For years and years I have awaited the network broadcast of "A Charlie Brown Christmas" as the true herald of the holiday season. I brought my kids up with the same tradition -- one which has been made no less special for us by the fact that they happen to be Jewish.

Tonight we sat in horror and watched what you have done to the single greatest cartoon ever made.

How many minutes did you cut out of "A Charlie Brown Christmas" so you could run more commercials?

http://muskrat-john.livejournal.com/264483.html

It sounds like the networks are just as shameless as ever in running commercials.  I know the original cartoon actually had an advertisement in it (as tasteless as that is), but I guess the networks need the full 10 minutes worth of commercials in a half hour even when it's a show that they've clearly not spent any money in producing (since it's about 45 years old at this point).  Read the link for the full list of everything they cut.  Pretty sickening.

It's really quite obvious how many ads are run, when you go back to an old show like the Dick Van Dyke show, and it runs something like 27 minutes long and then run a new show like Big Bang Theory and notice it only runs 20 minutes long (and that includes the very short title sequence).  You can practically run three of those shows in the hour when you used to run two shows.

The real kicker is that this wasn't just a classic cartoon they did this to, it's one that preaches a message of rejecting the crass commercialization of the season.  How far we haven't come in 45 years huh?

People still wonder why I don't own a TV. ::)  This is the exact reason why I prefer DVDs.  BTW, I have most of the Peanuts specials on DVD so I have the full experience. :)

Gone was Linus using his blanket as an improvised slingshot to knock a can off the fence no one else can hit, complete with ricochet sound effect

This one was a classics cene.  How dare they remove it >:(

ABC always has ploys to "save the network", but if they keep doing crap like this (which they probably don't even realize is the reason their network needs to be saved), next year, they will probably dub-in Regis Philbin as voices for all the characters lol

Also those promos  that pop-up in the end of the screen  ::) :P

Also those promos  that pop-up in the end of the screen  ::) :P



You mean the ones that make the credits really tiny?  I hate those...especially if you are trying to find out the name of an actor and can't read it because it is too small.

No, the ones that scrolls across the bottom (ie "coming up next", "This show is on at...")

Though the credits being pushed aside is also annoying.

No, the ones that scrolls across the bottom (ie "coming up next", "This show is on at...")

Though the credits being pushed aside is also annoying.


That is annoying, too.

You mean the ones that make the credits really tiny?  I hate those...especially if you are trying to find out the name of an actor and can't read it because it is too small.



I hear ya. That annoys me to no end. Yes, I am a credit reader. There are some of us who are.



Cat

I love reading the credits.  What I hate rather than the ads squishing is when if you are watching a TV show, the split screen comes on and while the credits of what you were watching roll, the next TV show episode begins

Damn networks need to stop editing stuff.  I think we've all seen that Slap Chop ad by now.  Quit forcing it down our throats you damn TV networks ::)

lol

No, the ones that scrolls across the bottom (ie "coming up next", "This show is on at...")


That is annoying, too.

Yeah, I hate those banners! They often cover up a key part of the screen, and I find that visually distracting.





I hear ya. That annoys me to no end. Yes, I am a credit reader. There are some of us who are.



Cat

I like to read the credits too. Sometimes the networks scroll the credits really fast that not even John Moschitta could read them!

I love reading the credits.  What I hate rather than the ads squishing is when if you are watching a TV show, the split screen comes on and while the credits of what you were watching roll, the next TV show episode begins

So they can begin the new program asap; I notice that too. What are they, in a rush or something? ::)



Damn networks need to stop editing stuff.  I think we've all seen that Slap Chop ad by now.  Quit forcing it down our throats you damn TV networks ::)

lol

LOL indeed!! It is one thing to edit out a scene that is too suggestive, like someone saying a naughty word in a movie, but it's another to edit out a whole scene, especially if it's a key to the plot.

LOL indeed!! It is one thing to edit out a scene that is too suggestive, like someone saying a naughty word in a movie, but it's another to edit out a whole scene, especially if it's a key to the plot.


It's edited out for time...

Like if we need more commercials  :P ::)

It's edited out for time...

Like if we need more commercials  :P ::)

Yeah, and sometimes they put so many commercials in there to cram it all into a 2 or 2 1/2 hour time block.


As an example of editing out certain scenes, ABC Family has edited out a couple portions of Home Alone 2, in the sequence where the bad guys go through Kevin's uncle's home. Kevin throws a total of four bricks at the bad guys, but ABC Family only shows him throwing one brick... and in a later part of the sequence, the part where the guys hear the tool chest falling down the stairs is edited out. Also in that sequence, as Marv tries to open the front door, he gets poked by a staple gun from the inside as he struggles to open it; most of that part does not show on ABC Family, either.

So they can begin the new program asap; I notice that too. What are they, in a rush or something? ::)


They are.  The earlier they can start a show, the more commercials they can air.  The more Slap Chops they can sell :D

I hate it when thei edit stuff out as well.  A good example that I remember is the movie 'Uncle Buck'.  The first time I ever saw it was on TV in the early 90s.  When Buck crashes that party, and turns out the lights on Bug, I used to wonder what happened with Bug.  That whole part where Bug was in Buck's car trunk, and he hits him with the golf ball, was completely removed for TV.  First time I saw it on VHS, it was like a whole different movie

  Wow, they butchered it...

  I'm with Reynolds.  Finally dropped my cable last month after not having watched TV for nearly two years.  I also own the Peanuts specials on DVD as well as the Rankin-Bass specials...

It'll be on tonight.

Actually thinking of getting the Peanuts 60's & '70's sets  8)

When they're in a decent price

ABC, what are we going to do with you?  ::) :P


Anyway, I don't really watch TV anymore... Although this wasn't so much the reason(but I can see why people are upset about it), it's more that I find most shows to be too dumb or torturous(Reality TV anyone?).

Shermy's line was intact...