Keeping Score

Bah Humbug

I was reading Lileks today, and he got me thinking about Christmas Specials. More specifically, about ones that I don't like.

Even more to the point: A Charlie Brown Christmas.

I used to love it when I was a kid, and hell, who didn't. But recently I found it almost downright repugnant. Not only is the animation bottom shelf quality, and the message of "over-commercialization" is just a lot too 60's for my taste, but why doesn't Charlie Brown just kick them in the teeth when they laugh at him?

I'm watching this special, and I'm seeing all of these other kids slack off and just do the damn jive-turkey* instead of actually participating in a Christmas play, and they lecture him when they screw up? Holy mother of god, there would be some boots pressed to some necks if that stupid kid had a backbone in his body.

At any rate, here's some other Christmas Specials/Movies I highly recommend viewing instead of the poorly paced, badly directed, and blindly animated Charlie Brown one:

The Nightmare Before Christmas
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Patrick Stewart's A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Story
It's a Wonderful Life

On the other hand, there are two "B" List Contenders which I feel herald the onset of Christmas itself. It's just not Christmas if I miss these two (which I think I did this year):

Frosty the Snowman
Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer

* Yes, I realize that by using the term "jive-turkey," I've just made myself sound as if I were 80 years old.