# "A Charlie Brown Christmas" question. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 28, 2007, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-charlie-brown-christmas-question/427990 "2007-11-28T01:46:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![randwill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@randwill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randwill)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2007, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-charlie-brown-christmas-question/427990/1 "2007-11-28T01:46:11Z")
Just aired here on ABC. I believe it was missing a scene, after the commercial break Charlie tells Lucy to pass out the scripts and it seems like there is a scene right before that that they cut to make room for more commercials. It seems like sacrilege to me, but that’s what DVDs are for, I guess. Anyway, my question is about the three nameless characters seen in the show. There are the twin girls, wearing purple and dancing on stage and the boy, wearing orange (later a blue coat) with the spikey hair. They have no lines and are never addressed by the other characters, but I seem to remember reading somewhere that they are named characters from the strip. Anybody know? ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2007, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-charlie-brown-christmas-question/427990/2 "2007-11-28T01:52:06Z")
The twin girls are named “Three” and “Four,” and they have an older brother named “Five” (the boy with spiky hair). In the “Peanuts” comic strip, we learn that their father gave them numbers instead of names in protest of the tendency of modern society to reduce people to mere statistics. ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2007, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-charlie-brown-christmas-question/427990/3 "2007-11-28T01:53:57Z")
The characters are 5 and his two sisters, 3 and 4, though they are not named as such. I didn’t watch this year’s telecast, but A Charlie Brown Christmas has been cut from its original length for years. The year ABC acquired it from CBS, they showed it uncut in a full hour time slot. [Edit: beaten to the punch] ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2007, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-charlie-brown-christmas-question/427990/4 "2007-11-28T02:29:39Z")
Crap, I missed it already? I hope they air it again. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2007, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-charlie-brown-christmas-question/427990/5 "2007-11-28T02:33:18Z")
[QUOTE=interface2x] Crap, I missed it already? I hope they air it again. [/QUOTE] Yeah. Heaven knows when they’ll show this again. ---
**Author:** ![randwill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@randwill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randwill)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2007, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-charlie-brown-christmas-question/427990/6 "2007-11-28T02:44:59Z")
[QUOTE=JThunder] Yeah. Heaven knows when they’ll show this again. [/QUOTE] Does the network air it more than once annually? Now, “The Grinch…”, yeah that’s hard to miss. And “A Christmas Story” gets “Dirty Dancing” amounts of air time around this time of year. But I think “Charlie..” just gets the one. ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2007, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-charlie-brown-christmas-question/427990/7 "2007-11-28T02:50:21Z")
“A Charlie Brown Christmas” will be shown again on December 3rd, according to [The Futon Critic](http://www.thefutoncritic.com/listings.aspx?id=20071112abc07). ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2007, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-charlie-brown-christmas-question/427990/8 "2007-11-28T04:41:08Z")
Great! Now, whatever you do, please don’t spoil the ending. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2007, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-charlie-brown-christmas-question/427990/9 "2007-11-28T08:58:04Z")
The December 3 showing will be in an hour time slot, so it should be uncut and complete — it was made for a half-hour time slot. ---
**Author:** ![Borborygmi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/borborygmi/32/217_2.png) [@Borborygmi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Borborygmi)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2007, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-charlie-brown-christmas-question/427990/10 "2007-11-28T13:03:32Z")
As for the possible scene cut… I don’t believe a scene was cut, but a second or two was. Snoopy licks/kisses Lucy, Lucy aaaaaauggghs, and ABC goes to commercial. When we come back from commercial, Charlie Brown starts handing out scripts. We miss the cut to Charlie Brown, Lucy entering on the left, aaaaaauggghing behind Charlie Brown, and exiting on the right. Anyone else hungry for some Dolly Madison Zingers right about now? ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2007, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-charlie-brown-christmas-question/427990/11 "2007-11-28T13:35:23Z")
If it’s made for a half hour, how do they stretch it out to an hour? Do they slow-mo it? ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2007, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-charlie-brown-christmas-question/427990/12 "2007-11-28T13:37:00Z")
No, right after the real show, they show some crappy other Peanuts Christmas special that was made in the 90’s, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2007, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-charlie-brown-christmas-question/427990/13 "2007-11-28T13:48:36Z")
[QUOTE=pinkfreud] The twin girls are named “Three” and “Four,” and they have an older brother named “Five” (the boy with spiky hair). In the “Peanuts” comic strip, we learn that their father gave them numbers instead of names in protest of the tendency of modern society to reduce people to mere statistics. [/QUOTE] I’d forgotten about them. But why is “Five” the older child? Did their father start naming with “Five” and then count down? ---
**Author:** ![Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f0a364/32.png) [@Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rube_E.Tewesday)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2007, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-charlie-brown-christmas-question/427990/14 "2007-11-28T13:59:43Z")
[QUOTE=pinkfreud] The twin girls are named “Three” and “Four,” and they have an older brother named “Five” (the boy with spiky hair). In the “Peanuts” comic strip, we learn that their father gave them numbers instead of names in protest of the tendency of modern society to reduce people to mere statistics. [/QUOTE] I thought he did it as his way of giving in? ---
**Author:** ![fessie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@fessie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fessie)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2007, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-charlie-brown-christmas-question/427990/15 "2007-11-28T14:00:51Z")
[QUOTE=Borborygmi] As for the possible scene cut… I don’t believe a scene was cut, but a second or two was. Snoopy licks/kisses Lucy, Lucy aaaaaauggghs, and ABC goes to commercial. When we come back from commercial, Charlie Brown starts handing out scripts. We miss the cut to Charlie Brown, Lucy entering on the left, aaaaaauggghing behind Charlie Brown, and exiting on the right. Anyone else hungry for some Dolly Madison Zingers right about now? [/QUOTE] Doesn’t Snoopy go “blech”, too? And yes, definitely craving some Zingers. ---
**Author:** ![Runestar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/74df32/32.png) [@Runestar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Runestar)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2007, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-charlie-brown-christmas-question/427990/16 "2007-11-28T14:05:05Z")
I only discovered that the two girls were called ‘Three’ and ‘Four’ a few months ago. They only appear in a couple of strips, and I stumbled across them in one of “The Complete Peanuts” volumes - the 1963/1964 one I believe. “Those are the girls from the Christmas special!” I said to my wife. She was underwhelmed. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2007, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-charlie-brown-christmas-question/427990/17 "2007-11-28T14:15:01Z")
Is the special still sponsored by Peter Paul? I miss York Peppermint Patties. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2007, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-charlie-brown-christmas-question/427990/18 "2007-11-28T14:24:12Z")
Just what the heck is ‘Graphic Blandishment’? ---
**Author:** ![cantara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6f9a4e/32.png) [@cantara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cantara)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2007, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-charlie-brown-christmas-question/427990/19 "2007-11-28T14:38:19Z")
[QUOTE=Baldwin] I’d forgotten about them. But why is “Five” the older child? Did their father start naming with “Five” and then count down? [/QUOTE] I don’t have the reference and I’m too lazy to search, but I remember that his name is actually longer than 5…5 is his shortened version. Kinda like Bob. … Alright, curiosity got the better of me…[about 5](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/555_95472) ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2007, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-charlie-brown-christmas-question/427990/20 "2007-11-28T14:39:14Z")
[QUOTE=interface2x] No, right after the real show, they show some crappy other Peanuts Christmas special that was made in the 90’s, I think. [/QUOTE] Oh, is that “I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown?” My wife checked that out of the library last week and it was so brutally bad, we had to jam forks in our eyeballs. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-charlie-brown-christmas-question/427990.md?page=2)