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Merry Christmas, Charlie Manson!

16th episode of the 2nd season of South Park

Architectural plans, a scale model, maps and brass measuring instruments
Places and architectureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJun 24, 2026
Entity authorityQ833918 ↗
Source-derived summary

"Merry Christmas, Charlie Manson!" is the sixteenth episode of the second season of the American animated television series South Park. The 29th episode of the series overall it originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on December 9, 1998. The episode was written by series co-creator Trey Parker along with Nancy M. Pimental and was directed by Eric Stough, 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 bust out of prison and cause mayhem and mischief.

Plot

Stan asks his parents for permission to go with Cartman and his friends who are visiting Cartman's grandma in Nebraska 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.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Merry Christmas, Charlie Manson!” as 16th episode of the 2nd season of South Park. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA strong orientation record where physical form, institutional use and historical geography need to be read together. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1998—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1998-12-09. The account is most persuasive where Merry, Christmas and Charlie can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as 16th episode of the 2nd season of South Park. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q833918. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1998.

Critical limits

Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.

Best used for
  • Historic place names
  • Jurisdictional context
  • Routes into maps and plans
Verify next

Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Merry Christmas, Charlie Manson!”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Merry Christmas, Charlie Manson! primary sources, Merry Christmas, Charlie Manson! archive and Merry research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Merry Christmas, Charlie Manson!”?
  2. What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
  3. Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Merry Christmas, Charlie Manson!” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.