"Merry Christmas, Charlie Manson!" is the sixteenth episode of the second season of the American animated television series ''

South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boysStan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand the ...

''. The 29th episode of the series overall it originally aired on

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American Cable television in the United States, cable television channel, channel owned by Paramount Global through its Paramount Media Networks, network division's Paramount Media Networks#MTV Entertainment Group, MTV Ente ...

in the United States on December 9, 1998. The episode was written by series co-creator

Trey Parker Randolph Severn "Trey" Parker III (born October 19, 1969) is an American actor, animator, writer, producer, director, and musician. He is best known for co-creating ''South Park'' (1997) and '' The Book of Mormon'' (2011) with his creative part ...

along with Nancy M. Pimental and was directed by

Eric Stough Eric "Butters" Stough (born July 31, 1972) is an American animator and producer. He is best known as the animation director and a producer on the television series ''South Park''. Born in Evergreen, Colorado, Stough attended the University of ...

, in his directorial debut in the show and making it the first episode to not be directed by Parker or Stone. In the episode, the boys go to Cartman's grandma's house in Nebraska for the holidays but Stan was told by his parents that he cannot go because it's far away from South Park. Stan challenges their authority and goes anyway. Meanwhile Cartman's Uncle Howard and his friend

Charlie Manson Charles Milles Manson (; November 12, 1934 – November 19, 2017) was an American criminal, cult leader, and musician who led the Manson Family, a cult based in California in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Some cult members committed a serie ...

bust out of prison and cause mayhem and mischief.

Plot

Stan asks his parents for permission to go with

Cartman Eric Theodore Cartman, commonly referred to as just Cartman, is a fictional character in the adult animated sitcom ''South Park'', created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone. He is voiced by Parker, and is one of the series' four main characters, a ...

and his friends who are visiting Cartman's grandma in

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

for the holidays. However, Sharon refuses because the place is far away from South Park and leaves it up to Randy to grant permission. Although Randy is okay with it, Sharon still forbids their son to go there and order him to stay with their family for the holidays but he argues with them about it and gets sent to his room without dinner. An angry Stan sneaks out to Cartman's grandma's house just in time to join the other boys. During the drive to Nebraska they see a sign for an appearance of

Mr. Hankey ''South Park'' is an American adult animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. The ongoing narrative revolves around four boys, Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Kenny McCormick, and ...

at a mall. When they finally arrive, Cartman's relatives are there, all of whom share Cartman's mannerisms and are obese. At dinner they meet Cartman's Uncle Howard, live via satellite from the state prison. Later that night the boys hear someone breaking into the house and discover that it is Uncle Howard and another inmate:

. The boys want to go to the mall to see Mr. Hankey, but no one in the family will take them and Cartman is asked to keep an eye on his cousin, Elvin. Manson offers to take the boys to the mall. Kyle and Stan meet a human-sized Mr. Hankey whom Kyle exposes as a fake, causing a riot. The boys and Manson escape from the mall but when the riot police recognize Manson, they get into a televised high-speed chase with the police. Meanwhile, the Marsh family realizes Stan has run away and head out to Nebraska to find him. Manson arrives at Cartman's grandma's house and together with Uncle Howard proceeds to hold everyone hostage. Stan's parents arrive and Sharon scolds him for disobeying their order to not go to Cartman's grandma's house in Nebraska and for leaving his house without their permission. Stan asks to make an escape with Uncle Howard and Manson but the latter talks to him about the meaning of

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

which makes him change his mind. Kenny gets killed by the police when displaying a

white flag White flags have had different meanings throughout history and depending on the locale. Contemporary use The white flag is an internationally recognized protective sign of truce or ceasefire and for negotiation. It is also used to symboliz ...

as surrender. Manson and Uncle Howard release the hostages and surrender to the authorities. Having a change of heart, Manson expresses remorse for his crimes and sings a holiday-special style song. Stan's parents agree that they were unreasonable when denying him a Christmas with his friends and they will punish him after the holidays. Later as Manson goes to sleep in prison, Stan, Kyle and all of the Cartmans appear to sing "

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" is an English Christmas carol that first appeared in 1739 in the collection ''Hymns and Sacred Poems''. The carol, based on , tells of an angelic chorus singing praises to God. As it is known in the modern era, it ...

" to Manson. Afterwards, Stan tells Kyle how messed up the events of the episode were.

Home media

All 18 episodes of the second season, including "Merry Christmas, Charlie Manson!", were released on a DVD box set on June 3, 2003.Blevins, Tal (June 30, 2003)
"South Park: The Complete Second Season"
''

IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...

''. Retrieved December 27, 2016.

References

External links

"Merry Christmas, Charlie Manson!"
Full episode at South Park Studios * {{Manson Family 1998 American television episodes American Christmas television episodes Works about the Manson Family Television episodes set in Nebraska South Park season 2 episodes