Plot In a Nutshell: Charlie Brown competes in the decathlon for the Junior Olympics, and being it's CB we're talking about here, you can guess how this ends up.
This 1979 special continued a theme Charles Schulz had already used a few times in the 1970s, that being Charlie Brown and the gang involved in some sort of race. There was "You're a Good Sport, Charlie Brown" in 1975, which featured dirtbike racing. Then 1977's feature length film "Race For Your Life, Charlie Brown" had the group in a raft/white-water contest. And two years later comes this special, featuring Charlie in yet another competition. It almost feels like Schulz was running out of ideas.
When I heard this one involved the decathlon, and when I realized it was made in the 1970s, I wondered if Bruce Jenner's popularity at the time had any influence on the plot. (For those who don't know, Jenner was the gold medalist in the decathlon at the 1976 Olympic Games.) And sure enough, Jenner was mentioned not once but twice during the show. Little could anyone have known how Jenner would achieve popularity again 35 years later.
The setup for the decathlon is a bit odd. Even though this is supposed to be an inter-school competition, there are only four contestants, and three of them (Charlie, Marcie and Snoopy) are Peanuts regulars. There is only one other competitor, a certain "Freddy the Fabulous from Fremont." It's odd that there are so few contestants in the event. It's also a little strange that, even though we are told there are all sorts of events in the Olympics, and many kids are participating in them, we are never shown any. The only competition covered is the decathlon.
Some Peanuts universe notes: Peppermint Patty and Marcie are again shown attending the same school as the rest of the Peanuts gang, which seems to have begun with 1975's "Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown." Prior to that it had been stated on multiple occasions that PP, Marcie and Franklin all lived 'across town' and attended a different school. Old favorites Schroeder, Pig Pen and #5 make brief appearances. Linus and Woodstock have minor roles.
6/10. Enjoyable enough with the usual Peanuts humor. But it feels like a bit of a rehash of themes and ideas. The next special after this, "She's a Good Skate," will break some new ground.
