Where are the older humans?

[ssetta]

Just wondering, are the older human cast members (except Maria) still with the show? I'm curious because I noticed that they're still listed in the credits but we haven't seen any of them at all, even for a second. So I wonder if they're even there anymore. I just don't understand why they'd still be in the credits if they're not really on anymore. Unless they're being shown in some of the repeat episodes.

 

[Pig'sSaysAdios]

Just wondering, are the older human cast members (except Maria) still with the show? I'm curious because I noticed that they're still listed in the credits but we haven't seen any of them at all, even for a second. So I wonder if they're even there anymore. I just don't understand why they'd still be in the credits if they're not really on anymore. Unless they're being shown in some of the repeat episodes.

Mando and Leela are in several of the repeat episodes but they're not credited.
I wish we could ask someone who works on the show but they always seem to avoid answering these kinds of questions. Perhaps the older cast members are all still there but just like in the background and only in one or a few episodes. Or maybe they didn't want to freak parents and the fans out by getting rid of seven cast members from the credits all at once so they kept their names in so that they can retire them quietly.

Although I hope this isn't the case,but in general Bob,Susan and Gordon don't have much of a purpose anymore. I don't think Luis owns the bikeshop anymore either and Maria's gone. So I think it may be time for them to be retired. I wish it weren't the case,but that's how it is.

As for Gina,I say keep her on. She's still young(only in her mid 40s,which is younger than Alan) and I think it would be good to show a working single mom with a non traditional family.

 

[D'Snowth]

Again, this happens a lot in show business: older/veteran performers are quietly shoved off in favor of newer, younger, fresher blood, and it almost seems as if SST is no exception: Chris, Leela, Mando, and now Nina have all been added to the show in recent years, and they're younger - Nina almost seems as if she's an entire character replacement for Maria.

There's a lot of reasons why this kind of thing happens, but in cases for kids shows like this, a lot of it is because studios and such feel that kids will better relate to younger characters than they would older characters, hence why we see a lot more of the aforementioned younger characters and a lot less of older characters such as Gordon or especially Susan and Bob. Back in the days when we did pledge drives at PBS, our last couple of pledge drives slowly phased out our long-standing on-air personalities and brought in local teens and kids for on-air duties because they wanted to show kids watching that kids are actually involved in supporting PBS (it was one of many attempts they made to get try to increase their incoming pledges since we were losing more and more pledges each year).

 

[Pig'sSaysAdios]

Again, this happens a lot in show business: older/veteran performers are quietly shoved off in favor of newer, younger, fresher blood, and it almost seems as if SST is no exception: Chris, Leela, Mando, and now Nina have all been added to the show in recent years, and they're younger - Nina almost seems as if she's an entire character replacement for Maria.

There's a lot of reasons why this kind of thing happens, but in cases for kids shows like this, a lot of it is because studios and such feel that kids will better relate to younger characters than they would older characters, hence why we see a lot more of the aforementioned younger characters and a lot less of older characters such as Gordon or especially Susan and Bob. Back in the days when we did pledge drives at PBS, our last couple of pledge drives slowly phased out our long-standing on-air personalities and brought in local teens and kids for on-air duties because they wanted to show kids watching that kids are actually involved in supporting PBS (it was one of many attempts they made to get try to increase their incoming pledges since we were losing more and more pledges each year).

I agree with you except for that I don't think Nina was a replacement for Maria.
Maria was hardly on the show in her last four or so seasons. I think Nina was more of a replacement for Leela and Mando. Mando had a lot of screen time in season 45,so Nina took his place as the young spanish speaker. Plus Nina has taken over the laundromat that was owned by Leela. Mando and Leela were much larger presences on the show than Maria was recently,so it would make more sense to replace them. As for why Nitya and Ismael left,we still don't know.

 

[D'Snowth]

I know, I said Nina almost seems like a replacement character for Maria considering the timing of Maria's departure and Nina's arrival, and how much emphasis is put on Nina being the show's new representation of Latinas.

 

[Drtooth]

Older cast members is something that only older fans of the show would know about or even care about. The show's target audience is fleeting. Generously including 3-6 year olds (more likely 3 and 4 year olds with the occasional "too young to get anything out of it" 2 year and under crowd). If they've never seen an episode with Maria in it, they don't know who it is.

Plus, some of the cast members have been either there since the beginning or early on as young adult role models, ranging from the surrogate friendly babysitter (Gina when she first popped up) to surrogate young parent figures (Gordon and Susan at the beginning), with some older uncle/grandpa figures (Wally, Mr. Hooper) thrown into the mix. Now the youngsters have turned into the older Uncle/aunt figures. While I don't think they should entirely be out of the picture, kids relate to younger babysitter/cousin type characters more than the older ones.

Still, I always think there's too much emphasis on the characters that have always been there with the fact there are dozens of others that were only on the show a brief period. Gedde Watanabe, Raoul Julia, Mrs. Garret from Facts of Life and Diffrnt Strokes. Not to mention Around the Corner's Ruth Buzzi. So many have come and gone through the years, and we've had about a handful of constants. And now they've been in flux the past decade.

 

[Pig'sSaysAdios]

I think someone might have said this a while ago on another thread but, the money was tight this season. Perhaps SW just couldn't afford to have more than a few cast members. That mixed with the fact that only 19 new street stories were produced. Maybe they'll be back in season 47. This isn't the first time cast members have disappeared, remember in season 43 both Susan and Luis were missing but than came back the following season.

 

[D'Snowth]

I think someone might have said this a while ago on another thread but, the money was tight this season. Perhaps SW just couldn't afford to have more than a few cast members.

Not just this season, but it's been said by castmembers themselves that that's the main reason why you only see two or three of the humans in most episodes, because they otherwise can't afford to have all of them on set at once; whenever we do see all of them in a single episode, it's usually for a special occasion (like a season premiere/finale, or a "very special episode"), such as the Goodbye, Mr. Hooper episode, which Caroll has pointed out that even back then it was a big deal having all of the actors on that day as opposed to just two or three of them.

 

[Pig'sSaysAdios]

Not just this season, but it's been said by castmembers themselves that that's the main reason why you only see two or three of the humans in most episodes, because they otherwise can't afford to have all of them on set at once; whenever we do see all of them in a single episode, it's usually for a special occasion (like a season premiere/finale, or a "very special episode"), such as the Goodbye, Mr. Hooper episode, which Caroll has pointed out that even back then it was a big deal having all of the actors on that day as opposed to just two or three of them.

I didn't mean having more than a few cast members per episode, I meant that we're only seeing the same few people throughout the entire season. Nina,Alan and Chris over and over again.

 

[sesamemuppetfan]

I just found this interview with Suki Lopez (Nina):

Look what it says in the description: "the very first human character on Sesame Street".

Whoever wrote that apparently didn't grow up with the show...