Photo of The Original Telly Monster!

[dwmckim]

Well as one of those that remembers original Telly, i wasn't the least bit freaked out by his appearance (but then again i was the type that loved the Muppet monsters even despite the odd occasional nightmare about blue-nose Herry popping up out of clothes hampers and mop buckets surprising and scaring people) - unlike that first Snuffy, the effect was more comic that creepy. I remember being much more fascinated at how rare it was to see a full-bodied Muppet with his legs shown and everything. It was pretty clear from the appearance why his eye were the way they were. I found him oddly interesting due to a mixture of (1) seeing his entire body (2) one of the few times (besides Kermit) that Sesame characters mentioned Muppet Show or its characters (Big Bird and the kids would try to get him to do something else so they talked about the letter M and asked if Telly could name anything that began with M prompting a long list of what must have been every single television show that began with M at that point) and (3) just the oddness of a character on tv being used to illustrate too much television watching. (If i turned off my tv set, how would i see my friends on Sesame Street i looked forward to seeing every day?)

I really don't think that incarnation of the character appeared again after that first appearance. He left an impression on me and i remember looking forward to seeing him again but it took awhile before he was back on again and when he did all references (physical and characterization) of him being television obsessed were gone (i guess once he stopped watching tv all the time his eyes went back to normal and the antannae shrunk back into his head) It was really weird because even though the name was the same, his look, voice, and demeanor was very different. It was so strange that now his main hook was that he was a downcast worrier. He almost came across a bit pathetic - i remember there was even a board game where the object was not to be stuck with Telly!

 

[Erine81981]

Now that's pretty neat looking. Now knowing me i might have been a little scared by it if i were to have seen it back then but also i kinda liked all the monsters. I do scare pretty easy but i don't think this Telly would have. Now i can die a happy man. Ahhhhhhhh.....*lays down with flower in hand*

 

[Drtooth]

just the oddness of a character on tv being used to illustrate too much television watching. (If i turned off my tv set, how would i see my friends on Sesame Street i looked forward to seeing every day?)

Something everyone from Fat Albert and Arthur have covered. And somehow it seems completely hypocritical... almost like a candy bar that has a large wrapper that says "Don't eat this!" on it. The only time I really think they handled it was a Shining Time Station episode in which Stacy (that was the "grown up's name was, right?) told the kids that when you watch TV only watch the very best... thus, not leading the hypocritical message of a TV character telling you not to watch them. Of course, Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures handled it the best... to paraphrase:

"BORED? Well of course you're bored! Look at what you're watching! Go outside, read a book [etc. etc. I forget the whole speach] and when you absolutely must watch TV, watch only the New Adventures of Mighty Mouse and all the reruns! Now that that bit of hypocrisy is over, it's time for what television is really about! [commercial break]"

It was really weird because even though the name was the same, his look, voice, and demeanor was very different. It was so strange that now his main hook was that he was a downcast worrier. He almost came across a bit pathetic

Withdrawal symptoms?

 

[Ilikemuppets]

Wow! That was weird! Cool, but weird!

 

[Daffyfan4ever]

It was really weird because even though the name was the same, his look, voice, and demeanor was very different. It was so strange that now his main hook was that he was a downcast worrier. He almost came across a bit pathetic

Yeah. It would be nice to hear the original voice. Someone had mentioned that it was different than the Brian Muehl's regular Telly and according to that article, it wasn't Brian, but it was Bob Payne. Too bad the photo didn't come with a sound clip. Lol.

 

[minor muppetz]

Yeah. It would be nice to hear the original voice. Someone had mentioned that it was different than the Brian Muehl's regular Telly and according to that article, it wasn't Brian, but it was Bob Payne. Too bad the photo didn't come with a sound clip. Lol.

But 40 Years of Sunny Days will have Telly's first appearance!

 

[D'Snowth]

But 40 Years of Sunny Days will have Telly's first appearance!

That'll be awesome, lol.

I just hope his overall first appearance is nowhere near as freaky as Snuffy's first appearance.

 

[muppetfan1999]

Behold, my first thought after seeing this picture: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
TELLY IS SCARYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!
! MOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!

 

[Xerus]

I remember that episode as a kid. Telly first rushed into Hooper's store asking Mr. Hooper to plug something in for him, then Telly ran off. Mr. Hooper and David followed the cord and found Telly sitting on the outside table watching TV, he went, "Shhh! I'm glued!" And then introduced himself as Telly Monster. David and Mr. Hooper went, "TELLY MONSTER?"

Later, when David introduced Olivia to him, Telly was still watching TV saying, "There's no Olivia, just Lucy." And David and Olivia go, "Reruns!"

And later when Olivia asked Telly to name something that begins with M. Telly was still watching TV and was saying shows like Mister Rogers, MASH, Mary Tyler Moore, Meet the Press, Masterpiece Theater, Million Dollar Movie, Match Game, Mickey Mouse. That made me laugh so much.

 

[D'Snowth]

Telly watched M*A*S*H? Cool beans, lol.