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Before the advent of YouTube and other video sharing venue via the Internet, broadcast
television was THE medium for visual entertainment other than an occasional
jaunt to the movie theater. You either watched shows when they first aired or hope
to catch them on reruns. TV Guide
was THE go-to publication for all things television. Out of print now,
it was for many of us the schedule setter for Saturday morning cartoons and Prime
Time comedy shows.
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As a lifelong admirer
of Charles Schulz's Peanuts
comic strip, I occasionally buy a collectible item like a Snoopy music box that
plays "It's a Long Way to Tipperary," a plastic Schroeder and piano figurine, a
Charlie Brown Skediddler, or a Snoopy astronaut from the Apollo era. This time I
bought the edition of TV Guide that announced the first showing of
the "A Charlie Brown Christmas" cartoon. Also in this edition is the announcement
of plans to preempt regular programming to televise the launch of the
Gemini VII
spacecraft, which carried astronauts Frank Borman and James A. Lovell. It launched
right on time at 7:30 pm on December 4th, 1965.
"As his millions of fans long since have discovered, under that inept, ineffectual,
bumbling exterior of Charlie Brown's there beats a heart as soft and sweet as a
marshmallow. In the sequence on these pages, drawn exclusively for TV Guide
by Charlie's creator, Charles Schulz, he becomes concerned about the true meaning
of Christmas, finally comes up with what he believes is the answer. And despite
the skepticism of his friend (?) lucy, he has faith in it-so much so that he has
made it the theme of his first special, "Charlie Brown's Christmas," scheduled for
CBS on Dec. 9."
See my modest Peanuts nostalgia
collection and Snoopy alarm clock.
"Peanuts on Television," by Charles
Schulz
"A Charlie Brown Christmas" first airing Thursday,
December 9, 1965
Peanuts Memorabilia:
Posted December 24, 2020
(updated from original post on 11/30/2013)
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