In mixed company, it is unwise to mention that holiday specials are less than perfect.  Everybody has their nostalgia-blinders on and can’t admit the simple truth: It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown is slow and weird.  To soften that blow, we also reviewed to other “classic” Halloween Specials.  One from Home Improvement and one from Scooby Doo.

What all three of these specials have in common is that nobody knows the true meaning of Halloween.  While modern costume designers have decided “slutty” is the heart of the holiday, Scooby Doo (and his partner Scooby Dum) think it’s got more to do with stop jewel thieves.  For Tim Alan, Halloween is about scaring children, getting revenge on your son’s ex-girlfriend’s new boyfriend,  and making tasteless jokes about Abe Lincoln.

For Charlie Brown and his pals, Halloween is about recycling tired material from a comic strip and taking acid-trip-inspired breaks to watch a dog fight a war against invisible French people.

Whatever you think the meaning of Halloween is, we hope you find it this year.