A Breakdown of the Series' Timeline

[D'Snowth]

I've noticed that whenever a series has run for quite a long time, and has gone through different eras and phases, fans generally like to break down said eras to distinguish them from one another, they're usually refered to by precious metals, such as the first era is refered to as "The Gold", the second "The Silver", the third "The Bronze", the fourth "The Copper", and whatever comes after that.

SST, being on the air for 44 years has obviously gone through a number of different phases and eras during its run, but I'm curious, because everybody here seems to have a difference of opinion on how to break it all down (especially when it comes to just when, exactly, the Old School era ended), how would you classify and identify each of the different eras?

My breakdown is as follows:

The Gold: 1969-1989. Some say 1989 was the end of the Old School, though I disagree... but, it's clear that 69-89 is most definitely Old School, no matter how you look at it. This era, although it changed and evolved over the years, such as shifting from vignetted street scenes to actual storylines, as well as the death of Mr. Hooper, this era has a lot of the same kind of charm during this twenty year period, which is all definitely in part of the creative genius of Jon Stone, Jim Henson, Joe Raposo, and others.

The Silver: 1989-1992. I personally consider this the tail-end of the Old School era, it still mostly has the same feel as the previous season, though in a sense, there are changes in the air you can sense. We lost Jim and Joe, though Jon was still at the helm, so it still had its grit and urban vibe. Mr. Handford is now in charge of Hooper's, and newer characters such as Gina and Savion were growing more prominent in their presence on the street. This particular phase also holds special places in my heart and mind since it was what I was first exposed to.

The Broze: 1993-1998. Around the Corner. No secret this is an era all its own. The street was brightened up, the street itself was expanded, several new characters (both live and Muppet) were brought in, we ended up losing the heartbeat of the show when Jon Stone was fired, all of the sudden competition from other shows (mainly Barney), it was certainly a strange and confusing time for a lot of people. Depending on when you were born and grew up, ATC is seems to be a Love It Or Hate It kind of thing... personally, I hated it.

The Copper: 1998-2001. In my opinion, this is when the show was "born again"; ATC was ultimately dismantled and done away with, and the show itself seemed a lot more reminsicent of its earlier incarnation. Elmo's World came along, which seemed like a great idea at the time, and Elmo's popularity continued to grow, though he wasn't quite the overkill then as he later became, there was still a lot more exposure of long-standing characters like Big Bird, Ernie and Bert, and others. I loved Season 30, but I recall starting to lose interest, and dare I say "outgrow" SST during Season 31, so I don't have a lot of memory of it... but that changed by Season 32 when after seeing the A&E special and seeing all the behind the scenes footage that inspired me to be a puppeteer, I fully returned to SST in full force.

Whatever Comes After Copper #1: 2002-2008. Most people don't like this era too much, though I personally don't mind it at all... in fact, Seasons 34, 36, and 38 are among some of my favorites. I can see, though, why most don't like it, because this is when it all changed even more drastically than ATC: the entire format of the show was changed from it's original magazine format to a new block format which tested well with target preschool audiences, but alienated more grown-up fans (though I didn't mind the block format too much). At the same time, however, it seemed as if, like Drtooth once pointed out, that during this time, the writers and producers weren't exactly sure if they knew what they wanted to do, and there was a lot of back-and-forth disturbances, mostly with the set (the doors and windows of 123 turning red then back to green, the carriage house receiving an overhaul only to return to its former appearance, the Mail-It-Shop replacing the Fix-It-Shop only for the Fix-It-Shop to return a few years later) - that's where it's comparable to ATC, because it too was of some confusion for some people.

Whatever Comes After Copper #2: 2008-present. I honestly can't give too much of an opinion about the current era of the show since I don't get to see too much of it, but it seems to me (from what I HAVE seen, and from what I've read and heard about) that it's continuing to struggle... I've said before, it seems like they're relying way too heavily on celebrity guests and using that as a gimmick to keep viewership up, not to mention the concerns from some that the educational goals are becoming too advanced and complicated given how young the target audience has become (engineering). Oh yeah, and the street itself has gone through some more gentrification - replacing the Fix-It-Shop once again with a laundromat, turning Hooper's Store into a convenience store, replacing Gina's vet clinic with an auto garage, and such.

 

[MikaelaMuppet]

Best Sesame Years:

1969-2004

It went downhill because they got rid of Journey To Ernie.

 

[Drtooth]

It went downhill because they got rid of Journey To Ernie.

