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!

--------

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.

--------

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.

--------

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!)