I love A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS

A Charlie Brown Christmas, based of course on Charles Schulz's masterful comic strip, was made for CBS in 1965. It has been repeated every Xmas for over 40 years (now you can see it each year on ABC), and it must surely rank as one of the most watched (and treasured) examples of animation art ever produced. It is completely unlike anything I've ever seen, and is utterly successful in setting a mood all its very own. There are two elements, initially, that set it apart: the beautifully evocative score by jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi and his trio; and the indescribable vocal performances by the mostly amateur kids Schulz and producer/animator Bill Melendez chose to represent these characters. Incredibly, both elements were originally nixed by the CBS executives, who not only felt that adults should have been cast in these roles and the eventually-million-selling score was too boppy for the mainstream, but that the whole piece would be better sullied up with a laugh track (they even wanted to nix any references to the Bible!). This shows how incredibly goofy and unfeeling these execs were, because it's the SOUND of A Charlie Brown Christmas that really grabs our hearts.

Originally sponsored by Coca-Cola (who ironically tried to fit in a few now-deleted product placements in its first airings), this half-hour piece follows Charlie Brown as he battles a holiday depression brought on by the commercialization of Christmas. Visiting Lucy's psychiatric stand, he's cajoled into being the director of the kids' Christmas play (the way his face lights up when Lucy suggests this is pure joy). Charlie Brown arrives on stage as Schroeder and the gang are dancing madly about. (The dances each of these eight kids are doing have become complete cultural touchstones; these are some terrific moves!)

Charlie Brown struggles to get his cast's attention, but when it becomes clear that they're not getting anywhere near discovering the true meaning of Christmas, it's determined that what the play needs is a big Christmas tree as the stage's centerpiece. It's here that Charlie sets out with Linus to find the perfect tree. But instead of getting a big pink artificial tree at the local lot (as Lucy suggests), Charlie Brown falls in love with an anemic-looking baby tree with barely enough branches on it to hang one ornament on ("Gee, do they still make wooden Christmas trees?" Linus exclaims). It's this little tree that becomes the symbol for what Christmas is all about: love.

Even after seeing it hundreds of times, I decided to pop in my old 1985 VHS copy of the special in this Christmas morning. Being a lifelong fan of Charles Schulz's work, I knew I would enjoy watching A Charlie Brown Christmas again. But I was surprised at how many times I laughed out loud during the piece. Most of these laughs come from Snoopy, who's first seen in the body of the special sitting atop his doghouse, reading the paper and literally eating bones one by one. I treasure the way he imitates on stage a sheep, a cow, a penguin, a vulture, and finally a fussbudgeting Lucy. And when he's caught dancing atop Schroeder's piano, the music abruptly stops and, as he's being stared down by Schroeder and Lucy, the dog turns red and sheepishly slinks away. I'm telling you, this is comedy.

Child actor Peter Robbins played Charlie Brown all throughout the 1960s, up until the comic strip's big-screen outing A Boy Named Charlie Brown. His impassioned, strangely gravelly delivery IS the way Charlie Brown is supposed to sound, and unfortunately, when Robbins quit doing the voice in 1969, he had so embodied the role that none of his replacements could measure up. Ditto Chris Shea (brother of actor Eric Shea, most famous for being the kid in 1972's The Poseidon Adventure). Shea's lispy personification of Linus Van Pelt has precisely the intelligence, humor and warmth this classic character deserve. I swear, when Linus takes the stage ("Lights, please!") and quotes from the King James Bible, his words echoing through a quiet, cavernous hall...my gosh, I tear up every time. This surely must be the most effective use of the Bible's verses ever in pop culture:

"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace, good will toward men.'"

The stunning silence after this moment passes is utter sublimity. Blanket in tow, Linus approaches his depressed friend and sagely says "That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown." (Amazingly, the CBS execs even wanted to delete this scene, because they felt no one would sit still for a Bible lesson. But Charles Schulz stood firm: "If we don't say it, who will?")

I could go on and on about the merits of A Charlie Brown Christmas. Yes, its animation and sound are choppy, but charmingly so. I suspect that, for the rest of my life, I will rarely let a Yuletide go by without watching it at least once. That there are millions and millions who agree with me surely must be the highest praise that can be bestowed upon it. Winner of the 1966 Emmy for animation and a prestigious Peabody Award to boot, it's a masterpiece if ever there was one.