Any response I could dignify that with would be insulting. Yet, I am obliged to say that is pretty much a weak and biased assessment of the show. You realize JTE was hugely unpopular with the fans...nay... even the writers, even when they managed to make it good. Your argument rests on "they did something I don't like, therefore the show went downhill." I've been hearing stronger cases for that argument, and even then I found those to be ridiculous beyond all explanation and nothing but matter of taste.

Is there a long list of grievances I have? Yes.

• The ever dwindling budget
• The need to promote and push the celebrity and parody segments
• The insistence on obsessive focus on initiatives
• and the incessant rerun footage in "new" episodes

Even then, the show's been on almost 45 years. You try to get a show together and have the quality consistent for 5. People leave, writers leave, and the ones that don't get experimental. It happens. That said, a segment that many of us didn't like leaving the show was pretty much a boon.

 

[minor muppetz]

I think I'll do this later, but I feel there should be some kind of special term for the first season or two, like "Pilot Season" (or "Pilot Gold Era"), where the show is a bit different but still part of the "Gold Era". Though if I want to divide the "gold era" due to differences early on compared to how it would later be known in the gold era, I very well could call the whole first five seasons (before Roscoe Orman joined as Gordon) as that. Or the first four season, when the picture quality looked sort-of darker or more like film than video (it seems like they changed the type of video used for season 5).

It can be hard to really determine when certain eras end, when the "Old School" era really ends (I feel like I agree with D.Snowth on 1969-1989, but then I also kind of feel like it should be 1969-1990, to cover all of the Jim Henson years... But then should it end just because Jim Henson died, as opposed to, say, when Mr. Hooper died or Snuffy "became real"?). In fact at one point in Street Gang, it's said that the history is like a book, with three acts, but that it's hard to determine when the acts change.

The first season feels more like a pilot/experimental era, and then the next few seasons sees the show changing quite a bit each year. But then there don't seem to be many notable changes seasons 6-10. I kind of feel this era should extend to season 15 (which ends the seasons that have been included in Old School volumes, and season 16 starts off when I was born), but then more notable changes begin season 11 or 12. It is at this point that the show starts to get more performers and characters, to make up for most of the earlier performers spending more time on The Muppet Show in England. That started a little before season 10. Peter Friedman performed for a season or two, Caroly Wilcox was actually credited as a performer for one year (I'm guessing her performing was increased compared to other seasons she performed in), and both Brian Meehl and Michael Earl Davis joined in season 10, not to mention Jim had intended on having Steve Whitmire perform on Sesame Street, and I think Kathy Mullen performed in season 10 (I'm pretty sure that's her as the female monster asking Grover to dance at the beginning of season 10's "ABC Disco"). But even with these new additions to the shows Muppet performers, there aren't many new characters from seasons 6-10. We get Fred the Wonder Horse, Don Music, Telly Monster, the Two-Headed Monster, Barkly, and maybe Bruno, Shivers the Penguin, Mr. Chatterly, and Leslie Mostly, while Gladys the Cow gets developed as a character as Richard Hunt begins to perform more notable roles.

I'll think more about it and try to write more tonight or tomorrow, though I won't be surprised if I basically repeat a lot of what I wrote in this post.

 

[minor muppetz]

Okay, let's see if I can do this...

