Your Thoughts: Sesame Street Old School Volume 3 1979-1984 DVD

[minor muppetz]

[*]Is it me or is the contrast on all the material kinda dark? It looks better than the 40 Years DVD; most of the clips had a weird blue-ish tint to them.

I think the picture looks just as great on this set as it did on the 40th anniversary set. the pictures look pretty bright here. Is the "weird blue-ish tint" you're referring to on this set or the 40th anniversary set? Because I haven't noticed it on either. Though on the 40th anniversary set I noticed the Super-Grover and Monsterpiece Theater logos looking very great, and on this set various blue title cards, backgrounds, and monsters have great blue colors (I've already mentioned Chariots of Fur looking better here than it does online, the blue looks especially beautiful).

• It's also a shame that only five clips per season were picked, obviously for space reasons. It must've been hard for them to chose. Some clips were expected for inclusion and others we've seen to death, but I'm glad they somehow found room for rare bits like "Trash Outta Heaven" and "Snowflakes."

When it comes to various rare segments that I hadn't even heard of from the early 1980s that appear on this set and on the iTunes "Classic Sesame Street" releases I wonder why so many of them were so scarce. This was a time when more people were getting VCRs and able to record the show (though judging by what episodes have guides at Muppet Wiki it seems it started to become common for fans to record the show around seasons 17 or 18) and these rare ones didn't show up on anybody's tapes. And I'm referring to stuff that didn't really have anything that could be seen as "objectible" (and that didn't have characters who were dropped after a year). But then an answer came to me as to why these had to be so rare until now: So that those who paid for the DVDs and downloads could appreciate them better!

And I must say, if there ever is an Oscar the Grouch spotlight video, Trash Outta Heaven should be included (but since this formerly-rare segment is on DVD it won't be a big deal if it isn't).

• Warren Wolf was quite a dull character; not much comedic potential between him and Nobel Price. Guess that's why he didn't stick.

I thought the character was good. I liked his deadpan reactions and how he was able to figure out early on that Dr. Nobel Price invented the microphone. And it seems he sort of tried to make Dr. Price look good after revealing the invention was already invented (by claiming that he "re-invented" the microphone). But he's no Kermit.

[*]I didn't think about it until the MuppetMindset review, but there really isn't much Cookie Monster on this.

When I read that there would be a volume 3 I looked over the episode guides and counted the number of segments with certain characters, and had noticed that the only Cookie Monster in the episodes were Monsterpiece Theater segments where he plays Alistair Cookie, and on this set we only got one where Cookie Monster is himself. Actually, Big Bird seems to be the most present Muppet on this set, and he's tied with Kermit as being in the most bonus clips (they're both in three). And if you want to count "Goodbye Mr. Hooper" as a bonus clip than he's in more than any other Muppet.

I had hoped that this would have a Kermit and Grover segment. I know the teeth segment is from season 15 because Brian Meehl performed the dentist in that one, but I'm not too sure whether the Sunglasses Salesman/Hairpiece/Monster Fix-It Team segments are from the early or late 1980s (when I first saw them I thought they were from season 16 or later, then I started thinking they could be from earlier). But then the first two volumes have plenty of Kermit and Grover team-ups while only one Cookie Monster and Kermit team-up was on either of the previous volumes.

 

[Oscarfan]

I think the picture looks just as great on this set as it did on the 40th anniversary set. the pictures look pretty bright here. Is the "weird blue-ish tint" you're referring to on this set or the 40th anniversary set? Because I haven't noticed it on either. Though on the 40th anniversary set I noticed the Super-Grover and Monsterpiece Theater logos looking very great, and on this set various blue title cards, backgrounds, and monsters have great blue colors (I've already mentioned Chariots of Fur looking better here than it does online, the blue looks especially beautiful).

Both this set and the 40 Years DVDs, the clips look very dark for some reason. And it's not just a screen thing, it's definitely the clips themselves. It's not as bad on this set though. However, "Coconut Counting Man" looks awful.

 

[liss1979]

Be honest...is this set worth buying?

 

[Oscarfan]

Totally. Just because there's no theme doesn't mean it's a bad set. There's a great mix of excellent material, rare material and behind-the-scenes supplements.

 

[liss1979]

Well, I'm gonna go try to find it here in town somewhere today

 

[liss1979]

Oooh, I just found it for 20.99! That is way cheaper than Walmart!

 

[minor muppetz]

Well, I finally listened to the commentary (and therefore completing my viewing of everything on the disc), and it was a fun listen. For awhile I wondered if commentary would be limited since Sonia obviously wasn't invovled with the animation, films, or many of the Muppet inserts, but she did have plenty to say. It's great that she revealed the name of the voice-over for Osvaldo in this episode (can't remember the name though, but Muppet Wiki noted that in his first appearance an unknown performer did the voice). It was fun when she was repeating some of Little Jerry's phone puns, which I hadn't really noticed before. In fact until she repeated it I couldn't understand Little Jerry's "real live wire" line (and I don't quite get it), and funny when she remarked on Jerry's "you're gonna be the reciever of all my love" with "I'm not going to touch that one with an 8 foot pole" (I could see a phone pun and a dirty thought with that one).

Looking over the booklet, I wonder if there were plans for three discs, or plans for more that didn't make the final cut. There is a section on celebrities from this era, mentioning and picturing celebrities who don't even appear on this set (even Cab Calloway is briefly mentioned), in contrast to the previous volumes booklets only mentioning celebrities who appeared in those sets. There's mention but no pictures of the Dingers, who don't appear in the episodes or bonus clips (in fact Sesame Street Unpaved also lumped the Honkers and Dingers together in the characters chapter without picturing the Dingers). It also seems a number of segments in the booklet wihtout appearing on the set.

It's interesting people say that the music that plays when Big Bird and Madeline roller skate is replaced. Some said that the original music was a carnival version of the theme song, but as it appears on the 40 Years set I don't think it sounds very similar at all (and the clip as it appears on that set starts halfway through the roller skating scene).

Why do I get the feeling that if we get volume 4 and it continues where this one left off that there'll be a bit of an Elmo focus? He'll probably be on the cover and the spine, and I can see Elmo being interviewed in the booklet and maybe a section on Kevin Clash like this one did on Martin Robinson.

Both this set and the 40 Years DVDs, the clips look very dark for some reason. And it's not just a screen thing, it's definitely the clips themselves. It's not as bad on this set though. However, "Coconut Counting Man" looks awful.

The only segments on this set that I noticed looking dark are Muppet segments from the early 1970s, such as Mumford's subtraction act and Simon Soundman buying a trumpet. When it comes to the first set the only segment that I feel had a terrible-looking darkness quality is Kermit News: Sleeping Beauty (and it looks the same way on the Silly Storytime release). I wonder if the brightness or darkness could look different depending on screens (so far I've only watched this on my laptop).

 

[liss1979]

Okay, I just watched the bonus clips, and the Dr. Nobel Price walking stick sketch does not have Kermit in it...is this an edit, or what? It's like some wolf hosting the news. lol!

 

[Oscarfan]

Okay, I just watched the bonus clips, and the Dr. Nobel Price walking stick sketch does not have Kermit in it...is this an edit, or what? It's like some wolf hosting the news. lol!

It's not an edit. That was a character that debuted that season, Warren Wolf. I don't know what his purpose was, maybe to alternate with Kermit as a reporter when Jim wasn't available, but he clearly didn't last long.

 

[muppetlover123]

are the behind the scenes videos on the dvd available?