Here Comes the Neighborhood
Here Comes the Neighborhood
Season | s05 |
Episode | e12 |
Written By | Trey Parker |
Production Code | 0512 |
Original Air Date | 2001-11-28 |
Episode Chronology
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Story
Description
When the other kids make fun of Token because his family is rich, he decides to attract more wealthy people to town by placing an ad in Forbes magazine touting South Park as the next Aspen.
To his delight, rich celebrities (all of whom happen to be black) take notice and move in. But the locals aren't happy about South Park being overrun by "those types." And by "those types" they mean the "rich". . Tensions between the "richers" and the townies hit the boiling point when a mob led by Mr. Garrison burns a "lower-case T" (for "time to leave") on Kobe Bryant's lawn. The "richers" retaliate by organizing a Million Millionaire March.
Meanwhile, Token discovers he doesn't fit in with the newcomers either. Feeling like he doesn't fit in anywhere, he gives up on human friends, and moves in with the lions at the zoo. But this soon gets old. He realizes he likes his old, poor South Park friends best, even if he never will quite fit in. The kids take him back, telling him they'll never again mock him for his wealth. Instead, they'll call him a pussy for being so emotional about his hurt feelings.
In a last ditch effort to drive out the "richers," the townsfolk dress up in white sheets and pretend to be ghosts. This does the trick. The newcomers flee the town.
What I Learned Today
"You see, even though kids at South Park make fun of me, I still like hanging around them more than snobby rich kids or lions. Even though I may be different from them, I still like my old friends best."
Memorable Quotes
- "For my project I made a pencil taped to a pen. In this way we see the duality of writing devices that occur in nature." Cartman
- "Your mother is a chemist for a pharmaceutical company, whereas your friend Eric Cartman's mother is a crack whore. One pays more than the other." Steve Black
- "Hey look, these pants are only five bucks apiece. They must really suck." Token
- ""There goes the neighborhood." Jimbo Kern
- "What's in the huge box, richer? Your checkbook?" Herbert Garrison
- "Maybe you didn't see the sign out front. This bar is for people living below their means ONLY!" Barkeep
- "It looks like it will be a great turnout, as some of the millionaires also paid several thousand Mexicans to march for them." News Reporter
- "I do believe this town is HAINTED!" Rich Guy
Characters
Character Debuts
Azlaan the lion, who seems unusually interested in practical jokes. Also Oprah Winfrey (who will be seen again in "A Million Little Fibers").
Body Count
Just Kenny, though we don't know how. Toward the end of the episode we see his badly beaten body, but what happened to him isn't explained.
Locations
Richer
Original Songs
Token has his singing debut with the somber "Send More Rich Kids To My Town". Snoop Dogg also lays down some smooth beats with the snippet "Girl Who Had An Inny".
Behind The Scenes
Where Did The Idea Come From
The show is about racism, sort of, though it's cast as a battle between rich and poor -- right until the very end, when Mr. Garrison blurts out the front half of a racial slur before being cut off by the show's credits. Some people consider it smart and ironic, but Trey and Matt aren't so sure. "It seems to be smart, but I don't think it is very smart," Matt says.
Pop Culture References
Shout Outs
When Token brings over a DVD of The Lion King for the boys to watch (not realizing none have DVD players), Cartman offers to "take this disk up to the Enterprise and see if Captain Kirk can decrypt it." Also, the lion that leads the pride in which Token tries to live is named Azlaan, after the "Great Lion" character Aslan from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
Token's clothes are from Armani Exchange, an expensive Italian clothing store. The boys' clothes are from J-Mart (a spoof of K-Mart), where Token eventually shops to try and fit in. While in J-Mart, there's a line of home goods called "Bertha Stewart" a parody of Martha Stewart's home dcor line. We'll see more of Stewart in "Red Hot Catholic Love" and "Eat, Prey, Queef".
Token has an autographed Barry Bonds baseball bat.
The Million Millionaire March is a parody of the Million Man March, a mass political demonstration put on by African American men in 1995.
Pwn'd
Pretty much every A-list African-American television, music, movie and/or sports star, along with their kids, who come off as snooty and over-privileged. More specifically, we see: Will Smith, Snoop Dogg, Oprah Winfrey, Kobe Bryant, Bill Cosby, and Puff Daddy's kids (named P Diddy Mini, Pidi Poofy Bite Size, and Puff A Diddy Daddy Puffy Fun Size).
Bonus Factoids
Pointless Observations
When Token's parents visit the local discount store, Kyle's mom wonders why they bother when they can afford to shop at Cherry Creek -- a real Denver-area shopping mall.
After getting a check minus on his presentation, Cartman says to Ms. Choksondik "I'll make you eat your parents." This is the second time he's used that threat (the first being in "Behind the Blow").
While the rich kids play polo, the boys play their own game "I'll kick you in the nuts".
Season 5
- e1 Scott Tenorman Must Die
- e2 It Hits the Fan
- e3 Cripple Fight
- e4 Super Best Friends
- e5 Terrance and Phillip: Behind the Blow
- e6 Cartmanland
- e7 Proper Condom Use
- e8 Towelie (episode)
- e9 Osama bin Laden Has Farty Pants
- e10 How To Eat With Your Butt
- e11 The Entity
- e12 Here Comes the Neighborhood
- e13 Kenny Dies
- e14 Butters' Very Own Episode