Sesame Street: 40th anniversary Ideas

[muppet baby]

in a perfect world, i would love to see a 40th anniversary special have some more behind the scenes stuff! i mean, when was the last time there was a "secrets of the muppets" special-- the 90's right? it's about time for more!

i think there should be:

1. changes in the set throughout the years
2. old retired bits w/ characters that were phased out (FORGETFUL JONES!)
3. CAST/CREW INTERVIEWS!

i personally would kill to see kevin clash, jerry nelson, frank oz and caroll spinney talk about working w/ jim, and talking about characters. even review bits and discusss like a director's cut on DVDs. OOH! and writers like tony geiss or directors like emily squires!

if you could have anyone interviewed for a big 40th anniversary special. who would it be?

you know i really would like to see all of these things to that would be so great i hope that maybe it would happen we can always hope .

SS is very inportant part of so many lives they should really give a lot of respect . i sure hope that they do .

 

[mbmfrog]

I had an idea for a Big Bird song, in which he introduces us to everyone on the street.

 

[StreetScenes]

my idea for an anniversary special

oh, i like everybody's ideas! in a perfect world, we should have MULTIPLE 40th anniversary specials! well, here's the way i see one possibility in my head...sort of a takeoff on telly's worry about the new year in ss stays up late. rather impractical as it involves some characters no longer on the show. this one has no celebrity guests and none of the well-known clips. this is my first fan-fic...i intended it to be a few ideas in bullet form, but my imagination got carried away and it turned into a full script with stage direction! sigh.

Sesame Street at 40

[Scene 1]

As the classic theme is playing, the camera moves in on commotion in the arbor as Gordon, Luis, Maria, Gina, Murray, Rosita, Prairie Dawn, Barkley, Count von Count, and some kids are setting up for a party. In the background, Gordon and Murray are straining to follow Prairie Dawn’s megaphone directions on where to put a heavy table (“left, left, left...right...”). Gina is blowing up balloons and Count isn’t helping, he’s just counting them. Telly enters from the left, and talks to people as they hurry by with armfuls of food and decorations.

Telly (worried): Wow, everybody’s so busy, what’s going on?
Rosita: We’re getting ready for the fiesta!
Telly: Oh…wh-why is there gonna be a fiesta?
Maria: To celebrate Sesame Street turning 40.
Count (from background): …38, 39, 40, I love it! (Gina falls over exhausted)
Telly: 40? Is that a big deal?
Gordon: Yes it is, Telly. Some of us have lived here for a long time. Lots of people grew up on Sesame Street, and the neighborhood is very important to all of us.
Luis: That’s right. And we’re going to celebrate all the people and monsters and grouches and birds and letters and numbers…(a pineapple and a broccoli walking by stop and look up at Luis)…and fruits and vegetables…(satisfied, they continue on) that make Sesame Street what it is.
Telly (to himself, as he walks toward 123): All the people and monsters…

[Scene 2]

Announcer (Jerry, over original title card): And now we take you to another fast-breaking news story!
On the sidewalk between the Laundromat and Hooper’s, Kermit in reporter garb looks over at the party preparations in the arbor, where Elmo is teetering on Baby Bear’s shoulders trying to hang decorations from the awning of Hooper’s store.
Kermit (speaking to someone off-camera): …on the bear? There’s a monster on the bear. There’s no frog on the bear. Oh, there’s a frog on the air! (turns quickly to camera, clears his throat) Hi ho, Kermit the Frog here, reporting from Sesame Street where there seems to be a lot of commotion. It looks like everyone is getting ready for something big, and we’re here to find out what it is.
(Kermit points mic at various characters as they hurry by. First at Ruthie and Mr. Handford): Excuse me…
Mr. Handford: We can’t talk now!
Ruthie: We’ll be late for the party!
Kermit: okay, well it appears to be a party of some sort…Sherlock Hemlock! Can you help me find out what everybody’s getting ready for?
Sherlock Hemlock (looking up from magnifying glass): Why of course! Decorations, food…it looks like a party!
Kermit: uh, well, yes, we know it’s a party…
Sherlock: Another mystery solved! (walks away triumphantly)
Kermit: …but what kind of party? Don! Don Music!
Don: Yes?
Kermit: Can you tell me what this party is for?
Don: Why yes, I think I could.
Kermit: Oh good!
Don (cutting him off): Oh, no, I’ll never get it right, never, never, never (as he walks away shaking his head)
Kermit: ..but wait…(sigh). (to aliens) How about you—could I ask you a few questions?
Aliens: Yip…yip…yip, uhh-huh, yip yip
Kermit: Do you know what this party is for?
Aliens: Uhh…. (look at each other, scratch their heads) …nope…nope…nope, nope, nope-nope-nope-nope..
Kermit: …right. (getting frustrated) What is this party celebrating?
Mumford: I, the amazing Mumford, will wave my magic wand, say the magic words, and voila, the answer will appear!
Kermit (perks up): You will?
Mumford: Yes, now just watch. A-la-peanut-butter-sandwiches! (poof of smoke…a bunch of kids appear, and look around surprised)
Kermit: Kids?
Mumford: Oh, that doesn’t make sense…
Kermit: Hey, kids, do you know what this party is celebrating?
One kid: Hey, we’re on Sesame Street!
All the kids: Yay! (they run towards the arbor)
Kermit turns back toward camera and sighs. End-of-scene-Raposo-jingle goes “de-dee de-dee dee dee mwap”