Nose-talgia: Superman and the Little Girl

This isn't about the holidays, but it's a delightful clip that will make us all feel like kids again!

Happy Holidays!

My Favorite Christmas TV Special

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer premiered on network TV December 6, 1964, which makes it 44 years old. And yet its message seems as fresh and relevant as ever. Directed by Kizo Nagashima and Larry Roemer, this claymation classic continues to delight kids and grown-ups year after year.

How prescient the makers of Rudolph were to make a holiday special where the primary theme was tolerance (of differences) and power to the individual. Rudolph with his (flaming red nose!) and Hermey the wannabe dentist elf, are at first shunned by their peers, but ultimately persevere and hailed as the hero's of Christmas Eve.

Rudolph has something for everyone. I always found the story compelling, even gripping. There's the family drama between Rudolph and his good ole boy Dad, Donner. There's the beautiful romance between Rudolph and the gorgeous Clarice. For a cliff hanger (literally), you can't beat Bumble, the abominable snowman monster, and for comic relief, we have the irrepressible Yukon Cornelius. But at its core, Rudolph is a buddy piece, with Hermey the dentist and Rudolph off on a winter road trip and excellent adventure.

The most recognizable voice in this Christmas charmer is Burl Ives, who sings and narrates as Sam the Snowman. His "Holly Jolly Christmas" is at least as much of a holiday classic as Rudolph is.

Well it's Christmas Eve folks, and I'd like to wish all our loyal readers around the world a peaceful and happy holiday. I'm off to watch Rudolph again, as I always manage to miss it when it airs, but thankfully now have the DVD.

"I Love Lucy" in Color!

I just had to share this neat vid from YouTube, which is home movie footage taken by an audience member at a 1951 taping of I Love Lucy! It's amazing!




For the whole story of behind the footage, visit its YouTube page!

Cat Dancers: The Strangest HBO Documentary Ever

If you like TV programs about Ebola, chimeras, comets, tsunamis and wild animals that bite, you might consider giving Cat Dancers (HBO) a gander. If you watch Meerkat Manor, Air Jaws, old Judy Garland movies and Oprah only when conjoined twins are making an appearance, then Jane's special algorithm for determining what you might like to watch based on your past viewing choices says, "run don't walk" to Cat Dancers on HBO. If you have ever once searched the web for information on "Plushies" (people who dress up like stuffed animals) trust me, this one's for you. It's very special.

Cat Dancers tells the story of Ron and Joy Holiday, and their lover Chuck Lizza. Their menage- a-trois would be weird enough, but the happy threesome went on to form one of the world's first exotic tiger entertainment acts. That's right, before Sigfried and Roy, there were the Cat Dancers. And without being too much of a spoiler, let's just say both acts experienced similar tragic grand finales.

Most of the film is narrated by Ron Holiday, an enthusiastic but oddly emotionless fellow given to wearing wigs, eyeliner and ballet tights. He was married for over 40 years to Joy and they had a very successful adagio dance team that performed at Radio City Music Hall in NYC. Joy Holiday is a cheerful busty blond who once wanted to be a nun. Chuck, their paramour, was a young man who once worked for the circus. Together they formed the "Cat Dancers" and they performed for 14 years with leopards, panthers and a white tiger hybrid named Jupiter.

Don't read the whole story on the HBO site unless you want to know how this odd documentary ends. I'm not going to reveal it here, because I've been haunted by it for days. It's disturbing on so many levels. As an animal rights activist, I can't endorse the idea of big cats being used as circus performers. If my own little cats Bob and CNN can't stand to be cooped up in a house all day, I can't imagine how bored and unhappy big cats must feel being in a cage.

Nevertheless, if your tastes in TV gravitate to the extremely unusual, then I can't recommend Cat Dancers enough.

Cat Dancers debuted on Dec 15th, 2008 at 8pm on HBO. Check your guide for repeat air dates, or see HBO on Demand.

