Political correctness--by the numbers

Most people who've watched Sesame Street know that it teaches racial tolerance and diversity (among more academic lessons). For instance, this cartoon teaches children not to see Native Americans in terms of the Western-movie stereotypes:



Way back in 1969, though, this classic film taught about the number ten:



Did you catch the wooden figures that the boy counts on that foosball-like toy, about 1:04 seconds into the clip? I grew up hearing the song "Ten Little Indians" as a girl and never developed a bias against Native Americans; the lyrics never gave me a visual image, stereotyped or not. Most parents in the early 70s wouldn't have considered "ten little Indians" a racist reference either, if it weren't for that picture.

A few seasons later, the film replaced the "Indians" count with "ten bells". Not only does the film show a split second of the original at that point, but the audio is missing a sound effect when the digits of "10" zoom out:





Did CTW go too far banning the Indians from that clip? I'd say it was a gray area, considering the other series of counting cartoons that was popular in Sesame Street's early days. "Jazz #3" includes an image of "three blind mice" that some parents with disabled children might consider a stereotype (about 21 seconds into the clip), but no one ever edited those mice out!



Sesame Workshop has included a lot of disability-friendly material on their flagship show since the early years, but...when you see the way those two clips were handled, I can't help wondering if someone on the staff had a double standard.

Watch A Special Sesame Street Christmas (Please Comment)

Part 1



Part 2



Part 3



Part 4



Part 5



Part 6

One fan's public-service announcement

Many thanks to Boober Gorg (owner of the tape-trading page in our links section) for this bit of creative Photoshopping.

It's that time of year again...

Not only is Sesame Street officially 39 years old, but tomorrow is the 25th anniversary of Mr. Hooper's death announcement on the show. Although Will Lee--the actor who played Mr. Hooper--died in December of 1982, CTW had two good reasons not to write off the character until a year later. First, each season of Sesame Street used to begin in November; the 1982-83 episodes had already been taped, and included footage of Will Lee while he'd been alive. Second, the producers wanted to schedule the death episode on Thanksgiving Day so that parents would be at home to explain the situation to their preschool-age children. (I personally doubt that CTW had thought the schedule over thoroughly enough. How many TV-watching parents are going to pass up the traditional parades and ball games, just so the kid can see Big Bird grieve on TV?)

Despite that problem, the "death episode" of Sesame Street hit a whole generation hard emotionally. I never saw the show until many years later, but was surprised to hear local news mention both Lee's death and CTW's decision to discuss the situation openly. As far as I know, no other TV program or fictional character has attracted that kind of attention in mainstream newscasts.

Even today, the story of Big Bird mourning for Mr. Hooper attracts curious fans of vintage TV. Adam Koeppe recently posted an essay about his reaction to the scenes; like most latter-day viewers, he reacted more strongly than you'd think. (Not that this is a bad thing, of course...)

The sincerest form of flattery

Of all the places for someone to parody the "opera-singing orange" clip from Sesame Street, I saw a religious-education clip in which God (appearing as a talking orange) teaches Todd, a young Jewish boy, the proper prayers over fruit at Rosh Hashanah. See for yourselves; the Sesame reference runs from time-markers 2:01 to 2:31...




If you haven't seen the original clip which inspired that moment, here it is. (NOTE: the orange has no official name and appeared only in this film. Don't confuse it with Cecille, the orange claymation ball who sang original songs on the show...)

That's a word, too: CENSORED!

Most Sesame Street fans know that CTW has edited several classic clips in the past, because parents objected to violence or rude language in the original version. Still, this has got to be the most ridiculous example of editing-for-language I've ever heard...







What two words inspired CTW to cut this clip off so abruptly? Look and listen for yourselves:







You heard her right: "Darn it!" It frightens me to think that somewhere in 1980s America, a child was forbidden to watch Sesame Street...because of an expletive that most adults would NOT consider rude or obscene. And it frightens me even more that the producers would give in to parental protests like that; Sesame Street used to allow some rude-but-clean language when the characters had good reasons to use it.

If today's Ernie talked to Cookie Monster the way he talked in 1969, I bet that thousands of disgruntled parents would write to Sesame Workshop and demand that Ernie be taken off the show for setting a bad example. But Sesame Street also teaches about emotional honestly, including the right to show grouchy and angry feelings: when a frustrated fairy can't even say "darn it" any more, the show has compromised part of its message.

Big Bird In Japan Question

I was just watching Big Bird In Japan. Now I want to know more about the Japanese Moon Goddess folk story. Is it anything like the Roman Gods and the Planets? What is the story behind the Moon Goddess? Any website with helpful information? I want to know more about the Japanese history behind Big Bird in Japan. Thanks for your help!

I Don't Want To Live On The Moon (YouTube Cover) MP3 Version

Here is the MP3 of the video of the video below. The name of the girl singing is Jamie.



