Sesame Street in 1969

[BigBirdABCDEFGH]

Hi,

Seeing that the show is now 40 years old, I'd like to ask you all this: what did you think of the show's first 130 or so episodes?

No one can forget this "song-and-dance" moment:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pr5er4ueWBQ

Or this moment, when Oscar the Grouch was orange:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9fwjox49Wk

~Ben

 

[mr3urious]

I only saw episode 1 on DVD, and I must say, the show has come a long way since then! It seems like kids back then had a lot more patience, since some of the sketches run a bit too long, not to mention the repetition of a few (I'm glad they did away w/ that a few years later)!

 

[AquaGGR]

I'm glad they did away with the repetitive repetition of repetitive skits. Sure, they got stuck in my head (like they're supposed to), but it just got annoying. Also, it had some overly-long scenes, like the infamous "Hey Cow"...

...oh, man. That went on forever. It actually started repeating itself about halfway through. Not to mention the song is very narmy, because it's about COWS. I can't help but laugh every time I watch it.

 

[MikaelaMuppet]

Do not forget about this!

 

[minor muppetz]

I like the first season well. I don't think anybody here has seen all 130 episodes from the first season, and I'm sure those who have don't remember every detail of the first season. I wonder how many people who watched in the first season remember stuff that haven't surfaced online or on video since.

The only episodes I've seen are the first episode and two of the others that are on iTunes (well, with the first episode on iTunes, then I've seen three episodes from the season). I hope to see more episodes from the first season someday (I know, I could download the other first season episode).

It seems like many first season segments have been scarce in the 1980s and 1990s, though I know they have aired then (I'm thinking maybe the first season animated bits were shown more than the Muppet ones). Outside of the Old School DVDs and 40 Years of Sunny Days segments from this season have scarcely been released on home video (and even then very few first season segments were in post-season 1 premieres, even the second season premiere only had two segments from the first season). No first season segments were included in the recent Best of Sesame Street Spoofs! (though I don't think the first season HAD any parody segments) or Best of Friends (in fact first season segments are not included in ANY character spotlight videos, though clips from the second season have been included in the Ernie & Bert and Grover videos). As far as I know, the only other videos with first season content include Learning About Letters, The Alphabet Game, 25 Years: A Musical Celebration, Elmo's Travel Songs and Games, and Elmo's World: People in Your Neighborhood (how ironic that a season one segment appears on an Elmo's World release!). The Greeblies segment also appears in the Inter Active release Let's Play Games.

 

[Drtooth]

I'm glad they did away with the repetitive repetition of repetitive skits. Sure, they got stuck in my head (like they're supposed to), but it just got annoying. Also, it had some overly-long scenes, like the infamous "Hey Cow"...

...oh, man. That went on forever. It actually started repeating itself about halfway through. Not to mention the song is very narmy, because it's about COWS. I can't help but laugh every time I watch it.

The first season is, as the old saying goes, a wonderful place to visit, but you don't want to live there.

There's just so much that thankfully disappeared as the show progressed. Covers of real songs, while fun and cute, just don't hold the same weight as original songs. It seemed more like Proto-The Muppet show/unrealized Ed Sullivan performances in that aspect. The original Mahna Mahna used in the first season isn't half as memorable as the Ed Sullivan or Muppet Show performances. The TMS performance made the song so iconic, it was forever associated to the Muppets.

I will say the best one has to be "If I knew You Were Coming." That had some great Ernie and Cookie moments in it, at least. The ones with Am's were fun, but lacked something.

That Cow song was long and repetitive (the narrator manages to say the same thing twice every time). I don't see how any audience of any generation could sit through that. And it co-existed with Joe Raposo's snappier, funner, and more memorable songs.

The less said about the live action place holder comedy teams, the better. Glad they disappeared quietly when the Muppet Cast was fleshed out, and we finally had some star power recurring characters.

But the worst part? Those Ding Dong School type lectures from the adults talking to the kids. There is far more educational content than entertainment right there.

 

[AquaGGR]

That Cow song was long and repetitive (the narrator manages to say the same thing twice every time). I don't see how any audience of any generation could sit through that. And it co-existed with Joe Raposo's snappier, funner, and more memorable songs.

\
I loved the "Hey Cow" thing because it was so narmy and unintentionally funny, but it's probably very boring to kids.

I think that's what they meant by "may not suit the needs for today's preschool child", as kids nowadays don't have the attention span to watch a thousand year long video about how cows are milked all across America. Maybe Sam would enjoy it, though.

 

[fuzzygobo]

Nitpicking aside, Season One had quite a lot going for it- blemishes and all. Nothing a little tight editing couldn't fix. By far the biggest improvement made for Season Two (and Caroll Spinney would be the first to agree) was giving Big Bird a much-needed makeover and transforming him from a bumbling dunce into an innocent child.

A lot of the first season's Bert and Ernie skits have held up well. Bert even had a rough edge to his personality which mirrored Frank to a T. Over the years Bert mellowed, even if Frank hasn't.
"Hey Cow" did benefit from being trimmed a little. I watched it in its full length for the first time in ages- then needed a shave. By the second season Sesame really hit its stride and was running on all cylinders, but even with a few faults and missteps, the first season made some great strides, and nothing to really condemn it.

 

[Sesame Skates]

 

[Oscarfan]

Um, why?