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"Gnomes" is the 30th episode of Comedy Central's animated series South Park. It was originally broadcast on December 16, 1998. This episode marks the first appearance of (?)Tweek and his parents.
Plot
Mr. Garrison, whose job is on the line since he doesn't teach current events, makes the class do oral presentations on a current event for the town committee. Stan, Kyle, Cartman and Kenny are paired up with Tweek, a jittery kid, who suggests that the presentation be on the "Underpants Gnomes", tiny men who sneak into his house and steal his underwear. To prove their existence to the skeptical boys, he has them stay at his house.
Tweek's parents, who own a coffee shop, give the boys coffee to help them stay up. Meanwhile, Mr. Tweek goes into one of many over-the-top monologues where he talks about his coffee as though he were advertising it on TV, decorated with colorful metaphors, much to the annoyance of his son.
The boys drink too much coffee, and end up wired, bouncing off the walls of Tweek's bedroom. Tweek is the only one not drinking coffee while the others are playing, and sits on his bed watching. They finally come down from their caffeine rush, and start to work on their project. While they argue ideas, Tweek notices the underpants gnomes walking single file into his bedroom toward his dresser. After stealing several pairs of Tweek's underpants, the Gnomes walk out of his bedroom, unnoticed by the other boys. Meanwhile, Tweek is freaking out and trying to get their attention. They finally stop arguing and tell Tweek to shut up.
The coffee shop which Tweek's parents own is about to face competition from a big conglomerate called Harbucks (a parody of Starbucks), and may go out of business. Mr. Tweek then writes a report for the boys, which they can present with a layer of sympathy so the town committee would be moved enough to help stop Harbucks and throw them out of town.
Mr. Garrison sees right through the presentation, but is surprised to see the town committee buying it, so he plays along. And, as Mr. Tweek planned all along, the committee follows the boys' advice and indeed helps Mr. Tweek combat Harbucks. They all appeal to Mayor McDaniels, who helps by setting up a proposition, called "Prop 10". If it passes, then Harbucks will be thrown out of town. After the boys appear on TV, the whole town is turned against Harbucks and its representative, Mr. Postum. Mrs. Tweek is upset by the tactic, as she feels that they are only using the boys for their own benefit. She quits.
Crowds appear outside of the Harbucks coffeehouse to protest, while Mr. Postum tries to appeal to kids to sell his coffee. He uses a camel mascot, not unlike Joe Camel, and is scolded by a mother who doesn't want her son having caffeine. On the day of the vote, the mayor has the boys do a speech around the same time Mr. Postum does, after the band Toto plays (A band "that everybody likes"). The boys face more pressure from Mr. Garrison when he tells them that they need to do another presentation. When they try to conceive one, they see the Underpants Gnomes for themselves, who explain their whole motive. The Underpants Gnomes are businessmen of sorts, and they know a lot about corporations, and explain them to the boys.
When the boys come up to give their presentation for the vote, they do a report that is completely different from their previous piece. They are now saying that corporations are good, and are only big because of their great contributions to the world, such as Harbucks with their great coffee. While speaking they admit that they didn't write that previous paper, which causes Mr. Garrison to be carried away when he lashes out at the boys. Mrs. Tweek applauds their honesty and admits to the same facts herself. Then she convinces the whole town to try Harbucks Coffee, which is famous because it tastes great. When everybody does try it, they all agree, including Mr. Tweek. Mr. Postum offers him a job running the store, which he accepts.
The gnomes
The Underpants Gnomes are a community of underground gnomes who steal underpants, notably from Tweek.
The Underpants Gnomes have a three-phase business plan, consisting of:
- Collect Underpants
- ???
- Profit!
None of the gnomes actually know what the second phase is, and all of them assume that someone else within the organization does. The three-step business plan has become a recurring joke on websites like Slashdot, Digg and Fark.
The Underpants Gnomes also appear in another episode, "Red Sleigh Down"; in it, they appear as Santa's elves; it is explained that they work on their own for most of the year, but assist Santa during the Christmas season.
Kenny's death
Kenny is crushed to death in the Underpants Gnomes' underground lair when one of their trolley carts falls on him. Stan and Kyle deliver their trademark "Oh my God, they killed Kenny" speech very fast as if they're not particularly troubled by the incident. The gnomes, however, are very concerned and don't seem to understand why Stan and Kyle are unfazed by the death of their friend. The boys are evidently more concerned about their speech tomorrow.
The Underpants Gnomes song
Time to go to work. Work all night.
Search for underpants, hey.
We won't stop until we have underpants.
Yum tum yummy tum tay!
Trivia
 | This article contains a list of miscellaneous information. Please relocate any relevant information into other sections or articles. (June 2007) |
- As seen in this episode, Officer Barbrady is a regular customer at Tweek's shop, where his usual order is getting slapped in the face with a stray cat. This clip is shown in the Monty Python documentary The Life of Python, as an example of Monty Python's Flying Circus' influence on South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker. Monty Python is famous for this style of bizarre humour, in this case, the Fish Slapping Dance or the knight in the series that often hit people with a chicken.
- Mr. Postum appears to be named after Postum, the coffee-free coffee drink.
- At the end of the episode, before the big speech, one of the signs is saying "I si para prop 10".
- In World of Warcraft, the Burning Crusade-only race Draenei reference the gnomes' business plan as a male joke. "Step one... we land the Exodar. Step three! We defeat the Legion and go home. There is only one thing missing..."