Sesame Street: 40th anniversary Ideas

[mbmfrog]

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?

I think I can see where you're coming from when having Telly be the star of the show for once. Besides, he does deserve some respective role playing after all he been through.

Anyway I would have be showing Abby and extended version of his scrapbook, and for her to ask questions of each of the pictures within the book....

The special would cover...

• Mr. Hooper and Hooper's story
• Snuffy's history on the show
• it would alude to the FTB movie and E:AIG movie
• Around the corner
• Slimey's space journey
• The time Big Bird's nest was destoryed
• Abby's first apperance

That's all I can think of for now.

 

[StreetScenes]

I think I can see where you're coming from when having Telly be the star of the show for once. Besides, he does deserve some respective role playing after all he been through.

Anyway I would have be showing Abby and extended version of his scrapbook, and for her to ask questions of each of the pictures within the book....

The special would cover...

• Mr. Hooper and Hooper's story
• Snuffy's history on the show
• it would alude to the FTB movie and E:AIG movie
• Around the corner
• Slimey's space journey
• The time Big Bird's nest was destoryed
• Abby's first apperance

That's all I can think of for now.

cool--snuffy should have his turn in the spotlight, too and i like the idea of telling the stories of those individual characters whose histories have been parts of the storyline. maria & luis, gina, and baby bear would be good for that, too.

 

[minor muppetz]

One thought I'd had, in addition to the announced 40th anniversary DVD, would be a DVD focusing on sketches with supporting characters who are no longer on the show, to appeal to the adult colectors (and us) and possibly reintroduce them to kids. I also thought of one focusing on the most obscure fan favorites who are no longer on the show. These might be a hard sell (especialy the secodn one), but they should also include known characters whenever possible. Maybe a special logo could be done showcasing Big Bird, Elmo, and Abby, so that known characters appear on the cover.

And I'd thought of a sort of "all stars" release. Perhaps all three kinds of discs could be sold either seperately or in a three-disc boxed set.

This is what I'd have in mind for those sets.

Sesame All-Stars

• Snuffy jumps on Big Bird's trampolinbe
• Ernie has Bert wait outside the apartment
• Prairie Dawn's recycling pageant
• Because We're Friends
• Kermit teaches the Two-Headed Monster to listen
• Super Grover moves boxes
• The American Revolution: The National Bird
• Nothing to Count
• Hey Food
• Elmo and Abby make a doll
• Murray Has a Little Lamb: Karate School
• Good Morning, Morning
• Name That Sound: Grover
• Sesame Street News: Elmo invents the reporter game
• Ernie thinks Martians kidnapped Bert
• Monsterpeice Theater: Waiting for Elmo
• Grover: A fly in the soup
• The Count and Cookie Monster cooperate
• Kermit and Oscar: grouch bus stop
• You Tickle Me

Old School Supporting Characetrs of the Past

• Ernie and Lefty: the 8 salesman
• Herbert Birdsfoot and Grover count three blocks
• Harvey Kneeslapper: Letter A joke
• Roosevelt Franklin: Same Sound Brown
• The Count counts what Forgetful Jones forgets
• Biff and Sully: We Coulda
• Sad with Little Jerry and the Monotones
• Sesame Street News: Don Music writes "Drive, Drive, Drive Your Car"
• Harvey Kneeslapper: sticky four
• Sherlock Hemlock: missing cookies mystery
• Guy Smiley: The School Game
• Roosevelt Franklin's class learns about pride
• Herbert Birdsfoot: hopping poem
• Forgetful Jones at the train station
• Grover moves Monty's chair
• Biff and Sully get angry
• Simon Soundman: Saw
• Mystery Guest

Sesame Street's All-Star Most Obscure Characters

• Professor Hastings: Big and Bigger
• The Busby Twins: Candle
• Deena and Pearl: Underwater
• The Leslie Mostly Show: Cookie Monster
• Sesame Street News: Dr. Nobel Price invents "the tinker table"
• Leo the Party Monster: Party Line
• Professor Hastings: The Letter U
• Deena and Pearl: Toy Chest Game
• The Leslie Mostly Show: Count von Count
• Dr. Nobel Price's soup experiment
• and some stuff with Aristotle, Rodeo Rosie, Sam the Robot, and Bruno the Trashman (though I'm not too sure whether those last three belong on this one or the "supporting characters" release)

 

[SSLFan]

I like your ideas. I've had a few myself.

