Holiday specials

[Johnny L.A.]

Inspired by this thread, and this quote:

Originally Posted by Stink Fish Pot

Also, I like the fact that:
1) The kids trick-or-treat after dark, without parental supervision... unlike now, where it's a timed activity during dusk, and all parents are within arms length of their eggshell children with massive flashlights "just in case" it gets dark.
2) The kids actually have costumes on;
3) At the halloween party, they actually bob for apples (does anyone do this anymore?)
4) Linus and Sally can sit in a pumpkin patch all night by themselves without worrying that they will get kidnapped and/or molested, and their parents don't get reported to CPS.

Yep. When I was a kid I trick-or-treated after dark. Trick-or-treat while it's still light? Perish the thought! And walking 1.2 miles to school in my costume for the (after dark, of course) Halloween carnival. It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown was, for me, the kick-off to the Holiday Season.

Thanksgiving. I was getting a little old for holiday specials when [i]A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving[i] came out. I do remember, very vaguely, The Mouse On The Mayflower. Seems to me that Winnie The Pooh And The Blustery Day was shown around that time.

Christmas. That was the Holiday Special Bonanza. How The Grinch Stole Christmas, A Charlie Brown Christmas, Frosty the Snowman, The Little Drummer Boy, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, The Year Without Santa Claus, Santa Claus is Comin' to Town... And they all seemed to be sponsored by Burlington. I still remember the animated 'weaving' (blue and red on a white background, IIRC) and the percussion-heavy music that went with it. I couldn't really relate to those, as San Diego isn't known for its snow. But I watched them every year. Even The Little Drummer Boy, whose bizarre lower lip I always found disturbing.

The Holidays have little meaning for me now. But I'll probably watch these fondly-remembered touchstones if I know when they're on.

[Khadaji]

I am a huge fan and both watch them when they are on and post here to let others know (I've caught crap about that few times, but I'm still going to do it. )

[panache45]

We used to trick-or-treat two nights, the 30th and the 31st. And of course, after dark, with costumes and no parents. We lived in a new suburb with a lot of parallel streets, and we went up and down all the streets, to every single house, both nights. Wound up with four huge shopping bags full of candy every year.

This was before all the holiday specials. All I remember was Amahl and the Night Visitors.

[Stranger On A Train]

I take perverse enjoyment of the Star Wars Holiday Special, but mostly because it is one of the few things that clearly causes great pain to George Lucas.

Stranger

[Johnny L.A.]

I couldn't stomach it. But if it causes George Lucas pain, I might give it another try.

[interface2x]

Tell me that this didn't get you pretty excited when you were a kid.

[Tim R. Mortiss]

Don't let 'em give you any crap, Khadaji. I for one appreciate the heads-ups.

And it isn't really the holidays until I've seen the Norelco Santa gliding over the snow!

[Johnny L.A.]

Originally Posted by interface2x

Tell me that this didn't get you pretty excited when you were a kid.

Can you find the Burlington spot?

Originally Posted by Tim R. Mortiss

And it isn't really the holidays until I've seen the Norelco Santa gliding over the snow!

Thanks for that. I always conflate that commercial with the Bank Americard one, which I think aired around the same time. I don't remember the words (same music), but it went something like this:

Shirtss and socks
Toys and blocks
Bank Americard!

(The first two lines I made up, but ISTR a mention of socks.)

[Khadaji]

Originally Posted by Tim R. Mortiss

Don't let 'em give you any crap, Khadaji. I for one appreciate the heads-ups.

And it isn't really the holidays until I've seen the Norelco Santa gliding over the snow!

yes, that was always one of the markers that Christmas was near!

[Zsofia]

Remember that scary-ass Garfield Halloween special? Gave me the creeps as a young one, it did.

[Intergalactic Gladiator]

I loved those holiday specials as a kid. In addition to the Norelco Santa, the Peanuts gang was always selling the Dolly Madison treats.

"Zap my Zinger and I'll punch your lights out!"

It seemed to me about a decade or so ago, the networks quit showing the specials, but as of the last few years they're showing them again.

New ones are being made as well, there was the Shrek special last year and last night I just saw an ad for Aliens Vs. Monsters Halloween special. Heck yeah, I'm going to see that one.

[amanset]

When shows hit syndication in the US do they play the specials in the correct place in the season or hold them until the "correct" time of year?

I ask as in the UK and Sweden (the two countries I have lived in) you get quite used to the lieks of a Halloween special screening in April.