toobfreak
Tungsten/Glass Member
It was 53 years ago today that 'A Charlie Brown Christmas' aired. And just like mega-hit STAR TREK, the "experts" got it all wrong.
When Star Trek aired, NBC hated it and worked overtime to kill the show. They were afraid that Spock's ears would alarm viewers and the show only survived to come back for a 2nd and finally a 3rd season by sheer force of will. Despite all that, half a century later, Star Trek lives because its goodness and rightness simply could not be denied------ except to network TV Experts.
Likewise, Charles Schulz' comic strip 'Peanuts' may be a huge hit, but CBS predicted disaster when 'A Charlie Brown Christmas' premiered in 1965. Child actors voicing the characters, no laugh track, a jazz score, and a depressed lead character all spelled doom. But the show became an instant classic, airing every Christmas season since. It was written over a period of several weeks, and animated on a shoestring budget in only six months. In casting the characters, the producers went an unconventional route, hiring child actors. The program's soundtrack was similarly unorthodox: it features a jazz score by pianist Vince Guaraldi. Its absence of a laugh track (a staple in US television animation in this period), in addition to its tone, pacing, music, and animation, led both the producers and network to predict the project would be a disaster preceding its broadcast. Contrary to that apprehension, A Charlie Brown Christmas received high ratings and acclaim from critics. It has since been honored with both an Emmy and Peabody Award. It became an annual broadcast in the United States, and has been aired during the Christmas season traditionally every year since its premiere.
Most of all, throughout its story is an unrepentant message of religion and God. The Experts get it wrong again.
When Star Trek aired, NBC hated it and worked overtime to kill the show. They were afraid that Spock's ears would alarm viewers and the show only survived to come back for a 2nd and finally a 3rd season by sheer force of will. Despite all that, half a century later, Star Trek lives because its goodness and rightness simply could not be denied------ except to network TV Experts.
Likewise, Charles Schulz' comic strip 'Peanuts' may be a huge hit, but CBS predicted disaster when 'A Charlie Brown Christmas' premiered in 1965. Child actors voicing the characters, no laugh track, a jazz score, and a depressed lead character all spelled doom. But the show became an instant classic, airing every Christmas season since. It was written over a period of several weeks, and animated on a shoestring budget in only six months. In casting the characters, the producers went an unconventional route, hiring child actors. The program's soundtrack was similarly unorthodox: it features a jazz score by pianist Vince Guaraldi. Its absence of a laugh track (a staple in US television animation in this period), in addition to its tone, pacing, music, and animation, led both the producers and network to predict the project would be a disaster preceding its broadcast. Contrary to that apprehension, A Charlie Brown Christmas received high ratings and acclaim from critics. It has since been honored with both an Emmy and Peabody Award. It became an annual broadcast in the United States, and has been aired during the Christmas season traditionally every year since its premiere.
Most of all, throughout its story is an unrepentant message of religion and God. The Experts get it wrong again.
