Spitball Army

From Trinity College’s Religion in the News:

A mainstay of Comedy Central since 1997, South Park began as an exercise in vulgarity, with an emphasis on the scatological. “The round-headed protagonists may look like cruder versions of the ‘Peanuts’ gang, but ‘crude’ is the operative word,” sniffed Gail Pennington in an August 13, 1997 review for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “These politically incorrect, potty-mouthed little so-and-sos make Beavis and Butt-head look like good role models, and most of their jokes can’t be reproduced in a family newspaper.”

The most notable religious phenomenon in the early episodes was Mr. Hankey the Christmas Poo, an anthropomorphized turd who comes out of the toilet during the holiday season to bring presents to those—regardless of denomination—with diets high in fiber.

Early episodes also featured a local cable access show called “Jesus and Friends” starring host Jesus Christ; a boxing match between Jesus and Satan where Jesus gets beaten up and only wins when Satan takes a dive; and fat boy Eric Cartman being poked by a cattle prod every time he sings the wrong words to “O Holy Night.”