Well, this article is very interesting. And now I have a few comments:
It was geared toward low-mortgage rate homes, and that's why it was in the ghetto. And I think the reason why they created it was because not many people could afford preschool. They can now, and that's why the show isn't as popular as it used to be.
About the box set, I never thought of things being too poor quality. But it's true, the master copies of a lot of these old songs are wearing out, so they can't easily release them.
I do agree that Sesame Street has been the best show ever, but in my opinion, it has really gone down. I wish there was a way to see more old shows, but this is as close as we can get.