Peanuts

Cartoons served as every kind of lesson for my siblings and me. But for hubby growing up in Germany, they just weren’t a thing. Although he doesn’t get our silly Bugs Bunny quotes and Flintstone references, he seems to have survived just fine. But I couldn’t bear the thought of his not knowing the Peanuts gang the way I do.

So, for Halloween we watched, It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. His first comment was, “What’s up with their hair?” It’s funny how you kind of forget how “follicle challenged” many of the characters are until seen through a fresh set of eyes. And he was dismayed when the Great Pumpkin never showed and Sally turned on Linus. 

Although still traumatized by “that pumpkin thing,” we watched A Charlie Brown Christmas. This is a family favorite, and thankfully hubby enjoyed it too. My family started watching in 1965, and as siblings were added, they too became equally enamored with the Charles Schulz masterpiece.

An interesting tidbit is that with no laugh track and the unusual choice of an unorthodox jazz score, the producers and network predicted the project would be a disaster. But the show received rave reviews in 1965, and not only does it stand the test of time, it gets more relevant every year.

Give it a look if you haven’t seen it in a while and see if you agree. Although it’s no longer on network TV because Apple bought all the rights, they do offer it free at Christmas for non-subscribers. (This year the offer is good December 13-14.)

• Go to tv.apple.com or open in the Apple TV app
• Find “A Charlie Brown Christmas”
• Stream it without needing a paid subscription (You’ll have to create an Apple TV+ ID)