It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown - Deluxe Edition

Charles Schultz's Peanuts characters might ultimately be remembered not for their 50-year run as fixtures in the daily newspaper comics section - but for their starring roles in the numerous TV specials which continue to broadcast to new audiences of young viewers year after year.

"The Charlie Brown Christmas Special," which first hit TV screens in 1965 as the first of many Peanuts specials, remains an essential part of the holidays for many Baby Boomers, their children and grandchildren.

Following up this successful debut was a tough chore, but the Halloween-themed sequel, It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, was a hit when it first aired in 1966 and has been re-broadcast every year since.

The show focuses on wimpy Linus' insistence that on Halloween night, the Great Pumpkin will rise from the pumpkin patch to reward the children who believe in him with all sorts of treats. Linus is steadfast in his faith in this benevolent squash-like spirit, even giving up the chance to go trick-or-treating in favor of a long night in the pumpkin patch.

Watching the show for the first time in 30 years brought back many fond memories for this reviewer.

In the beginning of the 25-minute show, there's a scary little segment of a bunch of scary witches, ghosts and goblins, which brought back memories of pure fright from childhood.

There's also the strange and utterly out-of-place interlude showing Snoopy as a World War I canine flying ace. He crawls through French battlefields, prior to doing battle with the Red Baron, on his flying doghouse. This is wackier than anything Pink Floyd ever devised.

Funny moments include Charlie Brown cutting way too many holes in the sheet which makes up his ghost costume, poor Chuck getting a rock from each house while trick-or-treating as the other kids all get candy, Chuck's enormous noggin being used to design jack o'lanterns, and several scenes of Lucy pulling away the football before Charlie Brown kicks it.

The DVD also includes another show, It's Magic, Charlie Brown, in which aspiring magician Snoopy accidentally makes Charlie Brown invisible. It's far less well-known than some of the classics in the Peanuts canon, but will appeal to young viewers looking for more content in this otherwise short DVD.

Other than that, the only real bonus feature on the disc is the interesting documentary, "We Need a Blockbuster, Charlie Brown." It's an insightful piece featuring interviews with a number of the show's producers and creators, talking about the tremendous challenges they faced in putting together the "Great Pumpkin" show.

Charles Schultz's creative process and inspirations are discussed as are the origins of Snoopy and the Red Baron, the musical score for the "Great Pumpkin" special, and Schultz's insistence all of the Peanuts characters' voices be done by actual children.

Having a hit show was essential to future specials, and they were gravely concerned the Halloween show might not attract an audience. They needn't have worried, of course. It was a ratings smash - and continues to be even 40 years later.