Major Changes in store for Sesame Street Season 46

[D'Snowth]

Because they upload the classic clips on YT specifically for us, the show itself is specifically for kids, and the show - like many shows on PBS - has to follow certain guidelines for the sake of the kids: they have to avoid outdated material, because they either won't make sense to the kids watching, or the educational content doesn't meet the requirements of today's preschool kids. Remember, back when SST started, their goal was mainly to teach basic educational concepts like letters, numbers, shapes, and such: we've come a long way since then, and SST's done their job so well they have to step the educational content up a number of notches because letters and numbers are small potatoes for kids today. SST's a lot more "advanced" in its educational value today compared to then.

 

[Daffyfan4ever]

Because they upload the classic clips on YT specifically for us, the show itself is specifically for kids, and the show - like many shows on PBS - has to follow certain guidelines for the sake of the kids: they have to avoid outdated material, because they either won't make sense to the kids watching, or the educational content doesn't meet the requirements of today's preschool kids. Remember, back when SST started, their goal was mainly to teach basic educational concepts like letters, numbers, shapes, and such: we've come a long way since then, and SST's done their job so well they have to step the educational content up a number of notches because letters and numbers are small potatoes for kids today. SST's a lot more "advanced" in its educational value today compared to then.

Those are good thoughts. See, SW knows we can watch the classic material online and on DVDs or wherever, so we get Classic Sesame Street and kids get the SS of today. The trouble is that the show used to be aimed at kids and adults as well. Heck, I often watch the shows from the 80s and 90s on YT and notice a big difference there with actual plots rather than just a 15 minute street scene with a character learning a lesson or doing something through trial-and-error or whatever. They really should bring back the old format and also use more classic Muppets. In fact that's the main reason that Billy is doing Ernie rather than Steve, so he can be used more often. That's what the show needs, more Bert and Ernie and maybe less of Abby, Elmo and Murray.

 

[Erine81981]

I too would love to see older segments but like everyone has said it's not for us who grew up in the 70's, 80's and 90's. It's for the kids of today. I don't mind watching it no matter how it looks or how they format it to. There might be some episodes i really enjoy and others that just aren't my cup of tea or they might have something in the show that might catch my eye and i'll say "Hey! That reminds me of a certain episode or segment from the older stuff."

Yeah yeah Abby's Flying Fairy School isn't what it's cracked up to be. I did enjoy it the first time around but seeing the same old segments just gets old but not for kids. They enjoy it or will say I love this one.

But cool to see a new theme song coming and can't wait to see what they redesign on the set or how the formula flows within the new season.

 

[dwayne1115]

I would not be surprised at all to see them fill the time of Abby's with something new with ether Cookie, Grover, Count or Ernie and Bert. They all seem to be making some what of a come back which is really nice.

 

[Drtooth]

Because they upload the classic clips on YT specifically for us, the show itself is specifically for kids, and the show - like many shows on PBS - has to follow certain guidelines for the sake of the kids: they have to avoid outdated material, because they either won't make sense to the kids watching, or the educational content doesn't meet the requirements of today's preschool kids. Remember, back when SST started, their goal was mainly to teach basic educational concepts like letters, numbers, shapes, and such: we've come a long way since then, and SST's done their job so well they have to step the educational content up a number of notches because letters and numbers are small potatoes for kids today. SST's a lot more "advanced" in its educational value today compared to then.

I detect just a little sarcasm in the last sentence and I agree to it. I honestly feel there are some segments that are timeless enough to get by. I just don't expect to even see them on the show no matter how hard pressed for filler material they are. Then we have things with traveling salesmen, and newspapers read by characters that aren't over 60... stuff like that that just seems confusing to kids who grew up not knowing of the before times. Even to an older audience they seem quaint. That's the problem with a show that's been on half a decade shy of 50 years.

Then there's the whole widescreen/HD thing. And like I said before, they show full frame stuff when its convenient, and even then, only from the past decade. I've been saying this for years, but how about CGI curtains on the side of the screen when that happens, like Between the Lions did before it got canceled the second time?

Yeah yeah Abby's Flying Fairy School isn't what it's cracked up to be. I did enjoy it the first time around but seeing the same old segments just gets old but not for kids. They enjoy it or will say I love this one.

SW painted themselves into a corner with that segment being an every day thing. You got reruns on the new episodes playing with reruns from the rerun episodes, and at 26 eps per season, that's a lot of reruns, Tony! No matter how funny or well written a segment is, it will get tiresome by the fifth time. Worst of all, the premiere season saw less than half of the commissioned Abby's, and segments were run 3 times in a season of new episodes.

