The problem with this street story was that it went into a million directions at once. First the PUgel horn, then Mucklemore, then the Sty Phone, then Goozie Orman, without fully fleshing out any of those ideas.
A few thoughts:
Why was it necessary to have two parodies in the same street story? I think Goozie Orman was funnier, and she actually served a purpose in the scene. I wish they had used her more instead of Macklemore. Speaking of...
Was Macklemore not available to shoot more than this one song? Is that why he disappeared as quickly as he appeared with no purpose behind him being there?
What was the purpose of that song? Why did it feel like a standalone music video in the middle of the scene, instead of actually serving a purpose? If it had talked about saving trash or the temptation of spending it all, it would have at least functioned in the scene.
Who was Mucklemore? They didn't even give him any bit of a backstory for who he was and why he suddenly was on Sesame Street. Is he the owner of the thrift shop? Is he an old friend of Oscar's?
They should have gone one direction or another. Mucklemore should have been in the street story longer, and he should have been the one to keep tempting Oscar with stuff instead of the random StyPhone thing. Goozie and Macklemore could have been opposing view points, but they weren't. It really seems to be the theme this season, missing potential to water down the message. Not as bad as the Cookie Monster wanting to steal Abby's Wand episode. That was such a wasted concept, and Abby and Elmo just obliviously played around and Alan had to do everything himself instead of adding some much needed tension. I'd say that one was more unsatisfying.
Not to mention the fact the street story was
barely 9 minutes long? A couple extra minutes would have solved the pacing problem, but we desperately needed to shoehorn that recycling rap with the
obnoxious British kids singing.
- I really miss the letter and number of the day introduced back on the street like they last did in season 39. The street set is literally never seen again after the first twelve minutes of the hour and it seems like a real waste of such a famous set. Plus, it gave the human actors on the show more to do. Bringing that back would allow the kids at home to find a bond with Maria, Gina, Bob and everyone just like they do with Elmo, Cookie and Rosita.
Personally, I just want them to do something else with the number/letter of the say than just give it a theme song. The letter sometimes gets shafted with
one "commercial." And when it doesn't, the only other segment they use are those Sesame English letter songs. I get what they're trying to do with the letter and number theme songs, but they're
very tired after such a short period of time. Indeed. I like how they started moving back to episode specific street shots introducing the letters and numbers. Too bad that lasted all a season.
Now, I'm worrying that kids are just wondering why they don't see their new Sesame Street friend Adam Scott or Melissa McCarthy on the street every day. The WOTD segments introduce these celebrities like they are just one of the residents on the street; it's no wonder the kids don't create bonds with the human actors anymore. Most of the "residents" they meet disappear after one appearance.
They always kind of did that with celebrities. The real problem I have is that Sesame Street needs so many celebrity and parody segments to get the
parents involved. Kids probably care less that Sesame Street is parodying a TV MA cable show that they can't even watch. This is intended for the parents and the media to keep Sesame in the public eye, no matter how many Elmo dolls sell out near Christmas. Still, I agree completely with the lack of Sesame Street cast members appearing on the show. I like Alan and Chris, but that's usually the only ones you see. And even then, only in the first 10 minutes of the show.
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could have enough to buy the P.U.gelhorn. The bit with the delivery grouch was funny though. For some reason I thought the Murray school segment was the one about Recyclable Arts where his mom showed up at the end, but it's more of a normal recyclables sorting facility. Not much else, one less missed episode for my overall Season 45 experience.