South Park - Episode 0217 - Original Air Date: 16th December 1998.
This South Park episode was write by Trey Parker, Matt Stone and Pam Brady.
Mr. Garrison's job is on the line because he does not teach anything relevant, so in an effort to save his job he makes the class do a presentations to a current event for the town committee.
The boys are asked to write a paper on corporations, so they go to Mr. Tweek for help, as he runs his own business and has had experience dealing with large corporations. They meet Tweek for the first time and are stunned by his constant shivering. Tweek drinks lots of coffee... and is beset by gnomes who come in during the wee hours of the morning and steal his underpants. When the boys see this for themselves, they nab the gnomes and follow them to their cave, where the underwear is collected... but the gnomes can't figure out how to profit from it.
In this South Park episode ("Gnomes") Tweek and his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Tweek have their debut.
As an extra info, Gnomes are often associated with the world of finance. Several commentators suggested the gnomes in South Park could be a reference to the phrase Gnomes of Zürich, a disparaging term for Swiss bankers.
South Park Spoiler Alert!
(The complete plot for this South Park Episode)
Mr. Garrison's job is on the line because he does not teach anything relevant, so in an effort to save his job he makes the class to do a presentations on a current event for the town committee. Stan, Kyle, Cartman and Kenny are grouped together with Tweek, a jittery child, who suggests that the presentation should be on the "Underpants Gnomes" who are tiny gnomes that sneak into his house and steal his underpants. The boys agree to stay at Tweek's house to work on Mr. Garrison's homework assignment and to see if Underpants Gnomes exist.Tweek's parents, who own a coffee shop, give the boys coffee to help them stay up. The boys drink too much coffee, and end up wired, bouncing off the walls of Tweek's bedroom rather than writing their report. As 3.30am, the time Tweek said the gnomes come, approaches, the boys realize they have nothing to present. Tweek's father then enters the room, offering the boys a propagandist speech against "Harbucks", a national chain of coffee houses threatening his business. As he does this, Tweek's Gnomes steal his underpants, but only Tweek sees them.
The boys' presentation is a hit, much to Mr Garrison's surprise. The town committee is so impressed that they lobby Mayor McDaniels to pass a law against Harbucks. The mayor agrees to a so-called "prop 10", allowing the townspeople to vote on Harbucks' existence. Mr. Tweek's plan worked, but Mrs. Tweek is unhappy, claiming that the boys are being exploited.
The mayor tells the boys to do another presentation just before the vote. Mr. Garrison, knowing that the boys did not write the first presentation, piles the pressure on, telling them that it must be good. The boys, however, know nothing on the subject. As they are at their wits' end, they finally see Tweek's Gnomes and ply them for information. The Gnomes, claiming to be business experts, explain their business plan:
(source: wikipedia.org)1. Collect Underpants
2. ?
3. Profit
Kenny is squished by a falling trolley cart used by the Gnomes during the visit; the Gnomes are aghast at the accident, but the boys are too fixated on their business research to express their customary outrage at Kenny's latest death.
When the boys come up to give their presentation for the vote, they do a report that is completely different from their previous piece. They now say, having spoken to the Gnomes, that corporations are good, and are only big because of their great contributions to the world, such as Harbucks with their great coffee. While speaking, they admit that they did not write the previous paper, which causes Mr. Garrison to be carried away as he lashes out at the boys. Mrs. Tweek applauds their honesty and admits to the same facts herself. Then she convinces the whole town to try Harbucks Coffee, which is famous because it tastes so good. When everybody does try it, they all agree (especially because the Tweek brand is awful), including Mr. Tweek, who accepts an offer to run the Harbucks shop.
This South Park episode actually satirizes the common complaint against large corporations lacking scruples and driving seemingly wholesome smaller independent companies out of business. Paul Cantor, a literary critic and economic theorist, who has taught college courses revolving around the "Gnomes" episode, has described it as "the most fully developed defense of capitalism" ever produced by the show.