Not Enough Classic Clips

[Drtooth]

Well I think that's more of an opinion question. I've seen in some of your posts that you don't like the longer segments. But I personally enjoyed them and still do. Either way is fine, but I think it really does depends on the personal taste of the kid. That's another thing to keep in mind, not all kids will react the same way to everything.

Well, by longer segments, I do mean the filmed things that have no Muppets, Stret Humans, or celebs. I've never liked them. not on the whole. i can pick out several I fondly remember... like trip to the crayon factory. And I used to love the one in which a child and his father ride the bus, and point out many familiar places on the way.

But as for skits with Muppets and other things, the only complaint about length I have is when a joke or sketch goes too long, and it totally ruins the joke. But that's a comedic problem, not a general pacing problem.

I can think of many shows that keep milking the joke in a skit, and it takes away from the gag (Cough cough MADTV and SNL cough cough...)

 

[CensoredAlso]

Well, by longer segments, I do mean the filmed things that have no Muppets, Stret Humans, or celebs. I've never liked them. not on the whole.

Oh yeah I knew that's what you meant. Like I said, it's an opinion thing.

 

[CensoredAlso]

i can pick out several I fondly remember... like trip to the crayon factory.

Oh I definitely remember that one! And when they showed how peanut butter was made. And the one about catching Lobsters.

And the film about how "Alaska is the perfect place to be." It made me want to move to Alaska! Lol

 

[JLG]

Interesting discussion---some people like some kinds of segments, some don't...

Me, I'm an all-around kind of guy. I pretty much like everything. In fact, one of my favorite things about it, from my adult perspective, is the fact that it's an utter mishmash. (As a kid I just took that aspect for granted) Every graphic look you could think of, every kind of visual experience, looking left and right, up and down, at everything and anything, in this world or that world, real or imaginary. Frankly, it's a mess. A total, absolute mess. And I love that.

I'm probably bad at trying to explain this, but this is why the mid-1980s are probably my favorite period. Having now seen some '70s episodes and knowing well what '90s and '00s eps are like, the mid-80s have this warm, fuzzy feeling of what I can only call "settled familiarity." If SS was something fresh and new in the 70s, by the 80s its roots had settled and its many components had become firm parts of its overall landscape. We tend to forget that the program was already very old by then--15 years is ANCIENT by television standards--and it was rather set in its ways at that point. It was a goulash of stuff that was still being cranked out, and stuff that had been floating around already for 15 years, and the catalog had become huge. One minute you'd have a just-taped Muppet skit, the next you'd have a 10-year-old film about a Kentucky mailman. And this was before they'd really gotten rid of much material. Most of it was still there. Played to death and still going. Because it was juxtaposed with newer things, it never felt stale. And somehow, despite the fact that all the stuff came from many different minds and sensibilities, it all melted into a unified voice.

The '80s weren't as fast, fresh and funny as the previous decade, but they were warmer, I think. And part of it is that "settled familiarity" aspect that slowly dissipated during the '90s as more and more of the original flood of material was filtered out. I don't think Sesame Street will ever present that kind of extremely varied experience ever again.

 

[sesameguy]

The '80s weren't as fast, fresh and funny as the previous decade, but they were warmer, I think. And part of it is that "settled familiarity" aspect that slowly dissipated during the '90s as more and more of the original flood of material was filtered out. I don't think Sesame Street will ever present that kind of extremely varied experience ever again.

An important aspect of the show is how varied it really is (or was!). If you see something you don't like, come back in five minutes, and you'll see something totally different. Even though every show had the same elements (street scenes, cartoons, etc.), they were arranged in such a way as to keep you interested. "Elmo's World" would probably be a lot easier to take if it only lasted five minutes or less, like an Ernie and Bert skit.

 

[FatBlueMuppet]

The thing is, even from 1993-1998 The Around the Corner years. I remember still seeing classic clips from the shows first few seasons. You'd see an old looking skit with noticeably outdated looking Muppets, then back on the street you'd see the new bright colored set with the new looking Muppets. Even from 1998-2001, The 3 years we had Elmo's World with the old format, they occasionally would throw in a few older Muppet sketches from the 70's during the 40-45 minutes the main part of the show was on. Now ever since the new format is when there's been a major lack of classic clips. But the reason being, they just don't have the room for that stuff anymore. Years back, we had 5 little street scenes broken up within one hour, and in between those street scenes there was a lot of time and oppurtunity to show something old. Now we have one big 10 minute street scene, Cookie presenting the Letter of the day, followed by a few letter animations, Global Grover, followed by a film, The Count presenting the number of the day, followed by a few number animations, plus the celebrity moment, sometimes Baby Bear's Hero Guy (sigh) and on top of all of this about 20 minutes of Elmo's World. So after all that here's the question, "Where could the classic clips fit in?" It's an unfortunate circumstance. The first 30 years of SS were the best.

 

[Drtooth]

An impartial and probably incorrect list of skits from the 80's used recently (Season 38) on SS

Splish Splash (elephant taking a bath)
Ernie and Bert "That's what friends are for"
Ernie and Bert "checkers with bernice"
Postcards from Big bird: New mexico
Postcards from Big Bird: Farmer's Market in NY

and there could a been a couple others...

 

[wiley207]

An impartial and probably incorrect list of skits from the 80's used recently (Season 38) on SS

Splish Splash (elephant taking a bath)
Ernie and Bert "That's what friends are for"
Ernie and Bert "checkers with bernice"
Postcards from Big bird: New mexico
Postcards from Big Bird: Farmer's Market in NY

and there could a been a couple others...

They also had the song "Air" and the animated skit "Beginning, Middle and End."

 

[ssetta]

An impartial and probably incorrect list of skits from the 80's used recently (Season 38) on SS

Splish Splash (elephant taking a bath)
Ernie and Bert "That's what friends are for"
Ernie and Bert "checkers with bernice"
Postcards from Big bird: New mexico
Postcards from Big Bird: Farmer's Market in NY

and there could a been a couple others...

The 2 Postcards from Big Bird sketches are from the 90s, not the 80s.

 

[MeWantCookie]

is the postcard one from mexico where big bird is restlessly searching for someone to tell him what a "casita" is?