When “A Charlie Brown Christmas” premiered 60 years ago, it was broadcast against a black-and-white “Shindig” episode featuring “the wildly garbed The Who” and the Yardbirds.
Time has proven that Charles M. Schulz’s gang were the real rebels.
It helped, of course, that they were in color and dance like they’re already plotting to hitchhike to Woodstock in four years. No wonder members of Jefferson Airplane, who were recording in a studio next door, asked the child voice actors for autographs.
I only realized the first Peanuts TV special reached a landmark when I stumbled across a Dec. 9, 1965 review in the Stamford Advocate on the actual anniversary last Tuesday. Last December, my take on how everything is not so black-and-white in “It’s a Wonderful Life,” resulted in my best-read column of the year. So I’m bringing a wry eye to “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” Blame the blockhead who muttered, “Don’t you know sarcasm when you hear it?”
HEALTH NEWS: Watching it 60 years on, I’m struck by how deep the kids voices are. But then, the children of the Sixties reliably sucked in second-hand smoke. And Linus puts Pig Pen to shame, dragging that security blanket through the snow in a town without leash laws. Meanwhile, Lucy demanding advance cash payment for health services has the chilling feel of a sneak peek at RFK Jr’s strategy for 2026.
TRAFFIC REPORT: The Browns and the Van Pelts define the suburban lifestyle of mid-century America. But it could pass for a “Twilight Zone” episode written by Ernie Kovacs. Forget the absence of grownups. Why are there zero cars here? Sure, these are free-range kids, but what’s their food source?
WHICH BRINGS US TO THE BONES: Snoopy is seen gnawing away at a pile of discarded bones while reading a newspaper. Am I the only one concerned about the origins of the carcass?
MAYBE SCHROEDER COULD USE A LESSON: Sure, the prodigy could summon Rachmaninoff the first time he sat at a toy keyboard. But there’s a freakin’ grand piano in the auditorium where the kids are rehearsing for the pageant. His arms and legs may be too short for the keys and pedals, but he should be a little more curious.
Nevertheless, Charlie Brown & Co. really were far more rebellious than the counterculture of 1965. Here are some of the ways they changed the world in 25 minutes:
THE BANISHMENT OF THE ALUMINUM TREE: Local newspaper ads in 1965 include Caldor’s shilling 6-footers for $5.88 and Korvette’s offering “31 beautiful swirled branches” in a 4-foot version for just $2.88. Where would we be now if the “A Charlie Brown Christmas” hadn’t shamed consumers into ditching these monstrosities?
NO AI LAUGHTER: Imagine how many CBS meetings were held to fight about the lack of a laugh track and choice of a jazz score. Then imagine how humbling it must have been when the show landed at No. 2 in the network ratings (behind “Bonanza”).
THERE’S A REASON THEY REALLY SOUND LIKE KIDS: The line readings are almost avant-garde, the perfect companion to Vince Guaraldi’s beatnik keyboard doodlings. The actress playing “Sally” sounds like she should have been billed as Cathy “One Take” Steinberg (if they had actually gotten billing. These Peanuts should have unionized). Melendez fed lines to the kids who couldn’t read yet. Next time you watch it, listen for hints of them imitating his accent.
OH GOD: A lot was/is made about the novelty of hearing a biblical passage (Luke 2:8-14) in a primetime cartoon. Then again, the animated stars of the era, the Flintstones, were living in 10,000 B.C., long before the world’s best-selling book was written (see “B.C.”). The review in a Dec. 9, 1965 TV listing lauded most of the show, but bemoaned that “the story sags a bit in the middle of the overlong pageant-directing segment.” Guess the critic thought there was too much Christ in a Christmas special.
IT’S THE MOST MELANCHOLY TIME OF THE YEAR: Even Snoopy’s doghouse is blue in the cartoon. Today, it would be sponsored by Zoloft and Lucy would be ringing up the nickels by conducting Zoom sessions. The show is a reassuring reminder that’s it’s OK to embrace sadness during the holiday season. It has become our collective security blanket.
WHAT WAS ALL THAT ABOUT OVER-COMMERCIALIZATION?: Back in the ’80s, a buddy of mine saw one too many commercials featuring MetLife’s mascot and lamented that “Snoopy’s a whore.” It was around that time that a video of the Christmas special was sold for $39.95 (it came with a toy Snoopy, but for that many nickels it should have come with a real mutt). And while “A Charlie Brown Christmas” endures, the Peanuts would go on to drain the well of holidays (yes, “It’s Arbor Day, Charlie Brown” was a real thing). We probably should have seen it all coming since the animated debut of Peanuts was in Ford Falcon ads and the Christmas special was underwritten by Coca-Cola.
TOO MUCH SARCASM FOR YOU?: Before you suggest I seek therapy from Dr. Lucy, I need to confess to reliably succumbing to the primitive charms of “A Charlie Brown Christmas Special,” which ultimately strikes a final chord of unity that’s quaint but welcome in a cartoon world.
When we adopted The Kid a few weeks after his birth in San Antonio, Texas, we were staying in a rather bleak extended stay hotel near the NICU and visiting him there each day. The weeks were winding down to Christmas, so I went to Walgreens and bought “A Peanuts Snoopy Lonely Tree” to spruce up the joint.
Fourteen years on, the little tree maintains a comforting presence nearby as I write this. Yes, it’s plastic, it’s commercial and it’s mass-produced. But it’s also a symbol of community, of friendship, and for me, of the magical early days of parenting. Of the rewards of heeding Linus’ wisdom: “Maybe it just needs a little love.”
