Idea for a 40th anniversary special...

[BobThePizzaBoy]

Well, here it is: a rough draft of sorts to what I think would be a good 40th anniversary special for the street. It's not perfect and I'd be open to any changes in clips and such people would want. (thanks to mbmfrog for the plot idea!)


Sesame Street: 40 Years and Still Counting

This would be a big network prime-time special with a potent advertising campaign (maybe on ABC) combining classic footage and a new framing story.

The special would begin on the main street set at night. Some jazz band is in the arbor area playing a cover of the Sesame Street Theme. When the opening song is done, we see the citizens of the street seem to be preparing for a celebration of some sort. Elmo and Zoe ask Bob what the big thing going on is. Bob naturally tells them that it’s Sesame Street’s 40th anniversary. Bob goes on to tell them he’s been on the street since day one. He narrates this over several clips from the first season. This leads into the first set of clips:
· The People in Your Neighborhood (original version with postman and fireman)
· Elmo’s Song
·Monsterpiece Theater: The 400 Blows (it is a 40th anniversary special after all!)
·Ernie & Bert: Fish in the cowboy hat

After the Ernie & Bert sketch, we go back to the street where Elmo and Zoe are amazed by how long Sesame Street has been around for when they hear Bert yelling at Ernie about what happened in the last sketch and Bert comes storming out of 123 Sesame Street yelling about how “They’ve been living together 40 years too long!” and tells Elmo and Zoe that he’s moving away from Sesame Street. Then… a commercial break!

When we come back from the commercial break, Elmo and Zoe are at Hooper’s Store telling the cast members who are there (Alan, Grover, Big Bird, Bob, Gordon and Susan) about how Ernie and Bert seemed to have ended their friendship. Everybody at Hooper’s agrees that they should do something about the two of them before the celebration that night. After this is the second set of clips:
·‘C’ is for Cookie
·Sesame Street News Flash: Humpty Dumpty
·Monster in the Mirror (celebrity version)
·Ask Oscar: V word

Big Bird and Grover go to find Bert; they ask Oscar if he has any idea where Bert went. Oscar refuses to answer but tells them “He went uptown somewhere! I don’t know!” Meanwhile, Elmo and Zoe are trying to comfort Ernie and motivate him to become friends with Bert again. After those two comedic scenes, we are treated to a third set of clips:
·Happy Tappin’ with Elmo
·Kermit and Cookie Monster’s poem on galoshes
·Bein’ Green
·Happiness Begins at 40

We then cut to the set of The Colbert Report where it seems that Stephen has a new co-host: Bert. Stephen and Bert get a tizzy about the pronunciation about the name Colbert when Big Bird and Grover show up. They (plus Stephen) try to convince Bert to come back and live with Ernie. Bert gets a bit tongue-tied and leaves the set of the show. Big Bird chases after him. Grover goes to follow them but Stephen stops him and tells Grover that he is his favorite Sesame Street character and tells him there’s one thing that Colbert always wanted to do with Grover… leading into them singing Sing After Me.

After this, another montage:
·I Love Trash
·Two-Headed Monster: Listening
·Put Down The Duckie (celebrity version)
·Super Grover: Telephone Booth

Now we’re at Hooper’s Store. Bert is drinking himself away with milkshakes while Alan, like everyone else, tries to motivate him to befriend Ernie again, telling him “Sure, you two have had your fights but you two have had great things to remember.” This gets Bert remembering leading into a ‘flashback’ sequence to Things That I Remember. This motivates Bert to go to the apartment where they finally apologize and move into again. This (with some sly editing) leads into some classic E&B skit. Then we finally get to the end of the show where the big 40th anniversary festivities are taking place. The special ends with cast (and Stephen Colbert!) singing Sing in the arbor area. The credits take place over footage of celebrities singing Rubber Duckie. I should also note and as bumper during the special, the casts of the shows on whatever network this special would air on give their birthday wishes to Sesame Street.

 

[ISNorden]

If only Sesame Workshop accepted scripts from "outsiders"...dang, you did a terrific job! Characters that kids AND adults could relate to, a reasonably balanced mix of clips from the show's history, a believable plot: the SW writers could take a few lessons from your work.

 

[Count von Count]

I think so.

 

[BobThePizzaBoy]

If only Sesame Workshop accepted scripts from "outsiders"...dang, you did a terrific job! Characters that kids AND adults could relate to, a reasonably balanced mix of clips from the show's history, a believable plot: the SW writers could take a few lessons from your work.

Do you have any suggestions to make it better/ideas for clips to put in?

I personally feel it's a good assortment, I tried to get all the main characters in there (I intentionally tried to avoid E&B skits for the sake of the plot). There were a few segments that I tried to get it (a Waiter Grover segment, Count It Higher, more Oscar skits, more celebrity skits) but you can't have everything! But I'm glad you liked it, maybe I should try pitching it to SW!

 

[Ilikemuppets]

I don't mean to rain on anybodies parade and put down anybodies good ideas. I do don't think they should do a retread of what they did in the past. I think they should do something to pay tribute to a forty year legacy, but I also think they should have an original idea... an original concept. I just don't know what that original idea should be.

 

[BobThePizzaBoy]

I just don't know what that original idea should be.

Maybe more a "mockumentary" of sorts, interviews with the human 'characters' and Muppets as if they play themselves on TV? I don't know.

 

[Ilikemuppets]

To be honest here, all of your ideas sound really good! And I think it's a good Idea. I think they need tow special to air back to back. One being in depth about the history/legacy and the behind the scenes of the program, and one being a television special having a story with the characters on the show. But great Ides and keep it up! I actually think they should make a new special based on the upcoming book.

 

[fleecenotfelt]

oh a mockumentary would be HI-LARIOUS! i like the dvd extra on what's the name of that song, where they interview super grover or on cinderelmo where the characters talk about how they were playing other characters (talk about story within a story...).

bob, i like your idea a lot (esp. the bert and colbert part)! the one thing i would point out, is that no one on the show ever really acknowledges that they're ON a tv show or that a long time has passed. so bob mcgrath would never talk about day one, zoe and elmo would never talk about how long the show was on, and bert and ernie wouldn't acknowledge 40 yrs of friendship.

maybe, instead of talking about 40 yrs, it could like big bird's birthday? or a different anniversary to get the characters to reminisce?

 

[BobThePizzaBoy]

bob, i like your idea a lot (esp. the bert and colbert part)! the one thing i would point out, is that no one on the show ever really acknowledges that they're ON a tv show or that a long time has passed. so bob mcgrath would never talk about day one, zoe and elmo would never talk about how long the show was on, and bert and ernie wouldn't acknowledge 40 yrs of friendship.

maybe, instead of talking about 40 yrs, it could like big bird's birthday? or a different anniversary to get the characters to reminisce?

Gosh, I didn't even think of that! When I was writing the plot, I was picturing them refering to SS as the place and not the show but I can see where that is confusing.

 

[mbmfrog]

You know we could have a show which just foucsing on Abby learning more about Sesame Street from Big Bird's scrapbook of memories.

Or Kermit could return to the show and notice the changes that the street has undergo for the past several years.

Still this is a good idea for a 40 anniversary Special and it all about & the first two muppets for the show.