[Scene 3]

Bob, Susan, and Big Bird are sitting on the steps of 123 Sesame Street, laughing. Telly enters from left, and they exchange hellos.

Telly (excited): Guess what? There’s gonna to be a party! To celebrate all the people and monsters and birds, and…and vegetables…because Sesame Street is 40 years old!
Susan: That’s right, Telly—40 years. Gee, Sesame Street sure has changed a lot since we’ve been here.
Bob: It sure has.
Big Bird: I wonder how it will change this year?
Telly: It’s gonna…change?
Bob: Of course it is—it’s always changing.
Telly: But I don’t want it to change! Stop the party—I want Sesame Street to stay the same forever!
Bob: Telly, Telly, it’s okay—some changes are exciting!
Telly: They are?
Susan: Yeah, we meet new people—
Big Bird: We learn new things—
Bob: And, Telly, some things will always be the same.
Telly: They will?
Bob: Always. Let me tell you about it. Look down the street there, next to Hooper’s Store…that used to be the Lending Library.
(Visual blurs as camera goes down the street and back in time to the original set, and video of the same storefront and Hooper’s store from the same angle is played behind the dialog as they remember each era.)
Susan: That’s right. Maria used to work there when she was still in school.
Big Bird: Oh yeah…and then, for the longest time, that’s where Maria and Luis had the Fix-It Shop.
Telly: I remember that! I remember the piles of broken toasters out front.
Bob: Me too! And then Maria and Luis changed it to the Mail-It Shop.
Telly: And now it’s the Laundromat, where Leela works!
Big Bird: But some things stay the same—for as long as I can remember, Mr. Looper’s Store has been there.
Susan: Hooper, Big Bird, that’s Hooper!
Big Bird: Oh yeah…hehe.

[Scene 4]

Announcer: And now we return to our fast-breaking news story.
Kermit (to someone off-camera): …rolling? But we’re not even round—we wouldn’t roll very well, now, would we? Oh, oh we’re rolling! (turns back to camera) Kermit the Frog here, with another attempt at finding out what this party is for—and this time, we have someone who’s willing to talk to us! Mr Johns—
Grover (enters with megaphone): wait wait wait—make-up! Where is the make-up!
Mr. Johnson: Oh, no! You again?
Grover: Make-uuuup! Oh well, I guess I will have to do it myself—(arms waving crazily with brush and mirror in front of Mr. Johnson)—dab dab, puff puff, a little more here, could you turn your head this way sir?
Mr. Johnson: What are you doing?
Grover: Well, we must get the shine off of your bald head, sir. This is for television, you know.
Mr. Johnson: …just let me do my interview!
Grover: …and comb the moustache, and straighten the tie, and where did you get this suit? This suit will not work—wardrobe! We are going to need a jacket!
Mr. Johnson faints.
Grover: Sir? Sir? Now we must get that dirt off of your collar...
Kermit: Grover! Get back behind the camera! Otherwise we’ll never find out what this party is for. And I really wanna know!
Harvey Kneeslapper (laughing as he enters): Hee hee hee hee hee…did you say you wanna know? Hee hee hee…
Kermit (suspiciously): Why is that funny? Yes, I wanna know.
Harvey: Hee hee hee…do you REALLY wanna know?
Kermit (loses it): Yes! Yes! Yes I wanna know! I’ve gotta know! I’ve gotta know! (tries to catch his breath)
Harvey: No, you just have a microphone. (hands Kermit the letter “O”) But NOW you’ve got an “O”! Haaa haaa haaa heee heee haaa!
Kermit: Eesh.
Harvey laughs his way toward the arbor, Kermit turns to the camera and grimaces. End-of-scene-Raposo-jingle goes “de-dee de-dee dee dee mwap”

