Here is the first book that talks about how Sesame Street was created. Thanks to HooperFan for making the book available on the web in HTML (Internet) format. The PDF file here I made myself from the HTML files. I thought this way it was all in one file and easier to read. Enjoy!!!!!
Does anybody have the FULL episode from 1997 where another bird wanted to buy Big Bird's drawing of Mr. Hooper that hangs above Big Bird's Nest and Big Bird explains to the other bird why the drawing means so much to him? Thanks in advance!!!!
Ever since Sesame Street changed its format drastically over ten years ago, the producers have been more and more reluctant to include any classic clips in new episodes--rationalizing that children would see them as outdated. For some topics, I can understand that logic; take this clip as an example--
So many technological changes have happened since then, that a newer version of the same film has appeared on Sesame Street--
I see nothing wrong with remakes in situations like that. But Sesame Street occasionally goes too far in trying to update its own classic material. During the early 1970s, Bud Luckey animated a series of musical cartoons for the show--each one using a silly song and unusual characters to teach a number between 2 and 12. Ask the average parent or grandparent of some toddler who watches today's Sesame Street, and chances are good that they'll remember these ditties well enough to sing a few bars:
Now, take a look at these versions of the same song-cartoons. The "Ten Tiny Turtles" remake appeared in the Season 40 finale; the "Ladybugs' Picnic" remake appeared late in Season 41--
Granted, I'm glad to know that some people at Sesame Workshop don't want to see a classic die out. I also appreciate the way that these particular animators tried hard to adapt Bud Luckey's drawings to a 3-D version. But would it have killed the producers to dub in the original music for these remakes? The musical style itself isn't outdated, nor are any details in the lyrics.
Speaking of lyrical details, I winced when the "Ten Tiny Turtles" remake changed "black-eyed peas" to "yummy peas." Did the original sound too racist to somebody on the staff, either because of the vegetable's name or its status as soul food? Either way, I suspect Bud Luckey felt a little upset himself. Come on, Sesame Workshop...you've done a lot to promote tolerance and integration for 41 years, without worrying about what some family thinks of black-eyed peas! If a classic isn't "broken" from details a 21st-century toddler wouldn't understand, don't fix it.
We're here to share our favorite memories about one of the best TV shows ever written for kids--in the form of personal stories, reviews, video/sound clips and so forth. Since a lot of families with preschoolers are probably reading this blog, I'd prefer that all my guests follow these rules:
1. Please keep your language clean. No swearing, no off-color jokes, no insulting other users--you get the point, I hope!
2. Please keep your comments related to the original post you write them under--a little personal digression is fine, but we're here to discuss a TV show (not the latest political scandal or your problems at the office).
3. Please don't advertise any products, services, or Internet sites here unless they're directly related to classic Sesame Street. (Superficial tie-ins, like Del Monte putting Muppet pictures on their canned veggies, don't count as directly related.)
Disclaimers
As you might expect on a TV fan site, most of the video and sound files used here are copyrighted by their original owners. We're not claiming to own any of the material ourselves, and we don't intend to make a dime showing them to other fans...so please don't sue us! (In fact, we encourage you to support the owners by donating to Sesame Workshop; they need all the financial support they can get.)