>Nightscream: Revert arbitrary edits that are not improvements from an IP account with a history of warnings for disruptive editing.

2021-05-09T14:01:03Z

Revert arbitrary edits that are not improvements from an IP account with a history of warnings for disruptive editing.

New page

{{DISPLAYTITLE:Cash for Gold (''South Park'')}}
{{Infobox television episode
| title = Cash for Gold
| series = South Park
| image =
| caption = Cartman selling jewelry on television.
| season = 16
| episode = 2
| airdate = {{Start date|2012|3|21}}
| production = 1602
| writer = Trey Parker
| director = [[Trey Parker]]
| season_article = South Park (season 16)
| episode_list = List of South Park episodes
| prev = [[Reverse Cowgirl (South Park)|Reverse Cowgirl]]
| next = [[Faith Hilling]]
}}
"'''Cash for Gold'''" is the second episode of the [[South Park (season 16)|sixteenth season]] of the American animated television series ''[[South Park]]'', and the 225th episode of the series overall. It originally aired on [[Comedy Central]] in the United States on March 21, 2012. The episode centers on fourth grader [[Stan Marsh]]'s irritation with J&G Shopping Network and television [[home shopping]] networks in general, as he discovers that they prey upon the elderly and [[confidence trick|fleece them of their money]],<ref>{{cite web | url=https://southpark.cc.com/news/410813/episode-1602-cash-for-gold-press-release | title=Episode 1602 'Cash For Gold' Press Release | publisher=[[South Park Studios]] | date=March 19, 2012 | access-date=March 24, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/318098/20120322/south-park-new-season-episode-cash-gold.htm | title=South Park New Episode Exposes 'Cash For Gold' Conspiracy | work=[[International Business Times]] | date=March 22, 2012 | access-date=March 28, 2012 | author=Kleinman, Jacob}}</ref> as well as [[Eric Cartman]]'s new [[entrepreneurship]] inspired by that same idea.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/22/south-park-cartman-opens-cash-4-gold-video_n_1371922.html | title='South Park': Cartman Opens His Own Cash 4 Gold Business | publisher=[[The Huffington Post]] | work=TV Replay | date=March 22, 2012 | access-date=March 24, 2012}}</ref>

The episode was written by series co-creator [[Trey Parker]] and is rated [[TV-MA L]] in the United States.

==Plot==
[[Stan Marsh]]'s grandfather Marvin gives him a bejeweled [[bolo tie]], saying that the Jewels & Gems (J&G) Shopping Network, from which he bought it, claimed that its [[Carat (purity)|14 carat gold]] and diamonds makes it worth $6,000. After Cartman teases him for wearing such a tacky and unfashionable item, Stan takes it to a Cash For Gold store where he is offered $15 for it. Other such merchants similarly offer him little or nothing for the item, and Stan realizes that his grandfather has been swindled. Cartman shows his friends the J&G infomercials, where half-senile senior citizens are conned into buying cheap jewelry for their relatives at outrageous prices. Stan tries to talk Marvin out of buying him or his sister Shelly more worthless items, but Marvin suffers from [[Alzheimer's disease]] and instead relates to Stan an often-repeated anecdote of a [[Border Collie]] named Patches he once had, but laments that he can no longer remember what she looked like.

Stan begins a crusade to stop the exploitation of the elderly in this manner, and vows to track down whoever is at the top of the trade. Meanwhile, Cartman decides to get into the infomercial business with [[Butters (South Park)|Butters]] as his sidekick, and not only starts offering his classmates cash for gold, he also sets up his own television channel and mimics the tone and techniques of Dean, the host on J&G. He visits a jewelry shop to restock, but he notices the women at the shop are using the very same mannerisms that he and Dean use, thus revealing they are scam artists as well. During one of Dean's shows, Stan calls in tells him to kill himself for having conned numerous elderly people out of their money.

Cartman arrives at a factory in [[India]] where the jewelry is made, intending to buy directly from them, and finds Stan is here as well, complaining about what they are doing. In a montage, it is revealed that the business is a continuous loop: the jewelry made at the factory is shipped to the United States, where scam artists sell it to senior citizens, who give them as gifts to relatives. The relatives sell the gifts for cash, and the gold and gems are separated and shipped back to the India factory to be made into new jewelry. An employee at the factory gives Stan a picture frame, which he accepts. Stan presents Marvin with a photo of Marvin and his deceased dog Patches in the frame. Marvin then notices Stan's tie, not remembering having given it to him, and tells him it is "gay." Stan replies that he will not to wear it anymore. Meanwhile, Stan's earlier call sparks a trend, and Dean, deluged with calls from the elderly telling him to kill himself, eventually complies and shoots himself in the head, covering a display of worthless jewelry with his blood.

==Reception==
Max Nicholson of [[IGN]] gave the episode a "Great" score of 8 out of 10, noting that although the episode "did take a few scenes to really get cooking", the clips from the infomercial segments were the highlight of the episode, as was "the montage surrounding whoever smelt it denied it and rhymed it actually dealt it". Nicholson also noted the similarity of Stan's phone call to J&G, in which he angrily urges the host to kill himself, to the "Marketing and Advertising" bit from comedian [[Bill Hicks]]' 1997 album ''[[Arizona Bay]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tv.ign.com/articles/122/1221367p1.html |title=South Park: "Cash For Gold" Review: The dawn of tacky keepsakes is upon us|publisher=[[IGN]]|date=March 22, 2012|access-date=April 6, 2012 | last=Nicholson | first=Max}}</ref>

Marcus Gilmer of [[The A.V. Club]] gave the episode a score of "[[Academic grading in the United States|B-]]". Comparing it to the previous episode, he noted, "There were plenty of lines that made me laugh" but that "the episode falls short of previous efforts at social commentary, including last week’s episode".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gilmer |first=Marcus |title=Cash for Gold|publisher=[[The A.V. Club]]|date=March 21, 2012|url=http://www.avclub.com/articles/cash-for-gold,71073/|access-date=May 22, 2012}}</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
*[https://southpark.cc.com/full-episodes/s16e02-cash-for-gold "Cash For Gold"] Full episode at South Park Studios.
*{{IMDb episode|2128143}}

{{South Park episodes|16}}

[[Category:Gold in India]]
[[Category:Television episodes set in India]]
[[Category:South Park (season 16) episodes]]
[[Category:Infomercial parodies]]
[[Category:Television episodes about suicide]]

Cash for Gold (South Park) - Revision history

>Nightscream: Revert arbitrary edits that are not improvements from an IP account with a history of warnings for disruptive editing.