# I just watched "A Charlie Brown Christmas" for the first time, and it was not entertaining. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 6, 2014, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-a-charlie-brown-christmas-for-the-first-time-and-it-was-not-entertaining/706470 "2014-12-06T03:08:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2014, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-a-charlie-brown-christmas-for-the-first-time-and-it-was-not-entertaining/706470/41 "2014-12-06T22:49:51Z")
I saw that it was on but didn’t watch it. Those cartoons are total bummers and not funny or entertaining in the least! Charlie Brown has some serious depression issues. Charles Schulz had some mental issues and it shines through in his work. The other Peanuts kids are mean spirited little pricks. But let’s be honest, it’s hard not to pick on a schlep like CB. He’s pretty much just asking for it! ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2014, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-a-charlie-brown-christmas-for-the-first-time-and-it-was-not-entertaining/706470/42 "2014-12-06T23:01:24Z")
> [@Idle\_Thoughts](#): > > I don’t really understand your topics about this sort of thing, sometimes. > > It’s like being 35 and saying “What the hell? I just watched an episode of SESAME STREET and it was so boring and I didn’t find it worthwhile to watch at all! How did anyone ever watch and like this stuff?” So, here’s what I was thinking. I came to Canada from the UK when I was 6. My parents had no concept of what traditional Christmas specials were or what we should watch, so I never really watched any originally. Eventually I saw The Grinch, and Rudolph and at some point Frosty, but my dad ruled the TV and we weren’t accustomed to these traditional shows. I watched “It’s Wonderful Life” for the first time a year or two ago. I didn’t grow up with these. I never watched Sesame Street or Mr. Rogers or any of the kids’ shows that were popular; we didn’t know about them, or care for that matter. I loved Saturday morning Loony Tunes though, because that’s when the kids got to pick the entertainment while my parents were still in bed. It’s only been the last couple of years, after my separation, that I’ve started trying to backtrack and watch what the rest of you have watched all along. I bought “A Christmas Story” a couple of years ago and loved it! So, there you go. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2014, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-a-charlie-brown-christmas-for-the-first-time-and-it-was-not-entertaining/706470/43 "2014-12-06T23:04:48Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > 49 years ago actually. And I wasn’t around then, but I imagine that the commercialization of the holiday in 1965 was nothing compared to what it is today. You mean like the Toy Story [del]30 minute toy commercial[/del] special that was on just before “A Charlie Brown Christmas”? ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2014, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-a-charlie-brown-christmas-for-the-first-time-and-it-was-not-entertaining/706470/44 "2014-12-06T23:13:45Z")
All true, **pkbites** , but let’s sit back and enjoy that happy, glorious show-stopper, _Christmas Time is Here!_ It’s sure to bring out the suicidal side of all of us. : old rolleyes : ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2014, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-a-charlie-brown-christmas-for-the-first-time-and-it-was-not-entertaining/706470/45 "2014-12-06T23:26:26Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > _A Charlie Brown Christmas_ is special because it was a _cartoon_ you could watch in the _evening_. And it was _Peanuts_, which you read in the Sunday funnies. But most importantly, it was a Harbinger of Christmas. When you saw _A Charlie Brown Christmas_ you knew Christmas was coming. Same with all of the other Christmas specials, particularly the Rankin-Bass ones. Yeah, this. I don’t think anyone who didn’t grow up before the age of VCRs (let alone streaming video on demand) and kids cable channels understands how special “specials” really were. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2014, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-a-charlie-brown-christmas-for-the-first-time-and-it-was-not-entertaining/706470/46 "2014-12-06T23:49:38Z")
You are entitled to your opinion. I disagree. It and Karloff’s Grinch are classics. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2014, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-a-charlie-brown-christmas-for-the-first-time-and-it-was-not-entertaining/706470/47 "2014-12-06T23:58:39Z")
> [@Enter\_the\_Flagon](#): > > Y’know, after having seen ACBC so many times, the name Pamelyn Ferdin just didn’t sound right. > > Turns out that she did indeed play Lucy in some Peanuts shows, but not until '69, through '71. The actress who voiced Lucy in the Christmas special was named Tracy Stratford, and only a year later Lucy was played by Sally Dryer in Great Pumpkin. Huh! I stand corrected. In my mind, she will always be The One And Only Lucy. Looking over her filmography, I see she was also in _ **Blondie** _, which I had forgotten. In 1969, which was also the year she did _ **ST:TOS** _, she would have been ten. I thought she was more like 12 or 13 at the time. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-a-charlie-brown-christmas-for-the-first-time-and-it-was-not-entertaining/706470/48 "2014-12-07T00:05:08Z")
Minor correction: “And the Children Shall Lead” was filmed and first aired in 1968. It was the fifth episode of _ **TOS** _’s third season. ---
