“Mr. Hankey, The Christmas Poo” Cemented ‘South Park’s Status As A Disgusting Masterpiece

Sometimes when a show premieres, it feels like a moment, something that will, in its own way, change pop culture as a whole. The premiere of The Simpsons held that air of gravity, and more recently Westworld carried that weight. When South Park first premiered, it certainly didn’t fall into that category though the show would later go on to win several awards, help define Comedy Central, and permanently influence the comedy landscape as a whole. South Park’s first season was a crude mess. However, it was the absurd “Mr. Hankey, The Christmas Poo”, which aired on December 17, 1997, that revealed how fun and oddly insightful that mess could be.

It’s not that South Park wasn’t gross on controversial prior to “Mr. Hankey.” This is the show that started with one of its main characters getting an anal probe. I dare anyone to find one episode of the series that isn’t offensive in some way. However, “Mr. Hankey” was one of the first times the show’s vulgar brand of comedy had a clear target in mind. “Mr. Hankey” and its reflections on the “war against Christmas” and musical numbers about being Jewish on Christmas captured the personal glimmers that would later characterize some of the show’s best episodes while making a concise point — fretting about being offended by the holidays ruins the holidays.

In a transparent nod to A Charlie Brown Christmas, “Mr. Hankey” starts with Stan — South Park’s all-American stand-in — giving a sweet onstage monologue about the birth of Jesus Christ. But while the rest of the class is acting out the nativity scene, Kyle’s mom walks in and, predictably, pitches a fit. The early episode establishes so many themes that the series would embrace throughout its more than 20 season long run. There’s the episode’s middle-of-the-line message that relies on the observation that everyone getting offended is stupid — a tone that may have felt refreshing in the ‘90s and still is funny when applied to the holidays, but for which the show has since been justifiably criticized for. The episode also continues the show’s trend of alternating between the everyday Stan and the more noble Kyle as its mouthpieces, killing off Kenny, and it even establishes Mr. Garrison as the horrible monster he would later become. However, the most interesting element of “Mr. Hankey” is probably the episode’s music.

“Mr. Hankey” doesn’t merely feature one silly song about a talking Christmas poo; it’s a full-blown musical. The titular “Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo” is likely best remembered, but the episode also included Kyle’s “A Lonely Jew on Christmas” and the first version of “Kyle’s Mom is a Big Fat Bitch”, a song that would later appear on South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut. Watching these songs now it’s hard not to think of them as a sort of foreshadowing for Matt Stone and Trey Parker’s runaway Broadway hit, The Book of Mormon. Whether it was because of the bitter social commentary about the divisive politics surrounding the holidays or the sheer grossness of Mr. Hankey and his poop smears, this first Christmas episode helped define South Park while winning over critics, celebrities, and mainstream viewers.

It would make sense that the episode that arguably cemented South Park as the beginning of a pop culture event would have to do with Christmas. After all, it was Stone and Trey Parker’s original short, “The Spirit of Christmas,” which pitted Jesus against Santa in an epic construction paper fight, that caught Comedy Central’s attention.

South Park would get far more absurd than talking poo or fights between Christian gods and Saint Nic as the years went on, even within the limited genre of Christmas specials. “Woodland Critter Christmas” was and still remains one of the most disturbing episodes of television ever conceived. However, as we approach the 20 year anniversary of “Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo” it’s worthwhile to reflect on the one episode of television that helped drastically change the comedy landscape.

Stream South Park's "Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo" on Hulu

Stream South Park on Hulu