Sesame Street Thread

[Fone Bone]

Not exactly a talkback to discuss episodes or news but more like a place to drop thoughts and opinions (although news and reviews ARE on topic). I'll start.

Sort of continuing from my Unpopular Opinions bombshell that The Adventures Of Elmo In Grouchland is my favorite film, one of the things I liked about it was that Elmo and Zoe were best friends in it. Back before Abby was Elmo's best friend Zoe filled that role. One dark day, the writers on the show decided to create the concept of Zoe psychologically tormenting, manipulating, and emotionally abusing Elmo with a rock she lied about for negative attention, and that positive aspect of them was... um... dropped. Which I was not happy about. I used to love Zoe. I did not appreciate them turning her into a sociopath and Elmo's bully. The show famously brags that it gets input from child psychologists and actual kids for every episode they air. Who the HELL greenlit that? It's not as bad as the adults making fun of Big Bird for Snuffy, but it's bad for the same reasons.

Speaking of Big Bird, I don't believe he was a very good center for Sesame Street for the first 20 years or so. I didn't like that the character was portrayed as stupid. To be fair, the producers pulled WAY back on that notion after the first season in the 60's, but being a bit dim, confused, and put-upon was always a big part of Big Bird, and he made a poor viewpoint character for kids for that reason.

You might expect me to talk up Elmo taking over the lead instead, but although Elmo fixes SOME of those problems, he has several problems as the center himself, and some of them are far worse than Big Bird's ever were. It's nice that Elmo is assertive and confident and curious instead of confused. That's what you want in a focal point for little kids. The problem with making Elmo the center of the show is that he's TOO hyper and attention grabbing. The viewer (kids and adults alike) give him TOO much focus and he draws attention away from the other characters. No matter what you think of Big Bird, he NEVER did that. When Bird was the star, the show still felt very much like an ensemble. Elmo worked best in the late 80's and early 90's when he was bouncing off the other characters, and often antagonistic with folks like Ernie and Kermit the Frog. Elmo's misbehavior there was both charming and very, very funny. Once they made him the main character, they had to defang him a bit there, and he lost a lot of his rebel appeal. But people who currently hate Elmo are unaware and would be shocked to learn that under the right circumstances Elmo is hilarious, and one of the funniest Sesame Street Muppets, if not the funniest. If more clips from the early 90's got more play, Elmo would be seen by many of his detractors as funny instead of annoying. It's the fact that they toned him down which is why he got a reputation for being treacly. He most certainly was not always.

Best Sesame Street song is "I Don't Want To Live On The Moon" by Ernie. Nothing else even comes close.

 

[Shiloh Otter]

Elmo is the best. He's been my favorite character in the show for like, ever, and I've never understood the hate for him. And I'm talking about modern Elmo. I frankly don't remember early Elmo at all because I was very young at the time and I basically didn't watch Sesame Street after I turned 5 until well into adulthood.

Also, I think Abby Cadabby is great, and I've loved Julia ever since she was introduced. There is very little positive representation of autism in media and Julia is one of the rare characters done right.

 

[Silverstar]

This thread got me thinking about the show's various forgotten Muppet characters.

Everybody knows Grover, but how many people remember that he started out as the hapless assistant to some tweed wearing nebbishy professor Muppet named Herbert Birdsfoot? How many people remember Roosevelt Franklin, the show's first 'black' Muppet? Half the viewers disliked him for being too black while the other half disliked him for not being black enough (he was actually purple). Anybody remember Harvey Kneeslapper? Simon Soundman? The Amazing Mumford? Sherlock Hemlock? Chris and the Alphabeats? Wow, I don't know my credit score, but I remember all of this.

 

[Fone Bone]

This thread got me thinking about the show's various forgotten Muppet characters.

Everybody knows Grover, but how many people remember that he started out as the hapless assistant to some tweed wearing nebbishy professor Muppet named Herbert Birdsfoot? How many people remember Roosevelt Franklin, the show's first 'black' Muppet? Half the viewers disliked him for being too black while the other half disliked him for not being black enough (he was actually purple). Anybody remember Harvey Kneeslapper? Simon Soundman? The Amazing Mumford? Sherlock Hemlock? Chris and the Alphabeats? Wow, I don't know my credit score, but I remember all of this.

I remember Herbert Birdsfoot, Roosevelt Franklin, Harvey Kneeslapper, Mumford, and Sherlock. I have plushies of Mumford and Sherlock. I also remember Don Music, Lefty the Salesman, Kingston Livingston the third, Biff and Sully, Merry Monster, Roxie, Little Bird, Grungetta, Alice, Gladys the cow, and Bert's nephew Brad.

Elmo is the best. He's been my favorite character in the show for like, ever, and I've never understood the hate for him. And I'm talking about modern Elmo. I frankly don't remember early Elmo at all because I was very young at the time and I basically didn't watch Sesame Street after I turned 5 until well into adulthood.

Also, I think Abby Cadabby is great, and I've loved Julia ever since she was introduced. There is very little positive representation of autism in media and Julia is one of the rare characters done right.

Don't get me wrong. I still love modern Elmo. The Not Too Late Show With Elmo was why I subscribed to HBO Max to begin with. I was furious when it was taken off.

 

[Zorak Masaki]

Re: Forgotten characters. Dont forget Sam the Robot, Placido Flamingo, and the Miami Mice.

 

[Fone Bone]

I love Placido. What a great Puppet design. Anyone else remember H Ross Parrot? How about Joey and Davey the monkeys? Bananas! Betty Lou?

