PEANUTS: The Next ChapterSPECIAL: Highlight Reel

by HPDrummerman

PEANUTS: The Next Chapter author HPDrummerman, whose joined by Linus Van Pelt, looks at his top 10 episodes of the series, plus some additional info on the specials and One-Shots like the inspiration behind "It's New Love, Charlie Brown". Plus a Sneak Peek into the forthcoming special "Summer of Chaos".

13. 1

#1: "Homecoming Redemption (Episode 3)"

HPDrummerman: Well here we are at the Number 1 episode of PEANUTS: The Next Chapter. This is my Number 1 for a reason. Many PEANUTS fans remember the infamous special "It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown". Believe it or not, it was one of my favorites, even with the unfair blaming of Charlie Brown. But like everyone else, I wanted Lucy to get some sort of comeuppance for her actions and also Peppermint Patty to acknowledge she screwed up when she unfairly blamed Charlie Brown for losing the game. That's where the idea for this episode came from. I planted the setup for this episode in the previous episode, the aforementioned "Starstruck" which is Number 10 on this list. And when the next Homecoming Game finally arrived, I wanted it to be common knowledge that Lucy had, in fact, pulled the ball away from Charlie Brown and that footage from the original game proved that (Don't forget, Woodstock was covering the game with a TV camera). I also wanted to reveal that the ball being pulled away was part of a bigger scheme by Lucy to publicly humiliate Charlie Brown just for the fun of it and to have Heather, the little red-haired girl, reject him as a result. While she had succeeded in humiliating him on the field, the little red-haired girl still danced with Charlie Brown at the dance.

LINUS: He really had some great moves on the dance floor, HP. You should have seen him dancing at the spring dance with Frieda. They were a hit!

HPDrummerman: Anyway, in this episode, not only did I want to have Charlie Brown have a do-over and show that he is, in fact, a decent football punter, but to have Lucy answer for her crimes, as well. Before we get to the legendary scene at the dance, let's look at how Lucy pulled this scheme off first.

1st Clip of "Homecoming Redemption"

ONE MONTH BEFORE THE PREVIOUS HOMECOMING GAME:

Peppermint Patty and Charlie Brown were sitting under a tree. They were talking about the upcoming Homecoming game. Rumor had it was that a girl from Charlie Brown's school was in the running to be the Homecoming Queen. He didn't know who it was, though.

"Hey Chuck," Patty began, "you know we got the big Homecoming game coming up. And I need a kicker for our team. Would you be interested?"

"Me?" asked Charlie Brown. "I guess so."

"I know you're not that great at football, but I was told you were a great kicker."

"Who told you that?"

"Lucille was the one to suggest you."

"LUCY?! I wonder why she would suggest me, knowing that she's always pulls the ball away from me when we're off the field."

"I know she pulls that trick on you constantly, Chuck. But she promised that wouldn't happen during the game. She knows how important it is to us to win it."

"I don't know. I guess as long as she's not holding the ball, I guess it'll be okay."

"She is holding it, Chuck."

"Oh good grief!"

"Relax, Chuck. She wouldn't pull that knowing that it's a big game for us."

"I hope you're right, Patty. I just don't want to be made a fool of during the game."

"I understand, Chuck. Just keep that magic foot in shape for the game."

As that conversation was going on, elsewhere Lucy and Violet were having their own discussion about the game.

"You can congratulate me now," Lucy said with pride.

"Congratulate you for what?" wondered Violet.

"Congratulate me for coming up with the greatest scheme ever," said Lucy with an evil grin on her face. "I just convinced Peppermint Patty to add Charlie Brown to the football team for the Homecoming game. I told her he was one of the greatest football punters around. I told her while he wasn't that great at baseball, he was a great kicker for football."

"So?"

"You know how I always pull the ball away from him every year?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, I'm going to do it on a grander scale at the game, multiple times when he comes up to kick the ball! And the best part is Peppermint Patty won't be paying attention because she'll be too busy in the line of scrimmage, so she is sure to blame him for messing up the kick, when in reality he missed it by no fault of his own. It will be the greatest humiliation towards Charlie Brown."