[Scene 5]

Back on the steps of 123 with Big Bird, Susan, Bob, and Telly.

Susan: Oh yeah, I liked Mr. Hooper—do you remember him, Telly?
Telly: A little bit, I think. But he’s not here any more.
Big Bird: No, he died a long time ago. But we still have our memories of him. Why, memory is how I drew the picture of him that’s hanging on the wall by my nest.
Visual fades to Big Bird’s drawing, which then fades into a clip of the real Mr. Hooper, perhaps the one when he sings One of These Things. Then video of Mr. Hooper plays behind the dialog reminiscing about it:
Big Bird: Mr. Hooper introduced me to birdseed milkshakes.
Bob: And remember the time we went to Hawaii and he went surfing?
They all laugh. Visual fades back to steps of 123.
Telly: Wow, I may be too young to have many of my own memories of Mr. Hooper, but I sure feel like I know him from all the stories everyone tells about him!
Big Bird: Yeah, we remember him and remember him, as much as we want to.
Bob: That’s right. So even though he doesn’t run the store any more, he’s still a part of Sesame Street.
Susan, Big Bird and Telly agree.
Susan: You know, the people on Sesame Street are always changing—some move away, some move in,
Bob: Like Miles—I remember when you and Gordon adopted him, and now he’s all grown up!
Big Bird: And new babies are born—I remember when Buffy’s baby Cody was born. And Maria and Luis’s baby, Gabi. And Humphrey and Ingrid’s baby, Natasha!
Telly: And I remember when Baby Bear’s sister, Curly Bear, was born!
Susan: That’s it! You see, Telly? You’ve seen Sesame Street change, too.
Bob: But no matter what, there will always be people and monsters and birds…(a banana and an eggplant passing by stop and look up at Bob)…and fruits and vegetables…(satisfied, they continue on toward the arbor)….on Sesame Street, making friends and having fun together.

Clips from songs:
My Best Friend with Snuffy & Big Bird et. al.
Friends song with Rosita, Zoe & Abby
But I Like You with Bert & Ernie

Bert & Ernie appear from their basement apartment behind the steps. Everyone exchanges hellos.
Ernie: Rubber Duckie here heard you talking about friends, so we just had to come out and say hello. Isn’t that right Rubber Duckie? (Ernie squeaks the duckie)
Bert: Ernie, that’s silly. Rubber Duckie couldn’t have heard them, he doesn’t even have ears. You’ve got a vivid imagination, Ernie.
Ernie: (squeaks the duckie) Rubber Duckie says he has a vivid imagination, too. Khee-hee-hee. Oh, come on, old buddy Bert, you use your imagination all the time, too. We’ve imagined lots of things together on Sesame Street!
Bert: Hey, that’s right!

Fade to montage of video of Sesame Street characters imagining different things and wearing silly costumes, to the music of Big Bird singing Imagine with Me.

Big Bird: Wow, we sure do have fun imagining together! And we learn together, too!
Bert: we’ve learned a lot together—we’ve learned how to count,
Ernie: and how to speak Spanish,
Big Bird: and we’ve learned letters—I didn’t always know my ABCs—one time, I saw the alphabet and thought it was a word! Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz!
Susan: I remember that, Big Bird! And now you can sing the whole alphabet!
Big Bird: It’s one of my favorite songs!
Telly: Oh, I love songs.
Bob: Me too, Telly! We sing a lot of great songs on Sesame Street. And you know, they’ve changed, too, over the past 40 years…

Clips from decades of music, for example:
Gimme Five
Hip to Be Square
Counting Crows song
Pre-School Musical

Bob: But you know what? No matter what the song, Sesame Street will always be singing.
Susan: Oh, let’s sing a song now, Bob.
Bob: Good idea—hey, I remember a song we used to sing about twos of things.
Susan: Me too!
Telly: I don’t remember it…
Susan: Well, Telly, we’ll sing it for you—Bob, you start.
Bob & Susan sing I’ve Got Two, doing the same parts they did in 1970. It fades into the original for the middle of the song, and then back to them on the steps to finish it up. Oscar hears the noise and emerges from his can.

