I Didn't Know This

One of those eclectic and trivia-filled interesting blogs is the Mental Floss Blog. The other day they posted a bit on the history of one of the most popular Christmas TV shows ever produced- A Charlie Brown Christmas. Needless to say, it almost didn't make it. Here's part of the story.

When CBS executives previewed A Charlie Brown Christmas, they were vastly underwhelmed. There was just so much wrong with it. There was not enough action. It moved too slow. The voices had been done by real kids, not adult actors. There was no laugh track. And Linus read from the Gospel of Luke in one scene. (“You can’t read from the Bible on network television!” they declared in unison.) At the end of the meeting, Mendelson was told: “Well, you gave it a good shot. Believe me, we’re big Peanuts fans, but maybe it’s better suited to the comic page.”

But CBS had made a commitment to their sponsor, so they aired the special as scheduled on December 9, 1965. And, as often happens in the world of entertainment, the original gut reaction of the suits was completely wrong. A Charlie Brown Christmas drew in 15.4 million viewers, placing it second in the ratings that week after Bonanza. A few months later, Charles Schulz and Lee Mendelson found themselves onstage accepting an Emmy Award for Outstanding Children’s Program. (See? Christmas really is the season for miracles.)
--Mental Floss Blog