TV Specials 2 - 1

Only a few days left until Christmas, so these lists will be wrapping up over the next couple of days.

TV Special #2: How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966)

Few TV specials have become the cultural phenomenon that the cartoon adaptation of Dr/ Suess's How the Grinch Stole Christmas has over the last forty-four years.  Suess first wrote the story of the Grinch in 1957, and nine years later it was adapted into an animated special.

From there, How the Grinch Stole Christmas has become one of the most recognizable Christmas stories, it has spawned numerous parodies and remakes, all while the word Grinch has overtaken scrooge as the ubiquitous term for someone who isn't in the Christmas spirit.

On top of all that there aren't many people out there who couldn't sing along to at least a few lines of You're a Mean One Mr. Grinch.



TV Special #1: A Charlie Brown Christmas


It amazes me sometimes just how popular Charlie Brown comics and TV specials are with children.  There are such distinctly dark undertones to most of Schulz's work that it seems like it would drive some away.  Where as most childrens comics rely on over the top humor and ridiculous situations, the universe of Charlie Brown is always mostly grounded in reality.  What else would you expect a Charlie Brown Christmas special to focus on if not commercialism and pulling off a children's nativity reenactment.  Along the way there are plenty of laughs, be it jokes told by the perfectly cast child voice actors, or slapstick bits of physical comedy, but the laughs only serve to keep the mood light enough to focus on the real task at hand.

The dark mood of this special works--with the help of a few well-timed laughs--for the very reason that most of us probably feel the same way from time to time.  Christmas is a time of year that is supposed to have a lot of meaning, but that ultimately gets lost in all the little things we get caught up in.  Sure, the season is about family and love (and if you are Christian, about Christ) but standing behind thirty people in line at Best Buy or traveling home at one of the busiest times of the year can obscure that.

Charlie Brown understands how you are feeling.  He spends the whole special searching for something real on Christmas and coming up with nothing.  His dog wants to win money from a house decorating contest, his friends want to dance and play around rather than focus on the Christmas pageant, the one real, live Christmas tree he picks isn't flashy enough, and nobody takes the time to send him a Christmas card.  Things aren't good for Charlie Brown, but they rarely are.  All he can do is sigh and make the most of the situation.

Just when things look there darkest, when everyone has seemingly given up on Charlie Brown, Linus recites a gospel verse that puts everything back in perspective.

"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. ¹⁰And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. ¹¹For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. ¹²And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. ¹³And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, ¹⁴Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace and goodwill towards men."

With that, Charlie Brown picks up his sad little tree and goes home to celebrate away from all the bad influences of the season.  What he gets instead is the true spirit of Christmas.  His friends all realize they have been too hard on him, they follow him, and decorate his abandoned tree.  When he comes outside to see what all the commotion is, all of his friends are waiting for him.