**Author:** ![VernWinterbottom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/c67d28/32.png) [@VernWinterbottom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VernWinterbottom)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-a-charlie-brown-christmas-for-the-first-time-and-it-was-not-entertaining/706470/49 "2014-12-07T00:26:45Z")
I think that today we have become so used to people complaining about how commercial Christmas is that we forget that when A Charlie Brown Christmas came out that was a novel enough thought to be the main theme of a show. Aluminum trees (with the lighted rotating color wheels aimed them) and first generation plastic trees were becoming wildly popular. Schulz commenting on the commercialization of Christmas resonated with people then in a way that looks quaint and old-fashioned today. Linus saying, “Gee, do they still make wooden Christmas trees?” was really a funny line at the time. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-a-charlie-brown-christmas-for-the-first-time-and-it-was-not-entertaining/706470/50 "2014-12-07T02:50:36Z")
[http://www.vice.com/read/we-all-live-in-a-constant-state-of-existential-dread-charlie-brown](http://www.vice.com/read/we-all-live-in-a-constant-state-of-existential-dread-charlie-brown) " But Peanuts at it’s best wasn’t about fun or the power of the imagination. It was about how the world is a grim place where you fail over and over again, and then you die." For me, music defines how “good” TV or film is. So CBC is great. But apart from that, it has a special kind of hopeful Christmas feel, because it runs against type and has an ending that is not broken. An ending that is not dis-functional. And to appreciate that, you have to appreciate that when you saw Charlie Brown, you were expecting and fearing real life, which is broken and dysfunctional like a Peanuts cartoon strip. The Christmas concert was going to be lame, because a Christmas concert put together by a bunch of kids is always lame. And Charlie Brown and all his class-mates (I won’t call them friends) are lame anyway. And you can see the whole thing falling apart. And then… His kite doesn’t get caught in the tree. Lucy doesn’t snatch away the football. His dog doesn’t snub him. For once, it actually turns out all right in the last frame. It’s Christmas. ---
**Author:** ![Latimera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/latimera/32/497_2.png) [@Latimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Latimera)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-a-charlie-brown-christmas-for-the-first-time-and-it-was-not-entertaining/706470/51 "2014-12-07T02:53:03Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Yeah, this. I don’t think anyone who didn’t grow up before the age of VCRs (let alone streaming video on demand) and kids cable channels understands how special “specials” really were. Exactly. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-a-charlie-brown-christmas-for-the-first-time-and-it-was-not-entertaining/706470/52 "2014-12-07T03:38:42Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > [http://www.vice.com/read/we-all-live-in-a-constant-state-of-existential-dread-charlie-brown](http://www.vice.com/read/we-all-live-in-a-constant-state-of-existential-dread-charlie-brown) > " But Peanuts at it’s best wasn’t about fun or the power of the imagination. It was about how the world is a grim place where you fail over and over again, and then you die." > > For me, music defines how “good” TV or film is. So CBC is great. > > But apart from that, it has a special kind of hopeful Christmas feel, because it runs against type and has an ending that is not broken. An ending that is not dis-functional. And to appreciate that, you have to appreciate that when you saw Charlie Brown, you were expecting and fearing real life, which is broken and dysfunctional like a Peanuts cartoon strip. > > The Christmas concert was going to be lame, because a Christmas concert put together by a bunch of kids is always lame. And Charlie Brown and all his class-mates (I won’t call them friends) are lame anyway. And you can see the whole thing falling apart. And then… > > His kite doesn’t get caught in the tree. Lucy doesn’t snatch away the football. His dog doesn’t snub him. For once, it actually turns out all right in the last frame. > > It’s Christmas. Yes, but that’s also what makes it depressing. The best you can hope for is that the world doesn’t suck for a short period of time. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-a-charlie-brown-christmas-for-the-first-time-and-it-was-not-entertaining/706470/53 "2014-12-07T10:25:20Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Yes, but that’s also what makes it depressing. The best you can hope for is that the world doesn’t suck for a short period of time. **[Voice of Linus]:** You’re the only person I know who can take a wonderful season like Christmas and turn it into a problem! ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-a-charlie-brown-christmas-for-the-first-time-and-it-was-not-entertaining/706470/54 "2014-12-07T11:16:05Z")
Did anyone see the ACBC anniversary special they did a few years ago hosted by Woopie Goldberg? It was interesting as they told the history of the show and had the former child actors come back and read their old lines. Did you know, believe it or not, in 1965 religion was rarely put into network tv and the whole “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” thing at the end was actually quite controversial. BTW, the last song still gives me chills at the innocence and sincerity of the children. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-a-charlie-brown-christmas-for-the-first-time-and-it-was-not-entertaining/706470/55 "2014-12-07T12:22:08Z")
