Your Thoughts: Sesame Street 40 Years DVD Box Set

[Oscarfan]

I'll see if I can tomorrow.

 

[D'Snowth]

Ah, thanks guy.

 

[minor muppetz]

I don't know how to say this, but when my first viewing of this DVD was also the first time I felt a bit choked up during the explanation of Mr. Hooper's death. For thge longest time my only exposure to the scene was the 20th anniversary special (which didn't include any Mr. Hooper clips), and aside from Christmas Eve on Sesame Street and some books, I didn't really grow up with Mr. Hooper. But I guess having seen plent yof Mr. Hooper in the past 5-10 years (on the Old School sets and sesamestreet.org clips) made it happen now.

Also, the wedding scene is really great. Somehow I didn't realise that the wedding scene had a song... I knew that lyrics were at the sesame street lyrics aerchive, but i think i thought that was just a transcript of the scene. Muppet Wiki mentions the song, and Street Gang mentioned some of the lyrics, but this all somehow got past me. I saw the episode when it aired, but otherwise I don't remember seeing the song, just portions of the wedding.

 

[Redsonga]

I don't know how to say this, but when my first viewing of this DVD was also the first time I felt a bit choked up during the explanation of Mr. Hooper's death. For thge longest time my only exposure to the scene was the 20th anniversary special (which didn't include any Mr. Hooper clips), and aside from Christmas Eve on Sesame Street and some books, I didn't really grow up with Mr. Hooper. But I guess having seen plent yof Mr. Hooper in the past 5-10 years (on the Old School sets and sesamestreet.org clips) made it happen now.

Also, the wedding scene is really great. Somehow I didn't realise that the wedding scene had a song... I knew that lyrics were at the sesame street lyrics aerchive, but i think i thought that was just a transcript of the scene. Muppet Wiki mentions the song, and Street Gang mentioned some of the lyrics, but this all somehow got past me. I saw the episode when it aired, but otherwise I don't remember seeing the song, just portions of the wedding.

Don't feel bad, I don't remember Mr. Hooper ether, besides in the X-mas movie where I didn't know his name. It is sort of weird being born the year he died and have everyone be sad about him, but not knowing him enough to join in...
I'm not putting down the boxset, because what they did they did well but I wish their was a collection of some of the best street scene plotlines all on their lonesome. I think the fandom for them is really underrated....

 

[minor muppetz]

Though there is a lot to enjoy about this set, I thought I'd list the top ten things missing from the set:
1. Not many "ensemble cast" segments with just Muppets... There are some ensemble scenes/group numbers with the humans, many of which include Big Bird, but it would have been great if the set had included some scenes with groups of characters including some not normally seen together. Things like Prairie Dawn's pageants, The American Revolution: The National Bird, Mystery Guest, Do De Rubber Duck (though the song has already been released on DVD multiple times and there are enough Rubber Duckie songs on the set), and The Kings Nose.
2. On a similar note, while there is plenty with the humans, the set doesn't really have any "cast inserts". What I mean is the kidn of wacky inserts fromt he early years featuring the humans, doing such activities as building letters and numbers, sometimes with the video sped up. And there's not any inserts with the cast playing different roles (or is it the cast as their characters playing roles?).
3. No Kermit and Grover or Kermit and Cookie Monster pairings. Kermit and Grover have had many great moments together (their "salesman" bits, Health Minutes: Teeth, heavy ans light...), and so have Kermit and Cookie (I would have included the feelings lecture or Kermit's mystery box).
4. Aside from the "Snuffy is Seen" clip, there's no segments referencing the fact that the adults didn't beleive in Snuffy (well, I guess traveling to hawaii in a net tied to a helicopter was done so he could avoid being seen...). And no "near misses" clips, either.
5. No "Jazz Numbers" clips. Seriously. Only Jazz #2 has been released on DVD. And only two of them can be viewed at sesamestreet.org.
6. No Guy Smiley, Don Music, Sherlock Hemlock, Biff, Sully (aside from a mention in "Telly Plugs In"), Gladys, Placido Flamingo, Twiddlebugs, or Harvey Kneeslapper. Many of these characters were consistiently on the show for many years, and are surely remembered by many fans. Of coruse it seems like most of the chosen clips are about three minutes long or less, and I know that many Guy Smiley and Don Music sketches are an average of four minutes long... But most of the best Harvey Kneeslapper sketches are about a minute long. (another thing that I noticed: A few of those characters made on-screen appearances in season 40)
7. None of the early comedy duos (Buddy and Jim, Larry and Phyllis, Wally and Ralph) were included. The first two only have one sketch each available on DVD, while none of the Wally and Ralph segments have been released. And none of their sketches have been uploaded online by Sesame Workshop.
8. No "season one Big Bird or Grover" sketches. We got an orange Oscar set, but I think the first Big Bird and Grover needed to be seen and heard on this set.
9. Additionally, there's nothing with Brian Meehl as Telly (or Michael Earl as Snuffy). It's great that we got to finally see and hear the original Telly (with Bob Payne as the character), but Brian Meehl was Telly's first main performer (well, I gues depending on how many times Telly appeared in his original form).
10. Insert something important but missing here.

 

[InvaderZim]

Found the behind the scenes footage to be quite excellent.

Wished Sesame Workshop included show opens used for 1992-1998 and 1998-2001-the 1969 one was included (but I don't really mind that).

 

[InvaderZim]

Also- "A New Way to Walk", would have liked to have seen the 1993 celebrity version included in addition to the Destiny's Child version.

 

[minor muppetz]

Also- "A New Way to Walk", would have liked to have seen the 1993 celebrity version included in addition to the Destiny's Child version.

The DVD didn't include multiple versions of any songs. The celebrity version of A New Way to Walk can be found on the video/DVD Get Up and Dance.

 

[minor muppetz]

I have noticed that while some of the clips are edited, usually at the end of a clip, there is one left uncut that seems odd to have elft in: The ending to I Love Trash, wehre Gordon offers to take Oscar on a trip to a garbage dump. I might be wrong, but I figure that scene was meant to lead to a film about a garbage. If I was in charge I wouldn't support cutting scenes from any inserts (and I don't know whetehr the original I Love Trash was an insert or just a one-time street scene), but as long as stuff is cut then that ending would have been more appropriate to cut.

 

[antsamthompson9]

I got the DVD for Christmas and it's awesome! I've seen most of the clips before on YouTube, but it's nice to have them on DVD. And I love the behind the sinces footage.