You're Missing 5 TV Specials, Charlie Brown!!!!

 

To help celebrate 75 years of Peanuts, it's decided to look back at some of the specials, but not just any specials.  With the announcement that an ultimate TV Special Collection is coming out on Blu-ray, it is suggested that 5 TV specials did not make the cut on Blu-ray.  In addition, these 5 specials could alos not be found on Apple TV +.  Throughout the years, the Charles M Schulz family and Peanuts Worldwide had been comitted to keep and preserve the legacy of Schulz and his Peanuts creations, but what were these 5 specials?  Where did they go?  Why are they "lost"?  This is our story.

Snoopy: The Musical

The first lost special seems to be a really good one too.  It is the animated adaptation of the broadway sequal of You're a Good Man Charlie Brown.  Like its predessecor, the musical and the special shows off different scenes from the comic strip set to original songs.  Some songs such as Poor Sweet Baby and Just One Person would become fan favorites; the latter of which would be performed at Jim Henson's funeral.  Another thing to note is that Cam Clarke would voice Snoopy in this special (he would talk and sing a la thought bubbles like how Garfield does in his specials).  Clarke did so well that he voiced Snoopy again for a Teddy Ruxpin like Snoopy doll that told stories from select books.  Clarke would be best known for his role as Leonardo in the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and would be the voice I would hear in my head reading Snoopy's thought bubbles in the actual strip.  The reason for its exclusion may be due to music clearance rights, and with the actual musical fallen off the map in recent years unlike You're a Good Man Charlie Brown, there really is no need to clear the music for now which is a shame.

It's the Girl in the Red Truck Charlie Brown

Here's one that is more bizzare in this case.  Here we see Snoopy's brother Spike in animated form mixed into a live action world where he meets a girl that he kind of likes, but just like any Peanuts special, is full of unrequited love as he helps this girl get with her true lover.  Now, not to sound harsh, but I have another name for this special, It's Nepotisim at it's Finest, Charlie Brown.  What does that mean?  It means that the special was basically made by Schulz to help kick start his daughter Jill's acting career.  Jill was already best known for her ice skating career and has appeared as Snoopy in ice skating shows especially those early ones at Knott's Berry Farm.  Jill even shows off her skating skills at the roller rink in this special.  However, an actress she is not.  Or at least, at the level that agencies wanted it to be.  To this day it is widely critiziced and while it has been released on VHS by Paramount, it has not been seen since then for obvious reasons.

You're In the Super Bowl, Charlie Brown

Up next is one that was acuatlly done for the Super Bowl since it's a holiday of itself (even though it really isn't).  Charlie Brown and Linus compete in a field goal competition to win Super Bowl tickets and win the heart of a young girl who they thought was just watching them from the sidelines when in all actuallity she was competing for the tickets too and ended up beating both of them.  Because it involved the Super Bowl officially teaming up with the NFL, two things happened.  The first is that this special aired on NBC as opposed to CBS since the Super Bowl was airing there that year.  The other, because of this, the special was never packaged with the other TV specials due to the NFL's full ownership of the special.  It was available on VHS at various Shell Oil locations, but otherwise has had no official home video release since.  It remains very unlikely it will be re-released due to the fact that many of the Peanuts characters associated themselves with different NFL teams of the day, some of which no longer exist such as Houston Oilers and the Washington R*dsk*ns.  At one point the special was even more outdated when the LA Rams moved to St. Louis, but have since moved back.  This would make it the most dated special ever made.  Even more so than the earliest of TV specials.

It's My Best Birthday Ever, Charlie Brown

 The remainng specials left are not so hard as to see why they dissappeared.  The success of Peanuts specials on home video led to Paramount commissioning a made for video special.  If my memory recalls, Linus ends up inviting a girl he barely met to his birthday party.  It was the first special to use digital ink and paint, and it shows.  Because of its made for video status and it being one of the least remembered specials, it has not been seen since the days of VHS

It's the Pied Piper, Charlie Brown

Likewise this special was made for home video as well.  This time for DVD, which was not well promoted.  So much so, you don't remember it ever existing.  It was pretty much a retelling of the story of the Pied Piper with Charlie Brown telling Sally the story and Snoopy starring as the Pied Piper.  Due to the made for video status from Paramount, it has not been seen once Warner Bros. took over full home video control of the Peanuts specials.

Ranking the Pokemon Indigo League's Gym Leaders

 

I've been on a Pokemon fix recently, and most of my rewatching is from the moments Ash would battle for a badge from gym leaders thanks to the new Pokemon TV Youtube channel.  Some were nice while others were tough opponents.  For this list as something different, we are looking at each gym leader from weakest to strongest based on the number of battles and number of episodes to beat each one.  It almost seems like ranking bosses for a video game, which is fitting for such a series based off of a video game.  This will also include strategies on beating each leader based on the anime.

Misty

Badge: Cascade Badge

No. of Battles to Badge: 1

No. of Episodes to get Badge: 1

So technically there are 4 gym leaders which includes Misty's sisters, but the decided to no longer battle and besides in the game, Misty is who you battle anyways.  Two against two, Ash gets the badge for saving their Pokemon from Team Rocket.  The strategy here is to use an electric type Pokemon.  Had Pikachu decided to fight against Misty, this would have been an easier victory, but he is a Pika-Pal to Misty, so Pigeoto and Butterfree would have to do.  But, be careful; water Pokemon has an advantage of staying underwater.  It was a stroke of luck (and Team Rocket interrupting the match) that won Ash the Cascade Badge.