Back in 1965 when it first aired, TV executives were certain it was too religious. > [@](#): > > When CBS executives saw the final product, they were horrified. They believed the special would be a complete flop. CBS programmers were equally pessimistic, informing the production team, “We will, of course, air it next week, but I’m afraid we won’t be ordering any more.” > > The half-hour special aired on Thursday, December 9, 1965, preempting _The Munsters_ and following _Gilligan’s Island_. To the surprise of the executives, 50 percent of the televisions in the United States tuned in to the first broadcast. The cartoon was a critical and commercial hit; it won an Emmy and a Peabody award. > > Linus’s recitation was hailed by critic Harriet Van Horne of the New York World-Telegram, who wrote, “Linus’ reading of the story of the Nativity (from Luke chaper 2 in the King James version) was, quite simply, the dramatic highlight of the season.” (Luke insertion mine) From an article by Lee Habeeb, The Gospel According to Peanuts, How _A Charlie Brown Christmas_ almost didn’t happen: [http://www.nationalreview.com/article/284093/gospel-according-peanuts-lee-habeeb/page/0/1](http://www.nationalreview.com/article/284093/gospel-according-peanuts-lee-habeeb/page/0/1) ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-a-charlie-brown-christmas-for-the-first-time-and-it-was-not-entertaining/706470/56 "2014-12-07T13:31:43Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > Did you know, believe it or not, in 1965 religion was rarely put into network tv and the whole “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” thing at the end was actually quite controversial. Oh, yeah. Even then, they didn’t want to “offend” anybody. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-a-charlie-brown-christmas-for-the-first-time-and-it-was-not-entertaining/706470/57 "2014-12-07T16:05:36Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Oh, yeah. Even then, they didn’t want to “offend” anybody. :rolleyes: You just made me think of something…I was pondering about how in “Bread and Circuses” (ST:TOS) at the end when everyone got gushy when they realized the natives didn’t worship the sun, but rather “The Son”. And how Spock DIDN’T say, “Oh, so instead of one hooey religion they have a different one!” Then I realized what bothered me so much about that DS:9 episode where half the staff runs off on a suicide mission so that Dax can get into Klingon heaven (???)…the episode _Barely_ makes sense cause it’s hidden behind Klingon mysticism, but what if say…O’Brian died. And half the staff runs off back to Earth to find the goddamn Holy Grail so Miles can go to Avalon? Same thing, right? …man that episode was stupid. and right in the middle of a war too. Edit: And while I’m ranting…what’s so great about the Goddamn Undying Lands anyway?? The Hobbits do realize that it’s going to be them, Gandalf and a bunch of Elves, right? Wouldn’t you rather die amongst your friends than spend another hundred years among Elves in Elfland? ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-a-charlie-brown-christmas-for-the-first-time-and-it-was-not-entertaining/706470/58 "2014-12-07T16:28:07Z")
In ST:TOS’s Bread and Circuses, at the end when Uhura points out it’s not the sun in the sky they’re worshiping but rather the Son of God, did Spock say anything? Was there a punch line, by Spock or anybody else? I’ve seen the episode but can’t remember, it’s been so long. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-a-charlie-brown-christmas-for-the-first-time-and-it-was-not-entertaining/706470/59 "2014-12-07T16:42:35Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Yeah, this. I don’t think anyone who didn’t grow up before the age of VCRs (let alone streaming video on demand) and kids cable channels understands how special “specials” really were. Oh, man, as a child of the 80s, I was Pavlovianly conditioned by [that spinning CBS “A Special Presentation” logo](http://youtu.be/-947Vp_mKjE) to feel great excitement in expectation of a Peanuts special. Every once I. Awhile, it was a different, non-Peanuts special that was on, and I’d be greatly disappointed. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-a-charlie-brown-christmas-for-the-first-time-and-it-was-not-entertaining/706470/60 "2014-12-07T16:45:18Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > Edit: And while I’m ranting…what’s so great about the Goddamn Undying Lands anyway?? The Hobbits do realize that it’s going to be them, Gandalf and a bunch of Elves, right? Wouldn’t you rather die amongst your friends than spend another hundred years among Elves in Elfland? Mortals don’t last long in the “Goddamn Undying Lands”, so I’m sure Bilbo embraced the Gift of Iluvatar not long after arrival, dying amongst his pals Gandalf and Elrond. All his hobbit peers were long dead by that time anyway. He liked to travel, so what better way to go out, as opposed to returning to his native village, which he left decades earlier. Frodo would have lasted a while longer, also hanging out with his immortal buds until his demise. Touring Avalonnë, climbing Kortirion, and checking out the house of 100 chimneys while being feted by various Eldar and the occasional Maiar, and possibly even a Vala or two has got to be better than expiring in Hobbiton, amidst the aromas of pigshit, badly vented chimneys, and unwashed other hobbits, IMHO. Besides, Vanyar maidens are easy (on the eyes at least). 😛 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-a-charlie-brown-christmas-for-the-first-time-and-it-was-not-entertaining/706470.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-a-charlie-brown-christmas-for-the-first-time-and-it-was-not-entertaining/706470.md?page=4)