Your Thoughts: Sesame Street Season 44

[sesamemuppetfan]

Here are my thoughts on today's and last week's episodes.

Episode 4415: My PBS station didn't air it last week. (They were having a pledge drive and they showed Episode 4257 instead.) So, I watched both the street story and Word of the Day segment on Sesame Street's website. I loved the street story. I can definitely relate to Elmo's bad habit of accidentally catching the ball with his hands; I used to have that trouble too. For some reason, I love those types of moments when one of the Muppet characters is in a pickle, and they go sit on the stoop of 123 Sesame Street, and one of the adults comes along and helps them out, so I obviously loved the part where Maria comes along, and gives Rosita a pep talk. But all in all it was a nice street scene. I'm sure a lot of kids have gone through the same situation that Rosita went through. The Word of the Day bit was pretty crazy (poor Benjamin- having to go from English to French to Roaring). Since it also hit the internet last week, the big highlight was of course "Lord of the Crumbs"!

Episode 4416: Normally I would say that the street story isn't worth commenting on since a repeat, but I will say that it really is a pity that Gabi left, and probably won't be making anymore new appearances. Like SpinneyBigBird1 pointed out in the first thread about this season, Gabi knew how to play with the characters very well, and was all around enjoyable to watch. This street story was absolutely no exception. (I can still remember having a massive crush on her when I was in elementary school.) Otherwise, the biggest highlight was none other than the segment with Cookie Monster and Abby. Well, OK, I did see that it was uploaded to YouTube yesterday, but I decided to wait for it to air today to watch it (you know what the song says!). It was quite entertaining, and it looks like a skit that could have been done not only during the classic era of the show, but anytime during the modern version of the show- and with ANY other Muppet character, not just Abby! Plus, it was cool to see those 2 actually interacting with each other. (Episode 4199 doesn't really count since she was technically trying to stop him from eating the cookie in order to save her freckle). So, this skit was a real winner!

There's something that's been on my mind for a while, and I was wondering if anyone else here felt the same way. On both last week's episode and the Jerry tribute, Elmo played a major role in the street story and Word of the Day segment (and Elmo: the Musical). It felt kind of weird to be hearing Kevin's Elmo in the street story, and then hearing Ryan's Elmo in the Word of the Day segment, and later hearing Kevin's Elmo in Elmo: the Musical. I know Kevin pre-recorded a lot of his lines for Season 44, and that many of the Word of the Day segments were filmed long after Kevin left, but it just continues to hit me. You guys can all have your own say in this, but this is all just my personal opinion.

 

[Daffyfan4ever]

Yeah. That was good, because those two don't interact that much. I like that she has more of a tolerance for Cookie than Prairie Dawn did. Prairie would just often give up, while Abby was determined to play with Cookie no matter what. Just one thing I've noticed. Though Cookie/Prairie interactions are always good as well. I hope we get more of those as well.

Episode 4416: Normally I would say that the street story isn't worth commenting on since a repeat, but I will say that it really is a pity that Gabi left, and probably won't be making anymore new appearances. Like SpinneyBigBird1 pointed out in the first thread about this season, Gabi knew how to play with the characters very well, and was all around enjoyable to watch.

Yeah. I know what you mean. Lately it seems like Leela has taken Gabi's place. While Leela seems nice enough, she just doesn't have as much of a 'sweet' personality like Gabi had. That's sort of one of the things the show has been missing.

 

[SpinneyBigBird1]

Okay, I did this last season. I am just going to comment on all the street stories at once, seeing as I haven't had the chance to post much as the season goes on. Again, the only street stories I will be commenting on are the ones online since school and such has prevented me from seeing any others. Okay, here goes.

*Disclaimer: Most of these reviews will include a way Big Bird could have been shoehorned into the episode, seeing as he didn't have any new major street stories this season and that irks the heck outta me.*

"Telly Gets Jealous" - Good episode, discussing a good topic. I think it was a good idea to frame the episode around Ralphie and Chuckie Sue because it's such an inevitable comparison between the pets. Marty Robinson was great here as Telly. Good start to the season. Not too sure if I would qualify it as a good "season premiere," but a good episode nonetheless.

