. Garrison, watching himself in the mirror with a gun and saying "You talkin' to me?", is a parody of Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver doing the same thing.
Kathie Lee Gifford singing "If They Could See Me Now" is a parody of her singing the same song in real life in Carnival Cruise Lines commercials.
Mr. Hat and Mr. Garrison arguing over killing Gifford is a parody of many books and films where the ventriloquist has multiple personality disorder and argues with his puppet, including Magic (film).

[edit] Goofs

All is not right with the leftmost mirror.

When Mr. Garrison is gun shopping, he blinks, but in the leftmost mirror his eyelids are colored white (see picture).
When conversing with Officer Barbrady, Mr. Garrison's gun stock changes from wood to metal, then back to wood again in the following scene.
When Wendy shouts at the audience "I bet if Walden was a sitcom, you'd all know what it was!", Stan's position changes just as he starts walking away.
When the Weight Gain 4000 advertisement is on, we see the announcer's hand pop out of the TV screen, though this could've been done for comic effect.
The people in the audience during the National Talent Show Finals some 30 or 40 years ago (when Garrison and Kathie Lee were children) also appear during the Award Ceremony, and then on Geraldo and haven't changed.
During some of the classroom scenes there are a handful of inconsistencies with the writing on the blackboard. In one scene the writing disappears during a close up of Mr. Garrison and in a later scene the writing appears to be upside down.
When Wendy first presents Cartman's essay, the name 'Cartman' is written in children's handwriting. In a later scene the font changes to stylish script.
When Cartman whines and squeals to get his mom to buy Weight Gain 4000, he knocks the Cheesy Poofs box off the couch. After Ms. Cartman leaves, the box is back on the couch.