Oscar: Hey, what’s the big idea?
Bob: We’re just singing, Oscar.
Oscar: Well, Bright Eyes, could you pipe down? I’m trying to look at pictures…and reminisce
Bob: Really, Oscar? Well, we’re reminiscing, too!
Telly: Yeah, can we join you?
Oscar: Why, sure you can…
Susan: Oh no. I’m not going to have anything to do with that. You go ahead. We’ll see you at the party. Come on guys.
Susan, Big Bird, Bert and Ernie exit toward the arbor. Bob and Telly gather around the trash can, looking at Oscar’s scrapbook.
Oscar: Ah yes, I remember it well. That’s my old sneaker. And that’s me at Swamp Mushy Muddy. And here’s the time I squirted water in your face.
Bob and Telly look at each other quizzically and ask what? They don’t remember that, and as they lean closer to get a better look, water squirts them from the book. At first, Bob and Telly exhibit their typical reactions to Oscar’s antics.
Oscar: Ahh, some things never change, heh heh.
Telly (perking up): Hey, Bob, he’s right!
Bob (now laughing at the incident): Well, Oscar will always be a grouch.
Oscar: You mean, you aren’t mad?
Telly: Nope! Now I know that the important things really don’t change, and that’s all thanks to you, Oscar! (Telly tries to pat him on the back)
Oscar: Oh, no, never pat a grouch!
Oscar retreats into his can, while Telly ponders his new realization. Linda enters, on her way to the party, and greets Bob with a peck on the cheek and a hug, which is interrupted by Telly excitedly trying to get Linda’s attention.
Telly: Linda, Linda! Guess what? Some things change, and that’s okay, but other things stay the same! Even on Sesame Street!
Linda signs, Bob translates: I know. That’s what the party is going to celebrate. It’s times like this that make us think about the past and about the future.
Linda and Bob look at each other and smile, but are again interrupted by Telly.
Telly: Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go to the party!

[Scene 6]

Announcer: And we’re back, with yet another fast-breaking news flash.
Kermit pointing microphone at various people and muppets as a steady stream of them run past him toward the party.
Kermit: What is this party celebrating?
Ovejita: Adivina, hee hee hee! (she vaults over to the party)
Forgetful Jones: Umm…duhhh….let me think….ohhhh….
Savion dances by, Kermit points mic at his feet
Lefty (opens his trench coat): Would you like to buy an O?
Kermit (matter-of-factly): Uh, no thanks, I already have one. (displays the O he got from Harvey) Oh, hi Olivia, do you know—
Olivia: Say cheese! (Kermit pauses and smiles while Olivia snaps a pic)
Two-Headed Monster: (talking in tongues, see camera, get in front of Kermit and wave) Hi Mom!
Kermit (losing it again): Guys! I am trying to report the news! I’ve been here all day, asking the same question, the SAME question! What is this party for? And nobody cooperates! Why won’t anybody cooperate?
Two-Headed Monster (now give him their full attention): Cooperate?
Kermit: Yes, cooperate. All I want to know is, why is everybody celebrating?
Two Headed Monster: (look at each other, say calmly in unison) Sesame Street.
Kermit: People are celebrating because of Sesame Street?
Two Headed Monster: (in their thick accent, the heads trading off in the list, laughing and agreeing with each other) Oh yeah weh-de-cele-breh Sesa-me! …da people, monsters, birds, grouches, letters, numbers…and frogs…yeah, frogs…songs, stories, learn new things, imagination, cooperation! Ha ha ha, cooperation! Ha ha! Yeah. Sesame.
Kermit: Oh. Thank you.
Two Headed Monster (in unison): You’re welcome! Goes off toward party,
Kermit: Well, there you have it folks, we’re celebrating Sesame Street. Thank you for watching, and this is Kermit the Fr—aaaaaghhh!
Kermit gets cut off as he is trampled by a stampede of letters, numbers, monsters, cows, chickens, AMs, etc. Cookie stops to help him up.
Cookie: You okay, frog?
Cookie helps brush off Kermit’s coat, sees letter O in Kermit’s hand, takes it, looks it over, says “Ohhh!” and devours it.

