The Way I Heard It with Mike Rowe - 120: 30 Minutes of Disappointing Television

Episode Date: December 18, 2018

You can't put THAT on TV!

The ocean moves us. Surfing a wave or savoring the view. The ocean delights us as playful otters restore coastal cowpores. The ocean connects us. Visit Monterey Bay Aquarium.org slash connects. This is the way I heard it. In early December of 1965, a producer named Lee Mendelssohn sat in a screening room at CBS watching the credits roll on a film he had been working on for the last six months.

With him were three network executives. who made no attempt to conceal their profound confusion and deep disappointment. It's too slow, said the first suit. It's too depressing, said the second suit. It's too religious, said the third suit. And why the hell did you cast those kids? Well, said Lee, Sparky thought the kids would make the whole thing feel more honest. But they're kids, said the first suit, and they can't even act or sing.

He's right, said the second suit. These kids are terrible. The music is terrible. and the whole thing feels like it was put together by a fifth grader. I'm sorry, Lee, but this is 30 minutes of very disappointing television. Lee sighed. Truth is, he didn't entirely disagree. The pace was slow.

The music was decidedly non-traditional. And yes, in hindsight, he probably should have checked with the network before casting children in roles that were traditionally played by adults. But what choice did he have? Sparky had creative control, and Sparky was very protective of that which he'd created. There's just no way we can show this to the critic, said the first suit. No way, said the second suit. Might as well send him home.

In the lobby, a writer from Time magazine had been summoned for an exclusive look at Lee's holiday special. Wait, said Lee, you can't offer Time magazine a sneak peek and then just send them away. They'll crucify us. But this isn't ready to be seen by a critic, said the first suit. This isn't ready to be seen by anyone, said the second suit. We've got five pages of notes, said the third suit, and the air dates a week away. Lee took a deep breath. Look, I'm sorry, fellas, but even if I had the time to make your changes, Spark, you won't go for it.

He can't make you air it, but you can't make him change it. As the suits huddled in a scrum of panic and insecurity, Lee reflected on the path that brought him here. A few years ago, he'd produced an award-winning documentary about the best baseball player in the world, the one-and-only, Willie Mays. It only made sense to follow up with a documentary about the worst baseball player in the world, which is how he became friends with the one-and-only Sparky. Now they were collaborating again this time on a series of, of specials. Sparky, as always, retained creative control, and Sparky was very protective of that which he created. The suits, however, were not quite ready to roll over. Let's be realistically,

the soundtrack is suicidal. We need something more traditional. Sorry, said Lee. Sparky loves the music. But it makes no sense. It feels like we're in a dive bar in Greenwich Village. Sorry, said Lee. Sparky thinks it's charming. Well, we definitely need a laugh track. That's for sure. This thing is supposed to be a comedy, right? Sorry, said Lee. Sparky wants the viewer to decide what's funny and what isn't. The suits looked at each other and blinked in disbelief. Well, what about the scripture reading? That was never even in the script. That's never going to fly. Lee could only shrug. Look, if you want to take it up with Sparky, be my guest. But trust me. If he won't listen to me, He won't listen to you.

In the end, the suits didn't have much of a choice. Coca-Cola was already committed. The air date had been announced. The critic was in the lobby, and Sparky was playing hardball, a game he turned out to be pretty good at after all. So the suits allowed the critic from Time magazine to watch Lee's special, during which time nothing was said until the credits began to roll, at which point the critic turned to Lee and said,

thanks for the sneak peek. Good luck. When the critic left, the first suit turned to Lee and said, We have no choice but to air this mess, but you can forget about the other specials. You and Sparky are finished at CBS. Lee went home and mourned his career. But three days later, there was reason for hope.

The critic from Time magazine, had written a surprisingly positive review. And a few days after that, December 9th, 1965, nearly half the country tuned in to watch a holiday special that broke all the rules, a special that won an Emmy as well as a Peabody, and got Sparky, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, a special that's aired every December for the last five decades

to the delight of millions. The question is why? Why do we keep coming back to a world where all the loves are unrequited? All the baseball games are lost. All the test scores or D-minuses, and all the footballs are pulled away at the last moment. Is it Vince Goraldi's Grammy-nominated soundtrack that leaves us melancholy and hopeful all at the same time? Is it the endearing charm of a Douglas fir too frail to support a single ornament? Maybe it's because Sparky insists.

on using the voices of real children instead of adult actors to bring his beloved characters to life. Or maybe it's because he let a six-year-old who sucks his thumb recite the gospel according to Luke on primetime television. Nobody had ever tried that in a cartoon before. Then again, no collection of animated characters, including the world's worst baseball player, ever had a creator like the man they called Sparky, the gentle but stubborn writer who gave the world 30 minutes of really disappointing television, better known as a Charlie Brown Christmas, a timeless gift and a good deal more than peanuts from the one and only,

Charles Schultz. Anyway, that's the way I heard it. When you manage procurement for multiple facilities, every order matters. But when it's for a hospital system, they matter even more. Granger gets it and knows there's no time for managing multiple suppliers and no room for shipping delays. That's why Granger offers millions of products in fast-dependable delivery, so you can keep your facility stocked, safe, and running smoothly.

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