"What's so great about that, Lucy? Charlie Brown does a good job at humiliating himself without help. Why not just wait for him to mess up on his own?"

"You didn't hear the best part about this scheme, yet! Rumor has it that a certain little red-haired girl Charlie Brown likes so much has been nominated for Homecoming Queen. And I placed his name, along with Linus's name, in a ballot box to be the escorts for the Queen and her court."

"You didn't?!"

"I did! While I figured I was doing my brother a favor, in Charlie Brown's case, it will be the greatest humiliation. When everyone else blames him for losing the game, the little red-haired girl will probably not want anything to do with Charlie Brown at all. He will be crushed, and it will be so beautiful!"

"And I thought I was mean. Lucy, that's pretty bad, even for you. I may not think much of Charlie Brown, let alone like him, but I would never go out of my way to humiliate him in this fashion. I may put him down or point out how much of a simpleton he is to his face, but I would never try to purposely sabotage his chance of being a winner at something. Especially if the girl he likes is the Queen. I just pray he doesn't get chosen as part of the court."

"I guess that's the difference between me and you, Violet. You and Patty are content with putting him down; I just take it to the next level with complete and total destruction of any pride left in that blockhead."

"Well I won't try to stop you, Lucy, and I won't reveal your plans either. But know that you're on your own in this plan to hurt poor Charlie Brown."

"Oh well. More glory for me, I guess." Unbeknownst to Lucy or Violet, a mysterious figure was videotaping the entire conversation. The figure finished after both girls walked away.

2nd Clip from "Homecoming Redemption"

TWO WEEKS BEFORE THE PREVIOUS HOMECOMING GAME

Snoopy was laying on top of his doghouse for a little nap when Lucy came walking up. She had just heard that Snoopy would be officiating the Homecoming game. And with her plot against Charlie Brown picking up steam, he was the last piece to put in place and she knew she could manipulate him, a.k.a. threaten him. Charlie Brown and Linus, to Lucy's delight, were chosen to be escorts for the court. And, even more important to her, Charlie Brown was picked to escort the Queen. Unbeknownst to him, though, was the fact that the little red-haired girl was picked to be the Queen. But Lucy knew and was going to use that to her advantage.

"Snoopy, wake up!" she said. "I need to discuss business with you." Snoopy sat up and stretched out and yawned. He turned to Lucy to see what she had to say.

"Now listen, you stupid beagle," she began, "because I'm only going to say this once. I know about you being the referee for the upcoming Homecoming game. And I will be playing on Peppermint Patty's team. Now when the game is going on, no matter what I do on the field, TURN THE OTHER WAY. You understand me? TURN THE OTHER WAY! You didn't see anything. If you report anything I do, or tell anyone about this deal, not only will I pound you, but after I'm done, I'll give what's left of you to the cat next door!" Snoopy shook with fear. He didn't want any part of the cat next door.

"Now, are we clear on the instructions?" Lucy asked with an evil grin. Snoopy nodded fast. "Good. I expect you to abide by our deal." And she left Snoopy to ponder what he had gotten himself into. From a distance, the same mysterious figure was videotaping the whole thing, and then left.

Sometime later at the wall, Lucy was talking to Violet a bit more about her scheme against Charlie Brown.

"Everything is coming into place, Violet," Lucy said with glee. "That blockhead will never know what hit him. And with his beloved little red-haired girl as the Homecoming Queen, she'd be embarrassed to be anywhere near Charlie Brown. Even better is the fact his own dog is in it with me, now, with a little persuasion, of course."

"Wow, that's deplorable, Lucy," said Violet. "While I'm not one to defend Charlie Brown, what has he done to deserve this kind of abuse?"

"Nothing," said Lucy. "Just his being born is enough for his suffering."

"Well as I said before, I won't interfere with your plot, as awful as it is, but don't expect me or Patty to help you with this."

"That's okay. And I do appreciate your keeping quiet about this."

"What I want to know is what are you going to do if and when Peppermint Patty finds out about this?"

