Talk:Something Wall-Mart This Way Comes

Inclusion in Wal-Mart category

I think this article should be cross-listed in the Wal-Mart category. Other articles (criticism, bios, books, etc) are also put in that category as appropriate. Feco 18:11, 14 Apr 2005 (UTC)

The Circle of Iron

I wonder if the "mirror" idea relies on this particular movie? (Anyone besides me actually seen it?) [1] 144.92.21.96 22:19, 6 September 2005 (UTC)

Things to note

This section is way, way off. The episode is parodying the idea that giant corporations are evil, not supporting it. The effects of the Wall-Mart on people are obvious (or at least I thought it was obvious) hyperbole. The concept of an "evil" Wall-Mart is shown to be a complete, utter joke.

Yes, that ending remark should be stricken. The episode is obviously mocking the anti-Wal-Mart hyperbole, especially as evidenced by the issue of increased purchasing power brought up in the ending monologue. 70.171.0.160 04:03, 29 November 2005 (UTC)

The trivia/cultural section

I really think the trivia section (for this episode and all episodes) needs work. I think there needs to be a parodies/allusions section for every episode, rather than listing parodies under the trivia section. King nothing 2 03:54, 12 February 2006 (UTC)

I'm removing the statement "This is one of the few episodes which Kenny doesn't die." Kenny stopped dying in every episode after the season 5 ep Kenny Dies 121.44.38.136 04:11, 4 October 2006 (UTC)

I think the HMM reference is too far-fetched. Odds are it's another stock sound effect that happened to be used in both. I didn't edit, though. blades (talk) 07:36, 22 March 2008 (UTC)

Trivia should be cited and then merged into the main article. Cite the following please;

• Wall-Mart is a reference to Wal-Mart.
• The title (and some of the plot) comes from the novel Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury, the title of which, in turn, comes from a line in Macbeth.
• The "Heart of Wall-Mart" scene is lifted from the Architect scene in The Matrix Reloaded.
• At the end of the episode, the Wall-Mart vanishes the same way that the house did in the movie Poltergeist. However, it also "craps its pants" when it vanishes.
• The greeter welcomes Randy to the Wall-Mart with the phrase "All are welcome, all are welcome" which is also used in the movie Poltergeist.
• When Randy wakes up in the middle of night and looks at Wall-Mart, it is glowing and on top of a hill, in reference to Salem's Lot.
• When Randy first enters Wall-Mart he says "It's beautiful." A sound clip first used by Steven Spielberg during the screening of the modified version of Raiders of the Lost Ark in the episode "Free Hat".
• Near the end, when the people find out Wall-Mart's weak point lies in the "heart", Chef says, "Spread the word to other towns" to a military telegraph operator in a parody of the end of Independence Day. A similar scene was in the season three episode Chinpokomon.
• The sound used to display time passing (such as when Jim's drugstore increases in size during the last few minutes) is the sound used in Heroes of Might and Magic III when a new week starts.
• The pants-crapping gag is later used in the Season 10 episode The Return of Chef.
• In the scene where Wall-Mart is speaking to Cartman, there are chocolate bars labeled Golden Ticket. This was also referenced in A Ladder to Heaven and later in Le Petit Tourette.

Alastairward (talk) 14:18, 15 August 2008 (UTC)

I, Robot?

Someone put in the trivia section that this episode parodies I, Robot. Can someone explain this to me? I've seen both the movie and this episode, and I don't see the connection. I have my doubts regarding the validity of the statement. King nothing 2 06:48, 3 March 2006 (UTC)

Family Guy Stole?

Is it actually fair to say 'This episode's premise and idea was stolen with many other jokes on this show by Family Guy'? The statement doesn't actually point to a specific episode. There is a possibility that whichever episode of Family Guy this is in reference to, came up with a similar idea independantly.--Jcvamp 00:58, 26 September 2006 (UTC)

Yeah, especially when you consider "simpsons already did it"--Anarchy_Balsac

Dude, look at the air dates of the two episodes. the south park one was 2 years before the family guy one. so if anything (and in accordance to the rumor) family guy steals from south park. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.29.20.123 (talk) 18:29, 28 February 2010 (UTC)

Walmart's response.

