Do you think Rudy could become the new Elmo?

[D'Snowth]

Gonger, to me, has the benefit of being paired with a popular, established character like Cookie Monster to help bolster his appeal a little bit - not only like how Abby was almost immediately always paired with Elmo when she joined . . . of course, that was pretty much intentional: that was when they were in desperate need of a female Muppet to achieve the level of star-power that Elmo has.

 

[Buff Beaker]

Gonger, to me, has the benefit of being paired with a popular, established character like Cookie Monster to help bolster his appeal a little bit - not only like how Abby was almost immediately always paired with Elmo when she joined . . . of course, that was pretty much intentional: that was when they were in desperate need of a female Muppet to achieve the level of star-power that Elmo has.

I love the duo of Cookie and Gonger. Honestly I would rather see Cookie Monsters Foodie Truck be a spin off show instead of a segment on the show.

 

[D'Snowth]

Ehh, personally, I prefered Smart Cookies and especially Crumby Pictures; I find Monster Foodies a tad banal and repetitive, but I mean, I'm still really pleased that Cookie Monster has really risen into newfound popularity in recent years - it really helped knock Elmo back down a peg or two. Not to mention, as much as Frank Oz did for the character and made him what he is, there's something about David Rudman's Cookie Monster that seems to possess a little more of a sense of childlike innocence that adds an extra little layer to the character; Frank's Cookie Monster has more of an explicitly "ageless" kind of personality.

 

[MuppetSpot]

Ehh, personally, I prefered Smart Cookies and especially Crumby Pictures; I find Monster Foodies a tad banal and repetitive, but I mean, I'm still really pleased that Cookie Monster has really risen into newfound popularity in recent years - it really helped knock Elmo back down a peg or two. Not to mention, as much as Frank Oz did for the character and made him what he is, there's something about David Rudman's Cookie Monster that seems to possess a little more of a sense of childlike innocence that adds an extra little layer to the character; Frank's Cookie Monster has more of an explicitly "ageless" kind of personality.

I remember with an interview with David Rudman taking over cookie monster was a big honor and a big responsibility to him, so much that he study the character with Frank’s performance to this day

 

[D'Snowth]

I recall that same interview as well.

 

[Oscarfan]

Of the three CM formats we've gotten the last few years, I like Crumby Pictures the most. The parodies were ham-fisted sometimes, but more often than not, they were really funny with neat character designs and settings.

Smart Cookies fell flat for me. I love the designs of the team, and that's about it; it's the same thing every time, especially curriculum-wise. In contrast, SG 2.0 and CCP had over-arching educational goals, but each individual segment was about something specific (like SG: segments about screws, wheels, pulleys, force, etc.). Every Smart Cookies bit is about the exact same thing - "stop and think." And it made no sense how a lot of them ended with chaos and the whole team is like "No need to thank us!"; isn't the point that CM is the screw-up? That makes it seem like they're all just as incompetent. That, and the segments aren't funny; I can't believe they passed Joey Mazzarino's desk.

Foodie Truck is fine for what it is, but there really isn't a whole lot to laugh at/enjoy. There's the first bit where they find they're out of something, and really, that's it. The video order, the traveling shots, the on-location documentary, the cooking, and the delivering; it's all pretty much the same.

 

[minor muppetz]

They tried to, Joey Mazzarino even tried writing more for him so he could shine a little brighter . . . the problem was he wasn't as relatable as a character for the little kids watching like Elmo is: Telly's too much of a Woody Allen/George Costanza/Jon Lovitz-esque kind of character, all of whom, of course, kids aren't familiar with, so they can't appreciate the parallel there.

I've often felt like Telly, particularly when worrying or being indecisive. I didn't really know those types when I was a kid, but still enjoyed and related to the character. Even if there were a lot of characters I liked better. Of course until I saw it pointed out on sites like this in the mid-2000s, I didn't really notice a lack of Telly Monster toys.

Hmm, and I should probably mention this elsewhere, but it seems like a lot of the characters who are more "street characters" have had less toys and character merchandise than "insert characters". Yeah, we've had plenty of Big Bird and Oscar toys, plus some characters who seem like a mix of street and insert - like Elmo, Abby, and The Count - but others who were more on the street, such as Telly, Baby Bear, Herry, Barkley, and maybe Snuffy, were less merchandised, while there's been plenty of merchandise of Ernie, Bert, Cookie Monster, and Grover (of course these characters were used on the street more after season 30).

 

[MuppetSpot]

I've often felt like Telly, particularly when worrying or being indecisive. I didn't really know those types when I was a kid, but still enjoyed and related to the character. Even if there were a lot of characters I liked better. Of course until I saw it pointed out on sites like this in the mid-2000s, I didn't really notice a lack of Telly Monster toys.

Hmm, and I should probably mention this elsewhere, but it seems like a lot of the characters who are more "street characters" have had less toys and character merchandise than "insert characters". Yeah, we've had plenty of Big Bird and Oscar toys, plus some characters who seem like a mix of street and insert - like Elmo, Abby, and The Count - but others who were more on the street, such as Telly, Baby Bear, Herry, Barkley, and maybe Snuffy, were less merchandised, while there's been plenty of merchandise of Ernie, Bert, Cookie Monster, and Grover (of course these characters were used on the street more after season 30).

From what I heard from marketing class, some characters pop out more than others when it comes to the cultural osmosis. A character like Baby Bear is too generic while a character like Grover pops out.

This reminds me of a paparazzi event where people were calling Telly the Purple Elmo and Marty has Telly act offend by saying “I am the purple Elmo, there’s Oscar he’s the green Elmo, and over here is Cookie Monster, he’s the blue Elmo.”

 

[Buff Beaker]

From what I heard from marketing class, some characters pop out more than others when it comes to the cultural osmosis. A character like Baby Bear is too generic while a character like Grover pops out.

This reminds me of a paparazzi event where people were calling Telly the Purple Elmo and Marty has Telly act offend by saying “I am the purple Elmo, there’s Oscar he’s the green Elmo, and over here is Cookie Monster, he’s the blue Elmo.”

That's hilarious! Marty is truly one of the greatest puppeteers. I wish Marty got more recognition in the show.

 

[MuppetSpot]

That's hilarious! Marty is truly one of the greatest puppeteers. I wish Marty got more recognition in the show.

I would just love to see an evening with Marty performing Telly just going off on whatever is going on.