"I'm not worried about that idiot," said Lucy, without a shred of remorse. "She's so stupid; she'll believe that Charlie Brown screwed up. This girl thinks Snoopy is a funny-looking kid with a big nose, for crying out loud. Stevie Wonder could see that Snoopy's a dog! So why wouldn't she think he screwed up? Plus on a field that big you wouldn't tell that I was pulling the ball away. So not only will that moron Peppermint Patty think he messed up; everyone else will, too. Because he's Charlie Brown!"

"And just like Charlie Brown, you're hopeless, Lucy," Violet said, walking away frustrated. Lucy just stood there, smiling about her ploy. The same mysterious figure videotaped their conversation.

3rd Clip from "Homecoming Redemption"

AT THE PREVIOUS DANCE

Lucy watched as her brother, Charlie Brown, Franklin, Pig Pen, and Schroeder went to greet the Queen and her Princesses. Franklin was first, then Linus, then Pig Pen, and then Schroeder. Finally Charlie Brown went to escort the Queen. He was very nervous. Lucy smiled very evilly. Her plan to humiliate Charlie Brown was going smoothly, so far. She managed to pull the ball away from Charlie Brown four times during the game, and he messed up on his own during a kickoff attempt, which was a bonus for her. His crush was destined to laugh in his face as far as she was concerned. But she was shocked when she took his arm and walked toward the dance floor. And Charlie Brown proceeded to give the traditional kiss.

Lucy was surprised. She managed to get away with folks thinking he lost the game, but the little red-haired girl wasn't put off by Charlie Brown at all. In fact, the total opposite in that regard happened. Charlie Brown somehow managed to charm her. And they danced to the waltz real smooth. Charlie Brown, who usually would have two left feet, managed to dance very smoothly. It was like God Himself threw a bone toward Charlie Brown; figuring he deserves a good time for once. As it turned out, Charlie Brown was a hit at the dance, much to Lucy's chagrin. Peppermint Patty, on the other hand, was forgiving at that point.

"He may be a lousy football player," she said, "but at least he can dance."

The next day, Violet met up with Lucy. She was the only person, besides Snoopy, who knew of her plan to humiliate Charlie Brown.

"Well I take it your plan to totally ruin Charlie Brown was a bust, huh?" she said.

"Not entirely," Lucy replied. "Even though the dance didn't go as I wanted it to, people still believe that Charlie Brown lost the game. So it wasn't a total loss."

"Maybe not," Violet said, "but if I were you, I'd be careful. Sometimes the truth comes out."

"I'm not worried, Violet. This is Charlie Brown we're talking about. He's the neighborhood's number one screw-up! No one will believe that he didn't lose the game."

End of Clips

HPDrummerman: Now when the dance came this time, Charlie Brown could breathe a sigh of relief, as he helped win the game this time around, even when Lucy tried to humiliate him once more but was stopped by Molly Volley, who had taken over as the official for the game. But that was the least of Lucy's problems as a mysterious figure, who had been recording every one of her conversations with Violet and her threatening Snoopy was about to pull the cat out of the bag in big fashion.

4th Clip from "Homecoming Redemption"

"Lucy Van Pelt," the creepy voice said. "You have gotten away with a lot more than framing Charlie Brown for losing a Homecoming game. While by now everyone knows that you pulled the ball away from him just to make him look like he lost the game instead of you, no one knows the extent of your depravity. Well, except for a couple of folks; one of which is Violet Gray."

"Uh oh!" Violet said, knowing what was coming.

"While Violet was not directly involved in helping you with your sick plot, she knows what you've been up to. The only thing she's guilty of is not putting it to a stop when she could've saved Charlie Brown some added grief. You, on the other hand, have no excuse for your actions. Everyone knows how crabby and mean you are on the surface, but they don't know how deplorable you really are. That ends tonight! ROLL THE FOOTAGE!"