The Gold I'll break this down into a few parts....
Part 1: Season 1. This season is like an experimental pilot season and very different from other seasons. There's very few cast members and very few Muppets, and very few Muppet performers (only three credited, though after this season the number of performers would only grow a little for most of the decade). Compared to later seasons, this one features a lot more multi-part segments and more segments that connect to the next one in some way (whether it's a character introducing the next film or cartoon at the end or if a sketch begins with a character commenting on the last sketch, or even a sketch beginning with characters watching the very end of the last scene). Additionally, segments are sponsored by up to three letters and up to two numbers, the only season to have two numbers for sponsors. And for most of the season the same letters and numbers would sponsor throughout the week (the last few weeks would have more variety, with different number sponsors each day). Also, many characters would get rebuilt next season, with Big Bird, Oscar, and Grover having the most notable changes, while Ernie's shirt would change colors (aside from that I think Ernie and Bert had only a few minor changes to their hair and faces in season two) and Kermit looks a bit cruder this season compared to later. And most Muppet segments that don't use a regular set only use a white-ish background (a black background is sometimes used, but usually only if a performer needs to turn invisible to the camera).
Part 2: Seasons 2-4/2-5: Muppet performers Jerry Nelson, Fran Brill, and Richard Hunt join the show, and many more Muppet characters are introduced, including Sherlock Hemlok, Herbert Birdsfoot, Simon Soundman, Biff, Sully, The Count, The Amazing Mumford, Herry Monster, Mr. Snuffleupagus, Mr. Johnson, Sam the Robot, and others, while some characters from the first season (Cookie Monster, Grover, Guy Smiley, and Roosevelt Franklin) become more major. Some elements that continue from the first season throughout this era includes number sponsors from 2-10 sponsoring in numberical order (while counting to 20 becomes a new curriculum goal, though it had been taught a few times in the first season. While 20 gets taught a lot, it doesn't sponsor the show for years, though the numbers 11 and 12 do start sponsoring this season) and the use of human comedy duos. Additionally, it seems like most celebrity guest appearances from seasons 2-5 feature them without the Muppets or human cast, but guest stars tend to make several appearances at a time. Gordon changes actors from Matt Robinson to Hal Miller, and more humans join, some who stick around for years (Luis, Maria, David, Linda) and some who only last a season or two (Tom, Molly, Rafael). In season 5 it appears that they change the type of video used to record the show (judging by picture quality). While Caroll Spinney had performed a number of one-time Anything Muppets for the first two seasons, he eventually becomes limited to just Big Bird and Oscar (with a few exceptions later on). And segments with plain-colored backgrounds start to use more colors, incluidng blue, green, and yellowish-orange.
Part 3: Seasons 6-10: The role of Gordon changes again, to Roscoe Orman, who continues to play Gordon and is the one that most fans grew up with. We also get a few new humans, including Olivia and Buffy, but we don't really get many new Muppets (see my previous post here). While the previous five seasons seem more experimental and had many differences and new characters, it seems the show hit its comfort level by now, with not many differences I can think of, though it seems this era had a lot more "'70s-style" segments (while the first five years seemed to have more "timeless-quality" segments). As I said previously, Richard Hunt starts to become a more prominent performer, developing the cow that eventually becomes Gladys and getting such characters as Don Music and half of the Two-Headed Monster. It starts to become more common for celebrity guests to appear with Muppets, though there's still many guests who don't. When The Muppet Show begins, Jim, Frank, Jerry, and Richard all spend more time in England, and the need for more characters and performers arises, with Michael Earl and Brian Meehl joining in season 10, though as I previously said it seems like there still aren't many new characters introduced these years, and most recurring characters seem to appear sparingly (I think Barkly is the most prominent new character of this era). Though the classic performers still perform in a good number of new material these years.
Part 4: Seasons 11-15. Michael Earl and Brian Meehl start to get many characters (though Michael Earl would soon depart from the show), while additional performers join as well, including Karen Prell (for one season), Kathy Mullen (who I don't think had any recurring characters... It's a shame she didn't discuss her time on Sesame Street in her recent Tough Pigs interview), and most notably Martin Robinson (actually for this era I think Martin Robinson and Brian Meehl are the most notable new performers). I think Pam Arciero began near the end of this era, and Kevin Clash would lend a hand whenever he could. With all these new performers comes many new characters, some who continue to entertain children (Telly, Elmo, The Honkers), some who would continue for years but aren't around as often anymore (Forgetful Jones, Dr. Nobel Price), and some who would be very short-lived (Deena and Pearl, Leslie Mostly, Aristotle). It seems like Jerry Nelson performs a lot less during this time (most likely due to his involvement on Fraggle Rock) though his characters do appear frequently, and Richard Hunt heavily performs on the street again after The Muppet Show ends. Sometime this era (I think season 12 or 13) the number sponsors no longer sponsor in numerical order each day. Sadly, during production of season 14, Will Lee dies, and the decision is made for Mr. Hooper to die with him.

The Silver: 1984-1993
I was born in 1984, so it seems to be when I started watching (I don't know if my parents had me watch the show right away or not, my own personal memory of watching the show seems to begin at season 19). Brian Meehl leaves the show but most of his characters are recast, Kevin Clash joins the show full-time and takes over as Elmo, making him a hit with children (though it would still be awhile before he's a star on the same level as long-time favorites Big Bird, Ernie, Bert, Grover, and Cookie Monster). Other performers who join during this era include David Rudman, Camille Bonora, Joey Mazzarino, and Carmen Oshbahr, though it takes awhile for most of them to become main performers (I think Camille gets a lot of Anything Muppets and minor characters right away, but hardly any become stars... I think Clementine is her best-known character). With these new additions we get more new characters, including such lasting characters as Placido Flamingo, Sonny Friendly, Alice Snuffleupagus, Hoots the Owl, Natasha, Baby Bear, and Rosita, as well as such short-lived and forgotten characters as Leo the Party Monster, Ruby Monster, Dexter, and Merry Monster. Additionally, we get the introduction of many new human characters, including Gina, Mr. Handford, Savion, and others. The show also starts to have more series-affecting changes (with the exception of Mr. Hooper's death, the previous era didn't have many of these kinds of changes, aside from introducing new characters, characters being dropped, and characters being rebuilt or recast). Such changes include Mr. Snuffleupagus "becoming real", Susan and Gordon adopting Miles, Maria and Luis falling in love, getting married, and having a daughter, Gabby, and eventually David leaves and is replaced by Mr. Handford. Sadly, a number of key people who had been with the show since the early years die, including Jim Henson, Joe Raposo, Northern Calloway, and Richard Hunt. The show begins to teach the concept of zero and counting to 40, while the numbers 13-20 become sponsors (not sure exactly if this change occurred before or after season 16). Although Prairie Dawn had been around since the second season, she starts to become a more major character in the early 1990s (before then it seems she was pretty much a generic girl Muppet, with her putting on pageants being her main character trait).

