Tomorrow night at 8:30pm ET/PT on FOX, we’ll be treated to a new Peanuts holiday special. Would you believe that this is the 45th special? It’s also the 1st not produced without the late Bill Melendez. The hour-long special, titled Happiness Is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown, was produced by Wildbrain, the team producing HBO’s The Ricky Gervais Show and Yo Gabba Gabba!. The piece, which was adapted from comic strip material, was directed by Frank Molieri and Andrew Beall (who also provides the ‘voices’ of Woodstock and Snoopy). It’s also available on DVD. From what I’ve heard, FOX and the Schultz estate are closely watching how it performs tomorrow night, and imagining several more if an audience shows up. Here’s a clip:

Today’s DVD arrivals includes the Peanuts 1970s Collection, Volume 1, the first of 2 from this decade. Included are 6 episodes from the groundbreaking animated series, which was directed by Bill Melendez and Phil Roman.

Today the Peanuts: 1960′s Collection DVD hits store shelves, which includes some of the more memorable specials. It’s the Great Pumpkin and A Charlie Brown Christmas are included along with 4 other specials – all produced between 1965 and 1969. Here’s a clip from It Was a Short Summer Charlie Brown:

And here’s the original TV promo I dug up on YouTube:

I really enjoyed the recent Charles M. Schulz biography Schulz and Peanuts, so I’ve been pretty nostalgic over anything Peanuts these days. Thankfully a new DVD emerged last week – a rerelease of the 1991 made-for-TV special Snoopy’s Reunion, a 25-minute film directed by Sam Jaimes. Kinda funny how this times out with the Obama’s recent puppy adoption. Here’s a clip that sets up Charlie Brown’s visit to the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm, where he’s hoping to get himself a beagle.