The lights went out and on a screen read "The REAL Lucy Van Pelt-An Anatomy of a Sinister Plot". Just then the footage the mysterious figure shot was shown. The first conversation with Violet about her plot was first shown. Everyone was shocked at what they were viewing. Charlie Brown was especially shocked, but not surprised that Lucy would do something like this. But what was shown next shook Charlie Brown to his core. It was the scene where Lucy threatened Snoopy.

"Now listen, you stupid beagle, because I'm only going to say this once. I know about you being the referee for the upcoming Homecoming game. And I will be playing on Peppermint Patty's team. Now when the game is going on, no matter what I do on the field, TURN THE OTHER WAY. You understand me? TURN THE OTHER WAY! You didn't see anything. If you report anything I do, or tell anyone about this deal, not only will I pound you, but after I'm done, I'll give what's left of you to the cat next door!" When Charlie Brown learned that Lucy forced his own dog into her ploy to ruin him, he was angry beyond belief. Lucy slumped in her seat to avoid giving anyone eye contact.

The next scene was her and Violet talking about what would happen if Peppermint Patty ever found out. "I'm not worried about that idiot. She's so stupid; she'll believe that Charlie Brown screwed up. This girl thinks Snoopy is a funny-looking kid with a big nose, for crying out loud. Stevie Wonder could see that Snoopy's a dog! So why wouldn't she think he screwed up? Plus on a field that big you wouldn't tell that I was pulling the ball away. So not only will that moron Peppermint Patty think he messed up; everyone else will, too. Because he's Charlie Brown!" Peppermint Patty grinded her teeth in furious anger when she saw that. Franco stood back knowing that space was good for her when she was mad.

The rest of the footage was of the game itself when Lucy pulled the ball away from Charlie Brown. Then the voice said "In spite of your treachery, Lucy Van Pelt, there was one part of your ploy that you could not influence!" Then the footage of Charlie Brown escorting the little red-haired girl to the dance floor played.

"I actually danced with the little red-haired girl?" Charlie Brown's memory of that night was still foggy at best. He remembered the game before, but not the actual dance because of his nervousness.

The voice continued, "And even though you succeeded with making folks think that Charlie Brown lost the football game, it wasn't enough for the queen to turn her back on him. In fact, she enjoyed the dance very much." By this time Lucy was trying to hide her face in shame.

As the video was winding down, the last scene was a continuation of Lucy's conversation with Violet. "Wow, that's deplorable, Lucy," said Violet. "While I'm not one to defend Charlie Brown, what has he done to deserve this kind of abuse?"

"Nothing," said Lucy. "Just his being born is enough for his suffering." And then the movie ended. All of the kids in the dance hall were livid, but no one more so than Charlie Brown or Peppermint Patty. Lucy had played both of them and even worse, at least for Charlie Brown, she forced Snoopy into helping her. Charlie Brown noticed Snoopy bawling. He was sad because Lucy forced him into turning the other way during that game.

"Snoopy," Charlie Brown began, "I'm not mad at you, ol' pal. It wasn't your fault what Lucy did to me. You were just as much a victim of hers as I was. And I'm going to rectify that now!"

Charlie Brown angrily walked over to where Lucy was sitting. Violet, Shermy, Patty, and Ox left the table, leaving Lucy by herself with her angry round-headed foe. Peppermint Patty wasn't that far behind as she was headed that way herself.

"H-H-Hello, Charlie Brown," greeted a nervous Lucy.

"Lucy," he started, "over the years I put up with a lot of your shenanigans and teasing. Whether it was you pulling the ball away from me, not counting this of course, being the worst baseball player in the history of the game, calling me 'Failure Face', 'Blockhead', and other hurtful names, and belittling me in front of everybody. And as upsetting as all of that was, I let it slide. Some would say I let it slide way too much than deserved. But as angry as I am over this revelation that you planned to ruin my chances with the little red-haired girl, not even that can match my fury over the fact you FORCED MY DOG INTO HELPING WITH YOUR LOUSY SCHEME! Linus will still be my best friend; Rerun will always be welcome to play with Snoopy; but as for you, Lucille Van Pelt, YOU ARE DEAD TO ME! STAY OUT OF MY LIFE, AND STAY AWAY FROM MY DOG!" And a fuming Charlie Brown stormed back to his table. Frieda comforted him. And Snoopy hugged him with gratitude. But the confrontation with Lucy wasn't over, because it was Peppermint Patty's turn.

