I hope this makes my fellow Gen Xers as happy as it made me.
Damn kids today: When we saw this during October, it usually meant that something wonderful, like a It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown was about to start. When we saw it in December, it usually meant a Rankin/Bass special was about to transport us to a land where Bumbles Bounce. If your parents didn’t get the TV guide, seeing this was like finding a treasure map, and the few seconds of darkness between its ending and whatever came next, always felt like an eternity.
Like the sound of a 56K modem connecting, it’s a familiar and visceral reminder of a time that’s long gone. I don’t know about the rest of you, but it makes me incredibly happy, like finding an old friend.
Ohh! I had to edit and add this comment from reader Magic_Al:
“To a kid, this was the television equivalent of gift-wrap. You hope it’s going to be a toy but it could turn out to be a sweater.”
Absolutely, Magic_Al. That is the perfect way to describe it. I wish I’d thought of that!