The outrage of today?
Hunter Biden’s laptop? Donald Trump storming out on 60 Minutes? The spike in coronavirus cases?
All take second place to the outrage playing out on social media with the news that the annual Peanuts Halloween special will not be aired on broadcast TV for the first time in more than 50 years.
“It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown,” brought to you by the makers of fine snack cakes and superior soft drinks, first aired on CBS in 1966. For the past 20 years, it has appeared on ABC.
During those 54 years, children have made watching it an annual event, stretching out on the living room floor, perhaps with a tub of popcorn, to see if Linus will be rewarded for his faith with a visit from the Great Pumpkin.
But this year, the holiday special will only be available on AppleTV’s platform following that company’s purchase of the rights to it.
And as if 2020 isn’t bad enough, same goes for “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” and “A Charlie Brown Christmas”.
If you are thinking you’re doomed, as Charlie Brown would put it, you might be OK (unless you live in Portland, a city probably burnt to the ground by now).
AppleTV will stream it for free over the Halloween weekend.
If you are technically challenged and use an Atari 2600 or a Commodore 64 to access the Internets or you haven’t figured out this streaming nonsense yet, here’s a tip on how to watch it via our friends at Apple Insider:
In any modern web browser, go to tv.apple.com
Find the show and press Play
Either watch it on your computer, or stream it to a television of your choice
Alternatively, while Apple is promoting the show, you can also go directly to its page online.
You can also stream from the iPhone, or iPad version of the Apple TV app. Plus you can watch on those apps on iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple TV.
Through the official app, the show will be presented with just a regular Play button, and you won’t be pressed into subscribing Apple TV+. At least, not quite as much as usual.
In the meantime, people are not happy with this series of events. Excuse the coarse language that some are using but citizens are rightfully upset.
