Story

Description

When Stan's longtime girlfriend Wendy breaks up with him, he goes into a state of severe depression. The other boys try to cheer him up by taking him to a restaurant called Raisins, whose wait staff is composed entirely of pre-teen girls dressed in skimpy, Hooters-esque outfits. The visit fails to lift Stan's spirits, but Butters falls in love with a Raisin girl named Lexus. Meanwhile, Stan tries to patch up his relationship with Wendy. He first tries having his friends talk to her. When that doesn't work, he goes to Wendy's friends for help. Bebe suggests he stand outside her window and play a Peter Gabriel song, but he makes the ineffective choice of "Shock the Monkey." Even worse, when Wendy comes to the window, she's accompanied by Tolkien.

Stan's mood worsens, and his dark, pain-filled outlook on life lands him in good standing with the school's clique of Goth kids. Stan joins their group, dressing in black and taking on the alias "Raven."

At the same time, Butters' constant visits to Raisins to see Lexus exhausts his cash supply. His parents are delighted about his new "girlfriend" because it means he isn't gay (his father actually won a bet with his mother over this). They take him to Raisins so they can meet his "girlfriend," only to discover the sad, ugly truth -- she's just flirting with him to get his money.

Butters doesn't believe it. He stands by Lexus, who finally spells out the true nature of their relationship -- or rather, their lack of one. Crushed, he withdraws from society just like Stan. The Goth kids invite him to join their group, but he declines, saying that even though he's sad, the very fact of his sadness makes him feel alive and vital. Stan agrees, ditches the Goths and returns to his life.

The next day he's back to normal -- so back to normal that when Wendy and Tolkien walk by, he calls her a bitch and gives Tolkien the finger.

What I Learned Today

"Well yeah, and I'm sad, but at the same time I'm really happy that something could make me feel that sad. It's like it makes me feel alive, you know? It makes me feel human. And the only way I could feel this sad now is if I felt something really good before."

Memorable Quotes

• "Our son hasn't learned yet that girls will pretend to like him for money." Stephen Stotch
• "I'm not gonna live in a third world country with all the conformists." Michael
• "If you want be one of the nonconformists, all you have to do is dress just like us and listen to the same music we do." Michael
• "I'm nine years old, dude! If I don't work things out with Wendy I could be alone my whole life." Stan
• "Stan says you're a cont . . . you're a cont . . . Stan says you're a cont . . . cont. . . ." Jimmy
• "Well tell Stan to fuck off!" Wendy
• "Wendy breaks up." Bebe
• "Oh yeah, well at least we HAVE assholes you dumb girl!" Butters
• "You guys! I think our Raisins girl likes me!" Butters
• "Life is pain. Life is only pain." Pete Hair-flip Goth
• "There is darkness all around me. Deep, piercing black I cannot breathe. My heart has been raped." Goth Stan
• "Why don't you go back to your Justin Timberlake and your homework you conformist asshole." Michael
• "You see, Butters, women know that they can make men do anything by flirting. And some girls, like these, turn that into a profession." Stephen Stotch
• "Can we go PLEASE?" Stan
• "Oh, come on dude!" Kyle

Characters

Stan Marsh

Kyle Broflovski

Kenny McCormick

Eric Cartman

Butters Stotch

Jimmy Valmer

Wendy Testaburger

Tolkien Black

Bebe Stevens

Stephen Stotch

Linda Stotch

Mrs. Biggle

Character Debuts

The conformist-hating Goth Kids make their first appearance. Since this episode, they've reappeared a number of times, most notably in "You Got F'd in the A" and "The Ungroundable.".

Goth Kids

The group's members include Michael, the tall Goth, Pete, the 'Hair Flip' Goth, Henrietta Biggle, the 'Goth Girl' and Firkle Smith, the 'Little Goth'.

Michael

Pete

Henrietta Biggle

Firkle Smith

Raisins Crew

Ferrari

Lexus Martin

Mercedes

Porsche

Unnamed Raisins Girl 1

Unnamed Raisins Girl 2

Unnamed Raisins Girl 3

Unnamed Raisins Girl 4

Maury (Raisins bouncer)

Locations

Biggle Residence

Raisins

Songs

• "All out of Love" By Air Supply
• "Shock the Monkey" by Peter Gabriel
• "Y.M.C.A." by Village People and Raisins
• "Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone)" by Cinderella

Behind The Scenes

Where Did The Idea Come From

Matt and Trey liked the idea of a Hooters parody featuring younger girls, but couldn't figure out how to work the concept into the show. Then they remembered that guys who want to cheer up a friend who's broken up with his girlfriend always wind up at Hooters.

Pop Culture References

Shout Outs

The episode offers a well known assortment of classic rock hits, including Cinderella's "Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone)"; Air Supply's "All Out of Love"; the Village People's "Y.M.C.A."; James Brown's "Living In America"; and Peter Gabriel's "Shock the Monkey."

Raisins is an obvious parody of Hooters, right down to the skimpy clothing and endless chicken wings. We even get a glimpse of the Raisins girl's "training": acknowledge any customer within 5 feet, giggle a lot and show off your raisins, sit down at the table while taking the order, and most importantly, provide the customers with physical contact. All of this ensures better tips.

The Goth Kids all drink coffee at Benny's, a parody of of the chain restaurant Denny's.

Henrietta, the chubby Goth girl, complains that her parents, "Won't let her go to the Skinny Puppy show because her heroin addict aunt is coming over." She is apparently a big fan of this Canadian industrial rock band, as evidenced by the "Skippy Puppy" poster on her bedroom wall. She also has a "Blauhaus" poster, a reference to the gloomy English rock band Bauhaus.

In a display of his adorably innocent charm, Butters invites Lexus to come over so that the two could watch The Exorcist on DVD. Sadly, she declines.

The scene where Stan hallucinates Wendy's reflection in the water next to his own is a direct reference to the ending of the controversial 1978 anime kids' movie Ringing Bell.

Bonus Factoids

Pointless Observations

Bebe's suggestion that Stan win Wendy back by playing a Peter Gabriel song beneath her window parodies the 1989 film Say Anything. Unfortunately for Stan, instead of selecting the Gabriel ballad "In Your Eyes" (as John Cusack did in the movie), he went with "Shock the Monkey."

Wendy becomes Tolkien's girlfriend in this episode.

Stan's goth alter-ego "Raven" (complete with his "Nevermore" shirt) is an homage to American author and poet Edgar Allan Poe. His shirt even has a black and white portrait of him.

Butters' parents are elated at the prospect of their son dating a girl. In fact, his father wins a $10 bet off his wife, "You see, I told you he wouldn't turn out gay!" Mr. Stotch was caught in a gay bath house in "Butters Very Own Episode" and will again discuss being bi-curious in "Cartman Sucks."

Stan, trying to win Wendy back, asks stuttering Jimmy to tell her she's "a continuing inspiration" to him. Jimmy walks up to Wendy and stammers, "Stan says you're a cont . . . you're a cont . . . Stan says you're a cont...cont..." To this day, Trey and Matt can't believe the network let them get away with it.

Season 7

e1 I'm a Little Bit Country

e2 Krazy Kripples

e3 Toilet Paper

e4 Cancelled

e5 Fat Butt and Pancake Head

e6 Lil' Crime Stoppers

e7 Red Man's Greed

e8 South Park Is Gay

e9 Christian Rock Hard

e10 Grey Dawn

e11 Casa Bonita

e12 All About Mormons

e13 Butt Out

e14 Raisins

e15 It's Christmas in Canada