"Don't Get Pushy" - Not gonna lie, I audibly laughed at Baby Bear on the ground saying "Really, Rosita. Again, huh?" Just the delivery had me cracking up. This episode started out really strong for me, but by the third time she pushed him it felt one too many. The third one wasn't necessary, I don't think. There was one good one for excitement and one for frustration. The second for excitement wasn't needed. Also, Gordon mentioned his sister Olivia, although not by name but still, I appreciated that. I also really love when Gordon sings. Good episode. These episodes so far have been good at addressing direct kids problems. Like Marty in the last episode, Carmen Osbahr was very good.

"Flower Show" - Hey look, it's Susan! She doesn't have any lines though, which is unfortunate. She could have been given a line in the song or something. I mean, come on. Since this is a community event, it would have been nice for other characters (*ahem* Big Bird *ahem*) to have been there too, even if in the background. All in all though, this was a good one. I like Leela more and more with each episode. She blends well with the cast and Muppets and she's got a killer set of pipes. Stinky shows up for his annual episode, and it looks like his puppet was refurbished. It looks nice. I really liked the "Unique" song, if for no other reason than my quickly developing crush on Leela.

"Latino Festival" - Ah, the highly anticipated introduction to Mando. I feel like he has gotten an incredible amount of hype for joining the cast, more than say Leela or Chris got. He had his own talk show interviews, and even was introduced by name at the Macy's Parade this year. Anyway, him constantly getting baffled by his booth collapsing was very funny. And Maria and Luis get some much deserved airtime, too. I'm starting to think there are too many humans to keep track of, but I can't imagine getting rid of any of them so I will be happy with the appearances we get. Nice story line showcasing different cultures.

"Simon Says" was not online, so I won't review it here because I have not seen it.

--Random thought five episodes in: No sign of Abby, Zoe, BB, Grover, Oscar or even Cookie either in any of these street scenes at all. Really only Elmo, Rosita, Telly, and Baby Bear so far. Wow.--

"Still Life with Cookie" - Okay here we go. Cookie's here. All's right again. Alan constantly thinking the praise is for him is funny. Oh, Gina's there, too. Again...so many adults here. But I love them all so very much. This episode is good. I liked it. What was the educational goal here? Different types of art? That was sort of like the "Finish the Splat" or "Porridge Art" episodes from a season or two ago. It was nicely done, but kind of repetitive of those. Oh, and Big Bird has a cameo. Nice to see him, no matter how small the appearance. So now it is just Abby, Zoe, Grover, and Oscar that are MIA.

"Mi Amiguita Rosita" - Rosita's the MVP of this season. Calling it right now. This is a nice episode promoting-- HEY THERE'S ZOE! AND ABBY, TOO! The street is coming alive again. Nice episode. I am warming up to Mando. I'm not quite there yet with him, but I'm sure I will be eventually.

"Leela's Cell Phone Addiction" - Hey, Zoe and Abby get their own episode! AND OSCAR'S THERE TOO! PRAISE THE SUN. Okay anyway, this was a really good episode. I love the episodes that focus on current needs of today's kids. It is what makes Sesame Street so great. It stays current. Ramone Bone was unnecessary I think, though. But it brought back Gina and her scone. I can appreciate that.

"Count Tribute" - No matter how fantastic this episode is, it doesn't make sense why Big Bird's not there. Susan, too. It's a street-wide event. They don't have to have lines or anything. Just their presence would be nice. I mean come on. Oscar's there, but not Big Bird? I just don't get it. Anywho, this episode is really great otherwise. I don't think I need to explain why.

"Gotcha!" - Is this the first celebrity-based street story of the season? Cool. I'm glad it was a good episode. Curly Bear is always a welcome surprise. I love Oscar's appearance in this episode. I love his excitement. Caroll did a great job here. Tom Bergeron did a nice job here, too. A worthy Johnny Gotcha.