DOWNLOAD

I Don't Want To Live on the Moon (as performed on YouTube)

While browsing through my Sesame Street-related subscriptions on YouTube, I spotted a surprisingly good music video. Normally, I'm skeptical when an amateur tries to "cover" material from Sesame Street; but in this case, the musician truly deserves five stars. Listen for yourself...

Oh no, not the Veggie Monster again!

The same YouTuber who claimed Sesame Park wasn't a genuine Canadian production, also insisted that "they turned Cookie Monster into the Veggie Monster--LAME!" (I've read angry comments like that all over the site whenever someone posts recent Sesame material, in fact. The guy I'm quoting, though, is one of the few users who did it without spamming the comment section or using swearwords. :-) )

By now I'm tempted to have a form-letter response ready for everyone who brings up the false rumor about the "Veggie Monster" change; it'll probably look like what I sent this guy, though I'll have to send it privately because of the web links included as proof.

The Veggie Monster scare is just an urban legend. Sesame Workshop DID have Cookie Monster cut back on his trademark food and act more concerned about his health--but he has definitely not turned into the Veggie Monster. (In fact, a recent episode had Matt Lauer interviewing Cookie, who complained that the media blew everything out of proportion.) Check out these links if you need proof--

http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Episode_4115

http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Cookie_Monster:_A_Cookie_is_a_Sometime_Food

and, from another site--

http://www.snopes.com/radiotv/tv/veggie.asp

More crazy Sesame Street rumors, eh?

When I checked my inbox on YouTube this afternoon, I noticed that someone had responded to my comments on a clip from Sesame Park (the Canadian production of the show). The user claimed that Sesame Park was not a foreign version, but a renaming inspired by parents' complaints that the original title tempted kids to play in the street. (Come on, was this fellow serious?) For one thing, Sesame Street hasn't lost the "Street" in 39 years, at least not here in the States. Only foreign versions have ever used a different title, and then only when CTW thought the original urban street setting didn't fit the new country. The Norwegian version, for instance, was moved to a railroad station and christened Sesam Stasjon; the version recently produced in Northern Ireland is called Sesame Tree, because its main characters live in a large hollow tree. Similarly, the Canadian version got its new name because "[t]here isn't a Canadian city where you can go more than about six blocks without finding a safe, green park" (according to Peter Moss, director of children's programming at CBC).

Furthermore, some elements of Sesame Park were so Canadian that it's hard to imagine them appearing on the US counterpart. A mail-delivering bush pilot, a French-speaking sea otter, and almost a dozen parody Muppets based on Canadian TV personalities? I doubt that American preschoolers could connect with those characters so easily. And why on earth would Sesame Street teach Americans that "the quarter has a caribou on it", when the only animal most of them have seen on quarters is an eagle?

NOT lost in translation!

I recently discovered this rare clip on YouTube, thanks to a user in Norway who uploads a lot of Sesame Street material. (The subtitles in this copy are my own, but still 100% accurate!) Judging by the style those numbers are written in, I'd suspect that Jim Henson was involved with animating this; even if I guessed wrongly, the cartoon is still funny 35+ years later. (Kids will be kids, in any country and language!)

Counting 1-10 and Back--Sort Of! (Norwegian/subtitled)

A Rare Big Bird Clip

Here is a clip of Big Bird in Mister Rogers' Neighborhood Of Make-Believe. If anybody has this whole episode please let me know. I would love a copy of it. Also does anybody remember the winner of the Make-Believe art Contest Big Bird entered in this clip??

I was so glad when somebody posted this. I remembered this episode for years and finally got to see a part of it again.

A classic little number

Considering that Season 39 of Sesame Street is going to focus on teaching basic math concepts, it's a shame that Sesame Workshop would reject some of their best number/counting clips as too old. Here's a tricky little gem from late in Season 1; the characters don't look too dated, but the music might seem that way to some children. Many thanks to user cdkscully for posting it--

Sesame Street - As I Was Going to St. Ives

I miss the days when Sesame Street used that kind of intelligent humor to teach, instead of talking down to kids...and played original musical arrangements, instead of having celebrities parody their own songs. Unfortunately, that won't happen until the Workshop gets enough funding to stop running six minutes of ads in every new episode...*sigh*

The Magic Chain (a rare Bert/Ernie sketch)

Many thanks to NantoVision2 for posting this classic to YouTube; I liked this one so much as a girl that I sometimes acted it out with my mom. (Ernie's throwaway lines when he makes the square and the triangle are hilarious, too...)

Too new to be a classic, but...

I still can't resist posting Sesame Street clips about hugs whenever I can find one! :-)

Papa Gives a Big Bear Hug (song)

Sad News For Sesame Street Fans!!!!

