"Why don't they show that anymore?" a commentary.
The Problem
You cruise sites like this one and you relive memories from the past and you always end up asking yourself "why don't they show that anymore?".
You can wax poetic about people today and network executives not getting it and all of that but I think the real problem is that it's become a parody of itself. People watch these shows today on DVD or Blu Ray because they think it's cool to be nostalgic rather than saying "It's because it's Christmas and that's what we do".
How many young hipsters do you know who own the soundtrack to A Charlie Brown Christmas because they think it's hip to listen to a little Vince Guaraldi? They live in an age where it's hip to listen to "old stuff", but the idea that "hey, it's Christmas!" never enters the mind. It's as if our consciousness about Christmas has changed. The holiday or it's meaning haven't changed and each culture celebrates it in its own way. But only 30 years ago, these specials were front and center as part of our Christmases and never a thought came to mind that people just didn't care for it anymore.
I think these decisions were made in a back room at a network somewhere by a young exec who wished he or she worked at MTV.
Until people give the old specials a fresh look and realize that it's just as much a part of our Christmas as putting up the tree or drinking egg nog, we will always be searching for a Christmas we used to know.
