How can someone hate Elmo?

I understand, it's just that I haven't seen any signs that the show's style is going to change any time soon.

I admit, I'm just a little excited about it.

ANYTHING has got to be better than Elmo's World at this point.
Except "Time to Play." I hope whoever forced that on the show was fired or something.

I'd be excited about Elmo's World getting the boot if there was a snowball's chance in heck that it would be replaced by something even slightly better. I haven't seen Elmo the Musical yet (no TV in our house so our daughter watches SS on Netflix or elsewhere online), but I will be absolutely shocked if it's anything but another mind numbing, soul crushing exercise in repetition that fails to either entertain or educate. Sesame Street didn't start out as a babysitting/merchandise hawking service for upper middle class suburban toddlers, it was supposed to be a way to help parents, particularly less affluent ones who couldn't afford preschool, prepare their children for kindergarten, building basic counting and reading as well as their imaginations. But I fail to see the educational merit in Dorothy thinking about balls, or Elmo watching the All Balls, All the Time Channel.

At least the surviving members of the Noodle Family are now free, and no longer trapped in a pocket dimension forced to entertain the Little Red Menace.

Have you seen the preview clips?

No, but Sesame Street also didn't start out with 3 or 4 cable channels of kiddy competition, leading to a Darwinian adapt or die state in the TV show. All Sesame Street had to go on back in 1969 was Ding Dong School and Mr. Rogers... and even then it had some similarities (which thankfully dissolved later in the 70's). Barney was the first big blow to Sesame Street... Nick Jr's Blue's Clues took the second. In fact, EW was sort of a jaded attempt to be like BC.

Elmo the Musical is far superior. It has 2 key things that EW lacked. A basic engaging plot line, and Elmo's ability to interact with other characters. No longer are we to deal with 15 minute segments about one subject taught exclusively through filler. The segment is, if you can believe it, entertaining and moves quickly.