Cities of the Underworld

While we wait in breathless anticipation for the final episode of Showtime's "DEXTER" tonight, I'd like to give a vigorous nod to a little gem that I've wanted to write about for quite a while. It's called "Cities of the Underworld" (History Channel, Mondays at 9pm).

When I was about 9 years old, I lived in a suburb a half hour outside of New York City. I'll never forget the first time my mom brought me out of our bland Leave it To Beaver landscape into NYC. It was like "Oz" for me, and I fell in love at first sight. The soaring buildings! The honking taxis! Even the smell was electric and appealing, a mixture of Chock Full of Nuts coffee, gasoline and steam. But one of my best memories was of the underground shopping center beneath the Empire State Building. It seemed to go on for blocks and blocks, a whole city underneath the magical metropolis of New York.

If you've ever wondered what lies beneath, "Cities of the Underworld" will captivate you. The most appropriately named host Don Wildman will lead you there, whether it's under NYC's Grand Central Station (pictured) or ancient Rome or even Sin City itself (Las Vegas), which I would have thought to be too new and sandy to have an underworld. Turns out, the relentless heat of the desert makes building part of the city underground practical and more energy efficient.

I've watched many episodes where Don squeezes himself into impossibly tight spots. He's been wedged into narrow caves under ancient druid enclaves , or lowered into appalling sewers far below the streets of London, where Jack the Ripper himself may have escaped from his dreadful deeds. Through it all, Mr. Wildman maintains an absolutely correct tone of enthusiasm and amazement. He's fearless in places that would reduce most folks to claustrophobic hysteria.

Like many cable shows, "Cities" is repeated endlessly, so it won't be hard to stumble across it on the History Channel. It's worth searching high (or low in this case) to find a few dark places where most people never travel.

"The Wall Street Journal" Loves CBS' "The Big Bang Theory"-- and so do we!

Well, weird that it had to come from a business newspaper, but it's at least great to see an extremely positive article about a Flaming Nose favorite series, CBS' Monday night comedy The Big Bang Theory! You can and should read the whole article online at The Wall Street Journal -- it's written by John Jurgensen and it's entitled "A Nerdy Comedy's Winning Formula". We've loved the show here since its premiere in Fall 2007, and TBBT continues to be an adorable and hilarious half-hour that hasn't gone stale yet.

In some ways The Big Bang Theory felt like a two-word, one-joke show -- nerd physicists -- but the characters have been lovingly crafted and are human as well as brainiacs. Actors Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki, Simon Helberg and Kunal Nayyar have managed to simulate the dynamics of a real friendship, and the beautiful girl outsider, played by Kelly Cuoco, is every bit as funny as they are. I defy you not to get several good laughs from every episode. If you're a science fiction fan in any way, then you will particularly love the show. The riffs on various esoteric SF concepts and characters are always...may I say...super funny! The amusing actress Sara Rue has been around for the last few episodes as Leonard's new M.D. love interest, and that's yet another incentive to check out the show. She's always great.

I love the show and I hope that if you don't already watch it, you'll tune in and see what you've been missing. Hey, it's got the WSJ Seal of Approval now, right?

The Big Bang Theory airs at 8pm on Monday nights, on CBS.

Summer Heights High in the Dead of TV Winter

As the Sunday night Flaming Nose favorites flame out with their respective season ends, it is heartening that one bizarre series still has a few episodes left to go. Summer Heights High (Sundays at 10:30p on HBO) is like a half hour Christopher Guest movie with an Aussie accent. It follows the trials and tribulations of two Australian public school students (Ja'mie and Jonah) and one extra flamboyant Drama teacher (Mr. G) all played admirably by comedian Chris Lilley. Of the three, Jonah the Polynesian delinquent is the most believable and sympathetic. He's disruptive, profane and often hilarious as he plots new ways to wreck havoc and amuse his motley crew of budding gangsters. Mr. G, the bitchy and self absorbed Drama teacher is a "Waiting for Guffman" clone, who is developing a high school musical that features pole dancing teens. He is generally accompanied by his adored chihuahua Celine and a Down syndrome student who's innocent affection for Mr. G. is not returned. Least believable (from appearance alone) is Ja'mie, the stuck up transfer student and self described "hot girl" from a private school. Ja'mie towers over her entourage, all of whom seem oblivious to the fact that she looks like a Green Bay Packer in drag. Filling in the cast are assorted teachers, administrators and hapless students. It's cold comfort to see that political correctness and bureaucracy have infected the academic environment Down Under with the same mindless vigor that ails our own US public schools.