A Wal-mart represantive responded that this episode is right on target. I got this third-hand from http://liberalorder.typepad.com/the_liberal_order/television/index.html. The original source is Wall Street Journal. If someone with an account there could read the article and clean-up what I added, this would be great

error?

"When the townspeople talk to the boss of the store for the first time, he acts like Agent Smith during his conversation with Morpheus in The Matrix."

Does he talk like Agent Smith, or like The Architect? I am thinking more Architect, in the scene where neo confronts Architect in his office JayKeaton 00:53, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

Crap

Despite the phrasing in the article, none of the crap ends up in pants. Just thought I'd ponder this entirely digusting fact. I don't know if these means the episode must be edited.

Lots42 04:47, 15 July 2007 (UTC)

Except for the Cartman quote, I think there should be a better phrase to use throughout. blades (talk) 07:09, 22 March 2008 (UTC)

this section of trivia pretty ridiculous

The color red used on the Wall-Mart's store could be a reference to how Wal-mart has outsourced many of their factories to the communist country of China.

This is ridiculous. First, Wal-Mart doesn't have any factories, let alone many outsourced to China. Wal-Mart is a department store that sells goods, they don't manufacture anything. Any in-house "brands" are simply re-branded merchandise already made by a wholesaler that re-brands for several chains. It isn't as though the Wal-Mart and Kirkland Signature factories are right next to each other, churning out tires one day and baby diapers the next...any large retailer that has in-house brands simply re-brands merchandise from a common manufacturer...the person who wrote this doesn't have any grasp on global economy.

Second, the trivia section is very well written save this little jewel I'm writing about. Poltergeist references, Matrix references...all well and good. But this ridiculous reading into colors used in the show is simply idiotic. That "red" would be so obviously a reference to the Chinese...are you stupid? Yes, Wal-Mart's goods are mostly from China. But to think that the show was so subtle about it is simply stupid after season after season of writing style that lends itself to prediction. Why not comment on how many run-down buildings were depicted in the "Main Street" scene and then make a correlation on how the same number is an even divisor of 9/11 which proves Trey Parker and Matt Stone's involvement in the 9/11 conspiracy? Why not mention how many broken panes of glass were shown and how that number matches the year that JFK was assassinated, therefore showing a correlation to Lee Harvey Oswald and then further showing that perhaps Mr. Oswald was responsible for climate change, 9/11, and a bizarre link to the EU coming to power, predicting the apocalypse? Seriously...South Park makes references at things that don't take a lint comb and three years of serious study to uncover. The "red" theory is simply rubbish, and I suggest deleting it because it is so damn stupid.

70.101.211.40 07:32, 4 November 2007 (UTC)

Continuity Error ?

In "Red Man's Greed" just when the Native Americans are about to bulldoze South Park, a section of dialogue commences between stan and the head of the casino. In this conversation stan says "We grew up here, our parents grew up here, we shop at that Wal Mart". To me this implies that a Walmart already existed before the construction of one in this episode. Its just a quick question I'm throwing out there.

--Beckhendrix996 (talk) 06:42, 29 November 2007 (UTC)

Title of this episode

According to South Park Studios [2] the correct title of this episode is "Something Wall-Mart This Way Comes". --Captain Infinity (talk) 14:36, 28 July 2008 (UTC)

Issues

One of the issues of the article is that it is almost entirely a plot summary. Can a page about an episode really be any more than that? At best I could see an 'analysis' section that deals with the themes and motifs, but that might get into difference of interpretation and also trying to search for the creator's true opinions and beliefs.

Reference

Has anyone noticed the plot is loosely parodied from [It (novel)|It]? Like, the prices being deadlights? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.206.106.199 (talk) 19:07, 13 August 2009 (UTC)