Catch more from Pee-Wee Herman’s official YouTube channel.
Chapter By Chapter (usually) features me reading one chapter of the selected book at a time and reviewing it as if I were reviewing an episode of a TV show or an issue of a comic. There will be spoilers if you haven’t read to the point I have, and if you’ve read further I ask that you don’t spoil anything further into the book. Think of it as a read-along book club.
By Charles Dickens
When we last left Ebenezer Scrooge he was all alone on the empty streets of London with one more Spirit, our final one and the scariest of them all. Even comedy versions tend to leave the Ghost Of Christmas Yet To Come scary. The only time I recall even seeing its face was in Mickey’s Christmas Carol, when they showed that Pete was playing the Ghost (like a modern superhero movie who wants to brag about their celebs so the heroes take their masks off in public)…and this is the version that sent Scrooge (McDuck, fittingly playing Ebenezer) to Hell! Uncle Walt wasn’t afraid to make Hell as scary as he could get away with in a family cartoon.
We’ve seen the reasons for Ebenezer’s actions, the result of Ebenezer’s actions (or lack thereof), but now it’s the consequences of Ebenezer’s actions. What is the legacy he’ll be leaving behind. It’s the future that scares us the most, and maybe that’s why this Spirit has roughly the same look and personality (or lack of) in pretty much every incarnation, from the homage to the comedy to the faithful adaptation. This is the one taken the most seriously, the reason for the “scary ghost stories” line in “It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of Year”. I’ve seen the adaptations but this is my first experience with the original and I’m really hoping it doesn’t disappoint.
Tell others about the Spotlight:
This one comes from the official Berenstain Bears YouTube channel. It has other specials, episodes, and book readings.
Tell others about the Spotlight:
Chapter By Chapter (usually) features me reading one chapter of the selected book at a time and reviewing it as if I were reviewing an episode of a TV show or an issue of a comic. There will be spoilers if you haven’t read to the point I have, and if you’ve read further I ask that you don’t spoil anything further into the book. Think of it as a read-along book club.
By Charles Dickens
Last night we met with the Ghost Of Christmas Past. Tonight he will be visited by Ghost Of Christmas Present. I wonder if he still looks like Santa Claus in green?
The first Spirit showed Ebenezer the man he was, but also the man he should have become. The people we’re shown believed in family, festivity, and love. When those people died or left, Ebenezer lost the ability in all three. Now we have the Presents, the results of Ebenezer’s actions in the present when he disconnected from those things. We’ll have to wait on the consequences, but each Spirit comes with a theme that connects through Ebenezer Scrooge himself. What will he learn from this expedition?
Grab your coats because we’re taking a trip through London, and meeting three children who play an important part in these events. What three, you ask? You only know the one? Don’t forget who the Spirit hangs out with. They’re on this journey, too.
Stave 2: The Second Of The Three Spirits
Tell others about the Spotlight:
He had a comic strip in the 1980s. Getting a Christmas special was almost required by law. You may also know him for being on calendars around the same time.
Tell others about the Spotlight:
Chapter By Chapter (usually) features me reading one chapter of the selected book at a time and reviewing it as if I were reviewing an episode of a TV show or an issue of a comic. There will be spoilers if you haven’t read to the point I have, and if you’ve read further I ask that you don’t spoil anything further into the book. Think of it as a read-along book club.
By Charles Dickens
In the previous chapter we were introduced to Ebenezer Scrooge, Bob Cratchit, Fred the nephew, and Jacob Marley, after being reminded a lot that Marley was dead even before we saw his ghost. It’s as if Dickens was expecting a Scooby-Doo plot twist: “It really was Marley. He’s been alive this whole time and plotting for seven years to scare Scrooge out of his estate.” “I would have gotten away with it, too, if it hadn’t been for you meddling spirits!”
I looked up “stave” to see if it was a stand-in for the word chapter, but it actually means something closer to a line of verse. It’s not written like a poem, and certainly not intended to be sung, so it’s an odd choice to me. Still, that’s what we’re going by.
Tonight, Ebenezer will be visited by the Ghost Of Christmas Past, as in his past. He won’t be going back to the birth of Jesus, though I’m sure every time traveller has been there more times than the grassy knoll. How they kept from being spotted when the Bible only points to Joseph, Mary, and Jesus (the Three Kings actually went to their house because Herod was after the babe, one of many to misunderstand what He is King Of) is a question for another time. Grab your coats, we’re going on a field trip!
Stave 2: The First Of The Three Spirits
Tell others about the Spotlight:
I would have use the version from the official Veggietales channel on YouTube but for some reason their copy ends at Larry’s Silly Songs segment.
