Original air date: 11/8/2000
The boys begin fourth grade. After a bad encounter with their new teacher, they seek the help of two Star Trek-obsessed nerds to go back in time to third grade.
"4th Grade" contains examples of:
- An Aesop: Ms. Choksondik explains that it's better to move forward than move backwards, and the past isn't as awesome as you may think. Mr. Garrison also comes to terms with his homosexuality, and his former coworkers celebrate this until Principal Victoria states that the school doesn't hire gay people.
- Bittersweet Ending: Garrison's plotline ends with accepting he's gay, but not being rehired because he's gay.
- Brain Bleach: Principal Victoria, Mr. Mackey and Chef all needed this after Ms. Choksondik accidentally exposes her nipples.
- Call-Back:
- Mr. Garrison's novel Valley of the Penises from "Cherokee Hair Tampons" is mentioned to have won the "Gay Pulitzer Prize".
- Also Garrison allegedly soliciting sex from a student (said student being Cartman) is mentioned again.
- Coax Them Out of the Closet: variation. The self-exiled Mr. Garrison enters the "Tree of Insight" where he meets a physical manifestation of his "gay side," who convinces him to finally quit lying to himself and admit that he's gay.
- Comically Missing the Point:
- Despite the low hanging fruit of jokes that could be made from Ms. Choksondik's name, none of the kids notice and instead use variations like "Ms. Makes-Me-Sick."
- When the boys try to get the nerds back together, each one interprets the "Who the hell cares" comments as the kids agreeing with their point of view on the number of Star Trek episodes.
- Early-Installment Weirdness: When the boys suggest mooning the teacher, Butters of all people offers a more vulgar idea of mooning her with their penises sticking through their legs.
- Extreme Doormat: For all her screaming, Ms. Choksondik wasn't very effective in disciplining the kids until Mr. Garrison helps.
- Everyone Has Standards: Even Chef and Kenny are disgusted by Ms. Choksondik's enormous, sagging boobs.
- Funny Background Event: When Ms. Choksondik finds Garrison in the cave, an increasing number of stray cats try to suckle at her nipples. They return in the final scene in the classroom.
- Go Fast or Go Boom: In an attempt to turn Timmy's wheelchair into a time machine, the super-nerds the 4th graders employed to help them accidentally turned it into a rocket-chair that will explode if he either gets off or drops below 5 mph.
- Hidden Depths: Butters knows more about Star Trek than the nerds who were fighting with each other
- It's All About Me: Both nerds would rather be right about the number of Star Trek episodes than introduce an invention that would be a scientific breakthrough.
- Jerkass: The Boys bully a 3rd grader just to feel better about being bullied by the fifth graders.
- Minor Flaw, Major Breakup: A friend example, the two nerds ended their friendship over the number of Star Trek episodes.
- Mooning: The boys plan to do this to Ms. Choksondik. However, on the first lesson she appears to be a Drill Sergeant Nasty, which scares all of them except Cartman out of doing it.
- Only Sane Woman: Wendy is the only one who voices her doubts about the time travel plan. Downplayed in that she still goes through with it along the rest of the class.
- Running Gag:
- Clyde cries for the first time in this episode.
- Cartman attempting to taunt Ms. Choksondik with the other kids only for the rest of the class to not join in, and getting frustrated over their inaction.
- Shout-Out:
- The entire sub-plot of Timmy's wheelchair being in danger of exploding if it drops beneath 5mph is taken from Speed, and the woman that Timmy accidentally ends up carrying on the wheelchair is an expy of Sandra Bullock's character from the film.
- Ms. Choksondik's training is a parody of Luke Skywalker's in The Empire Strikes Back. Garrison even gives the "You will be" line in a Yoda-esque voice (which is caused by a congested throat). While Choksondik doesn't have to confront her fears in the cave, Garrison does, in the form of his repressed gay side.
- When confronted by his gay side, Garrison uses the "Leave me spirit" line from A Christmas Carol
- Stern Teacher: Ms. Choksondik introduces herself as a very no nonsense teacher who won't take the class' bullshit. She assigns Cartman a 1000 word essay for disrupting her class. After her training with Mr. Garrison, she lightens up a little bit and manages to connect with most of the class.
- Suspiciously Specific Denial: When Ms. Choksondik reveals her name to Mr. Garrison, he interprets it as an accusation that he engages in such activity and responds "No, I don't. It's a lie!"
- Take That!: Huckleberry Finn is considered homoerotic.
- They Killed Kenny Again: Kenny dies after being dragged across a road on a cart while attempting to help Timmy.Stan: Well, who didn't see that coming?
- Transparent Closet: Mr. Garrison finally comes out as gay, but the staff knew that.
- Unexplained Recovery: Kenny is seen in the classroom towards the end of the episode, despite dying earlier during the Timmy chase. Perhaps this is his Resurrective Immortality taking effect, since this event does seem to take place on a different day...
- Wham Episode: After spending the first three and a half seasons in the third grade, the boys enter the fourth grade here, where they remain as of now.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Stan and Kyle call out Cartman for getting the class nostalgic for third grade when that period of time was filled with problems.
- You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: The boys' reaction to the two nerds' argument.