Kermit Love who helped design the original Big Bird costume has died today at age 91. He had a heart failure. He also played Willy The Hot Dog Vendor begining in Season 2 of Sesame Street. He will be missed by Sesame Street fans and Muppet Fans alike.









You can read more about Kermit Love's death HERE.
There is also another article HERE.

Oh no, not THOSE rumors again!

One of my friends at the nursing home noticed that I had Sesame Street on TV again, so our conversation eventually brought up the way Bert and Ernie are being phased out of the show. When my friend asked, "Didn't they make Bert and Ernie gay?" she couldn't believe that the official answer (straight from Sesame Workshop staff) was "no". This 1993 press release should have settled the debate once and for all, in my opinion:

Bert and Ernie, who've been on Sesame Street for 25 years, do not portray a gay couple, and there are no plans for them to do so in the future. They are puppets, not humans. Like all the Muppets created for Sesame Street, they were designed to help educate preschoolers. Bert and Ernie are characters who help demonstrate to children that despite their differences, they can be good friends.

When I denied the "gay couple" rumor, my friend asked: "Well, what about that Muppet with HIV?" She was worried about her daughter growing up too fast, and said there were some things kids that age shouldn't see on TV. I explained that Kami was meant only for the South African production of Sesame Street, where some younger children were born with HIV--and that there were no plans to include that character in the American version. (If some new Muppet character were created to represent a major problem that affected mostly American preschoolers, you wouldn't expect to see that Muppet in a foreign production...especially not if people in the other country associated that same problem with homosexuality and drug addiction!)

Good clean fun?

In honor of Mother's Day (in the US at least), I thought I'd post this classic clip. Many thanks to Mike Statz, an old friend on YouTube, for allowing me to use it: Sesame Street would never show a film like this today, because too many parents equate "nudity on TV" with "not suitable for kids". Never mind that the producers meant to teach preschoolers how mothers take care of babies--a perfectly reasonable lesson for someone who might wonder what Mommy's doing to their younger brother or sister. Never mind that the baby here is getting a bath from its mother, and that the camera never reveals anything too explicit. Parents and other "experts" today no longer trust a kindergarten-age child to figure out whether a TV film is supposed to be innocent and wholesome; at least the old CTW researchers had enough faith in their viewers!

Where have all the flowers gone?

If the rumors I've heard about next season's theme are true, these classic clips would be perfect for teaching about the environment and natural beauty. First, a short film from 1969; younger fans probably remember it as part of Mr. Hooper's death episode, but it's been on Sesame Street much longer than that...

Second, a cartoon from the 70s; I can't trace it back to one particular episode, but the animator must've agreed with the eco-tourist idea that people should "take nothing but pictures" in a naturally beautiful place.

Alphabetically speaking, she's OK!

I stumbled across this re-creation of a classic Sesame Street clip on YouTube tonight. According to the user who posted it: "Ever since my daughter saw the original, she wouldn't sing the alphabet without inserting random Cookie Monsters. We happen to have a Kermit puppet, so here you go... "

Help wanted: Find these episode numbers, please!

A friend recently mailed me a home-burned DVD with two classic episodes of Sesame Street; both apparently aired in the late 80s/early 90s, but they're missing part of the opening theme (which means no episode numbers). Does anyone out there have the numbers for these, or could they track down that information so I can file the shows with the rest of my collection? I'd appreciate that a lot, thanks!

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Mystery Episode #1 (UPDATE: a friend on the Muppet Central forums identified this one as Episode 2621.)


Plot: After seeing Susan's and Luis' baby pictures, Big Bird is fascinated by the idea of what his other adult friends were like as children. He eventually sees Gabi's baby book, then helps Snuffy fill one out for Alice.

Sponsors (announced by Snuffy and Alice): B, J, 9

Notable clips:

• Cartoon: "Old Woman Who Lived in a Nine"
• Cartoon: Speech Balloon--B for Bug (squeamish woman sprays insecticide at a bug, who retaliates by firing a cannon)
• Muppet song/sketch: "J Friends"
• Grover the Waiter sketch: Mr. Johnson orders item #9 (the special of the day) at Charlie's Restaurant...and gets a medium-rare nine
• Street scene (from an older episode): Buffy Sainte-Marie breast-feeds her son Cody, as some Muppets and kids ask questions

Trivia that might help: Maria's daughter Gabriela is still a very young child in this episode.

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Mystery Episode #2 (UPDATE: a friend on the Muppet Central forums identified this one as Episode 2622.)

Plot: Shelley the Turtle refuses to come out of his shell because Barkley has frightened him badly. Despite pleas from his friends on the street, Shelley keeps avoiding his fear with other activities...until an episode of "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" (which he watches inside) gives Shelley enough confidence to come out.

