Posted on 12/11/2003 1:04:50 PM PST by Timesink
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| 'Charlie Brown' was interrupted by commercial breaks... |
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| ... featuring smutty clips from 'Trista and Ryan's Wedding.' |
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Network programmers soiled the show - and ruined a family viewing experience - by running willy nilly with their own in-show promotions.
The venerable animated special, based on the beloved and sweet characters by the late Charles M. Schulz, has been an annual TV treat since its first appearance in 1965.
And at a time when one-TV families are a thing of the past, and annual family viewing traditions are down to a handful of events, "A Charlie Brown Christmas" is one of the few absolutely reliable TV offerings of this or any other season.
Any parent, using common sense, personal memories and television's self-policed ratings system, responsibly could place their young ones - even their very young ones - in front of the TV to watch Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy, Snoopy and the rest.
For that hour, at least, parents could count on TV to entertain without assaulting impressionable minds with anything improper.
Or so you'd think.
ABC executives, however, thought differently.
Two times during this hour-long family Christmas special, ABC aired salacious promos for the following night's "Trista and Ryan's Wedding" bachelor and bachelorette party special.
ABC's promo department included images, in the middle and during the closing credits of "A Charlie Brown Christmas," of strippers - one clad in a shiny black catsuit, the other topless with digitally blurred breasts, straddling drunken bachelor Ryan and dragging him off at night for a private seaside encounter.
As Charlie Brown would say: Good grief!
TV's so-called family hour has been made meaningless by the networks for more than a decade now, and is even more quaint a concept in these days when NBC's worm-chewing, bile-spewing "Fear Factor" airs in the opening hour of prime time.
But if TV's own ratings system is supposed to mean anything, "A Charlie Brown Christmas" should have been a safe haven for kids. When a program is deemed suitable for all ages, so should any ads and promos shown within it.
The ratings system is a joke, and always has been - but at least responsible parents had some way to steer their children away from some things, and towards some others.
When CBS was broadcasting "A Charlie Brown Christmas," which it was until a few years ago, this never came up. But now, with ABC executives at the helm, promos for a sexy 9 p.m. show are wedged thoughtlessly between animated dancing dogs and quotes from scripture.
ABC honchos might try to argue that the left hand didn't know what the right hand was doing - but in this case, they should. If the network bosses can't keep their promos and advertisements at the same age-appropriate level as their programs, then they're begging the government to step in and do it for them.
Bah, humbug.
ABC executives should know better. And if they don't, that's even worse.
Gotta disagree on this one...
What is it about worm-chewing that is inappropriate for kids? My little girls love that show. It's about the ONLY think they are allowed to watch. I don't mind them seeing tough girls, beating the guys, overcoming their fears...
Our DVD of A Charlie Brown Christmas arrived just today. It's a good strategy.
I agree. I got Rudolph on DVD this year. Cheap. My 2 year old absolutely loves it. No commercials. It's a joy to watch, even when I have to watch it with him over and over. I'm doing this with all the Christmas classics.
We've done that for years. As a family, we sit and watch them one each night right until Christmas. We save "The Little Drummer Boy" for last, the one that Greer Garson narrated. It's wonderful.
My video of that is almost worn out. I watch it every year and I still cry when he apologizes to his nephew and his wife. My wife tells me I'm a sucker for redemption stories - I guess she's right. Little Trad (my 2 yr old) will be seeing that one, too. Though I doubt the b&w film (I refuse to buy the colorized version) will hold his interest for a few years.
Remember the Mr. Magoo version of Christmas Carol? I remember watching it every year when I was young. It was very good. I think that was the one where Tiny Tim talks about "razzleberry dressing." Maybe I'll find that one somewhere for Little Trad.
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