Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Good Grief, Charlie Brown!



With Christmas just 23 days away I thought it would be fun to share a few of my favorite holiday television specials from Christmas Past.
I grew up in the 60's and 70's and as much as I love today's Christmas shows there's nothing like those puppet animation shows from that time. So be sure and check in all season long for a look back at the oldie but goodie shows from my childhood. It will be a trip down Memory Lane!

One of the best shows of the season is "A Charlie Brown Christmas". I couldn't wait for this now holiday classic to be on television. Here's a bit of fun trivia about the show courtesy of tvparty.com

A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS (1965)
Of all the Charlie Brown specials, this was the Charlie Browniest.

Debuted in December of 1965. At the heart of the cartoon was the message that Christmas is really about the joyful miracle of Jesus's birth. Charles Schulz was after an inspired innocence but most Christmas specials since have moved away from that central message - but look how successful this program was.

When the special was finished, the producers thought they had blown it and CBS executives hated it from the start. It was criticized by the network as being too religious (Linus quotes straight from the King James Bible, specifically Luke 2:8-14), for featuring a contemporary jazz by an unknown Vince Guaraldi (an offbeat choice for a cartoon) and for not having a laugh track (how would people know if it was funny or not)?

The first year alone the special was seen in more than 15 million homes, capturing nearly 50% of the possible audience - number two in the ratings that week, after Bonanza - and won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Program and a Peabody Award.

If you haven't seen this one in awhile I highly recommend it.

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