LITTLE ROCK — Just in case you’ve missed the umpteen airings since the special debuted in 1973, ABC is presenting A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving twice this week.
Catch it at 7 p.m. Wednesday and at the same time on Thursday, after you’ve stuffed yourself with Thanksgiving toast and popcorn.
Toast and popcorn?
You see, in the half-hour animated holiday special, Charlie Brown wants to do something special for the Peanuts gang. However, the dinner he arranges is a disaster when caterers Snoopy and Woodstock whip up toast and popcorn as the main dishes.
Charlie Brown is humiliated and it will take all of Marcie’s persuasive powers to salvage the holiday.
Even if you have seen it, check out this new high definition version of the Charles M. Schulz classic, because there’s more.
A special bonus cartoon from Schulz, This Is America, Charlie Brown: The Mayflower Voyagers, will air along with the main feature.
In the second special, the Peanuts gang takes on history in an informative program about the Mayflower Pilgrims.
The year is 1620. After 65 sea-tossed days, the Pilgrims are in view of America’s shores - and Charlie Brown and the Peanuts crew are with them as they experience the lifestyle of the early settlers and celebrate the first Thanksgiving.
It’s been more than 60 years since the Peanuts comic strip was launched in seven American newspapers. I imagine Schulz never guessed his little endeavor would become the huge success that it did.
Today, the strip appears in more than 2,200 newspapers in 75 countries and 21 languages.
The animated Peanuts specials have become a seasonal TV tradition and Charlie Brown and the gang long ago entered our popular culture.
Charlie Brown attempting to kick the football; Linus and his security blanket; and Lucy leaning over Schroeder’s piano are familiar images to which everyone can relate.
Vince Guaraldi’s jazzy 1964 Peanuts piano theme “Linus and Lucy” from A Charlie Brown Christmas is instantly recognized around the globe.
Schulz’s A Charlie Brown Christmas debuted on CBS in 1965 with Lee Mendelson as executive producer and Bill Melendez as animator and director.
The three continued their long association until Schulz’s death in 2000 at age77. They worked together on 50 Peanuts network specials and four feature films.
The specials won five Emmys, two Peabodys and 18 other Emmy nominations.
NASHVILLE
GETS NOD
ABC has crunched the ratings, gotten off the fence, and finally committed to a full-season order for its new series Nashville. The drama was my top pick for new fall shows and remains high on the list.
If you haven’t checked it out, it’s now safe to emotionally commit. The series airs at 9 p.m. Wednesday.
For your inside television, behind-the-scenes edification, here is the official convoluted ABC explanation as to why Nashville lives. Note that not once are total viewers mentioned. These days, the ratings are parsed upside down and backward before the green light is given:
“On average during Wednesday’s 9 p.m. hour, ABC rookie Nashville is No. 1 in its time period among adults 18-49 (3.2/9), beating CBS’ veteran CSI by 3 percent (3.1/9) and NBC’s freshman Chicago Fire by 33 percent (2.4/7).
“The new ABC drama also leads the hour with adults 18-34 and across all key women demographics (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54).
“Overall for the season, Nashville ranks among the Top 3 new TV series in adults 18-49 and adults 18-34, while qualifying as the No. 2 freshman program with women 18-49.”
And here’s the really important paragraph for ABC:
“Nashville attracts an advertiser-coveted upscale audience, pulling in 30 percent higher ratings among adults 18-49 in homes with $100,000-plus annual income (index of 130) to make it the top indexing new drama on broadcast TV this season, and the No. 2 highest-rated freshman show overall.”
Did you follow all that? Me neither.
Nashville stars Connie Britton as veteran country singer Rayna Jaymes, with Hayden Panettiere as up and-comer Juliette Barnes.
There’s lots of juicy soap opera stuff with cheatin’ and drinkin’ and politics and other drama, all mixed in with country music worked organically into the plot.
The TV Column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. E-mail:
Style, Pages 30 on 11/20/2012