Tom Purcell writes about a perennial yuletime classic television show that probably couldn't be made today.

[Update at 8:40 PM EST

Apparently, it was hard to make it even then:

"We told Schulz, 'Look, you can't read from the Bible on network television,' " Mendelson says. "When we finished the show and watched it, Melendez and I looked at each other and I said, 'We've ruined Charlie Brown.' "

Good grief, were they wrong. The first broadcast was watched by almost 50% of the nation's viewers. "When I started reading the reviews, I was absolutely shocked," says Melendez, 89. "They actually liked it!"

I have to confess, that I wasn't a great fan of it, though I did like the Guaraldi soundtrack.