# 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:** 4
**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, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-a-charlie-brown-christmas-for-the-first-time-and-it-was-not-entertaining/706470/61 "2014-12-07T16:48:32Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > 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. UHURA: I’m afraid you have it all wrong, Mister Spock, all of you. I’ve been monitoring some of their old-style radio waves, the empire spokesman trying to ridicule their religion. But he couldn’t. Don’t you understand? It’s not the sun up in the sky. It’s the Son of God. KIRK: Caesar and Christ. They had them both. And the word is spreading only now. MCCOY: A philosophy of total love and total brotherhood. SPOCK: It will replace their imperial Rome, but it will happen in their twentieth century. KIRK: Wouldn’t it be something to watch, to be a part of? To see it happen all over again ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-a-charlie-brown-christmas-for-the-first-time-and-it-was-not-entertaining/706470/62 "2014-12-07T16:51:10Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > I know I have a bit of history of watching things for the first time and complaining that I didn’t like them. This cartoon was incredibly unfunny and even more incredibly boring. > > The best thing about the whole show was the original jazz music in the background. > [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > You have to watch it when you’re a kid. > > _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. I agree with both of these statements. It’s a terrible, awful, boring, and preachy story. The music is fantastic. It puts me in the holiday mood. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-a-charlie-brown-christmas-for-the-first-time-and-it-was-not-entertaining/706470/63 "2014-12-07T16:59:43Z")
> [@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. BTW, the last song still gives me chills at the innocence and sincerity of the children. And yet, at around the same time, my girl scout troop sang that and other explicitly Christian songs in nursing homes, and I was required to sing the same stuff in the public school’s Christmas concert. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-a-charlie-brown-christmas-for-the-first-time-and-it-was-not-entertaining/706470/64 "2014-12-07T17:01:30Z")
> [@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? What quadop said. Also, carrying the ring changed them, and they no longer fit in with the other hobbits. They didn’t really have friends any more, in an ordinary way. ---
**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, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-a-charlie-brown-christmas-for-the-first-time-and-it-was-not-entertaining/706470/65 "2014-12-07T17:31:15Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > What quadop said. Also, carrying the ring changed them, and they no longer fit in with the other hobbits. They didn’t really have friends any more, in an ordinary way. True, and Merry and Pippin were changed also…but what about Sam? He’s got a family even after Rose dies. I suppose Sam going to reunite with Frodo is some kind of statement that the ties of ’ A Band of Brothers ’ is stronger than even that of blood relatives. ---
**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, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-a-charlie-brown-christmas-for-the-first-time-and-it-was-not-entertaining/706470/66 "2014-12-07T17:41:27Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > True, and Merry and Pippin were changed also…but what about Sam? He’s got a family even after Rose dies. > > I suppose Sam going to reunite with Frodo is some kind of statement that the ties of ’ A Band of Brothers ’ is stronger than even that of blood relatives. Yeah, but Sam was also a ringbearer. Forever marked. He got to enjoy Middle Earth, and lived long enough that he could finally do what he wanted. He was loved and admired at home, but no longer needed. Heck, even Pippin and Merry left the Shire in their old age, before they died. They’d been changed enough that they wanted more, too. and FTR, I still love **A Charlie Brown Christmas** , for the reasons already expounded on here in this thread, having seen it the very first time it was broadcast. It cannot be judged solely on its own (at least not if you want to understand its impact), but must be taken in the cultural context of its time. ---
**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, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-a-charlie-brown-christmas-for-the-first-time-and-it-was-not-entertaining/706470/67 "2014-12-07T17:46:30Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > UHURA: I’m afraid you have it all wrong, Mister Spock, all of you. I’ve been monitoring some of their old-style radio waves, the empire spokesman trying to ridicule their religion. But he couldn’t. Don’t you understand? It’s not the sun up in the sky. It’s the Son of God. > KIRK: Caesar and Christ. They had them both. And the word is spreading only now. > MCCOY: A philosophy of total love and total brotherhood. > SPOCK: It will replace their imperial Rome, but it will happen in their twentieth century. > KIRK: Wouldn’t