Your Thoughts: Sesame Street Season 41

[Drtooth]

I gotta tell yah... you KNOW something's fishy when the health curriculum episodes are BETTER than the nature ones. I mean, they actually have a PLOT! Though, I have to admit, I think the fact that Natasha never ate veggies before would have been a prime opportunity to say that she's just off the bottle and eating food for the first time. But whatever. And HEY! A Veggie Dance that doesn't totally suck. Not to mention Cookie setting the record straight for the 99th time (Gah, I wish that rumor would just DIE already... but it does look like he's off the wagon). All and all, a pretty good episode, forgiving OBVIOUS puns like "Give Peas a Chance." And NO Elmo to be found in the street story. And Natasha! Yay!

I really hope they didn't make that many "Can you find X in the rocks" segments. They really... really stink.

And what more can I say about Super Grover 2.0? This was unfortunately the last one produced (so far). I still say it was a HUGE shame they only made 6 of these when 10+ would have been better. They have the same spirit of the classic Super Grover segments... Karate chopping stairs is just as funny as "Wubba Wubba Wubba" ing a computer on.

The way most episodes focus on the same 4-5 Muppets now, I was worried that the Count was next on the list of characters to be retired. Thank goodness for the math curriculum this season; it's keeping a classic Muppet out of mothballs!

I would actually say Thank Goodness for the symbiotic puppeteer and voice over work of Matt and Jerry keeping the character on the street. The Count is still very popular. I'd hate to think it was because of those TERRIBLE movies and TV shows, but if it is, I won't hold it against them. but I'm seeing Count merchandise again, and I haven't seen Count stuff in years. And you know they only merchandise characters that are currently on the show (on kids merchandise that is)... though, I did see a couple things with Herry on it.

 

[Oscarfan]

As for characters getting retired, I found it really odd that in the new "Food for Thought" kit there was an image with Betty Lou and Grover sharing some food. And it was a new Betty Louse poser!

 

[Daffyfan4ever]

Yeah. I liked the Super Grover segment. I thought the street story was really good too. It was nice that they referenced both 'A Cookie is a Sometime Food' and the public's concern about him becoming 'Veggie Monster.'

 

[dwmckim]

I'd say any future of Biff or Herry (Herry being more likely) would have to rest on both the writers and if Matt ever feels comfortable enough to perform him.

But I've noticed a BIG resurgence of the Count in both the show and in representational merchandise. If nothing else, at least they seem to be focusing on the core characters... unfortunately Herry doesn't fit into that, and he should. I'd love to see him used as a big brother figure to Elmo somehow.

Herry's one of my all time favorites and i hate his decline into obscurity when at one time he was just behind BB, Oscar, E&B, CM, Grover, and The Count in terms of visibility. As far as current merchandise though, at least he was on a recent t-shirt (in a group shot of characters) so at least there's some hope there.

I greatly fear if we do see more of him, he'll be treated like a generic AM monster.

 

[Drtooth]

Herry's one of my all time favorites and i hate his decline into obscurity when at one time he was just behind BB, Oscar, E&B, CM, Grover, and The Count in terms of visibility. As far as current merchandise though, at least he was on a recent t-shirt (in a group shot of characters) so at least there's some hope there.

I greatly fear if we do see more of him, he'll be treated like a generic AM monster.

I don't know if I'd count adult T-shirts... but I DID see him as a bus driver in a Learning Curve die cast vehicle. Unfortunately, it was just a sticker... and I swear he was on a kid's puzzle too.

Never thought of that... turning him into a generic monster... that would only be good for the fact we're seeing him and nothing else. Herry is a giant child that knows he's strong, but doesn't know to what extent... he's also a very gentle giant... a little tiny bit grouchy, but not a grouch. he is a very subtle character... maybe moreso than Big Bird. I really want the writers to find a vehicle for him, and again I suggest big brother figure for Elmo. Grover has that relationship of sorts... but almost an Inspector Gadget to Penny relationship... Elmo admires Grover, but in the end exceeds the master. We have Matt and we have Jerry... I'd love to see them try the character.

Sherlock Hemlock, however, I don't necessarily see coming back, but he SHOULD. Their has been a great resurgence of the actual character (the Robert Downy Jr. movie, the new PBS miniseries, even the Muppets and Tom and Jerry recently had encounters with Sherlock). I don't expect to see him as a major presence... but maybe a one episode shot like Guy Smiley had a couple seasons ago.

 

[Snuffylover]

loved the fact that they had a brand new Ernie puppet skit today. First time that's happened in a few years now. Nice to see Ernie and Bert's apartment too. It's too bad it couldn't have been both Ernie and Bert singing that song together, but it was still a really nice song. Hopefully this means more of the Ernie puppet in the future.

 

[Oscarfan]

What was the segment?

 

[Drtooth]

Ah yes... I was getting VERY worried about the lack of Ernie in new segments this year... due most obviously to the performer, not any executive decision by SW (as far as we know). I find it the highlight of the episode, even though the story was fairly good... well, I wouldn't call it a story so much a loose connection of gags... but whatever.

Ernie had that one line in the Will I Am song, but other than the not used nearly enough claymation segments, there was virtually no Ernie and Bert stuff this season... At least there were 2 segments with Ernie... of course, why would they need Steve to basically say ONE line in a song. So it's pretty clear we should have expected something.

Other than that, it was a very cute Ernie song. They've been lacking very good music lately, but that was a pretty classic style Ernie piece.

As much as I love Super Grover 2.0, I really don't like how we're seeing reruns this season. Especially when there are so many EBGA segments that haven't aired in the US yet. But I guess since we had an actual Ernie segment here, I shouldn't really complain about that.

 

[Oscarfan]

Wow, that was a really nice Ernie song. I can't wait 'til it's online so I can get an mp3 of it!

 

[Muppet Frog]

OMG! Ernie making a new skit appearance! Also he's wearing his original pajamas again!