Erika

Badge: Rainbow Badge

No. of Battles to Badge: 1

No. of Episodes to get Badge: 1

The next of the easier badges is Erika and the Rainbow Badge.  Like with Misty, Team Rocket interrupts the battle and causes a fire to happen.  Because of Ash's heroic abilities and a gain of trust to Erika's Vloom, Ash would get the Rainbow Badge.  So what's the strategy?  Well, Erika's Pokemon are all grass based, so it's quite possible to use a fire type, but honestly, any well trained Pokemon will do.  If you have to face off with a Vloom, make sure you proceed with caution.  If it feels threatened, it releases an awful smell that will pass your Pokemon and yourself out.  This was how Ash won the badge; he became friendly to Vloom and gained its trust.  Oh yeah, and be careful who you offend; the perfume store owner may also be the gym leader.  Ash learned that the hard way.

Koga

Badge: Soul Badge

No. of Battles to Badge: 1 

No. of Episodes to get Badge: 1

Up next is the battle for the Soul Badge.  This is probably the most forgotten battle as Team Rocket interfered and the focus as a result was Psyduck's special powers.  Still, it takes skills to defeat Koga's Pokemon and a sense of carefulness within the gym; it's full of tricks and traps.  The best advice I can give is to know your Pokemon and its abilities in battle.  Koga and the other trainers at the Fuchsia Gym are smart, so it's important to be smarter.  Sorry, can't think of any better advice except have faith in your Pokemon.  Misty thought Psyduck was useless, but it turns out to be powerful when its headache gets severe.

Team Rocket

Badge: Earth Badge

No. of Battles to Badge: 1

No. of Episodes to get Badge: 1

This is the final badge Ash battles for, and it's against the top nemesis, Team Rocket.  But it won't be easy, because Team Rocket tends to cheat.  This time if your Pokemon gets hit, so do you.  In this case, what you have to do is team up.  Ash teams up with rival Gary to stop the rigging so that Ash can beat Team Rocket and get that Earth Badge.  However, it should be noted that Team Rocket, more specifically Jessie and James, were substituted for the real gym leader, which we'll talk about in a moment.

Brock

Badge: Boulder Badge

No. of Battles to Badge: 2

No. of Episodes to get Badge: 1

Our next badge goes a level up.  It's the first badge Ash battles for, the Boulder Badge.  In order to get it, Ash battles Brock who is an expert on rock Pokemon.  It ended up taking two battles, but to be fair, it was Ash's first battle, so he was bound to make some mistakes.  It could take just one battle if you know your Pokemon well.  Since Brock's Pokemon are all rock, a water type Pokemon can weaken them

Lt. Surge

Badge: Thunder Badge

No. of Battles to Badge: 2

No. of Episodes to get Badge: 1

Our next badge is indeed a tough one as nearly every Pokemon facing off against Lt. Surge ends up at the Pokemon Center Emergency Room.  Because of that, it easily takes a second battle in order to beat Surge.  Your Pokemon has to be really tough, but you also have to have strategy.  His top Pokemon and the one causing emergency room overflow is Raichu.  For Ash and his Pikachu, they had two possible options: evolve Pikachu to become a Raichu and fight fire with fire or rethink his strategy as the Raichu evolved too soon and Pikachu knows the basics.

Blane

Badge: Volcano Badge

No. of Battles to Badge: 2

No. of Episodes to get Badge: 2

The next badge is truly a tough one as it takes place inside and around the volcano, it took two battles and two episodes.  The Volcano Badge seems easy to get because water beats fire, right?  Well, no......it takes skill and ability.  You will have to fight fire with fire as Ash did (eventually) with Charizard.  The problem is that Charizard wouldn't listen to Ash.  Eventually he choses to battle against Magmar simply because he wants to test its strength.  However, this is why it took 2 episodes to get the badge because there is no way Pikachu would beat Magmar.  That said, the final battle to get the badge may be the best one in the Indego League; it is absolutely awesome watching Charizard and Magmar battle it out.  No wonder Charizard's Pokemon Card was worth a lot even today.

Sabrina

Badge: Marsh Badge

No. of Battles to Badge: 3

No. of Episodes to get Badge: 2-3 (based on if counting The Tower of Terror)

Here is in my opinion the scariest gym leader of them all......Sabrina.  She has physic powers and I believe is true evil and kind of scary.  It took 2 episodes, one lost battle, one forefit battle for not having the right Pokemon, and one successful battle to get the Marsh Badge.  One false move, and she'll turn you or your friends into dolls.  So what is the strategy to win.  Well, it took three episodes because one of them was all about trying to find a ghost Pokemon to face off against her psychic Pokemon.  That, apparently, is the key to defeating Sabrina and getting the Marsh Badge.  Of course, that is if and only if the Haunter Ash catches would listen.  It had a mind of its own, so the battles were much tougher.  Regardless, Sabrina is very tough, but to my surprise, she's not the toughest.  Oh no......there is one much much tougher. 

Giovanni

Badge: Earth Badge

No. of Battles to Badge: unable to win battle as long as Giovanni's in charge and uses Mewtwo

No. of Episodes to get Badge: 0 (can't be done)

It looks like Ash has dodged a bullet with this one.  Gary steps up first to fight Giovanni for the Earth Badge, and things seems to be going along alright until he brings up his special Pokemon.  Although Dexter says no data, we all know it is Mewtwo who has strong psychic powers that could defeat any Pokemon.  Gary was unable to beat him.  Fortunately, Giovanni gets an emergency assignment leaving Jesse and James in charge of the gym causing Ash to win the Earth Badge, but the best strategy to beat this gym leader and his Pokemon.............uh.....................wing it?  You can't win.  Unless you take the events of Pokemon the 1st Movie, but that is a different story.