it be something to watch, to be a part of? To see it happen all over again Thanks. So the punch line was a final message of spreading Christianity. Interesting. ---
**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, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-a-charlie-brown-christmas-for-the-first-time-and-it-was-not-entertaining/706470/68 "2014-12-07T21:17:00Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > 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!” They almost went in the other direction in “Who Mourns for Adonais?” when Kirk said “Mankind has no need for gods. **[PAUSE]** We find the _one_ quite sufficient!” I suspect the hand of the NBC censor at work in both instances, insisting the script be revised. ---
**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, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-a-charlie-brown-christmas-for-the-first-time-and-it-was-not-entertaining/706470/69 "2014-12-07T21:23:24Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > And yet, at around the same time, my girl scout troop sang that and other explicitly Christian songs in nursing homes, and I was required to sing the same stuff in the public school’s Christmas concert. Well, yeah, that’s only logical, since Christmas is kind of, y’know, a Christian holiday? Despite all the efforts over the last fifty years or so to make it “inclusive,” so that NOBODY (heaven forbid) gets left out! :rolleyes: Someone wants to throw a secular end-of-year bash, or even something pagan like Saturnalia, fine! Diff’rent strokes fer diff’rent folks! But why does this require secularizing a holiday specific to one religion? ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-a-charlie-brown-christmas-for-the-first-time-and-it-was-not-entertaining/706470/70 "2014-12-07T23:14:13Z")
What I love about “A Charlie Brown Christmas” is that it’s warm and cozy. Charlie Brown goes out and finds the loneliest, ugliest tree, but his friends come and make it beautiful. To me, Christmas has always been about family and friends. And if you stop and think about it, even the first Christmas kind of was – Mary and Joseph, and Jesus. Just a dirt poor, homeless family, a young mother giving birth in a freaking barn. Imagine yourself in that kind of situation. Strip away the whole the whole religious aspect of the Nativity story, and think of the three of them as people. :o The tree kind of represents that – a poor, homeless little tree. (Yes, that sounds corny as hell. But Christmas really is corny when you get right down to it.) 😮 > [@pulykamell](#): > > 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. Thank you for finding that! I think every kid got a little thrill whenever they saw that. ---
**Author:** ![zbuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zbuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zbuzz)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-a-charlie-brown-christmas-for-the-first-time-and-it-was-not-entertaining/706470/71 "2014-12-07T23:16:27Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > I know I have a bit of history of watching things for the first time and complaining that I didn’t like them. This cartoon was incredibly unfunny and even more incredibly boring. > > The best thing about the whole show was the original jazz music in the background. > > Holy shit that was boring. I’m really glad it was only a half hour. > > This is a Christmas classic? No wonder I’ve avoided it my whole life. Maybe you’d find the True Hollywood Story more interesting. In that version, Charlie Brown, upset at having paid for his now ex-girlfriends boob job, threatens to kill his ex-girlfriend and stalks her plastic surgeon, then beats his dog until he gets his money back. It’s all here in [A Charlie Brown Probation](http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/may/08/charlie-brown-actor-to-serve-sentence-in-rehab/). ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2014, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-a-charlie-brown-christmas-for-the-first-time-and-it-was-not-entertaining/706470/72 "2014-12-09T00:06:10Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > 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. They used that at the beginning of a Supernatural retrospective that aired at the beginning of the current season. I was like “awww sweet” ---
**Author:** ![typoink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@typoink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typoink)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2014, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-a-charlie-brown-christmas-for-the-first-time-and-it-was-not-entertaining/706470/73 "2014-12-09T00:30:08Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Well, yeah, that’s only logical, since Christmas is kind of, y’know, a Christian holiday? Despite all the efforts over the last fifty years or so to make it “inclusive,” so that NOBODY (heaven forbid) gets left out! :rolleyes: > > Someone wants to throw a secular end-of-year bash, or even something pagan like Saturnalia, fine! Diff’rent strokes fer diff’rent folks! But why does this require secularizing a holiday specific to one religion? I don’t think the secularization of Christmas is about inclusiveness and political