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".

[edit] Synopsis

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Upon entering fourth grade, the storyline has the boys lamenting their days in the third grade. Driven by the strictness of their new teacher, they realize that they took the ease of the third grade for granted. As part of the story, they contact a couple of science nerds to build them a time machine so they can travel back in time.

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 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; the original series of Star Trek had 80 episodes.
In this episode only, Ms.Choksondik speaks in a British-like accent.
The song Cartman sings, wishing for a moment he can return to third grade, is similar to the song Melody sings in The Little Mermaid II.
The two geeks are based on the sound people who work on the show. ^{[citation needed]}
The two geeks later reappear in Freak Strike.
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, in this episode manages to expand his vocabulary to "Please help me!". In Timmy 2000, he also said "Timmy and the Lords of the Underworld", referring to the band he was part of.
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.
Cartman says "Ha ha, charade you are" to Mrs. 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 situation with Timmy unable to stop the wheelchair or get off it is a parody of the movie Speed. The 5mph reference may be a nod at an episode of the popular Irish/UK comedy Father Ted.
The duck taped to the microwave is possibly a reference to The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars.
When the two nerds talk about the number of episodes in Star Trek the blond nerd changes his mind; The first time he claims there are 72 episodes but when Stan, Kyle and Cartman visits him he says there are 73 episodes.
This was the first episode to air after the new Comedy Central Logo