"Lucille," she began, "I'll start where Chuck left off. I can forgive the hurtful things you said about me, but the fact that you lied to me about your intentions, that's unforgivable. While you pulling the ball away during the game is now common knowledge, NO ONE could imagine the complete and total deplorable plan you really had for poor Chuck! Even worse, as Chuck pointed out a moment ago, was that you got Snoop involved. And you forced him into turning the other way when you pulled the ball away."

"And you threatened an official, Lucy Van Pelt," the voice chimed in. "You should've been kicked off the team right then and there for that alone!"

"Well not only are you off the team," Patty continued, "but I will personally see to it that you NEVER play in any Pee-Wee football league team in the tri-county region AGAIN! Now I'm going to give you the same advice you gave Chuck that night at the dance. If you were smart, Lucille, you get out of here fast. And that's not a suggestion, if you get my drift!" Patty punched a fist into her palm. Lucy immediately got up and started heading for the door.

As she was leaving, Lucy heard a lot of comments toward her. "I tried to warn you about the consequences," said Violet.

"How the mighty have fallen," Shermy quipped.

"And I thought I was the dirty one," Pig Pen chimed in.

Patty and Ox just shook their heads. Schroeder simply said, "And THIS is why I will never marry you."

"Das Hexe*," said an angry Franco under his breath.

"Karma will always get you in the end," said a stoic Franklin.

"Hey Frankie, who's Karma?" asked a confused Melanie.

"I don't blame Charlie Brown for doing what he did," Linus said to his sister as she headed out the door. "You always do stuff like this, Lucy. When are you going to act like a decent human being?! I'll see you at home, unfortunately." And he walked back to the table where Charlie Brown and Frieda were. Lucy hung her head and walked out. She was at her lowest point. She now realized the ramifications of her actions, but it was too late. It costed Lucy her friendship with Charlie Brown and possibly Peppermint Patty. She headed for home.

Meanwhile, back in the dance hall, the voice spoke again. "You may be wondering who I am and why I did this. Well I will reveal myself to you now." Just then that mysterious figure who taped all of those conversations and setups Lucy was doing stepped out of the shadows. Then they took off their trench coat, hat, and scarf to reveal their identity.

"GOOD GRIEF!" exclaimed Linus. "IT'S HEATHER!"

"THE LITTLE RED-HAIRED GIRL?!" shouted a shocked Charlie Brown.

It was in fact Heather Wold, the little red-haired girl herself in the flesh. She was back in town, but for how long? She said, "I know what you're all thinking. What is Heather doing back? Didn't she move away last year? Yes I did, and I'm still living in my new house. I just came back to visit my grandmother for the week. But when I found out Homecoming was this week, I wanted to see if Lucy ever changed her ways. Unbeknownst to her, this game was her test. During the majority of the game she was all right, until she shoved Schroeder out of the way to try to pull the ball away from Charlie Brown again.

"To say the least, she failed big time. But luckily Molly Volley put a stop to that before Lucy could humiliate him again. So that's when I put this plan into action. Back before the last Homecoming, when I was nominated as Homecoming Queen, I found out Lucy nominated Charlie Brown and her brother Linus. Why she inserted her brother's name in there I don't know, but I knew her nomination of Charlie was filled with bad intentions. So I started following her and found out that she was plotting to set up Charlie Brown to lose the game by 'suggesting' he join the football team to Peppermint Patty. So I kept following her and documenting her evil scheme. I had already produced the footage that proved that she pulled the ball away; but I held on to the rest in case she never learned her lesson, which she didn't."

"So you did all of this?" asked Peppermint Patty.

"Well, I can't take all the credit," Heather said. "I did have some help from some of your friends. Well, one is more Snoopy's friend." And then, Woodstock flew in, to the surprise of everyone.