[scene 7]

Camera pans down on arbor as party is in progress, everybody is there. Hoots is sitting in with Little Chrissy and the Alphabeats playing the Sesame Street theme, as the camera shows all the characters at the party. Muppeteers and Joan Cooney can be seen at the party too—they’re not emphasized, but the fans will recognize them. After the song finishes, everyone applauds, except Oscar, who emerges from his can, next to Big Bird, Bob, and Susan.

Oscar (sarcastically): Well, lah-dee-dah.
Susan: Hey, that reminds me of another song! It goes la de da de dum…
Bob: ....la de da de dum…
Big Bird: (spoken) what’s the name of that song?
Oscar: oh no, not again! (returns to trash can)

Others join and do a full-cast What’s the Name of That Song medley with Sing, which everyone sings until the last verse, where the camera retreats up for an aerial view of the whole arbor, and the audio fades into the mellow classic version of Sing sung by the kids. That merges finally with the funky chimes credits, showing stills mixing then and now of the cast, muppeteers with their muppets, and other people involved in creating the show, holding various CTW and SW logos and signs.

 

[ISNorden]

oh, i like everybody's ideas! in a perfect world, we should have MULTIPLE 40th anniversary specials! well, here's the way i see one possibility in my head...sort of a takeoff on telly's worry about the new year in ss stays up late. rather impractical as it involves some characters no longer on the show. this one has no celebrity guests and none of the well-known clips. this is my first fan-fic...i intended it to be a few ideas in bullet form, but my imagination got carried away and it turned into a full script with stage direction! sigh.

[Awesome fanscript read and snipped]

It's a crying shame that Sesame Workshop's got a policy against using outsiders' work...and that getting Kermit back would mean paying Disney a fortune. THIS is the kind of 40th anniversary special I'd go out of my way to watch, one way or another.

 

[mbmfrog]

I would still have the idea of using Abby Cadabby's brief time on the show to fully explain the history of the Series...

I mean it would be like the 35th anniversary, but with Abby's in Elmo's place and with more cut scenes and memories for the cast and crew.

 

[StreetScenes]

It's a crying shame that Sesame Workshop's got a policy against using outsiders' work...and that getting Kermit back would mean paying Disney a fortune. THIS is the kind of 40th anniversary special I'd go out of my way to watch, one way or another.

aww, thanks, ISNorden! yeah, i wish we could have kermit back, too. and i wish some of the other old muppets could make some guest appearances. ah, well, at least they've all created such well-formed characters we all know so well that we can see and hear them in our heads. i'm going to go daydream some more episodes now...

 

[StreetScenes]

I would still have the idea of using Abby Cadabby's brief time on the show to fully explain the history of the Series...

I mean it would be like the 35th anniversary, but with Abby's in Elmo's place and with more cut scenes and memories for the cast and crew.

as much as i would love more classic clips and cast/crew memories, they're always the same ones. which they kind of have to be. you can't deny that goodbye mr. hooper, kermit singing green, and the celebrity put down the duckie are ss at its best. but we don't need every anniversary and every interview to be a carbon copy of the one from five years earlier. i'd rather see a focus on what ss means than another montage of the same clips and anecdotes we all know.

i chose telly over abby for 2 reasons: first, telly seems to be the bridge between classic and recent episodes, whereas many people don't know abby. second, to simply explain the old ss to the new ss, and juxtapose lots of classic clips with new characters, just emphasizes the shock many old school fans have the first time they see a recent episode. the point of my script was to show the opposite--the continuities. through focusing on characters familiar to all, and including old characters in new material. this reminds everyone that the show is always changing, even during the "classic" era, and that they've done some really great stuff recently. and it unites people who grew up with the show in different generations. i'm like telly here--i was born the year after mr. hooper died, but i always knew him as a character from the christmas eve on ss which they still played every year. i never questioned why he was never in his store, but he was part of my ss, too. and i love rosita and murray even though they weren't on when i watched. now that we have youtube and the ss video player, everyone can see clips from all eras, which collapses the difference, too. and new script rather than old clips shows that celebration doesn't have to be a static thing looking at old stuff--celebration of ss can be part of its creating new stuff, too.

