Night of the Living Homeless
Encyclopedia
"Night of the Living Homeless" is episode 1107 (#160) of Comedy Central
's South Park
. It was first broadcast on April 18, 2007. This episode marks the end of the first half of Season 11, which continued on October 3, 2007. The episode is rated TV-MA. It parodies various zombie movies
, in particular George A. Romero's
Night of the Living Dead
, Dawn of the Dead (including its remake
), Day of the Dead and Land of the Dead
, plus Return of the Living Dead
(the homeless repeatedly call "change" instead of "brains").
people have been showing up in South Park in large numbers. The boys are unable to play basketball
, since homeless people are sleeping on the court. Kyle recommends that they do something about it, and Cartman agrees, and announces that he will jump over them on his skateboard, wearing a cape, insisting that it was Kyle's idea. The town council has also taken notice of the problem, and come up with ridiculous, ineffective solutions, such as turning the homeless into tires for their cars or giving them designer sleeping bags and makeovers "so they would at least be pleasant to look at." Park County
's expert on homelessness advises that if no-one gives them anything, they will leave.
Kyle
feels bad for the homeless, and gives a homeless man twenty dollars he'd been saving for an Xbox
game. But the homeless man just asks Kyle for more money after being given the twenty dollars. The number of homeless immediately grows dramatically, and they wander everywhere asking for change in a zombie
-like manner. Randy, the Stotches, Jimbo, and Gerald Broflovski wind up stranded on top of the town Community Center, with hordes of homeless below. Gerald attempts to escape to the bus station, throwing his change away to distract the hordes; he then realizes he has no change for the bus, and starts asking around for some. Randy watches and declares "he's become one of them".
The boys, meanwhile, are still seeking a solution. They leave the house and are stopped by one of the Mayor's Assistants who tells them to get in his car and informs them of a homeless expert right before he is killed in a car crash. The boys survive and escape to the sewers and head for the home of the homeless expert. He informs the boys that homeless people actually live on change, almost like food. He tells them that the nearby town of Evergreen
had solved a similar homeless problem, and that they should travel there and find out what they did. Once they leave, homeless people try to get into his home, and he shoots himself in the head to "take the easy way out." This fails to work, since he consistently shoots himself nine times in various non-lethal areas of the head and torso. As the boys travel, more adults escape to the Community Center roof. One of the adults, Glenn, discovers that because of the high amounts of homeless in South Park, property values have plummeted, and his house has been repossessed
, making him homeless. He asks the others for "change" to put his belongings in storage. Randy then shoots Glenn's head off with a shotgun
.
The boys make it to Evergreen, which has been devastated. There are only three remaining survivors, dressed in camouflage
and heavily armed. They are distrustful of the boys and threaten to shoot them, since, being minors, they are not home-owners and are therefore "homeless". They appear ready to shoot the boys until one recognizes Cartman as the "boy who jumped 30 homeless". While talking to the survivors, who have clearly become paranoid, Kyle finds a pamphlet on the ground, which advertises South Park as a "haven for the homeless". He realizes the Evergreen townspeople got rid of their homeless by convincing them to migrate to South Park. The children realize that they must get rid of the homeless because, as Kyle reasons, their parents are as stupid as the people of Evergreen, and South Park would fall apart just like Evergreen did. At that moment, the leader's burned wife arrives, angry of him for burning her because he thought she was one of the "homeless". She then shoots him and one of his companions before being shot herself. The dying companion turns on the other and shoots him to death as he is falling.
The boys heavily reinforce a bus and take it to the Community Center in South Park, where the homeless have gathered below the adults. They advertise California
as "super cool to the homeless" by singing a modified version of 2Pac
and Dr. Dre
's "California Love
," and lead them there. Before heading back to South Park, Cartman shows off by jumping his skateboard over three homeless people. The episode ends with Stan saying to Kyle "Honestly, I don't know what you see in this."
during the break between seasons 10 and 11.
, reviewer Travis Fickett describing the episode as "a take-it-or-leave-it episode". Fickett suggested that the episode was "sustained by mostly non sequitur jokes that work all on their own", singling out the multiple suicide attempts of the homeless advisor and Stan's suggestion that Kyle was responsible for suggesting jumping over the homeless. TV Squad's Adam Finley gave a more positive review, rating the episode as 7 out of 7. Finley noted the parody of zombie films and also singled out the running joke of jumping the homeless on a skateboard.