correctness, per se – it’s about money. Simple, inoffensive, nonreligious Christmas is big business. I’d wager the network suits weren’t afraid the religious nature of the special would offend nonchristians so much as spook sponsors. ---
**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 9, 2014, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-a-charlie-brown-christmas-for-the-first-time-and-it-was-not-entertaining/706470/74 "2014-12-09T00:36:08Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > 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. I hear ya! In the early to mid-70’s I loved the networks [movie intros](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2QB2XpgDwg) because I knew it would be some [blockbuster](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3q4_8_9hFI) :rolleyes: Yeah, alright. Hey, there was no cable around here and all we got were 5 stations. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2014, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-a-charlie-brown-christmas-for-the-first-time-and-it-was-not-entertaining/706470/75 "2014-12-09T00:40:11Z")
It’s low key and soothing by design. The story’s meant to remind people of the simplicity and beauty of Christmas. A time for Christian families to gather and celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Or others can have a quiet and reflective day with the family. Even 40 years ago people were rushing around shopping, planning, traveling and obsessing just to observe the holiday. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-a-charlie-brown-christmas-for-the-first-time-and-it-was-not-entertaining/706470/76 "2014-12-10T04:18:03Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > I was thinking about this the other day, and I remembered almost immediately that Charlie Brown was voiced by Peter Robbins (who played Alexander on the short-lived _ **Blondie** _ TV series), Lucy was Pamelyn Ferdin (recognizable in the '60s for her voluminous commercial work and guest role on _ **ST:TOS** _), and Linus was a little guy named Chris Shea. Trivia: Chris Shea played the little smart kid Philip (Wexler?)[in three episodes](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RwWk0Xupzg&feature=player_detailpage#t=1129) of the first season of _The Odd Couple_ (the season shot single camera with no live audience). ---
**Author:** ![Learjeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Learjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Learjeff)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-a-charlie-brown-christmas-for-the-first-time-and-it-was-not-entertaining/706470/77 "2014-12-10T14:00:19Z")
> [@tenacious\_j](#): > > It’s not boring, it’s calm and peaceful. 🙂 Bingo. > [@terentii](#): > > Several years later, Charles Schulz was a guest on the Merv Griffin Show (I was watching that night) and said it was Chris’s voice that made the early specials particularly memorable. Yup! Well, one of the many things. Frankly, it just wasn’t made for the MTV generation with 5-second shots and fast pace. So sorry! ---
**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 10, 2014, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-a-charlie-brown-christmas-for-the-first-time-and-it-was-not-entertaining/706470/78 "2014-12-10T14:11:57Z")
> [@Learjeff](#): > > Bingo. > > Yup! Well, one of the many things. > > Frankly, it just wasn’t made for the MTV generation with 5-second shots and fast pace. So sorry! MTV generation? That ain’t me. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-a-charlie-brown-christmas-for-the-first-time-and-it-was-not-entertaining/706470/79 "2014-12-10T14:17:26Z")
I also think Charlie Brown - the entire comic series - is awful. I don’t find it innocent or sweet at all, and it could be because I don’t have any frame of reference - my childhood wasn’t like that, at all. I especially didn’t like the Christmas Special. I don’t like A Wonderful Life either - that movie is a textbook lesson in how to stay home and never accomplish anything in your life, ever. That doesn’t mean I dislike all Christmas stories from that era, or that I’m a bad person or anything. Just some things don’t appeal to some people. Oh, and I’d have a Saturnalia party, I would, except that EVERYONE celebrates Christmas now, and frankly, I don’t really feel I should be left out. I just choose to celebrate my midwinter holiday in a secular fashion! ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-a-charlie-brown-christmas-for-the-first-time-and-it-was-not-entertaining/706470/80 "2014-12-10T14:31:25Z")
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with celebrating Christmas even if you’re not Christian or not religious. Ninety-five percent of the celebration is secular. And even if some of the carols refer to Christ, they’re fun to sing. The early Puritans (who were basically fundamentalist Christians) so hated the secular aspects of the celebration that [they banned the fun stuff](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_in_Puritan_New_England). On his last show before the winter break, Bill Maher noted that he enjoyed Christmas as a secular holiday (and he’s made no secret of his atheism). [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=3) [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=5)