 

[Dantheman]

When I was little, I had Sesame Street curtains on the windows of my bedroom, with the various characters (Big Bird, Cookie Monster, Bert and Ernie) in outer space on rocket ships. I've often wondered, aside from Star Wars being a major presence in pop culture during my formative years, if this was one of the major factors in developing my love for outer space.

Anyone remember the Fisher-Price Sesame Street playset and figures? That was neat. The only real toy I have left from my childhood is the Bert figure from that set, which I thought was lost, but was found in a house remodeling project years ago.

 

[Fone Bone]

The space ones? Still have them in my apartment. They are cool.

 

[Dr.Pepper]

Am I the only one who liked the sketches more than any of the Muppet characters? As a little kid I loved all the short animations and whatnot, but I could take or leave the main plot of the episode.

 

[harry580]

have you guys visited sesame place in oxford valley mall?

 

[Pooky]

The bits of Sesame Street that stick in my mind are all musical (all of which I would have seen on UK Channel 4 at some point in the 90s):
- The "Danger; it's no stranger" song
- Patti LaBelle (not that I knew that at the time) singing How I Miss My X to an actual letter X
- The cover of Hip to Be a Square; I wasn't that young when I heard this (9 or 10), but it was still years before I heard the original

Also, REM singing their Sesame-fied version of Shiny Happy People, but I believe I saw that through some other show a few years later. My mother, otherwise a big REM fan, always mentions that this was the only version of the song she could stand.

I also always thing of a macabre bit of animation about a chubby kid who suddenly stops eating less, and less, and less and less until...well, you can guess. But surely that couldn't have actually been on Sesame Street could it? Google turns up nothing of the sort, although with 4,666 episodes and counting, I wouldn't call that conclusive.

I have seen Elmo's in Grouchland, although I remember nothing about it besides what was in the old TV spots. I'm not sure if I've ever seen Follow That Bird; if I did it was before I turned 5.

Incidentally if somebody in the UK pronounces Z the American way ("Zee") rather than the British way ("Zed") a common retort is that they've been "watching too much Sesame Street".

 

[Zorak Masaki]

Anyone remember the Elmopalooza album? Loved Steven Tyler's cover of I Love Trash

 

[stephane dumas]

In Canada, there was some Canadian segments added and they keep running the original theme song a bit longer.

 

[Silverstar]

Am I the only one who liked the sketches more than any of the Muppet characters? As a little kid I loved all the short animations and whatnot, but I could take or leave the main plot of the episode.

Some of those were pretty memorable (though the ones on The Electric Company were better IMO). Pity that Sesame Workshop is abandoning the magazine format (i.e. the in between skits and cartoon segments) going forward.

 

[Fone Bone]

Anyone remember the Elmopalooza album? Loved Steven Tyler's cover of I Love Trash

Somebody take out the trash. Who me? Forget about it.

 

[Light Lucario]

Elmo is the best. He's been my favorite character in the show for like, ever, and I've never understood the hate for him. And I'm talking about modern Elmo. I frankly don't remember early Elmo at all because I was very young at the time and I basically didn't watch Sesame Street after I turned 5 until well into adulthood.

Also, I think Abby Cadabby is great, and I've loved Julia ever since she was introduced. There is very little positive representation of autism in media and Julia is one of the rare characters done right.

I love Julia's introduction. I cried the first time I watched it because I saw a lot of younger me in her and wished that characters like Julia had been around when I was in kindergarten. I didn't get my diagnosis until I was about eleven, but the idea that a little autistic girl was not treated as a problem, that everyone around her was trying to help her through meltdowns instead of laughing at her and she was included despite playing differently still speaks to my soul.

I don't remember much of watching Sesame Street when I was little. I remember liking Big Bird and I think I watched Follow That Bird quite a bit. I was a bit surprised when Elmo blew up in popularity and basically became the face of the series, but he's pretty cute and fun.

 

[Goldstar!]

I haven't watched Sesame Street in many years, but based on what I've heard and read through pop culture osmosis, my main criticism about modern day Sesame Street is that the show no longer does comedy sketches only lessons and "very special episodes". I read that SS will soon be abandoning the magazine format (never knew that it was called that) and will focus on just the stories alone, which isn't inherently a bad thing, but if lessons and Aesop are all there is to the show now, some might be turned off to it. I know from my own childhood that kids don't like to be lectured to or preached at. Back in the day, the goal was to be entertaining as well as educational. The lessons and morals were worked in a subtle fashion.

JD Hansel elaborated on this in an article on Tough Pigs.com

Sesame Street Isn't Funny Anymore, But You're Going to Be Okay - ToughPigs

Sesame Street is a lot less funny than it used to be, but JD thinks maybe, just maybe, that's okay.

toughpigs.com

 

[Fone Bone]

Tough Pigs takes are the best because they are always fair-minded. And not reflexively against social consciousness or justice. If they have concerns about Sesame Street, they are fair ones about wanting to make the show better.

The sad thing about the article is it probably accurately noting that the show doesn't NEED to be better than it is, and that this is what modern kids respond to, and parents don't watch the show with their kids anymore anyways.

Is it more important if the show were helpful or funny? Adults may prefer funny. But helpful is better for kids, whether we like it or not.

Also Jon Stone got a raw deal.

 

[Zorak Masaki]

Was just wondering, outside of Mr. Hooper, did Sesame Street ever bring up the subject of death?

 

[Silverstar]

Was just wondering, outside of Mr. Hooper, did Sesame Street ever bring up the subject of death?

There was an animated segment in which a girl copes with the death of her pet goldfish, but I don't know if that was before or after Mr. Hooper's passing. Ironically I had started to age out of Sesame Street when that landmark event happened.