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
's South Park
South Park
South Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
. It was first broadcast on April 18, 2007. This episode marks the end of the first half of Season 11, which continued on October 3, 2007. The episode is rated TV-MA. It parodies various zombie movies
Zombies in popular culture
Zombies are fictional undead creatures regularly encountered in horror and fantasy themed works. They are typically depicted as mindless, reanimated corpses with a hunger for human flesh, and in some cases, human brains in particular...
, in particular George A. Romero's
George A. Romero
George Andrew Romero is a Canadian-American film director, screenwriter and editor, best known for his gruesome and satirical horror films about a hypothetical zombie apocalypse. He is nicknamed "Godfather of all Zombies." -Life and career:...
Night of the Living Dead
Night of the Living Dead
Night of the Living Dead is a 1968 American independent black-and-white zombie film and cult film directed by George A. Romero, starring Duane Jones, Judith O'Dea and Karl Hardman. It premiered on October 1, 1968, and was completed on a USD$114,000 budget. After decades of cinematic re-releases, it...
, Dawn of the Dead (including its remake
Dawn of the Dead (2004 film)
Dawn of the Dead is a 2004 horror film directed by Zack Snyder in his directorial debut. It is a remake of George A. Romero's 1978 film of the same name and stars Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames, and Jake Weber. The film depict a handful of human survivors living in a Milwaukee, Wisconsin shopping mall...
), Day of the Dead and Land of the Dead
Land of the Dead
For the disambiguation page on anything else on this topic, come here to Land of the Dead .Land of the Dead is a 2005 horror film written and directed by George A...
, plus Return of the Living Dead
Return of the Living Dead
The Return of the Living Dead is a 1985 American zombie film that was followed by several sequels. The film was written and directed by Dan O'Bannon and starred Clu Gulager, James Karen and Don Calfa....
(the homeless repeatedly call "change" instead of "brains").
Plot
HomelessHomelessness
Homelessness describes the condition of people without a regular dwelling. People who are homeless are unable or unwilling to acquire and maintain regular, safe, and adequate housing, or lack "fixed, regular, and adequate night-time residence." The legal definition of "homeless" varies from country...
people have been showing up in South Park in large numbers. The boys are unable to play basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, since homeless people are sleeping on the court. Kyle recommends that they do something about it, and Cartman agrees, and announces that he will jump over them on his skateboard, wearing a cape, insisting that it was Kyle's idea. The town council has also taken notice of the problem, and come up with ridiculous, ineffective solutions, such as turning the homeless into tires for their cars or giving them designer sleeping bags and makeovers "so they would at least be pleasant to look at." Park County
Park County, Colorado
Park County is the 17th most extensive of the 64 counties of the State of Colorado of the United States. The county was named after the large geographic region known as South Park, which was named by early fur traders and trappers in the area. The geographic center of the State of Colorado is...
's expert on homelessness advises that if no-one gives them anything, they will leave.
Kyle
Kyle Broflovski
Kyle Broflovski is a fictional character in the animated television series South Park. He is voiced by co-creator Matt Stone. Kyle is one of the show's four central characters, along with his friends Stan Marsh, Kenny McCormick, and Eric Cartman...
feels bad for the homeless, and gives a homeless man twenty dollars he'd been saving for an Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
game. But the homeless man just asks Kyle for more money after being given the twenty dollars. The number of homeless immediately grows dramatically, and they wander everywhere asking for change in a zombie
Zombie
Zombie is a term used to denote an animated corpse brought back to life by mystical means such as witchcraft. The term is often figuratively applied to describe a hypnotized person bereft of consciousness and self-awareness, yet ambulant and able to respond to surrounding stimuli...
-like manner. Randy, the Stotches, Jimbo, and Gerald Broflovski wind up stranded on top of the town Community Center, with hordes of homeless below. Gerald attempts to escape to the bus station, throwing his change away to distract the hordes; he then realizes he has no change for the bus, and starts asking around for some. Randy watches and declares "he's become one of them".
