By Ed
Martin
How can
it be that a Christmas special produced in the Sixties continues to dominate
holiday programming almost 50 years after it was first telecast?
Last
Tuesday, CBS’ presentation of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” -- a stop-motion
animation classic that was first seen on NBC back in 1964 -- was, according to
the network, the No. 1 program of the night among adults 25-54 and tied NBC’s
red-hot “The Voice” on one of its Twitter nights as the evening’s top show
among adults 18-49. Furthermore, “Rudolph” in its 8 p.m. time period was No. 1
in total viewers, children 2-11, children 6-11, adults 18-34, adults 18-49 and
adults 25-54.
I’m as
big a fan of “Rudolph” as anyone else. I have been since I first saw it in the
Sixties. For me, the Christmas season officially began with its annual telecast.
I remember how excited I would get -- an excitement shared by my brother and
our friends in the neighborhood -- when the opportunity to watch “Rudolph” drew
near. I remember the urgency of it all: We had to be in front of our (black and
white) TV sets when it was on, lest we miss a minute of our only opportunity to
see it that year. And I remember the wistfulness that followed when “Rudolph”
ended and the realization that we had to wait another 12 months to see it again
would set in.
But
that was TV way back then. At least since the mid-Eighties, when VCRs began to
spread across the land and high-priced videos of movies and television specials
became available, most kids (and grown-ups who are young at heart) have been
able to watch “Rudolph” whenever they want via an ever-expanding selection of
viewing platforms. The unique excitement that once accompanied the limited
opportunities to watch “Rudolph” has long since passed (which is also true of
everything else).
Consequently,
there should be nothing special about watching “Rudolph” on CBS or anywhere
else. And yet, as the ratings indicate, the annual network telecast is still a
special event -- perhaps not as titanic an event as in decades past, but a
significant one nevertheless. Does this speak to the power of broadcast
television to turn almost anything into a must-see program, or to the enduring
quality of “Rudolph” itself? I suspect the answer is “both.”
Regardless,
“Rudolph” remains a marvel of simple basic family entertainment that continues
to be enjoyed by people of all ages, even though it is growing very old. It is
certainly easy to understand why: The characters are iconic and the songs are
seasonal classics that will always be with us.
The
greater question here is, how can it be that with two lone exceptions -- “A
Charlie Brown Christmas,” first seen in 1965 on CBS and now telecast every year
on ABC (and widely regarded by critics as the best Christmas special of all
time), and “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas!,” first seen in 1966 on
CBS and now telecast on TBS and elsewhere -- no other Christmas special
produced since the mid-Sixties (animated or otherwise) has achieved anywhere
near the same level of timeless creative quality and enduring popularity as
“Rudolph”? Indeed, with the exception of these three productions, and “It’s the
Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” -- the Peanuts Halloween special first seen on
CBS in 1966 and now telecast every year on ABC -- no other special connected to
any holiday has achieved similar classic status.
I’m
mindful of other holiday treats, including “Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol”
(1962), “Frosty the Snowman” (1969), “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” (1973) and
“The Easter Bunny is Comin’ to Town” (1977). But it would seem that there
haven’t been any truly special animated holiday specials in decades. Surely
there are more ideas out there waiting to be developed and more properties
ready to be produced.