It's not by all means a bad segment, just one that's long served its purpose. And if they get rid of it, what will they fill it with if they can't even avoid showing the same celebrity/parody segments less than twice a season as it is?

 

[Erine81981]

SW painted themselves into a corner with that segment being an every day thing. You got reruns on the new episodes playing with reruns from the rerun episodes, and at 26 eps per season, that's a lot of reruns, Tony! No matter how funny or well written a segment is, it will get tiresome by the fifth time. Worst of all, the premiere season saw less than half of the commissioned Abby's, and segments were run 3 times in a season of new episodes.

It's not by all means a bad segment, just one that's long served its purpose. And if they get rid of it, what will they fill it with if they can't even avoid showing the same celebrity/parody segments less than twice a season as it is?

They either need to make newer segments or make newer Letters and Number bits. You know all they would have to do is just show an old song from i would say the 80's and 90's. That would solve their problem. Kids don't mind songs and i don't think they'll turn the show off just for a song they might not know or like. I don't know but i hope they do something good and quit showing AFFS.

 

[The Count]

Agreed, they need new letter and number sketches. The "Number in the Garden" series is so pardon the quote, "dull as dirt". If only they'd brought in the Count TV sketches from the overseas market... At this point I know that's not an option, but I'd love a clever number sketch series where has more of the monster scaritage displayed, I.e.: his family relatives, bats and black cats, furry AM monsters, witches and ghosts and skeletons, that sort of Halloweenish type of thing.

The other potential option would be if they air some of the viral material as part of the show, like this new bit with as a licensed life coach in the vein of those Mr. Peanut motivational speaker bits.
Where the cookie!

Or maybe bring in The Furchester Hotel, but do it smartly... Keep producing new eleven-minute "episodes", air Season 2 in the UK and then air Season 1 or just half of it on the US airings of the show itself.

 

[minor muppetz]

I wonder if there should be less long segments and in its place put in more letter and number segments. A few years ago I think somebody said that the show often only had one segment for each (not counting the Letter and Number of the Day segments that lead to the letter/number segments).

As I've been thinking about it, I wouldn't really mind if they dropped the Letter and Number of the Day and stopped having letter and number sponsors, and instead just show any letter or number segment. Ever since the shows block format was introduced it seems like the concept of letter and number sponsors was more of an artifact. Of course if they did that, they'd have an excuse to only make 25 episodes a season.

Or maybe do something that's like a cross between the old format and the format we've had for the last decade. Have the main street story divided into two long segments, at the beginning and the end (and maybe the 30-minute version could just be the street stories with one or two small inserts in the middle), and include one additional long segment (Elmo the Musical or something new) in addition to the letter, number, and word of the day plus a few unrelated segments.

While I don't expect classic clips to return, it would be cool if there was a section in the middle showing classic clips, and a cool transition to that part would be for an old-style TV set to zoom out (maybe it can even stay there throughout these segments to serve as a boarder). Maybe just a few classic clips related to the street story and letter/number/word of the day. The old-style TV transition idea would also be good for any full frame segments regardless of era.

 

[dwayne1115]

I don't know it seems like they have kind of steered away from letters and numbers and have started really focusing more on social issues.

 

[Drtooth]

Agreed, they need new letter and number sketches. The "Number in the Garden" series is so pardon the quote, "dull as dirt". If only they'd brought in the Count TV sketches from the overseas market... At this point I know that's not an option, but I'd love a clever number sketch series where has more of the monster scaritage displayed, I.e.: his family relatives, bats and black cats, furry AM monsters, witches and ghosts and skeletons, that sort of Halloweenish type of thing.

I wouldn't try and pretend that Sesame Street has always kinda had that problem. Maybe not in the early years, but definitely 80's and 90's. I'm glad for songs like Lonely 11 and 12 Chicks. They need more of that, they certainly do. The "which number is hidden in the pile of rocks" bit is very much uncreative and just symbol recognition with out any counting backbone. But there certainly were a lot of bland number segments before. Need I mention the mural? Then the stop motion cut out series which was hit or miss at best. Clown Honk numbers was just dull. I'd say they had a huge problem with double digit numbers in the 90's. You either got a cleverly written and animated song, or something shorter that just counts up, or just something they'd overuse and would fall flat.

As for Count TV, when you hear about it, you won't want it. It was leaked onto Youtube a while back, and it's far from the imaginative, creative thing the press release made it out to be. Essentially it was reuse of the Count's pipe organ from season 33, a pre-existing number skit, and (the only original thing in the skit) a Sesame English style Ernie and Bert dancing and counting. Considering how much overuse the Sesame English Letter segments (edited down, no less) I'd tend to think we'd see a lot of Ernie and Bert dancing exactly the same to announce the number.