Your Thoughts: Sesame Street Season 39

[The Count]

Today's review.

Episode 4181: Elmo and Leela Look for a Mine-Itis Cure.
Airdate: October 24, 2008.
Season: Season 39.
Sponsors: G, 20.
Word on the Street: Friend.
Street Story.
Nice/funny to have all three of Frank's original classic SST characters steal Leela's lunch item by item.
Sesame Street Nightly News Updates with Brian Williams... Stop cutting into the street story!
If I want informative news I go to Jon Stewart instead.
Interesting that even the human cast's affected by the epidemic of mine-itis, good to see Alan and Bob.
Very good to see the Figueroa Rodríguez out on a family picnic.
Song: What Is Friend? with overlaid film segments, David Rudman's Cookie Monster singing.
Claymation Segment.
Alphabet Song Hand Clapping.
Letter of the Day: Chris watches the letter G getting washed in the laundromat's washing machine.
Animation: Jungle Call G.
Animation: Schoolbox Tools make ornate G/g.
Murray Has a Little Lamb: Going to Ice Skating School.
Song: "I'm Gonna Get To You" by Cecille.
Number of the Day: Chris ends up washing the number 20 as well.
Animation: Counting to 20. Is this the one with mythic/weird creatures walking along on the parade route?
*If so, please help out with what each weird creature is as I've been trying to track down info on this for ages!
Film/Song: Kid counts 20 fish by 5's.
Muppets: Abby tries to make friends appear for Elmo, I thought her powers progressed past the point of procuring pumpkins.
Animation: Suzy Kabloozy sings "Somebody Come and Play".
Film/Song: Jump Up.
Elmo's World: Friends.
Ending: Chris presents the sponsors, both squeaky clean, which leaves him to wash his "laundry of the day".


Though this was a very good street story/episode, the one thing I hated were all the interruptions by Brian Williams. Some may say it was a different approach to have him interacting, even getting in on the mine-itis act, but I'd've prefered one moment with the news presentation and then move on to have the cast carry out the street story's plot. BTW: It didn't seem like he got much done in the way of investigative reporting not being able to find out either the cause or cure for the illness. Oh well...

 

[Drtooth]

Interesting opening and not much else...

I thought Brian Williams was pretty good, and he really has the spirit of the show down (he was one of the few Word on the Street Celebs that I thought was good last year). How he kept an impossibly straight face through the whole thing made it funnier than it could have been.

Somehow, it seemed like a plot out of Care Bears or something with an SS twist. If Oscar purposely infected them (he lives in the trash... how he's not teaming with germs is beyond me), it would have been something that Baikinman (or for a less esoteric reference, Mr. Beastly and No heart) would do. But he just seemed to sit back and enjoy the grouchiness.

And HEY! Was that Little Bird I spotted clinging to the tree?

Somehow, I can just see that Alan saw Finding Nemo... his "Mines" were almost identical to the seagulls in that film.

It was great to see another old Cecile cartoon. It still raises my blood about what happened to Will Vinton, though (another thread for another time...suffice to say he was fired from his OWN studio).

And that bit with Abby was cute. Especially liked the Bert pumpkin.

Other than that, old reused footage... and who was that singing the ABC song? Are they a house band or someone supposedly famous that I don't know?

 

[Ilikemuppets]

Looooved today's street story today! By the way count, It was Frank as cookie in the song. Boy! David Rudman must be getting good, heh! Anyway, did anybody else notice the Fix-It-Shop right behind Brian Williams head in one seen. It was right next to the Subway station on the left side as I suspected all along.

One of the best lines in the episode was after Oscar cured Gordon of Mine-Itis. Oscar: Hay Gordan? What a rotten Egg? Gordon: *Takes egg*"Mine! Hey! Why am I holding half a chair? !" Chris washing the GG number and letter was kind of odd but effective. By the way, I for one liked the interruptions the Brian Williams did! "We now interrupt this program for a Sesame Street Nightly news update! *Brian walks in* " I told you so..." "Walks out." Aaaaahahahahahaaaa!

