“You Didn’t Tell Me You Were Going to Kill It!”
Ah, it’s time once again for one of those great television moments: the annual airing of It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. From the first scene with Linus and Lucy recover a pumpkin from the field (whence comes the punchline above), to Charlie Brown’s holey ghost costume, to a silhouetted Snoopy rising out of the pumpkin patch, there’s not a moment in this special that’s not awesome. I’m not sure if it would win out in my heart against A Charlie Brown Christmas, and thankfully, I don’t have to choose.
Anyway, to prove I can always, always over-think things, here are some things that come to mind as I’m watching this right now:
- I find myself wondering about the psychology of the people giving Charlie Brown a rock. What’s going on there? Do people in CB’s neighborhood keep rocks on hand for kids they don’t like — and, if so, how do they know which kid is which? Is it a neighborhood tradition to give a rock to the worst-costumed kid in each group? Or is it a form of magical realism, where Charlie Brown gets a rock because of his perception of himself?
- Charles Schultz always asserted that he didn’t picture Charlie Brown as being bald, but as having very light hair. If that’s the case, then why, in this special which Schultz was (I believe) actively involved in creating, are the girls able to write on the back of his head as if it was a smooth surface?
- What is that sound supposed to be as Snoopy rises out of the pumpkin patch, anyhow?
- It’s 7:33, and this special is slotted until 8:00. How are they going to fill the time? …Oh. You’re Not Elected, Charlie Brown. That’s…timely. If not particularly exciting. (Wikipedia tells me ABC has been airing these two together since 2006. Goes to show how much I’ve been paying attention, I guess…)
There’s something about Halloween that works with television (and movies) the way no other holiday quite does. I’d imagine it has something to do with the ideas of costumes and playing pretend that are inherent in Hollywood to begin with (and the fact that it’s a secular holiday, so they don’t have to worry about offending most religious sensibilities, probably helps).
Now, if you’ll excuse me, there are Halloween-themed episodes of Community and The Office waiting to be watched…