--I think it's just Grover who has been MIA. Well, I mean not counting Ernie, Bert, and Snuffy, but they're not really "regulars" anymore...--

"The Wild Brunch" - Oh, speaking of, here's Snuffy! Maybe I should be considering him a regular now seeing as this season and last season he got to be the central focus of an episode without Big Bird there. I really, really liked this one. Mainly because Snuffy is great. Also because Audra McDonald is great. However, why do I feel like this was originally an Elmo episode and it was rewritten for Snuffy after the Kevin Clash controversy when this season was being taped? It's just abnormal to see Snuffy as a main character and this would have been a perfect Elmo episode. It might just be me.

"Rosita's Abuela" - I think I am unofficially going to name Elmo, Rosita, Baby Bear, and Telly the stars of the show now. They have gotten some serious air time this season. That's not necessarily a bad thing. Anyway, when I first saw this, I thought it was Ismael Cruz Cordova as Abuela, but Muppet Wiki says it was Sonia Manzano. I don't know why Emilio Delgado couldn't have reprised the role from the last time he did it. Maybe it was because Sonia was written to appear in this episode anyway as Maria? I don't know. Anyway, this episode was fine. I like the Spanish-themed episodes this season. I wonder who puppeteered Abuela, because the facial expressions were on point.

"Grandparents Celebration" - Big Bird would have easily fit here. His grandmother has already been established as a character, and since we know there are already two functioning Bird puppets (Caroll's and Matt's) they could have easily pulled it off. That upsets me because it could have been so easy. I liked the bit with Baby Bear's grandfather, but Granny Bird could have been in place of Rosita's Abuela since there was just an episode all about her. Oh, right. I should talk about the episode. On second thought, I'm too upset that Big Bird wasn't there to comment on the episode.

Those are all the episodes that are online so far. I'm excited to see the rest.

 

[Oscarfan]

"Simon Says" was not online, so I won't review it here because I have not seen it.

"Grandparents Celebration" - Big Bird would have easily fit here. His grandmother has already been established as a character, and since we know there are already two functioning Bird puppets (Caroll's and Matt's) they could have easily pulled it off. That upsets me because it could have been so easy. I liked the bit with Baby Bear's grandfather, but Granny Bird could have been in place of Rosita's Abuela since there was just an episode all about her. Oh, right. I should talk about the episode. On second thought, I'm too upset that Big Bird wasn't there to comment on the episode.

"Simon Says": http://www.sesamestreet.org/videos#media/video_5df4ebc4-629a-4131-a0e3-d49e5b023131

And yeah, I thought it was odd they left out Big Bird and Granny Bird from the episode. But, there were Honkers, who I love and they don't use much these days, even in the background. And the Grandparents ep. was taped around the same time as "Five By" and other season 43 spoofs, so the scene with Rosita's abuela seems like a mistake they didn't realize.

 

[antsamthompson9]

"The Wild Brunch" - Why do I feel like this was originally an Elmo episode and it was rewritten for Snuffy after the Kevin Clash controversy when this season was being taped? It's just abnormal to see Snuffy as a main character and this would have been a perfect Elmo episode. It might just be me.

That episode was filmed before the controversy happened.

 

[Drtooth]

Like... new episode, yeah?

I love the lack of continuity. Rosita's Abuela can't speak English in her introduction... then she speaks full English sentences... 2 episodes later.

But this episode was worth watching for Baby Bear's technophobe Grandpa. And Baby Bear talking about gaming platforms. Please tell me he has a Wii or a PlayStation... I don't see Baby Bear playing Gears of War.

Eh...

Really liked the Cookie Monster segment. Those are always great. Really kinda wish they made some shot at Life of Pi's special effects, but that was a pretty good one. It's the only time I've seen so far where Cookie wasn't the direct star of the segment.

 

[sesamemuppetfan]

OK, today's episode...

