Merry Christmas, Charlie Manson!

"Merry Christmas, Charlie Manson!"
South Park episode
Episode no.	Season 2 Episode 16
Directed by	Eric Stough
Written by	Trey Parker Nancy M. Pimental
Production code	216
Original air date	December 9, 1998

"Merry Christmas, Charlie Manson!" is the sixteenth episode of the second season of the animated television series South Park, and the 29th episode of the series overall. "Merry Christmas, Charlie Manson!" originally aired in the United States on December 9, 1998 on Comedy Central. "Merry Christmas, Charlie Manson!" is also the second Christmas episode of the series.

Its title is a Peanuts joke, taking the typical naming format of Peanuts holiday specials and replacing "Charlie Brown" with "Charlie Manson". The words, "Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown!" were spoken in the Peanuts Christmas special, A Charlie Brown Christmas.

Plot

Stan asks his parents for permission to see Cartman's grandmother in Nebraska for the holidays, but is denied, then sent to his room for refusing to eat dinner. Feeling disillusioned with the idea of family, he runs off to Cartman's house just in time to join the other boys. On the way to his Grandma's house, Cartman and his mother sing "Over the River and Through the Woods" repeatedly, driving the other boys crazy. When they cross the border into Nebraska, the scenery goes from green and snow to endless wheat fields and grey skies (a sign reads "You are now in Nebraska, sorry"). They also see a sign for an appearance of Mr. Hankey in a mall near where Cartman's grandmother lives. When they finally make it to the house, Cartman hopes to receive a cool present, instead he gets a Hawaiian shirt, prompting him to claim that "Grandma's gone senile, let's stick her in a home!". Cartman's relatives are there, all of whom share Cartman's mannerisms, which include yelling at their pet dog named 'Jimmy' who growls for some pot pie. 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, Charlie Manson.

The boys want to go to the mall to see Mr. Hankey, but no one in the family will take them. Cartman is asked to keep an eye on his cousin, Elvin. Looking for action, Manson offers to take the boys to the mall. At the "Mall of Nebraska" Kenny goes off with Manson to a secluded part of the mall and Cartman "disciplines" his cousin Elvin after he gets upset about finishing his Fudgesicle (Cartman hits him on the head and Elvin becomes concussed, much to Cartman's shock after realizing what he had done). Meanwhile, Manson has become obsessed with holiday specials and takes time out to watch The Grinchie-poo. Kyle and Stan meets a human-sized "Mr. Hankey", whom Kyle exposes as somebody in a Mr Hankey suit and a riot breaks out. The boys (and Manson) escape from the mall when the riot police recognize Manson, and they get into a televised high speed chase with the police.

Back at the Cartman household, everyone is watching Terrance and Phillip, and do not seem to care very much when Manson arrives and together with Uncle Howard proceeds to hold everyone hostage. Stan's parents arrive and express their disappointment (and anger) in him. Stan asks to make an escape with Uncle Howard and Manson. Uncle Howard says he can, but Manson talks to him about the meaning of family, which makes him change his mind. Kenny is shot dead by the police, but Manson and Uncle Howard surrender and sing a holiday-special style song. Stan's parents agree that they were unreasonable when denying him a Christmas with his friends, so they tell him to come back home for Christmas and that they will hold off punishing him until after Christmas. Later Manson is seen in jail reading to the other inmates. After being ignored by the prisoners for reading his new book, he places his book on the shelf with the others and goes to sleep.

Suddenly, Stan, Kyle, and all of the Cartmans appear to sing "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" to Manson during the credits. Near the end of the song, Stan states "Dude, this is pretty fucked up right here."

External links

• "Merry Christmas, Charlie Manson!" Full episode at South Park Studios
• "Merry Christmas, Charlie Manson!" Episode guide at South Park Studios
• "Merry Christmas, Charlie Manson!" at IMDb
• "Merry Christmas, Charlie Manson!" at TV.com