A Walking Tour of Sesame Street:40 Years Later​

Hosted by James Earl Jones​

Would air on PBS or NBC, primetime​

James Earl Jones revisits Sesame Street, and shows us again how the show has revolutionized and changed the world. He interviews fellow castmates Roscoe Orman, Sonia Manzano, & Bob McGrath, along puppeteers Caroll Spinney, Marty Robinson, and Jerry Nelson. Muppets include Oscar, Telly, Big Bird, the Count, and Elmo. Other muppets are also seen in classic clips.​

Ellen on Sesame Street: Celebrating 40 Years of Feathers, Fur, & Fun!​

Hosted by Ellen DeGeneres​

Would air on ABC primetime​

In this one and a half hour special, Ellen visits the world's most famous street, and mingles with the cast to see what has made Sesame Street stand strong through all these wonderful years. It's a tribute to a show that has set a milestone in children's television...and has brought pure happiness to our hearts.​

Note: I wrote the special here if you care to look.​

Ernie & Bert's Top Ten Countdown​

Hosted by & ​

Would air on ABC right after Ellen special​

Bert and Ernie host a 30 minute special that counts down the top 10 most memerable momments durring Sesame Street's history. Included are: Mr. Hooper's death, Maria and Luis's wedding, Gabby's birth, and Around the Corner.​

Oprah​

The Sesame Street Cast appear on The Oprah Winfrey Show.​

Guests include:​

Joan Ganz Cooney, Kevin Clash(with Elmo), Caroll Spinney(with Oscar), Marty Robinson(with Telly), Fran Brill(with Prairie Dawn), David Rudman(with Cookie Monster), Jerry Nelson(with the Count), Carmen Osbahr(with Rosita), Leslie Rudolph(with Abby), Steve Whitmire(with Ernie, and possibly Kermit), Eric Jacobson(with Grover, Bert), Matt Vogel(as Big Bird), Joey Mazzarino(with Maury Monster), Roscoe Orman, Loretta Long, Bob McGrath, Sonia Manzano, Emilio Delagdo, Alan Murakoa, Allison O'Reily,Desiree Casado, Christopher Lawrence Knowings,
Micheal Davis, & Frank Oz.​

 

[minor muppetz]

Now that I think about it, maybe it would be great if Murray were to host an anniversary special. Maybe make "Sesame" or "Anniversary" be the word on the street.

One thing that would be great for season 40, though I have a feelign they'll either continue the word on the street or have soem sort of environmental message instead, would be to have an early segment in the cold opening. Maybe call it a "retro classic". Maybe classic segments that teach soemthign taught in the epsidoe itself, like a letter or number segment that matches the letter or number of the day, or an early environmental segment like The Garden Song or the Willie Wimple segments.

 

[ISNorden]

Now that I think about it, maybe it would be great if Murray were to host an anniversary special. Maybe make "Sesame" or "Anniversary" be the word on the street.

One thing that would be great for season 40, though I have a feelign they'll either continue the word on the street or have soem sort of environmental message instead, would be to have an early segment in the cold opening. Maybe call it a "retro classic". Maybe classic segments that teach soemthign taught in the epsidoe itself, like a letter or number segment that matches the letter or number of the day, or an early environmental segment like The Garden Song or the Willie Wimple segments.

Good idea, especially the early environmental sketches; people need to see that Sesame Street taught that kind of lesson before it became trendy.