It was very nice. Big kudos to whoever wrote this episode for bringing 2 of the Honkers back!! As for the rest of the street scene, I enjoyed the song that was sung at the beginning, Baby Bear having to help his grandpa with all of those electronic devices (anyone out there find themselves doing something like that?), Grandpa Bear's flashback (it's about time SS does something like that, unless they've already done so- showing how people communicated back then!) Alan and Chris trying to be grandparents, and the ending with Elmo getting to video chat with his grandparents. The Word of The Day segment was very cute and well-written, but I can't help feeling kind of disappointed in the fact that Elmo greeted us first then Sarah greeted us. Isn't usually the celebrity that greets us before the character assisting them? But, oh well, I guess it doesn't matter that much. On the plus side it was nice to hear Kevin's Elmo twice in a row (and then later on near the end of the episode). (Don't get me wrong; I don't necessarily hate Ryan's Elmo, but it's always nice to hear anything that Kevin was able to prerecord for this season.) I LOVED "The Life of Whoopie Pie"! It was nice to see Cookie Monster playing himself as opposed to a character named after the main character in whatever movie he's spoofing. Since I can't pass them off, it was nice to see the segment with Telly and Oscar demonstrating the Letter B, Elmo and Abby singing "Two is You and Me", and Grover singing "Special".

Getting back to the street story, I agree with all these comments about Rosita and her abuela being included For one thing, yes, it would have been better to see Big Bird and Granny Bird instead. Obviously it was weird how Elmo and Abuela met each other 2 episodes ago and Abuela couldn't speak any English then, yet in this episode she manages to speak perfect English. Speaking of the lack of continuity, remember back in Season 36 (Episode 4096 to be exact) when Rosita was homesick for Mexico, and at one point Luis comes in with his guitar and they all (including Rosita!) sing "Cielito Lindo"? Well, in this episode Rosita blurts out the fact that she's LEARNING the song!

But, all in all this was a nice episode.

 

[JonnyBMuppetMan]

I love the lack of continuity. Rosita's Abuela can't speak English in her introduction... then she speaks full English sentences... 2 episodes later.

And yet the former episode was filmed months after the one that aired today.

Anyway, since no one's done this yet, I'll put up a couple of the segments here for viewing pleasure. First, the Word of the Day segment; unfortunately (or disappointingly), it may be the last new WOTD to feature Kevin's Elmo. It's a happy segment, though.

And here's the Crumby Pictures segment. I was surprised to be hearing Peter Linz as Whoopie Pie, seems like he doesn't get a lot of lead parts in SS sketches.

 

[Daffyfan4ever]

I love the lack of continuity. Rosita's Abuela can't speak English in her introduction... then she speaks full English sentences...

2 episodes later.

I guess she's a fast learner. Lol. Anyway, I've noticed that too. Plus there's the fact that she Rosita introduced Elmo to her grandmother in the past episode as well. The only assumption I can make on this is that one of the abuelas was on her mother's side of the family and one was on her father's side. But still it is confusing. I wish they would try to keep continuity more. Forgetting something that happened seasons ago is one thing, but something that happened a few episodes ago? That's just wrong. Do they really think kids wouldn't notice?

*Disclaimer: Most of these reviews will include a way Big Bird could have been shoehorned into the episode, seeing as he didn't have any new major street stories this season and that irks the heck outta me.*

Exactly. In today's episode, they could have easily showed Big Bird with Granny Bird. I know at Carrol's age he probably wouldn't want to play both characters at once like he could in the past, but that's what Matt Vogel's for. That was a missed opportunity there.

Sorry, Spinney. I guess I sort of repeated what you said there. I guess I should start reading through all the posts before I post anything. Lol.

On the plus side it was nice to hear Kevin's Elmo twice in a row (and then later on near the end of the episode).

Yeah. I was going to ask about that. I thought it sounded like Kevin since he sounded pretty much the same as he did in the street scene, but I wasn't sure since most of the WOTD segments used Ryan's Elmo. Plus I can tell Ryan has gotten pretty good in the short time he's been performing. Sometimes it's hard to tell the difference.

 

[Convincing John]

Yeah. I was going to ask about that. I thought it sounded like Kevin since he sounded pretty much the same as he did in the street scene, but I wasn't sure since most of the WOTD segments used Ryan's Elmo. Plus I can tell Ryan has gotten pretty good in the short time he's been performing. Sometimes it's hard to tell the difference.

It was Kevin in this one. Here's a blooper reel from "Sesame Family Robinson" (Marty Robinson's blog) about the episode.

http://www.sesamestreet.org/parents/blog/-/blogs/joey-and-grampy-bear