How can someone hate Elmo?

[dwayne1115]

From everything I have seen Elmo the musical is way better in almost all areas compared to Elmo's world.

 

[MrBloogarFoobly]

Easy. He's annoying.

 

[beaker]

So they're OK except for that one flaw that actually makes them interesting, lol.

Enough said. That's why I don't give an inch about the Elmo's World stuff. I don't think it was helpful to the audience in the long term. The toys made a lot of money for PBS and clearly that's all that mattered. And all throughout Television, bland kiddie entertainment won out over something that actually challenged its young audience. Most parents didn't think too much about it because it made their kids happy and they thought that was their only requirement as a parent.

Sorry to be harsh but every time I try to give Elmo a break, this kind of nonsense comes up again, lol. And if he is now having a shrinking presence on the show, I can't say I'm sad.

I wish Elmo had been retired a long time ago, but ever since the 1996 Xmas holiday retail season, Sesame Workshop seems him as the golden goose. Which, I don't blame them...my issue is that the annoying furball has long swallowed up so much of the spotlight and time.

If the horrible Clash allegation scandal didn't retire the character, nothing will

 

[beaker]

You know what you never hear? Praise from the fact that Grover and Cookie Monster made huge comebacks. I'd venture to say Cookie Monster is on the show almost as much as Elmo now.

Which is a great reminder that Elmo's rise to popularity (though it did start in the 80's when he was a slightly different character) was Frank Oz's lessening presence on the show, among other characters lost by the deaths of Jim and Richard, and the failure of any newer characters that took their place to stick. Now, Frank's roles have been recast, filling the void that Cookie, Bert, and Grover left. There's been a greater move to the central classic characters as of late. Why, the Count was recast not too long after Jerry died. Which is a good thing, as the Count's presence on the show grew in recent years.

Heck, seems like there's actually a shrinking presence of Elmo.

This is good news. Honestly, do we even need Elmo when Murray Monster is way more fun, aesthetically pleasing, INTELLIGENT, engaging, adventurous and just all around a better character? Elmo continues to be the Jar Jar of the Muppet world.

 

[Drtooth]

This is good news. Honestly, do we even need Elmo when Murray Monster is way more fun, aesthetically pleasing, INTELLIGENT, engaging, adventurous and just all around a better character? Elmo continues to be the Jar Jar of the Muppet world.

The lack of availability of certain characters is what pretty much led Elmo to become the show's major breakout character at that time. Not to mention how he's essentially the same age as most of the target audience, so he somehow relates. But since they recast most of the core classic characters, they've been coming back in spades. Remember, back during the 35th anniversary, it was Super Grover, not Elmo, that got the big Macy's Parade balloon. Elmo never even got a balloon in that parade, and that's a shocker.

But most things have gotten better on the show. We've seen more Grover and Cookie than we have in years, The Count has been promoted back to regular character, and less of the street stories are Elmo and Abby based (the characters don't work together and have no chemistry). I don't know why there's less Big Bird, and I really dislike the fact Ernie and Bert segments have to be made for the international market first, but other than that, it's less the Elmo Show than it used to be. Even Elmo's closing segment is shorter.

 

[sesamemuppetfan]

This is good news. Honestly, do we even need Elmo when Murray Monster is way more fun, aesthetically pleasing, INTELLIGENT, engaging, adventurous and just all around a better character? Elmo continues to be the Jar Jar of the Muppet world.

Personally, I've lost respect for Murray, ever since Season 40 when he started being shown WAY more often than any other character!

 

[beaker]

Personally, I've lost respect for Murray, ever since Season 40 when he started being shown WAY more often than any other character!

Wait is this true? I haven't seen a full episode of Sesame since the 90's, I have to rely on the clips Sesame Workshop puts on. Wow, the news keeps getting better and better!

 

[Drtooth]

My only complaint with Murray lies in the block format, not the character himself. But the fact we have a character on Sesame Street that goes out into the real world and interacts with people on the street does my Muppet fan heart proud. Anytime I look at Murray filming in Central Park and not a dusty old indoor studio, I just think to myself, this is what Jim would have loved.

 

[Bridget]

I will add though, I do have respect for Elmo's dancing.

My only complaint with Murray lies in the block format, not the character himself. But the fact we have a character on Sesame Street that goes out into the real world and interacts with people on the street does my Muppet fan heart proud. Anytime I look at Murray filming in Central Park and not a dusty old indoor studio, I just think to myself, this is what Jim would have loved.

I agree with this one hundred percent dearest. Murray unlike other Sesame Street Muppets since Kermit, interacts very much with the outer world. And it is wonderful to see Central Park.