A Charlie Brown Christmas

Season 1, Episode 1, Aired

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Good Grief! In the first Peanuts special, the gang celebrates Christmas. Charlie Brown, thinking Christmas is too comercialized, directs the school Christmas play. He learns it from Linus, who tells us all the true meaning of Christmas!
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Fan Episode Reviews (11)

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  • As Charlie Brown and Linus are heading to the lake to ice skate with their friends, Charlie Brown tells Linus that he is not at all happy about the approaching holiday because he always feels very depressed at Christmas. What can be done to change that?moreless

    10
    "Perfect"
    By meathead704, Dec 01, 2011
    A Charlie Brown Christmas has definitely stood the test of time since it first premiered on television more than four decades ago. It almost seemed to be ahead of it's time with by saying how commercial Christmas has become because that is even more true today. What is also a huge contributor to the show's excellence is its well written dialogue and abundant amount of laughs that never stop being funny even after repeated viewings. If it isn't already, definitely make A Charlie Brown Christmas a part of your Christmas DVD collection. It wouldn't be complete without it. Good Grief!moreless

  • Timeless.

    10
    "Perfect"
    By earthpeople, Dec 13, 2008
    I first saw "A Charlie Brown Christmas" when I was five. It was a big surprise to learn that it was made before my parents were born. This simple story never seems to lose its relevance. A Christmas special that openly embraces the religion behind the holiday. Imagine that. The jazzy music on its soundtrack is as much a Christmas carol to me as "Silent Night." And of all the Peanuts specials, cartoons and movies, this is the showing that best captures the spirit of the comic strip. I've always loved the Peanuts characters. They are funny and sad and strong and vulnerable. And sometimes they are downright wise.moreless

  • Another classic from childhood.

    9.9
    "Superb"
    By tvking1, Dec 11, 2007
    There have been probably thousands of Christmas movies, specials and TV programs, many of them for children, but relatively few have an overt religious theme. "A Charlie Brown Christmas" is a notable exception.

    Charlie Brown is frustrated at the crass commercialism of Christmas. Lucy recommends he direct their Christmas play to get over his doldrums, but he finds the play has become equally commercial. When he goes out to get a Christmas tree, he ignores Lucy's advice and gets a small, dull tree, and is laughed at and berated by the gang when he returns, by all except Linus. Charlie Brown's desperate plee to find the true meaning of Christmas ("Isn't there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?") is answered by Linus, who takes the stage and quotes Luke 2:8-14. The gang no longer thinks the tree is worthy of ridicule. In despair because he thinks he ruined the tree, he finds the gang has fixed it and decorated it. As he is wondering what happened, they pause for a moment and yell "Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown" and serenade him with "Hark The Herald Angels Sing". A beatiful ending, compimented by the snow and letter design in the closing credits. There have been other Christmas cartoons with religious themes, but not enough.

    This was the first full Peanuts cartoon, but they were featured a few years earlier in a series of Ford commercials.moreless

  • This is the first episode of Charlie Brown and very special indeed.

    10
    "Perfect"
    By 1MMfan, Dec 08, 2007
    I love this episode.The first time I ever watched it was when I was 8 years old and it really touched me.Especially the end when they talk about the true meaning of Christmas.Then they sing "Hark the Herald Angels Sing".Shultz really did good with this episode.It's sad that he died,but when I watch this episode,I remember that this part of him will always be there.This is one of the best episodes yet.I still watch it every Christmas.With Christmas coming around,I'm going to watch it again.This was a really good way to start a new show,even if it's from the 1960's.This episode definently deserves a 10/10.moreless

  • Mwama mamwa mamwa wama Wa wa wa? Wa ma ma ma ma!!!

    8.0
    "Great"
    By SoylentYellow, Dec 07, 2007
    This cartoon features a bald kid named Charlie Brown - why he is bald is never explained... Is he follicly challeged like Gerald in PERFECT HAIR FOREVER? Does he just need to join the Hair Club for Men? Did he grow up near a nuclear testing site in Nevada? I dunno.

    Its Christmas and a collection of weird kids try and celebrate Christmas (Im surprised they havent removed this show from the air since Christmas is no longer politically correct - they could change the name to Charlie Browns Winter Show? LOL!)

    A disturbing question arises however: Where are these kids parents? Is this like Children of the Corn? Hmmm. Is there a dark side to this story? I wonder. Maybe they could explain all this in a sequel Charlie Brown: The Untold Story. Why hasnt Children and Youth Services intervened and sent these kids off to foster homes? And what about the teachers at the school - they dont even speak English - they speak some kind of robotic machine language. Are they really ROBOTS? Could they actually be SKYNET Terminator prototypes? T-600 or T-700 series units undergoing field tests? Hard to tell since we cant actually see them. In the end the kids and some strange dog who is also some kind of WW I fighter pilot sing around a scrawny tree. The End.moreless
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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • Trivia

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    • Lucy says, "Look, Charlie, we all know Christmas is just a big commercial racket." This is a rare occurrence, for seldom did anyone just say "Charlie"; most of the time it's "Charlie Brown."

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  • Notes

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    • There is some uncertainty about what regularly-scheduled show this special preempted. The regularly scheduled shows for the evening of December 9, 1965 were My Three Sons, The Munsters and Gilligan's Island; however, current available information indicates that all three of these shows aired that night. A Charlie Brown Christmas aired at 7:30, which would have preempted The Munsters. Certain archives indicate that the special did not air at the same time in all markets. One possible explanation is that all three shows aired in different parts of the country, but they were not seen everywhere.

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