Episode 3 (#102)
Name: Weight Gain 4000
Original Air Date: 8/27/97


Characters:

Kyle
Stan
Cartman
Kenny
Mr. Garrison
Wendy Testeburger
Mr. Hat
Mayor McDaniels
Igg
Oook
Chef
Kathie Lee Gifford
BeBe
Clyde
Uncle Jimbo
Officer Barbrady
Mrs. Cartman
Special Appearance by Geraldo Rivera
With Special appearances by several cows


Description:

This episode begins in Mr. Garrison's classroom, where it is announced that Eric Cartman won a national prize for writing a nature essay. Wendy is shocked it wasn't her, is in disbelief it was Cartman, and swears to get to the bottom of it. Meanwhile, the bitch mayor is thoroughly involved in promoting her image through the t.v. publicity. Cartman decides to bulk up upon the mayor's advice, but keeps getting fatter from his weight gain 4000, which contains 4000 grams of saturated fat. We probe deep into Mr. Garrison's psyche through his agony of losing his grade school talent show to Kathy Lee. Mr. Hat goes insane and wants to kill her, and the last straw is drawn when Mr. Garrison is relieved of his duties as play director when he accurately portrays South Park founders knocking the smokem-peace-pipe out of the indians. Mr. Garrison tries to kill Kathy Lee, but hits Kenny instead. He dies. Wendy figures out the mystery of why Cartman won, but no one cares because Kathy Lee left, while she, Stan, and Kyle go eat tuna sandwiches. Cartman gets on t.v. after all, he appears on Geraldo as a fat ass who can't even get out of bed.


Rating:

7. After seeing this episode for a second time, I thought this episode was better than "Volcano." Cartman's conniption might have been the funniest part of any episode. Other funny scenes where a local Southparkian comments on Cartman's fat ass after Kyle's prediction (recycled from soXmas), Kenny's carcass sliding down the flag pole, and Cartman appeared on Geraldo.


Did you notice:

Cartman and the Rainbows - The Rainbow sequence with Cartman does not refer to anything.
Believe it or not the rainbow thing is a totally obscure reference to nothing at all. One day Matt and Trey were eating in a restaurant and they heard some girl say that she hated rainbows and that is where they got the idea.

Mr. Hat's spinning head was from the movie Exorcist.

Kathie Lee's song is the one she sang on the Carnival Cruise lines.

Kathie Lee & the sweat shop joke - Kathie Lee Gifford had her own line of clothing for Wal-Mart. The same woman who apparently can't complete a sentence without mentioning her children and also the same woman who claims to love all children, didn't realize her clothes were being made by child laborers in some third world country in a child labor sweat shop.

"It is... too late for me, young Wendy" was paraphrased from Darth Vader in Star Wars, Return of the Jedi.

Mr. Garrison's "Are you looking at me" line is from a movie, staring Robert DeNiro, called "Taxi Driver." It has Jodie Foster.

This is also the same movie that the man who attempted to assassinate President Reagan, John Hinckley (we think), watched over and over and found himself obsessed with the, then, teenaged Jodie Foster. John thought he'd kill the president to get Jodie's attention. More info on Hinckley: He began stalking Jodie when she was a student at Yale. Hinckly's classified as an erotomaniac, which is a stalker. You wanna know the weird part? Hinckley grew up in Colorado, Denver to be exact!! Get it? South Park CO, Denver, CO.

The Book Depository is the location (according to popular theory) from which Lee Harvey Oswald assassinated John F. Kennedy.

Spanish profanity on the blackboard behind Mr. Garrison (sometimes it's upside down) CHUPE MIS CHI CHIS. Suck my tits. NO ME TOQUEN LOS HUEVOS. Don't touch my eggs (balls). MI VERGA ES FEA Y MURENA. My dick is ugly and dark.

The alphabet on the blackboard is sorted capital letters left to right, but lowercase letters are in order right to left.

Kathie Lee travels in a vehicle much like the Pope-mobile.

Mr. Garrison's "I would have gotten away with it if it hadn't been for those meddling kids!" is a parody of Scooby Doo!

The "Bunny-fish" are hanging on the wall in Jimbo's gun store. Also, Jimbo's store has a poster of a seal that says "Guns. Buy one."

A guy who looks a lot like Kenny's dad yelled "He said 'To hell with Kathie Lee Gifford!'"

When Mr. Garrison is carrying around his gun and everyone is saying, "Nice gun," it's not the gun he supposedly bought. It's the one with the gray handle, not the wood. Later, in the book depository, when talking to Wendy, the wood handle is there.

When Cartman says " Beefcake- beefCAAKE!" it sounds like that Torrence kid from "The Shining" when he yells "Redrum-redRUUM!"

When Garrison is walking down the street after he bought the gun, everyone calls out "Nice gun" or something. That's taken grom the movie "Doc Hollywood". It stars Michael J. Fox, he's in a small town, and someone gives him a pig as payment for a doctor visit, so he's taking it through main street, and everyone calls out "Nice pig, Doc" or "That sure is a nice pig, Doc" etc.

When Wendy is trying to stop Mr. Garrison, before Wendy gives the lesson moral, mr. hat is in the picture, but when he says "You're right" (Right
before Stan says "Wow, did she really do two dummies at ome time?") notice something: Mr. Hat is on neither hand, but shows up again when he says "The bitch must die!"

As Wendy searches through the papers. Her gloves come off and on.

When Wendy sneaks into the classroom, there is a picture of Cartman and a gold star on the wall behind her, that says "Student of the Week".

Mr. Garrison is bald (and toting Mr. Hat) even in his youth.

The same people in the audience at the talent show are citizens of South Park. They are present when Mr. Garrison says "to hell with Kathie Lee" and looking exactly the same. One even has Conan O'Brien hair.


Staples:

Chef's song:

Mayor: And now, our very own South Park Elementary chef will sing a special song in honor of Mrs. Lee Gifford
Chef: Thank you Mr. Mayor. You know Kathie Lee, you are a very special woman. I don't mean special in a Mary Tyler Moore way. Or, or special in an extra value meal at happy burger way. No, no, no, no. I mean special. Like the song of a, a humming bird as it gets ready to find that female hummingbird and make sweet love to it all night long. Just two humming birds moaning and, and groaning and, and their bodies caress and touch each other in ecstacy [Singing]Oh, Kathie Lee, how I love to lay you down. And lick every inch of your body with my tongue.
Mayor: What?
Chef: Kathie Lee, you're my sexual fantasy.
Mayor: What? Oh God!
Chef: How 'bout you and me
Mayor: Uh, Thank you Chef, for that heartwarming song.
Chef: get together and make sweet love?
Mayor: Thank you Chef!
Chef: Oh, oh. God bless you Kathie Lee!

How Kenny died:

Cartman's unusually mega-fat ass broke a board on the stage, flipping Kenny in the air and into the path of Mr. Garrison's bullet. He then flew further into the air, impaling himself on the flagpole with the "Welcome Kathie Lee" flag. Kenny slid down the poll, staining it with his blood.