Raisins (South Park episode)
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| “Raisins” | |
|---|---|
| South Park episode | |
 Lexus and Butters |
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| Episode no. | Season 7 Episode 110 |
| Written by | Trey Parker |
| Production no. | 714 |
| Original airdate | December 10, 2003 |
| Season 7 episodes | |
| South Park - Season 7 March 19, 2003 – December 17, 2003 |
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| ← Season 6 | Season 8 → |
| List of South Park episodes | |
"Raisins" is episode 110 of the Comedy Central series South Park. It originally aired on December 10, 2003. The episode was mainly inspired by Trey Parker's past experience with his ex-fiancée, Liane Adamo. The heartbreak and pain that Stan endures is very similar to the situation of Trey Parker when he found out that his ex-fiancée was cheating on him [1]. Wendy is designed with a resemblance to Liane Adamo herself.
[edit] Plot
The boys are playing football when Bebe tells Stan that his girlfriend Wendy has decided to break up with him. Stan obviously cares a lot about this, as he has liked Wendy ever since the first episode of South Park. The other boys tell Bebe that Stan doesn't care, which results in Bebe calling the boys "assholes".
Stan tries to get Wendy to be his girlfriend again, asking Kyle and Jimmy to talk to her for him. Jimmy's speech impediment worsens the situation when Stan suggests calling her a "continuing source of inspiration for him". Instead, Jimmy stutters and says, "Stan says you are a cont-..." Before he can get out the whole sentence, Wendy tells him to tell Stan to "fuck off", and then walks away.
Stan starts to withdraw from life, and all he thinks about is the breakup. In an effort to stop Stan from thinking about Wendy, the boys take him to Raisins (a parody of the Hooters restaurants) where all of the employees are young preteen girls, with heavy make-up, who are all named after cars. Being taken to Raisins doesn't help Stan with his problems and, if anything, only makes things worse. Meanwhile, Butters falls in love with one of the waitresses (Lexus), and obsesses over her throughout the episode.
Stan realizes he can't get his friends to get them back together; he needs to get Wendy's friends to do it. So he asks Bebe to talk to Wendy, but she tells him to do something romantic to show Wendy how he feels. Stan then asks Bebe to explain it further, and she tells him to "stand outside her window, and play Peter Gabriel". Stan does so (choosing the less-than-romantic "Shock the Monkey"), only to find Wendy at the window with Token (paying homage to the John Cusack movies High Fidelity and Say Anything).
Stan's bad mood is intensified by this discovery, especially as this also inflicts damage on his his friendship with Token. Kyle angrily says that, if Stan is so depressed, then he might as well hang out with the Goth kids. Stan takes the advice literally and does become friends with the Goth kids, who are obsessed with non-conformity, while ironically forcing Stan to conform to their ways.
Butters runs out of money because he has spent it all at Raisins. Butters' parents, delighted that their son didn't turn out gay (Stephen Stotch won a bet from his wife for this), decide to come with Butters to meet his "girlfriend". However, they realize that Lexus doesn't really like Butters when they arrive at Raisins, and tell him that the Raisins girls know that they can make men do whatever they want by flirting, and thus do this for a living. Butters doesn't believe his parents and tells them to go to "heck". He then offers to stay with Lexus, but Lexus explains to Butters that she doesn't want to have anything to do with him. She leaves to deliver curly fries.
Butters starts to withdraw from life like Stan does. He goes outside and cries in the rain. Seeing Butters cry, the Goth kids invite him to join their clique. Butters replies "Yeah... And I'm sad! But at the same time I'm really happy that something can make me feel that sad... It's like... It makes me feel alive, y'know? It makes me feel human. The only way I could feel this sad now, is if I felt somethin' really good before, so I have to take the bad with the good. So I guess what I'm feelin' is, like a beautiful sadness... I guess that sounds stupid... Besides, I'd rather be a crying little pussy than a faggy goth kid". Stan agrees with Butters and leaves the Goth kids as well.
On the next day, Stan is back to normal and asks the other boys to play football together. When Token and Wendy walk by, Stan calls Wendy a bitch and gives Token the finger. Kyle congratulates Stan for recovering from the incident.
This episodes marks the end of Stan and Wendy's relationship since Cartman Gets an Anal Probe. They would later reconcile and start a new relationship in the season 11 finale.
[edit] References to popular culture
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This article or section contains too many minor or trivial fictional references. Mere trivia, or references unimportant to the overall plot of a work of fiction, should be deleted. See also what Wikipedia is. |
- In one of the Goth kid's room, there is a poster that says, "Blauhaus" which seems to resemble Bauhaus' Singles: 1979-1983, Volume One album. There is also a "Skippy Puppy" poster in the room an obvious parody of the industrial band Skinny Puppy (the poster being nearly identical to the cover art of their 1984 album Remission), viewable when the mother enters the room is a "Bleeding Frog" poster on the wall that could be a parody of the band Bleeding Through. Next to the "Skippy Puppy" poster, a red poster with a black crow on it is visible with the words "Nothing Matters World Tour" written above the crow similar to the nu-metal Family Values Tour.
- When Stan joins the Goth Kids, he starts to wear a t-shirt featuring the face of Gothic/Romantic writer Edgar Allan Poe with the word "Nevermore" written above it - a reference to the Poe poem "The Raven" (which is Stan's "Goth name").
- A Say Anything homage can be seen when Stan seeks advice from the Goths; the scene is set up like Lloyd's encounter with the guys outside the Gas 'n' Sip. Also, when Stan stands outside Wendy's window holding a boombox over his head as Lloyd did outside Diane's window.
- In one scene during the montage of Stan grieving about the lost love, he is seen standing on a brick bridge looking into the water below. This resembles a commonly used scenario on Peanuts. This is further reinforced by the following scenes; a child resembling Pig-Pen is seen briefly in the school hall. This child is later revealed as "Dog Poo" in "Professor Chaos". The scene where a depressed Stan is visited by his friends in his bedroom references to the similar scene from "A Boy Named Charlie Brown". Charlie hides in his bedroom for being a failure at the spelling bee.
- The song playing after Wendy breaks up with Stan is Cinderella's "Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone)." The song in the school scenes, after Jimmy tries to talk to Wendy, is Air Supply's "All Out of Love."
- Benny's is a play on the real-life diner, Denny's.
- Stan's goth look is re-created with the South Park series 4 action figure by Mezco.
- All of the Raisin's girls' names are makes of luxury and sports cars.
[edit] Censorship
- In syndication, the scene in which Stan talks to Jimmy is shortened, and the final utterance of the syllable "cont" is bleeped. No other edits appeared aside from the usual tightened language restrictions, which as usual do permit words like "fag" and "pussy", thus leaving Butters' line intact. Additionally, Stan's middle finger to Token was left intact.
| Preceded by “Butt Out” |
South Park episodes | Followed by “It's Christmas in Canada” |