 

[minor muppetz]

You know, PBS has sometiems aired "Red Green Shorts" during commercial breaks. These are a few sketches from The Red Green Show. Maybe somethign simialr could be done for Sesame Street. Call ot "Sesame Street 40th Anniversary Shorts", and show it between programs, maybe make it close to 4 or 5 minutes in lenght, and include up to 3 shorts per show. These can be shown during kids programing and in prime-time hours.

These could feature segments from a variety of eras, but the current clips would usually be shown during the children's tiem slot, while the more classic ones would be shown in prime time. Maybe some of the more risky segments cna be shown exclusively in prime time and late-night hours.

 

[minor muppetz]

A few months ago Sesame Workshop put some episodes on iTunes, but only from season 35. It would be great if some episodes from the first 29 seasons would be put up on iTunes. Both random episodes and episodes with historical significance. Perhaps a variety of episodes form seasons 4-8 and 10-13 (seasons where, with few exceptions, Noggin only aired one episode each from).

It would be great if some "sketch collections" could be put up on iTunes to celebrate the anniversary. Some could be themed by character, others by subjects. They coulkd last roughly 15-30 minutes.

Here is a list of what would be ideal for character groupings:

Big Bird

• Big Bird and monster balloons bit (mentioned in "first season show content"; it'd be great to know WHICH monster was in this sketch)
• Big Bird meets Little Bird
• Big Bird imagine he's small
• Big Bird's home moviesBig Bird and Snuffy at the imaginary disco
• I Just Adore Four
• Believe in Yourself
• Fugue for Reading
• Wish You Were Here: Fishing Trip
• Big Bird's Song
• We Worked it Out

Bert

• Bert sneezes his nose off
• Ernie thinks Bert is sick
• Bert: What Happens Next?
• Ernie breaks the cookie jar
• Bert shows Ernie his bottlecaps
• Doin' the Pigeon
• I'm Square
• Bert and Maria's imaginary flight
• I Wish I Had a Friedn to Play with Me
• Bert chooses a pigeon hat

Ernie

• Ernie makes a friend
• Ernie presents the letter Q
• Rubber Duckie
• the scale salesman
• missing cookeis mystery
• peanut butter and bread
• four peopel fooled
• guess what I'm thinking of
• Ernie's love boat
• Forest Fashions
• Ernie catchs fish
• What's the Name of That Song?
• animals in my room

Grover

• first and last bit
• Grover and Herbert Birdsfoot: over
• Grover demonstrates surprise
• Two G Sounds
• Grover's Picture Menu
• Kermit and Grover: No
• fire in the forest
• Super Grover: Haircuts
• Marshall Grover counts backwards
• My Furry Little Shadow
• Outrageous Makeover: Home Addition

Elmo

• Sesame Street News: Elmo's Game Idea
• One Fine Face
• Beat the Time
• Elmo's Song
• Happy Tapping
• Elmo and Winston the Seal show love
• Elmo and Slimey: apple
• Share with Zoe
• Abby makes Elmo a doll

Abby Cadabby

• Abby moves to Sesame Street
• Abby and a girl recite the alphabet
• Abby's wand back scratcher
• I Love Words
• Kids with Wings

Oscar the Grouch

• meeting Oscar
• Oscar's alphabet
• Granny Grouch visits
• I Love Trash
• The Trading Game
• Nasty Dan
• Oscar's Grouch Bus Stop
• Scramalot
• Grouch Eye for the Nice Guy
• Bein' Green

The Count

• Bert and Ernie's block pyrimid
• Sesame Street News: Three Little Pigs
• counting lights
• The Count's hot dogs
• Miami Mice
• The Batty Bat
• The Coutn and Susan Surrandon in the rain
• Numberella
• Number of the Day: 15 (from season 36)

