4th Grade (South Park episode)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| “4th Grade” | |
|---|---|
| South Park episode | |
 "Welcome to the fourth grade." |
|
| Episode no. | Season 4 Episode 59 |
| Written by | Trey Parker Matt Stone |
| Directed by | Trey Parker |
| Production no. | 412 |
| Original airdate | November 8, 2000 |
| Season 4 episodes | |
| South Park - Season 4 April 5, 2000 – December 20, 2000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| ← Season 3 | Season 5 → |
| List of South Park episodes | |
4th Grade is the title of episode 59 of the South Park television series. This fourth season episode originally aired November 8, 2000 and focuses on 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 as their teacher. This grade change plot device allowed for the introduction of a new teacher, Ms. Choksondik, and introduced a new opening sequence in which the show was said to be "Faster" and have "more explosions". It is also the final resolution to a three-part mini-arc involving Mr. Garrison coming out of the closet (parts one and two were Cartman Joins NAMBLA and Cherokee Hair Tampons).
Contents |
[edit] Synopsis
This episode marked the children's move into the 4th Grade. Not knowing their new teacher, the gang of Stan, Kyle, Kenny, and Cartman plan to exert dominance over the teacher. Before the beginning of class, they come up with an idea: at 8:35 AM, they would stand up on the desks, pull their pants down, and say "Kiss my ass." After Ms. Choksondik explains that fourth grade will be different, the children are frightened. Cartman alone stands up and pulls down his pants, very annoyed no one else followed the plan.
Ms. Choksondik is depicted as a middle-aged woman with disgustingly large breasts that she neither notices nor is ashamed of. In a twist of irony, the children do not notice her obscene-sounding name; instead, they come up with their own insulting names. The children eventually realize that they took the ease of the 3rd grade for granted and do not want to go through a whole year in 4th grade. They seek help from two Star Trek fans and ask them to create a time-traveling device so they can return to the 3rd grade. The Star Trek fans then construct the device using Timmy's wheelchair.
Meanwhile, it is revealed that the teachers don't like Ms. Choksondik any more than the students do, especially as when she lifts her arms up, a small section of her breasts come into view. Ms. Choksondik reports to Principal Victoria, Mr. Mackey and Chef that she is unable to teach the children in her class and attempts to speak to Mr. Garrison (who was fired after "Cartman Joins NAMBLA" after he was accused of trying to solicit sex from Cartman), but she is unable to get any information. The next day in class, the children begin their plan of traveling back to 3rd grade. However, the plan backfires and instead of creating a portal back in time, Timmy is driven through the classroom wall in his uncontrollable wheelchair. He is unable to stop the wheelchair as it would explode because of the materials used to convert it to a "time-travel" device. Eventually, a portal does open and Timmy is thrown into the past.
Ms. Choksondik goes on a journey to find Mr. Garrison in order to learn how he handled the class. Mr. Garrison trains Ms. Choksondik and then comes to the realization that he needs to admit and confront his homosexuality. The children try to convince the two Star Trek geeks to build another time machine but they refuse to work together because of a disagreement over how many original Star Trek episodes were made. The arguments are notably inconsistent; the fan wearing green says there are 72 and not 73 and then claims the opposite minutes later. His friend starts out claiming that there are 73, then goes back to 72, then claims 73 yet again. In the end everyone accepts the 4th grade and realises that the 3rd grade was never as good as they remembered it. Timmy comes back with "souvenirs" from the eras he had visited. Mr. Garrison openly admits his homosexuality to Principal Victoria, Chef, and Mr. Mackey, and asks for his job back. They reply with "I'm Sorry, We don't hire gay people," and laugh derisively. However, in the next episode, he is hired back to teach kindergarten.
[edit] Censorship
- In the syndicated version Kenny gets bleeped when he says "Her titties are fucking huge!"
- In the syndicated version Ms. Choksondik's nipples get censored when she lifts her hand up.
- In the syndicated version, the part where Ms. Choksondik says "One of the children is mentally handicapped for Christ's sake!", "for Christ's sake" is cut out.
- In the syndicated version when Ms. Choksondik say "You said suck my balls, so go ahead, whip them out, and I'll suck them." "and I'll suck them" is removed.
[edit] Cultural references
- When Ms. Choksondik says that the entire class will have detention, Cartman says, "Ha ha, charade you are," which is a quote from the Pink Floyd song "Pigs (Three Different Ones)." This is actually the second time Cartman uses this quote, the other time being in the episode Cat Orgy. He also uses it one more time after this.
- Timmy's chair not being able to go under 5 or it will explode is a parody of the movie Speed. In Speed, a bus is rigged with a bomb so that it cannot go under 50 mph or the bomb will detonate. Also the defuse that Kenny attempts with the wheeled board is a reference to the Speed scene in which Jack Traven attempts the same with a service cart towed by a preceding truck. The reference is furthered by the woman who rides on Timmy's lap for a short time, who is a parody of Sandra Bullock's character
- At the end of the scene where Mr. Garrison is teaching Ms. Choksondik how to deal with the children, his voice becomes raspy like that of Yoda, which is a reference to the scene in Empire Strikes Back where Yoda is teaching Luke the ways of the Force.
- Mr. Garrison's confrontation with his gay side is a parody of Luke's training scene in Empire Strikes Back where he confronts what he believes is Darth Vader in a cave.
- When Ms. Choksondik responds to Cartman's taunts of "Suck my balls" with "Present them," it is nearly identical to a conversation between a teacher and a student in the book Educating Esmè.
- When Ms. Choksondik enters the tree, the event is reminiscent of the Jedi Trials.
- One of the nerds is wearing a t-shirt that says "Resistance Is Futile", the catchphrase of The Borg. The other is wearing a t-shirt that says "Yeah, Resistance Is Futile", further accentuating their roles as "trekkies"
- Actually, they were both wrong. There are 80 episodes in The Original Series of Star Trek (assuming that "The Menagerie" counts as two episodes).
- The remote controls used for Timmy's wheelchair strongly resemble the one used by Doc during his test run of The DeLorean in Back to the Future
[edit] See also
| Preceded by “Probably” |
South Park episodes | Followed by “Trapper Keeper” |