"HEY!" shouted Snoopy when he saw his friend. Woodstock immediately flew over and Snoopy hugged him.

"And he's not the only one who helped," Heather continued. That's when Marcie walked in.

"MARCIE?!" said Charlie Brown and Peppermint Patty, in unison.

"That's right," said Marcie. "Heather was the one who gave me that first tape of Charles being tricked by Lucille. But when she tried the same trick at today's game, that's when we decided that she needed to be taught a lesson."

"Woodstock taped the other footage at the game," said Heather. "And that's pretty much it."

"Charles," Marcie began, "even though we're both now dating someone, I'm still very fond of you. And what Lucille did to you at that game was beyond horrific. I felt that it was my duty to rectify the damage she's done. And with Heather's help, I was able to."

"Marcie," Charlie Brown said, "thank you so much. Words cannot describe what this means to me. And thank you, Heather. While what Lucy did was horrible, I'm lucky to have friends who have my back."

"Not a problem, Charlie Brown," said Heather. "And Frieda, you got a good guy there. You are one lucky girl."

"I know, Heather," Frieda said, holding Charlie Brown's hand. "He's one in a million."

"Well, I need to get going," Heather said. "And Charlie Brown, you got a friend for life."

"Take care, Heather," Charlie Brown said. "And thanks again." As Heather walked out the door, Charlie Brown remembered his conversation with Linus the day after the dance from last time:

"Instead of the goat," Linus said, "you were the hero, Charlie Brown!"

"What good is it to do anything, Linus," said Charlie Brown, "if you can't remember what you did?!"

"Well, at least it was your first kiss, Charlie Brown."

"Well Chuck," Peppermint Patty said, "you finally managed to talk to the little red-haired girl."

"Yeah I did, Patty," said Charlie Brown. "But as far as I'm concerned, I got the better little red-haired girl right here."

"Aww thank you, sweetie," said Frieda, who then gave Charlie Brown a kiss.

"You know, Chuck, in spite of what you or others may think you are NOT a loser. You are a winner, Chuck!" And everyone cheered.

End of Clip

HPDrummerman: As you probably already know, all has since been forgiven with Lucy. But it was her ostracization that happened here that set up the events for the "Descent Into Darkness" story arc. That wasn't the only story here, as well. After getting counseling in the previous episode "Starstruck" Thibault decides to go to military school to better himself.

Linus: He's been a pretty decent guy ever since. And he and Rattler are doing great.

HPDrummerman: Well here's the clip of him bidding farewell to Peppermint Patty and Franco to end the list.

5th Clip from "Homecoming Redemption"

The next day, Peppermint Patty and Franco went to the bus station to see Thibault off as he left for military school. For his part Thibault was optimistic. This was the chance for him to change his life and possibly become a better person. He didn't want to think like his uncle Max anymore. He wanted to be able to treat girls with the respect they deserved.

"Well," he began, "this is it, I guess. Thanks for coming to see me off."

"Forget about it, Thibault," said Peppermint Patty. "That reminds me. Patty wanted me to give you this." She had a note in an envelope. Thibault opened it and read it.

Dear Thibault,

It pretty much goes without saying that you messed up big time with me. That being said, I do hope that you get the help you need. Peppermint Patty told me how sorry you were for your actions and that you regret what you did. Well I want you to know while we will never get back together as boyfriend and girlfriend, I do forgive you. And hopefully when you get back from military school, we can start over as good friends. And when you do get back, the restraining order may be lifted by that time so it wouldn't be a problem. Take care of yourself and have a safe trip.

Sincerely,

Patty Swanson

This meant the world to Thibault. All he ever wanted was Patty's forgiveness and he received it. Now he could go to military school with a clear conscience.

"Tell Patty I said 'Thank you'," said Thibault, fighting back tears.

"I'll do that, kid," said Peppermint Patty. "Don't become a stranger, you hear?"

And then Thibault boarded his bus and took his seat. The bus then took off and Patty and Franco waved at Thibault as he left for military school.

End of Clip

UP NEXT: SEASON 2 SOUNDTRACK