Sesame Street Season 45 Episode 4517 - Elmo the Grouch

[Phillip]

Season 45 Episode 4517 - Elmo the Grouch
Thursday January 15, 2015

Elmo is feeling a bit cranky and grumpy so he doesn’t want to ride the merry-go-round with Chris after work. Oscar thinks that Elmo is turning into a grouch so he put Elmo through two tests. Elmo passes and decides that he is a grouch, but Chris assures him that everyone feels cranky and that Elmo can change his feelings if he wants to.

Subject: Self-Regulation
Brought to you by: E & 13
Word on the Street: Grouchy – When you feel cranky or in a bad mood.

If you've seen "Elmo the Grouch" please like this post and share your thoughts below.

 

[The Count]

Yeah, the self-regulation angle was obvious from the beginning. So all you have to do is pass a game of Opposite Oscar Says and Grouch Eye View to confirm if you're really a grouch? And the grouch cheer is giving people the raspberry?
*In booming voice: There's only one person who would dare give me the raspberry... Elmostar!

Hey, doesn't that guy from the WOTD sound familiar? Oh yeah, he's the angry guy from that SpitBlob PoopyPants show.
Nice how different animal Muppets were the subject of Murray's emotions game. BTW: We need a Murray smilie added to the batch here at MC.
Les Mousserables was enjoyable, first time watching "Belly Breathe" and it's nice but I prefer "Up Goes The Castle" by instead, and I felt we coulda gotten an extra sketch after the third bit of Murray's game. *Shrugs.

 

[Drtooth]

Somehow, this felt like a storyline that could have worked just as well in the late 80's and early 90's. I like how the last 3 episodes were Oscar based storylines, though the Tuxedo one was the best of the bunch.

Oscar's litmus test for being a grouch were deliberately easy. We're back to that awesome trolling Oscar, knowing Elmo doesn't really want to be a grouch. That really made the episode work right there. I love a good 80's/90's trolling Oscar, though somehow I think this story would have worked a little better with Telly in Elmo's role. But then again, weren't there occasions where Telly wanted to be a Grouch?

Bill Hader really sold the word of the day segment. I'm not sure he actually was on Spongebob, though.

My main complaint is it really seems that this season they've taken to the obnoxious habit of reusing footage they used not a few episodes ago. That Mr. Bluesky musical knockoff song was on again (a whole 2 episodes later), but worked better with this episode. I get the need to reuse footage, but it's ridiculous to see the same skit a couple episodes from each other.

 

[The Count]

Oh, that was Bill Hater, sorry my mistake. Maybe I'll feel more familiar with his VA work after seeing Inside Out this summer which I'm looking forward because of another great grouch they cast... Namely Louis Black as the character Anger.

 

[Drtooth]

I know he had some cameos in other cartoons, but oddly can't bring any to mind except that scientist character from the Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs movie.

 

[cahuenga]

Who were the humans in the episode??

 

[The Count]

Chris was the only on-screen human in this episode, though we did hear Alan call out when he wanted the boxes delivered at the beginning.

 

[Daffyfan4ever]

*In booming voice: There's only one person who would dare give me the raspberry... Elmostar!

Good thought. I like "Spaceballs" as well. Side note. It's nice to actually be able to post here. I'm glad I was able to get my computer fixed.

Hey, doesn't that guy from the WOTD sound familiar? Oh yeah, he's the angry guy from that SpitBlob PoopyPants show.

That's who that was? I was thinking Bill Nye. Is he even still around?

 

[antsamthompson9]

This episode was very good. Anytime Elmo shows emotion is very good. The WOTD bit was funny. Bill has a nice range of voices. The new Murray tune-ins were good. Did Matt Vogel and Peter Linz play all the contestants? I know Matt was the tiger and grouch and Peter was the crab and pigeon.

 

[SpinneyBigBird1]

This overall was a really good storyline that would still hold up in any era of the show, which is a real compliment.

In my opinion, the only thing that distinguishes this episode from a classic-era episode is the lack of more human cast members. If Elmo acted grouchy towards more people than just Chris, that would have made it clearer and seem like more of an issue for Elmo. That would have been a great way to incorporate more humans like Susan or Bob.

Side note, I'm surprised how few episodes Maria and Gordon have been in this season. Normally they the most prominently-featured classic-era actors.

P.S. I was actually there for this taping. It was cool.