True Blood and Entourage are gone already and Dexter has but one final episode to go (watch for our comments after next Sunday). Give Summer Heights a gander, it's an interesting diversion until Flight of the Conchords returns to HBO on Sunday nights.

In Canada, We're Saying Goodbye to "Trailer Park Boys" Tonight

All across Canada, fans of the innovative, original, hilarious and gloriously profane series Trailer Park Boys will be saying a fond farewell to the series, which comes to an end on the Showcase network tonight. The recent decision made by the producers to end the series evidently caught many folks by surprise, including the stars of the show who learned of the cancellation only a day before the news went out on the TPB website. I'm a huge fan of the series, especially some of the earlier seasons, and though in the U.S. it was briefly on BBC America (and completely bleeped for language, therefore hardly watchable) and now fans can seek it out online, it's really a north of the border phenom. I wrote about it four years ago on my original TV blog, and the show has never let me down.

Trailer Park Boys is uniquely Canadian, and particularly Nova Scotian, as it's filmed in and around Halifax and the stars are fairly local boys. The best way to get acquainted with the Ricky (Robb Wells), Julian (John Paul Tremblay) and Bubbles (Mike Smith), if you're not already, is to watch the series. You can read about it, but until you experience for yourself the almost inexplicably effective blend of profanity, lawlessness, friendship, sentimentality, poverty, ingenuity and community that makes up Trailer Park Boys, you'll never understand why this show is so incredibly special. There's NOTHING like it on U.S. TV, and I can't imagine anything like it ever making it there. O Canada!

The Trailer Park Boys are a part of what makes Canada so great, and we look forward to at least another TPB movie, and honestly, this bunch of memorable characters is simply too special to put down easily. I suspect they will return, and of course the entire talented group of performers who brought the Sunnyvale Trailer Park to life will go on to other things, but they should know, and I'm sure do, that they made history with Trailer Park Boys, and are in our hearts forevever.

I'm going to link to one of my favorite episodes from the show here, entitled "If You Love Something, Set It Free" in which a mountain lion plays havoc with the boys latest pot crop and Bubbles, inveterate cat lover, takes the big kitty under his wing. It's from the show's amazing 4th season, which also contained the incredibly insane episode "Conky" where Bubbles comes under the power of his evil childhood hand puppet which has been recovered from a swamp. You must watch both of them! I'll say it again...there's nothing like this on U.S. TV. (There are lots of TPB episodes on Google Video, so check them out!)

I just have to include some video here, so here's a compilation of some of the endearing Bubbles' best moments, from a fan on YouTube:

Trailer Park Boys, you were one of the first things I fell in love with in Nova Scotia!

(Check out all the TPB websites linked in this article for more on this truly one-of-a-kind television experience! They also have a Christmas Show which you should watch at holiday time!)

Roger Corman's "Cyclops" on Sci Fi This Saturday Night!

I'm always up for a good monster, and the Sci Fi Channel loves them, too. Most of their original movies seem to have a CGI beast or two lurking about, and this week legendary movie producer Roger Corman brings us Cyclops -- ferocious, one-eyed and a cannibal, to boot! Cyclops -- "The Rise of the Cyclops...is the Fall of Rome" so sayeth the ads, stars Eric Roberts as Emperor Tiberius, Kevin Stapleton as Marcus, a Roman soldier, and Swedish beauty Frida Farrell as an alluring barbarian warrioress.

Cyclops looks to be, if not quite the quality of HBO's Rome exactly, a toga-filled romp with a monster who looks pretty scary. (I shudder to think what he's packing in that loincloth -- talk about formidable!)

I am going to recommend this one on the basis of nothing else except my firm belief that you can't have too many monsters!

Here's an extended trailer -- I hope it's not ALL the good parts!:

And here's a shorter promo --

Cyclops

Cyclops premieres on the Sci Fi Channel this coming Saturday, December 5th, at 9pm!