Cookie Monster
[*]Kermit's more and less lecture
[*]Ernie and Cookie Monster share a pillow
[*]Ernie discusses hope
[*]Herbert Birdsfoot's cookie puzzle
[*]that clip of Cookie Monster by Oscar's can that appears in the Being Green trailer
[*]C is for Cookie
[*]The Cookie Bunny
[*]Cookie Monster's telephone demonstration
[*]Hey Food
[*]Me Lost Me Cookie
[*]computer game
[*]Monsterpeice Theater: Little Red Riding Cookie
[*]Cookie Monster and Gladys Ormphby: zero cookies
[*]The First Time Me Eat Cookie
[*]The Letter of the Day Games: Y
[*]A Cookie is a Sometimes Food[/LIST]

Kermit the Frog

• Kermit talks about round things
• Kermit guesses from clues
• Kermit and Bob discuss frogs
• Sesame Street News: The Pied Piper
• Bein' Green
• the earmuff salesman
• Kermit's cookbook
• This Frog
• My Pollywog Ways
• The Leslie Mostly Show
• Sesame Street News: Dr. Nobel Price's Piano
• the sunglass salesman
• Kermit's mystery box
• Carribian Amphibian
• happy and sad with Elmo
• It's Alive

Mr. Snuffleupagus
[*]Big Bird meets Snuffy
[*]Snuffy's nose gets stuck in the mailbox
[*]Snuffy on skateboard
[*]Snuffy and Joey recite the aplhabet
[*]Snuffy's overralls
[*]Big Bird counts Snuffy's legs
[*]If I Was a Cloud in the Sky
[*]Snuffy and Barkley at the park
[*]The Best Friends Blues
[*]Snuffy tells Alice about the time he learned that The Snuffleupagus Fairy isn't real
[*]Bubble on my Snuffle[/LIST]

And for some themed iTunes videos:

Old School Buddies

• ABC-DEF-GHI
• Roosevelt Franklin Counts
• Professor Hastings: the letter U
• Prairie Dawn invites monsters to dinner
• Ernie leads a band
• X Marks the Spot
• Mumford's up and down trick
• Prairie Dawn's tooth pageant
• The School Game
• Sad
• Harvey Kneeslapper: Dion joke
• Don Music: Old MacDonald

Old School Numbers Collection

• Henson #1
• Mad Painter #2
• Jazz #3
• Harvey Kneeslapper: sticky 4
• Five People in my Family
• Kermit counts Twiddlebugs
• The Alligator King
• King of 8
• Count Up to Nine
• Ernie: Counter of Numbers
• Eleven cheer
• Pinball Number Count #12
• Herry and John-John count to 20
• numbers get destroyed
• The Addition Game
• The First Day of School
• Ernie's apples
• Monsterpiece Theater: The 39 Stairs

Old School Letters Collection

• Poverty A
• Kermit's B lecture
• Harvey Kneeslapper: Wanna C?
• D commercial
• What's My Letter?
• F-face
• Grover and letter G
• Bert and Ernie: H on television
• Monsterpiece Theater: The King and I
• Typewriter: J-Jump
• Kermit draws K
• La, La, La
• Mystery Drawing: M
• The Letter N
• Would You Like to Buy an O?
• P-picnic
• Henson Q claymation
• Typewriter: R-rope
• Sammy the Snake
• T-television
• U Really Got a Hold on Me
• The Villian in the Patima Hat
• Wanda the Witch
• How I Miss My X
• Y-yak
• Bert and Ernie Z bit
• Grover and Herbert Birdsfoot recite the alphabet

The Magic Apple and Other Stories

• The Magic Apple
• The Fox and the Grapes
• The Boy Who Cried Monster
• Sesame Street News: Cinderella at the ball
• Bert's Fairy Tales: Sleeping Beauty
• Sing Me a Story: Little Red Riding Hood
• Monsterpeice Theater: Fiddler on the Roof

Meal or No Meal and other television parodies

• Meal or No Meal
• Sesame Street News: Six Dollar Man
• Monsterpeice Theater: Upstairs, Downstairs
• Miami Mice: Ernie
• Squeal of Fortune
• Joe Hundread Guy
• Number of the Day: Six Feet Under
• The Triangle is Right
• Trianglebob Trianglepants