Sponsors (announced by a female cast member--possibly Gina?): H, M, 6

Notable clips:

• Cartoon: Typewriter Guy (H for Hand)
• Cartoon: M for Mouse, Mud, and Mother (judging by the music and animation style, this probably dates back to Season 1-2)
• Cartoon: Swedish Number Animation (6 camels; no voice-over)
• Muppet song/sketch: "I Get There" (sung by Shelley as he crawls uphill to meet animal friends)
• Live-action/Muppet sketch: Wanda the Word Fairy teaches the word "dog" as Barkley acts over-friendly to her.

Trivia that might help: Linda still owns Barkey in this episode.

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By the way, I checked for episodes with similar plots and/or material on Muppet Wiki; no relevant results came up for either one. *sigh*

Sesame Street Request

I am looking for MP3 files of the Big Bird StoryMagic tapes. They sound funny playing them in a normal tape player. Just let them record as is and I can fix the files. My E-mail address in in my profile. Thanks for you help!!!!!! Book scans are not necessary.

Six more minutes of fame

Since I've mentioned Nona Beamer's appearances on Sesame Street recently, I thought it'd be appropriate to show them here. First, from Episode 1092, Bob and Maria join Nona as she teaches them a Hawaiian counting chant.







Second, from Episode 1094, a short and simple clip with Nona counting to ten in Hawaiian. (Can any native speakers out there explain the other words she's using before/after the count, please?)







Incidentally, my copies of the trip episodes have some scenes edited out; does anyone recall other scenes where Auntie Nona appeared with the human cast? Please let me know in the comments, if you can!

Aloha Oe, Nona Beamer! (part 2)

Just posted this to YouTube to say, "I'm gonna miss you, Mrs. Beamer" (if you don't mind my warping a quotation from Big Bird in a serious situation).

Aloha Oe, Nona Beamer!

"Auntie Nona" Beamer, who appeared in the Hawaiian trip episodes from the late 1970s, died yesterday at age 84. Even though I have no personal ties to the family or to Hawaii, I still remember her performance on Sesame Street fondly--and plan to post a few clips to Channel 123 in her memory. God bless you, Nona!

The word on the street is "irony"!

Bert gets the better of Ernie...

Ernie's R Collection

Cookie Monster never even mentions being hungry...

Cookie Monster and Genelle Count to 20

And I wonder what Russian grandparents from the Cold War years think when their grandkids watch this clip on Sesame Street?

Pinball Count #12 (Russian version!)

I'm glued...to the script!

While browsing around on Muppet Wiki recently, I came across this rough draft of Telly Monster's debut episode (#1257). The scanned-in script is a bit hard to read even at full size, but it's still worth checking out; Telly has changed a lot since he was introduced as a couch potato twenty-nine years ago! (Seeing the way CTW's editors and researchers thought back then is pretty cool, too...)

I heard it through the grapevine...

Long before the growers in California were using claymation to sell raisins, this rare stop-motion clip ran on Sesame Street; I haven't seen it since I was in kindergarten, until today. Enjoy!

What's happening to Gina?

Thanks to a message at Muppet Central, I've just seen some studio footage from the next season of Sesame Street. (That would be the 39th, if you've lost track... :-) ) One major change to the set bothers me: Gina has been on Sesame Street for twenty years (long enough to qualify as a classic character, in my opinion). She's run a veterinarian clinic there for seven of those years...but next season, the vet's office is going to be replaced by an auto-repair shop! Since Gina becoming a mechanic seems totally out of character, I'm worried that the Workshop is planning to write her off the show. Hopefully, an official press release will either confirm or deny my suspicions in a month or two.

Threaten Me Elmo?

When a friend on Muppet Central passed on this news video about a defective Elmo doll making death threats, I couldn't help thinking: "This is what happens when Sesame Workshop depends too much on tie-in products to raise money for their programs." No, I'm not going to turn this post into a rant about Elmo ruining Sesame Street; he's been on the show in some form since 1979, and was actually a decent supporting character at first. Still, I miss the days when the Workshop didn't need  to cash royalty checks from toy companies...or mention corporate sponsors at the beginning and end of every Sesame Street episode.

[Update: After Googling for more information about the story, I found another user's blog post explaining the malfunction. What James' mother mistook for "kill" is actually the name "Keir"; the doll was saying two names accidentally!]

Alphabet Conversation

Here's another cute Muppet clip that should have been on the Old School DVDs, but didn't make the cut; enjoy!

Sesame Street - Alphabet Conversation

In the beginning...

In honor of Sesame Workshop's 40th anniversary, I thought I'd post the first clip they broadcast to test the show. (Believe it or not, I was lucky enough to trade for a copy of the test show before Old School Volume 2 came out; this one is clearer than the one on the "official" DVD set!)

Test Show #1 Opening (take 2!)