The Bronze: 1993-1998
The show's opening and closing changes significantly (actually I think they changed a year earlier), for one thing. But most importantly, the show expands around the corner, introducing many new characters and locations. Among the new Muppets include Zoe, Benny, Humphrey, Ingrid, and Wolfgang the Seal, while new human characters include Ruthie and Celina. I think Slimey becomes a lot more prominent in the 1990s, Betty Lou becomes a more major character for a few years, and Baby Bear becomes a lot more prominent, while his parents are soon introduced and Goldilocks eventually leaves. There's also a good number of short-lived Muppets including Roxy Marie and Kingston Livingston III. The show also gets dumbed down and tries to compete with Barney. Jeff Moss and Jon Stone die by the end of this era. Elmo's stardom starts to increase by the end of this era, though even before then Elmo was headlining many of his own specials and video projects (in fact I recently saw the Elmo in Grouchland press kit which mentions that a movie starring Elmo had been in development long before the success of Tickle Me Elmo which made Elmo surpass Big Bird in popularity). During this time each episode ends with a "Coming soon on Sesame Street!" bumper. Steve Whitmire finally performs on Sesame Street, taking over as Ernie and occasionally performing Kermit on the show. Wow, I thought I was going to mention a lot more of the shows changes this period but right now I'm at a blank.

The Copper: 1998-2001 (wow, only a couple seasons?):
"Around the Corner" is dropped (though segments that took place around the corner are still shown, and apparently Ruthie was still a cast member for another year, though I watched the show almost every day in season 30 and only recall seeing her once). While "Around the Corner" was a big contrast to the classic street set, with more bright colors in contrast to a gritty street, with that area gone the street gradually starts to change to a more colorful street as well, continuing into the next era (in season 30, Hooper's Store changes, and thanks to a hurricane, season 32 ends with Big Bird's doors changing to brighter colors). Mr. Handford mysteriously disappears from the show (anybody know the reason for his departure?) and is replaced with Alan. Many classic characters (Biff, Sully, Sherlock Hemlock, Guy Smiley, even Kermit the Frog) seem to start appearing a lot less, even in old inserts. The show now has less than 130 episodes a season (I think that might have started a few years earlier, can't remember off-hand). Elmo is now pretty much the star and gets his own 15-minute segment at the end of each episode, Elmo's World. Season 32 introduces another long recurring segment, Monster Clubhouse (which thankfully gets shorter next season and then gets dropped), which paves the way to...

What Comes After The Copper: Part 1 2002-2008
The show has a new format, where the street story is presented as one full, uninterrupted segment and many other recurring segments appear on a daily or semi-daily basis, some longer than others. Some of the better-remembered segments include Journey to Ernie and Global Grover. The letter and number of the day also get represented in segments called The Letter of the Day (hosted by Cookie Monster) and The Number of the Day (hosted by The Count). Classic segments from before 1990 are shown significantly less, but we still get plenty of classic Ernie segments from the Jim Henson era (mainly from the 1980s), as well as some classic animation from the early years (including King of 8 and Pinball Number Count). Even before his semi-retirement many of Jerry Nelson's characters who had been used a lot in the last few seasons start appearing less, including Herry Monster (though he still makes background appearances from time to time), The Amazing Mumford (who tends to pop up once a season), and Mr. Johnson, who is absent for a few years before returning for once-a-year appearances in season 36. Although he wasn't exactly a major character, Fred the Wonder Horse even pops up again every few years. We get a few new characters, including Baby Bears new baby sister Curly Bear, Abby Cadabby, and Murray Monster. At the end of this era, Murray starts introducing the show with "The Word on the Street", and a celebrity appears to talk about that word (these segments improve after a few seasons). A couple of episodes have the original format of multiple street scenes for the street story, and no Elmo's World, but apparently those don't test well. While the first three decades feature almost as many celebrity segments with Muppets as they do without, around this time it becomes a lot more rare for a celebrity to appear without a Muppet character.