Loved seeing so many characters and it was very funny to see Bert doing Laundry because it sounds like something he would really enjoy doing! But it was really great to see Maria, Luis, Gaby, Gordon, Bob, Alan, Gina, Leela and Chris all in the same episode! Good seeing Snuffy again too!

 

[Oscarfan]

Anyway, did anybody else notice the Fix-It-Shop right behind Brian Williams head in one seen.

I saw that building in the Abby/Oscar episode and I too thought that was the new Fix It Shop.

 

[Ilikemuppets]

I saw that building in the Abby/Oscar episode and I too thought that was the new Fix It Shop.

Yeah, I've sen it from different views and parts of it, but today just confirmed it to me! I could tell from the top of window of the building to the broker radio in the window. And I thought I saw there fixing table over there in the shot a couple of times before as well.

By the way really loved Elmo's reactions when Big Bird wouldn't share Radar! Too funny!

 

[Drtooth]

Animation: Counting to 20. Is this the one with mythic/weird creatures walking along on the parade route?
*If so, please help out with what each weird creature is as I've been trying to track down info on this for ages!

You mean the "Marde Gras mask count to 20 parade," right? As soon as I can find it on Youtube, and I have more time, I'll rush it right over to you... It would just be easier for me to have something I can pause and explain at the same time, then trying to keep track of notes.

Edit- Here you go

 

[The Count]

Again, thanks Drtooth. So, we're in the home stretch, only five episodes left to go. BTW: Anybody notice an AM grouch Oscar refered to as "a grouch who grabs everything"? Maybe that was the mine-itis carrier, not Oscar himself.

 

[Erine81981]

Looooved today's street story today! By the way count, It was Frank as cookie in the song. Boy! David Rudman must be getting good, heh! Anyway, did anybody else notice the Fix-It-Shop right behind Brian Williams head in one seen. It was right next to the Subway station on the left side as I suspected all along.

This has got to be one of my favorites now from this season. It envoled more characters and the Human Cast was awsome too. This is how i rememeber the older SS shows. Pretty much i think this should have been the shows start off episode. Almost every season that i remember seeing they always had a big cast and characters in the street scene right off the bat. So awsomely good!

Also yes Caroline. I was thinking the samething. That has to be the Fix-it-Shop right behind where Brain Williams was standing. That is really cool to know. Glad to know that it's still there on the set.

One grip i might have is that i think they should have played the last part of the show. I think it should have played out like this.

Chris sees the viewers and tells them the letter and the # of the day (which he did) but then i think it should have had someone come in when he says he's about to do his clothes and take them away saying "Mine!" and Chris having to say "Hey! Those are mine. Uh see you guys later. Wait! *runs off screen* And that's how it should have ended. But it still was an awsome storyline.

BTW: Anybody notice an AM grouch Oscar refered to as "a grouch who grabs everything"? Maybe that was the mine-itis carrier, not Oscar himself.

All Oscar said was that he was just a grouch who loves to take stuff from people. And didn't ever say anything about him being the cause of the sickness. Hope this helps.

 

[Redsonga]

I loved the story today, it did remind me of the old SS . The half a chair thingie was priceless...As for it being a Care Bear plot, given how long SS has been around the Care Bears learned everything they knew from SS and not the other way around IMHO . Not that there is anything wrong with a caring plot, we are missing alot of that on tv lately I think..and Oscar seemed more true to character than he has been in a while...after all first he did it to get his things back (being selfish) and then he helped with the rest so he could go back to being left alone (being grumpy) .

 

[The Shoe Fairy]

As for it being a Care Bear plot, given how long SS has been around the Care Bears learned everything they knew from SS and not the other way around IMHO

Yeah, what if they were "Grouch Bears" lol