The boys, meanwhile, are still seeking a solution. They leave the house and are stopped by one of the Mayor's Assistants who tells them to get in his car and informs them of a homeless expert right before he is killed in a car crash. The boys survive and escape to the sewers and head for the home of the homeless expert. He informs the boys that homeless people actually live on change, almost like food. He tells them that the nearby town of Evergreen
Evergreen, Colorado
Evergreen is a census-designated place and a U.S. Post Office in Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. Evergreen is roughly west of Denver. The population was 9,038 at the 2010 census...
had solved a similar homeless problem, and that they should travel there and find out what they did. Once they leave, homeless people try to get into his home, and he shoots himself in the head to "take the easy way out." This fails to work, since he consistently shoots himself nine times in various non-lethal areas of the head and torso. As the boys travel, more adults escape to the Community Center roof. One of the adults, Glenn, discovers that because of the high amounts of homeless in South Park, property values have plummeted, and his house has been repossessed
Repossession
Repossession is generally used to refer to a financial institution taking back an object that was either used as collateral or rented or leased in a transaction. Repossession is a "self-help" type of action in which the party having right of ownership of the property in question takes the property...
, making him homeless. He asks the others for "change" to put his belongings in storage. Randy then shoots Glenn's head off with a shotgun
Shotgun
A shotgun is a firearm that is usually designed to be fired from the shoulder, which uses the energy of a fixed shell to fire a number of small spherical pellets called shot, or a solid projectile called a slug...
.
The boys make it to Evergreen, which has been devastated. There are only three remaining survivors, dressed in camouflage
Military camouflage
Military camouflage is one of many means of deceiving an enemy. In practice, it is the application of colour and materials to battledress and military equipment to conceal them from visual observation. The French slang word camouflage came into common English usage during World War I when the...
and heavily armed. They are distrustful of the boys and threaten to shoot them, since, being minors, they are not home-owners and are therefore "homeless". They appear ready to shoot the boys until one recognizes Cartman as the "boy who jumped 30 homeless". While talking to the survivors, who have clearly become paranoid, Kyle finds a pamphlet on the ground, which advertises South Park as a "haven for the homeless". He realizes the Evergreen townspeople got rid of their homeless by convincing them to migrate to South Park. The children realize that they must get rid of the homeless because, as Kyle reasons, their parents are as stupid as the people of Evergreen, and South Park would fall apart just like Evergreen did. At that moment, the leader's burned wife arrives, angry of him for burning her because he thought she was one of the "homeless". She then shoots him and one of his companions before being shot herself. The dying companion turns on the other and shoots him to death as he is falling.
The boys heavily reinforce a bus and take it to the Community Center in South Park, where the homeless have gathered below the adults. They advertise California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
as "super cool to the homeless" by singing a modified version of 2Pac
Tupac Shakur
Tupac Amaru Shakur , known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor. Shakur has sold over 75 million albums worldwide as of 2007, making him one of the best-selling music artists in the world...
and Dr. Dre
Dr. Dre
Andre Romelle Young , primarily known by his stage name Dr. Dre, is an American record producer, rapper, record executive, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is the founder and current CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and a former co-owner and artist of Death Row Records...
's "California Love
California Love
"California Love" is a hip hop song by 2Pac featuring Dr. Dre and Roger Troutman. The song was released as 2Pac's comeback single upon his release from prison in 1995. A popular remix version of the song appeared on his 1996 double album All Eyez on Me...
," and lead them there. Before heading back to South Park, Cartman shows off by jumping his skateboard over three homeless people. The episode ends with Stan saying to Kyle "Honestly, I don't know what you see in this."
Production
Writing on the episode's basic story and jokes began at the show's writer's retreat at Hyatt Grand Champions Resort conference center, in Indian Wells, CaliforniaIndian Wells, California
Indian Wells is a city in Riverside County, California, in the Coachella Valley , in between Palm Desert and La Quinta. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 4,958....
during the break between seasons 10 and 11.
Reception
The episode was rated 7.5 out of 10.0 on IGNIGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
, reviewer Travis Fickett describing the episode as "a take-it-or-leave-it episode". Fickett suggested that the episode was "sustained by mostly non sequitur jokes that work all on their own", singling out the multiple suicide attempts of the homeless advisor and Stan's suggestion that Kyle was responsible for suggesting jumping over the homeless. TV Squad's Adam Finley gave a more positive review, rating the episode as 7 out of 7. Finley noted the parody of zombie films and also singled out the running joke of jumping the homeless on a skateboard.
External links
- Night of the Living Homeless Full episode at South Park Studios
- Night of the Living Homeless Episode guide at South Park Studios