What Comes After The Copper: Part 2 2008-present (AKA "The HD Era")
The show switches to HD, and by now all of the street has changed since the removal of Around the Corner. New characters Chris, Leela, and Armando (that's his name, right?) join the show. As Dr.Tooth said earlier, the celebrity appearances and spoofs get promoted a little too much. Although the show still shows pre-HD era clips, classic-era clips are now dropped entirely, even going as far as dropping segments that Jim Henson performed in (with the exception of one post-1990 segment that used an existing vocal track). However, we do get new versions of a number of classic animated segments. I think this might have started before season 39, but the Letter and Number of the Day segments no longer feature Cookie Monster and The Count,, respectively, and it seems like (at least for the first part of each season) many long-time major characters including Ernie, Bert, Cookie, The Count, and even Big Bird don't appear as often as they used to. Various classic characters start appearing in animated form for such recurring segments as Bert & Ernie's Great Adventures (which during this era is the most we've seen of Ernie and Bert in new material), Abby's Flying Fairy School, and the Letter Song Series with Cookie Monster and Elmo. Additional short-form series shown on the show include Super Grover 2.0, Cookie's Crumby Pictures, and Murray Has a Little Lamb. Speaking of Murray, he starts to host the show in season 40, appearing in bumpers throughout the show, introducing various segments. But the most notable new short form series is Elmo the Musical, which replaces Elmo's World, which is FINALLY retired from the show.

Actually, I think the HD era could be divided into two parts by now, but I'm not sure. But during the last few years, both Cookie Monster and Grover star in a LOT of really great segments, on par with their classic routines (not that the majority of their insert appearances in seasons 33-39 weren't great). In fact the last few years have also brought in a lot of new Muppet segments that are as good as the '70s segments. After years of only performing his recurring characters, in season 40 Frank Oz begins performing Anything Muppets again in parody segments, usually once a season (he wasn't in season 41, and I'm not sure if he's in any season 44 segments). This era also brings in many numbers that take place in front of a white background, often with a celebrity and many main Muppet characters. Sadly, the last year has had a bit of sad changes, including the passing of Jerry Nelson and resignation of Kevin Clash. If the whole HD era so far shouldn't be divided yet, it might eventually end at season 44, but only time will tell.

Wow, I think this actually took me an hour to complete. And many of my really long and thought-out posts don't normally take me this long to complete.

You know, I now think that Sesame Workshop should celebrate the 45th anniversary with several separately-sold DVDs representing each of these eras. Don't know if Sesame Workshop would see a market for this, or if they would market these releases as "The Gold", "The Silver", "The Bronze", "The Copper", and "The Post-Copper", but it would be cool.

 

[D'Snowth]

ONE person got the point of this thread.

 

[dwayne1115]

I am not familiar with all 44 seasons of the show, but I can say that I think some people are being a little to hard on seasons 40 to 44. Now don't get me wrong, there are some things I do not like about those seasons, but from what I have seen the whitening especially for the street stories is there. Plus it is no longer the Elmo, and Abby show that I was afraid it was going to turn out to be. Cookie Monster Grover, Baby Bear, and Telly have really started to shine again, and that makes me happy. Now if they could only get Big Bird back into more of the spotlight then I would be even more thrilled.

 

[minor muppetz]

Any response I could dignify that with would be insulting. Yet, I am obliged to say that is pretty much a weak and biased assessment of the show. You realize JTE was hugely unpopular with the fans...nay... even the writers, even when they managed to make it good.

I had no idea it was unpopular with the fans or writers. I think the 40th anniversary book says that the segment was popular/tested well but was dropped because it was too similar to other children's shows at the time (though if that's the reason then the whole show should have gone back to the original format!).

 

[mr3urious]

The early seasons were also peppered with lecture-based segments similar to other kids' shows that were on at the time such as Romper Room. Some skits were also longer (need I mention "Hey Cow" or "Fireman Ready to Go"?), and some even repeated themselves. I, for one, am glad they did away with these.

 

[D'Snowth]

On the subject of JTE, I didn't mind it too awful much... I liked it better when it was retooled starting in Season 34, it seemed to work better sending Big Bird into worlds where he actually had to look for Ernie himself for the entire segment, as opposed to Season 33 where he went into three different worlds that seemed to be put on shuffle, where he finds a box, Ernie's not in it, finds another box, Ernie's not in it, finds the third box, there's Ernie. The retooled JTE was also a lot more interactive and engaging as well.