It’s staggering to think that “Linus and Lucy” is probably the most widely-recognized jazz tune since “In the Mood.”
Yeah, it should remind you. Most of the jokes in the special are ripped off from the comic strip, pretty directly. Bill Melendez sold ‘vapor’ to the CBS executives and they an incredibly tight deadline to bang out the script (and do everything else).
I don’t know if the special “ripped off” from the strip since Charles Schulz wrote both. (Can someone rip himself off?)
“Christmastime is Here” was also used to underscore a scene in The Royal Tenenbaums. In fact, if they ever do a live-action version of “Peanuts”, Wes Anderson would be a natural choice to direct.
Fact: According to Lee Mendelson’s book A Charlie Brown Christmas: The Making of a Tradition, when Guaraldi wrote that song, he immediately called up Mendelson to play it, saying “If I don’t play this for somebody now, I’m gonna explode!” I guess he was a fan of it, too.
I always liked Linus–he seemed the smartest of the kids, except maybe Schroeder. It does seem a bit harsh to criticize him for quoting Christian Scripture in a show celebrating a Christian holiday…
That strip was always dark–those kids had alot of angst.
The music bugged me for years–until just recently. I am no jazz fan (it looks like it would be great fun to play, but I don’t enjoy listening to it), but this year I am liking the music alot. It is not so relentlessly effervescent and JOLLY. Maybe b/c I am a bit melancholy this year (recent death in family).
The special always made me cry–that tree and how sorry it was etc?
And like some here, I think the specials were valued more b/c of their inaccessiblity. To share the viewing of Charlie Brown etc–it was neat. When you were little, it was a family event, then later, you went to friend’s houses to see it and share it. Now, you just download it or buy it-oh, well.
hazel-rah, yes! So as not to hijack this thread though, I started a shiny, tinsel trimmed new one in your honor.
And hey, have a Holly Jolly Christmas! 
I remember one year when the night the Charlie Brown Christmas special was on TV it coincided with the night we had to go to our school’s Christmas program. I was so mad that year. I hated singing and I didn’t want to go to some stupid ol’ singing thing at my school (where I just lip-synched anyway). I just wanted to stay home and watch the special, knowing that it would not be on for another whole year!. Nowadays with DVDs, VCRs, etc. I wouldn’t ever have to miss it.
I’d think the Flintstones theme would be more widely-recognized still.
Not to be a fanboy apologist, but I think that’s more Linus’ stage fright talking.
The more troubling inconsistency is that, in the bible, the shepherds have no lines. But then again, when I see the ‘artistic license’ that so many children’s nativity plays take with the source material, my soul barfs spiritual spew.
Peace.
“What the Hell is the drummer boy and rudolph doing in that nativity scene you ignorant pseudo-Christian melodramatic hacks?!”
Another unusual thing I noticed this year is that there are two shepherds in the play- Linus and Shermy. I imagine there was more than one shepherd that saw the birth of Christ (in fact, Linus does use the plural in his Bible recitation), but does one really need two shepherds in a Nativity play? I’ve never been in one, but I imagine you could have just one commenting that he and other shepherds got a message from Heaven (but that would be giving the shepherds lines again, of course).
Also, is it just me, or this this special really Seinfeldian? I didn’t notice this until this year, but it’s basically a Christmas special about nothing, so to speak. The plot is paper-thin, but the humor and message are strong. We see them prepare for a Christmas play, but we never see them rehearse it (probably since they’re too busy dancing). And the ending- it makes sense, but it doesn’t really “end” the story. Charles Schulz obviously knew what he was doing- both Seinfeld and A Charlie Brown Christmas were predicted to fail.
In what paralle dimension of lizard people is the song from The Flintstones considered jazz?
Fond, fond memories of A Charlie Brown Christmas. I think I’m going to have to get the album. Along with A John Waters Christmas… 'cause I’m a sick, sick boy.
I do feel for non-Christian kids at Christmas but the US is a predomominantly Christian culture and even so it does have a lot of inclusiveness. I’ll stop there before getting thrown into the pit.
Your average Sunday School Nativity play will have as many shepherds as there are boys left over after the Joseph, inkeeper, and Three King roles are handed out, and as many angels as there are girls left over after the Mary part is assigned. Hence Shermy’s comment that every Christmas it’s the same thing - he always ends up playing a shepherd.
Sure they do. See Luke, 2:15-18:
So we get one clear quotation attributed to them, and summaries of what they said to the public. Plenty there for an author of a Christmas pagent to work with.
Re; the “extra” sheperds. One year, we had 4 wisemen! We totally deviated from the script to allow these 4 boys the chance to wear the super cool Magi costumes.
The script is stretched as much as possible to include all kids.
I did hear people afterward saying things like, “I never realized that there were 4…” :rolleyes:
THE role is Mary–and it is hard fought for! All girls who aren’t Mary get to be angels–Gabriel and “head” angels…we’ve had Christmas dancers, the donkey, Martin Luther, Santa–all on stage. No reindeer. (thank God)
Anyone remember little Ramona–had to be a sheep at her Nativity play?
sorry, OT.
That’s not a deviation. Matthew does not say how many wise men there were:
The tradition that there were three wise men seems to come from the later passage that they gave three gifts to Jesus:
I suppose it’s reasonable to assume each wise man brought one gift, but it’s not compelling. You coud have a larger group who happened to pool their money and together brought three gifts.
If I’m not mistaken, there is a story about a fourth wise man, who got lost along the way and never made it.
Are you thinking of Baboushka?
There’s also a story by Henry Van Dyke called The Story of the Other Wise Man, from which apparently a novel and film both called The Fourth Wise Man have been adapted.
Argh. You got me. Serves me right for not fact checking.
“Let us go to Bethlehem and see
him for whom the angels sing:
‘Gloooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooria
in excelsis Deo!’”
—Having A CB Xmas on DVD does not detract from its charm for me. We were just watching it a little while ago with some friends, and I teared up as I always do.
—Many thanks to the Dopers who posted links to the Eat’n’Park commercial and to the CBS Special animation.
—Linus’s forgetfulness was a running gag in the strip. There was another Sunday strip in which he and Lucy were making ready for the Christmas program. He vows that he knows his lines letter perfect. Lucy, primping: “Yeah, well I remember last year; you almost goofed the whole program!” Linus: “Well, THIS year is THIS year, and THIS year I’m not gonna forget anything!” He leaves the house, reciting his speech along the way, then comes back. “I forgot where the church is!” Hey, he’s an intellectual: he has trouble with the mundanities of life.
—The year that Ramona was a sheep in the Nativity play was the same year that there were three female Wise Persons. (Beezus was Mary.) All the grade-eight guys were just too cool to be Wise Men. after one guy was roped into being Joseph and the shepherd roles were assigned. This turned out to be a good thing, because one of the Wise Persons used her mascara to give Ramona a black sheep’s nose!
—I’m not entirely sure why, when Snoopy started dancing to Schroeder’s jazz stylings, Schroeder and Lucy glared him out of there. He was just expressing himself! Maybe Schroeder didn’t want claw marks on his piano? Or he felt one groupie was already more than enough?