Sesame Street Season 45 Episode 4505 - Enthusiastic Penelope Penguin

[Drtooth]

Really? Hmm. I've felt that this season is the first in a long time in which SS has had that "ensemble" feel again. I know it's still early in the season, but outside of the usual Elmo & Abby and the always superior Grover and Cookie moments/segments, this season has been promising. The inclusion of the new Muppet dance spots, along with the awesome songs "Power of Yet" and "Everybody Raise Your Hand", have given more Muppets screen time opportunities than they would have had in past seasons. Also, we got a new Bert and Ernie street story (with several more to look forward too!), plus A LOT of Big Bird appearances (including an upcoming one on location with Murray) which is always great.

There was a lot of good there. The Power of Yet, seeing Big Bird in a couple episodes and having Ernie and Bert get a street story that's not recycled from (or intended for) a foreign skit. But overall, I'm not digging the Special Report bits (even though the Murray and kid segments are good, these seem ham fisted and repetitive), the dance numbers introducing the letter and number sponsors aren't that great, despite the presence of major characters, and of course, Abby's 9 minute block is still present, now at an even worse time that slows the pace of the show to a dead crawl. I still wonder what the heck became of the English version of the Monstruos Supersanos segments. THAT would have been a better filler for the middle of the episodes. Not to mention how cheap they are to only make 2 new Elmo the Musical segments.

Plus, we had one great street story, a couple good ones, and two really weak, bland ones. I'm sure things will heat up as the season goes on.

 

[SpinneyBigBird1]

Obviously, I'm partial to any episode that features Big Bird, And I'm pumped that this is technically the third street story THIS WEEK where he appeared! (He appeared in the background of Bert's story, and considering Big Bird's lack of airtime in recent seasons, I'm counting it.) And especially episodes with Caroll as Big Bird so I was just in heaven again today.

Penelope was a little much. I get that Leslie is just transferring her own energy into the character, but I'm thinking maybe Stephanie or someone could have played the character with a little more subtle character without losing the essence. But, who am I to say?

I also had great appreciation for the (likely ad libbed) Oscar line.

I agree with @SSLFan . This first week of the season has the most ensemble feel than many of the past seasons combined. We have gotten Elmo, Ernie and Bert, Segi and Big Bird stories so far, and it seems like the rest of this season is following suit. I hope all seasons from here on out are like this.

So, side note, are they trying to fit a song into every episode now? I know it didn't use to be that way, but it seems lately they are really forcing these songs in. Some of them are welcome ("Color of Me," I'm looking at you.) But this one and a few others in these past few seasons just seem incredibly unnecessary.

And also something I just thought of: it seems like they are really trying to get Bert and Ernie re-familiarized with the viewers. They have their street stories this season and also they are included in the letter and number intros while heavy-hitters like Telly, Baby Bear and Zoe aren't. That's a good sign.

 

[SpinneyBigBird1]

the dance numbers introducing the letter and number sponsors aren't that great, despite the presence of major characters

I don't know what else I would expect from them. I'm just happy it's not just Murray doing all of them anymore.

 

[Oscarfan]

Not to mention how cheap they are to only make 2 new Elmo the Musical segments.

I'm giving SW the benefit of the doubt when it comes to their budget. Unlike the past two seasons, this season has no repeats among the main 26 episodes. They also did a bunch of new Crumby Pictures and SG 2.0, I think two new ETM was all they could afford. This show has a crazy amount of different elements to it, each with varying costs.

 

[Drtooth]

I don't know what else I would expect from them. I'm just happy it's not just Murray doing all of them anymore.

The thing is yes and no with me. The yes is that we're getting more of the classic characters in a segment. The no is that it's the same song every episode. And even then, only the Count one varies. At least with the Murray ones, there was some variety. Sure, they reused the heck out of them, but once they made shorter bits like the Lottery and Chef Murray bits, they really found a rhythm.

I'm giving SW the benefit of the doubt when it comes to their budget. Unlike the past two seasons, this season has no repeats among the main 26 episodes. They also did a bunch of new Crumby Pictures and SG 2.0, I think two new ETM was all they could afford. This show has a crazy amount of different elements to it, each with varying costs.

No argument there. It's just a shame they couldn't squeeze at least one or two more ETM's in the budget. But if it means less repeated episodes in the new episode count, I'm all for it. Still, if the budget is such a problem, why do they make so many segments for international consumption that never get seen in the US? I think Monstrusos Supersanos would have been an ideal replacement for Abby. They're already done, they were taped in English, and there's 26 of them. So even if they want to horde episodes, they could have 13 a season and repeat them twice for 2 seasons.

Other than that, I'll agree this season has a better flow and some of the worst scene transition gimmicks are thankfully gone. Though you have to admit, other than Numericon and the Ernie and Bert bit, they picked some of the weaker premised episodes to lead off the season. That School for Chickens one is a half way through at best.

 

[beakerboy12]

the dance numbers introducing the letter and number sponsors aren't that great, despite the presence of major characters,

I don't know what else I would expect from them. I'm just happy it's not just Murray doing all of them anymore.

I, particularly, enjoy the dance numbers. To me, they make great transitions and are some really catchy songs. Murray's were a little mundane, so I think these are a good change of pace. I'll admit I prefer Elmo's song to Count's, but they both work well to introduce the usual number and letter of the day.

 

[Phillip]

As a parent of two boys, at least one of them gets up and dances every time the "Letter of the Day" and "Number of the Day" segments come on. So these new dance bits are working by encouraging kids to move and learn at the same time.

 

[Drtooth]

I, particularly, enjoy the dance numbers. To me, they make great transitions and are some really catchy songs. Murray's were a little mundane, so I think these are a good change of pace. I'll admit I prefer Elmo's song to Count's, but they both work well to introduce the usual number and letter of the day.

I'd agree if only it wasn't the same song every day. It would have been something if they had at least a few different versions of the song in rotation or the songs were just a bit shorter. I agree there's a nice change of pace without it being a Murray hosting gig. But I'm going to go with what Count said in another thread. The Cookie Monster Letter of the Day and Count Number of the day intros were much more fun.

That said, I appreciate the transition from Murray hosting the show to more classic characters. Too bad there's not really much time to have some more skits with just the characters in it.

Though, if there's one thing that's a complete improvement is the lack of Murray's Guessing Games. Those were filler and nothing more. I like the ones they did at the Museum of Modern Art, but they're completely unnecessary for the show.

I dunno. I think my main source of disappointment is the fact that they're sitting out the anniversary this go around. There are some subtle, small hidden gems in the show. Forgetful Jones was in the CGI background in the bike episode and Little Bird was the high school mascot logo in the Super Grover 2.0 segment. It's a letdown they aren't running with it this time, though.

 

[beakerboy12]

I dunno. I think my main source of disappointment is the fact that they're sitting out the anniversary this go around. There are some subtle, small hidden gems in the show. Forgetful Jones was in the CGI background in the bike episode and Little Bird was the high school mascot logo in the Super Grover 2.0 segment. It's a letdown they aren't running with it this time, though.

I'll agree, this season missed out on a big anniversary celebration. And with all the statistics (odd-numbered anniversaries get specials and whatnot). But, I think laying low this year is only fair, so that when the 50th rolls in, it'll trump every anniversary yet and be the biggest blowout imaginable (hopefully).

 

[Kasey Kockroach]

I figure they're saving anything 'special' for the big 50.