Between 1997 and 1999, Comedy Central aired three brief South Park shorts in which the characters counted down to the New Year. They ran for roughly 20 to 40 seconds each and were shown at 11:59 p.m. on New Year’s Eve. Why the tradition was cut short by the year 2000 isn’t exactly clear, but let’s take a look back at the few segments we did get during the show’s first few seasons.
1997 GOING INTO 1998
In the first short from 1997, Cartman, Kyle, Stan, and Kenny count down from ten along with other residents of South Park. Alongside them are Stan’s uncle Jimbo, Jimbo’s friend Ned, Jesus, Mr. Garrison, Officer Barbrady, Kyle’s brother Ike, and Starvin’ Marvin—who, of course, makes clicking noises. After they wish us all a Happy New Year, the big seven from the “1997” sign on the wall behind them falls and crushes Kenny to death. We’ll let you guess how the dialogue plays out from there.
1998 GOING INTO 1999
Mr. Mackey leads us into the New Year alone from behind his desk in this segment. He predictably starts by telling us not to celebrate by doing drugs or drinking. “You can have sex, though. Sex is okay,” he clarifies. He gets down to nine in his countdown before realizing his watch is running fast and starts over. Mackey, being Mackey, his countdown wouldn’t be complete without some “m’kays” in between the numbers.
1999 GOING INTO 2000
South Park’s final New Year’s countdown also features the largest group of characters. Among the familiar faces we see are Saddam Hussein, Peetie the Sexual Harassment Panda, Charles Manson, and one of the Underpants Gnomes. This time, they count down from 15, but when they reach one, Cartman tells them to stop. “Wait a minute, it’s New Year’s Eve 1999,” he says directly into the camera. “What the hell are you people doing watching this crap?”
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