well, that was my intention, anyway. but as i said before, we should have multiple specials. there are so many ways to celebrate different aspects of ss, and no one special can possibly do it all. (maybe what we need is something after the beatles anthology--interviews and rarely seen clips, 8 parts for fans to buy, condensed down to a 3 part tv special for the average person...) of course, we won't get multiple specials, except the fan fics people come up with, so i say let's keep writing them! what would abby's questions be, who would she be talking to, and what clips would you show?

 

[Drtooth]

as much as i would love more classic clips and cast/crew memories, they're always the same ones. which they kind of have to be. you can't deny that goodbye mr. hooper, kermit singing green, and the celebrity put down the duckie are ss at its best. but we don't need every anniversary and every interview to be a carbon copy of the one from five years earlier. i'd rather see a focus on what ss means than another montage of the same clips and anecdotes we all know.

My sentiments exactly. I worry that the 40th anniversary DVD we're getting will just be the same old stuff, and nothing close to the rare gems the Old School sets have... I mean, sure we all remember Ernie's Rubber Duckie and I love Trash, and The Batty Bat and Pinball Number Count and like that. But when you opened the sets up and popped them in, you saw How to make Chinese noodles and a tour of the Hamburger Bun factory. Indeed, there are a lot of lost and rare moments that were unearthed.

I don't want to see a special that's just "Oh, remember when this happened? How about this? Wasn't this one good too?" I want to see an original story line... you know something along the lines of the 30th special that was on network (not PBS- PLEASE no semantics quibbling) prime time television... or even "What's the Name of that Song" but without reused clips.

I would love to see 2 specials come out of this... one for kids and families, and one that's an actual SS documentary. But then again, with Street Gang and that other books coming out, I could actually do without the documentary.

 

[StreetScenes]

I don't want to see a special that's just "Oh, remember when this happened? How about this? Wasn't this one good too?" I want to see an original story line... you know something along the lines of the 30th special that was on network (not PBS- PLEASE no semantics quibbling) prime time television... or even "What's the Name of that Song" but without reused clips.

I would love to see 2 specials come out of this... one for kids and families, and one that's an actual SS documentary. But then again, with Street Gang and that other books coming out, I could actually do without the documentary.

definitely. and an anniversary celebration isn't just reliving the past, it's celebrating that they're STILL GOING STRONG and doing wonderful things for yet another generation of kids. that should feature some characters we love, old and new, doing new things. i'd be happy if there wasn't a single old bit in there, as long as they're true to the characters and the spirit of the street.

true--with the street gang book, a documentary probably be redunant. and i'd rather just have them continue to put classic clips (and add street scenes) on their video player, or continue putting episodes--and add classic ones--to itunes, to serve the need for finding clips we remember or seeing new old stuff.

 

[mbmfrog]

I worry that the 40th anniversary DVD we're getting will just be the same old stuff, and nothing close to the rare gems the Old School sets have... I mean, sure we all remember Ernie's Rubber Duckie and I love Trash, and The Batty Bat and Pinball Number Count and like that. But when you opened the sets up and popped them in, you saw How to make Chinese noodles and a tour of the Hamburger Bun factory. Indeed, there are a lot of lost and rare moments that were unearthed.

I don't want to see a special that's just "Oh, remember when this happened? How about this? Wasn't this one good too?" I want to see an original story line... you know something along the lines of the 30th special that was on network (not PBS- PLEASE no semantics quibbling) prime time television... or even "What's the Name of that Song" but without reused clips.

I would love to see 2 specials come out of this... one for kids and families, and one that's an actual SS documentary. But then again, with Street Gang and that other books coming out, I could actually do without the documentary.

I do agree with you on the 40th anniversary dvd. As it just going to be old clips, but very few rare ones. I was always hoping for Sesame Workshop to do a combination DVD on all of the travel episodes that the show did in the 70s and 80s.

I mean that would be something to see and teach the new generation.


Also I wasn't that much of a fan of the 30th anniversary show as I was of the 35th, but I can see where you are coming from.