In honor of the 50th anniversary of the moon landing…

[SesameMike]

In honor of the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing, I have here a description of a sketch where Mr. Hooper and Susan went to the moon.

Scene: a plain background with a freestanding chalkboard, and 3 boulders in the foreground. The background music is "space-like".

Susan (S) and Mr. Hooper (H) come walking in wearing spacesuits. They move with a sort of "bounce-like" slow-motion, suggesting low gravity.

H: Well, here we are! At last!
S: On the moon?
H: On. The. Moon. Now Lieutenant, I'm going to go over there to explore that crater. (Points offscreen) But while I'm gone, I have a mission for you.
S: What's that?
H: I want you to count all the rocks in this area. (Points around) And when you are done, to write the number on this blackboard.
S: Got it.
H: And we are lucky the last astronaut left us this blackboard.
(Mr. Hooper deftly leaps off-camera to the left)
S: OK, now to count the rocks. 1..., 2..., 3. Three rocks. (Writes a 3 on the blackboard.)
(The background music then shifts to a faster "woop-woop-woop" mode as one of the rocks spontaneously lifts up and flies away)
S: Oh well, 1 from 3, is 2. Cross out this 3, and put a 2 there. (Does just that on the blackboard)
(Music shifts again, and another rock takes off.)
S: Oh well, 1 from 2, is 1. Cross out this 2, and put a 1 there. (Does just that on the blackboard)
(Music shifts again, and the last rock becomes airborne.)
S: Oh well, 1 from 1, is none. (Puts a zero on the blackboard)
(Mr. Hooper bounces back into the scene.)
H: Well Lieutenant, how many rocks were there?
S: Zero. There are no rocks. (Points to blackboard). See, zero.
H: That's not right. I saw some rocks when I left.
S: Yeah, but, they flew away.
H: Impossible. Things cannot just fly away.
(Music shifts, and Mr. Hooper levitates and disappears offscreen)
H: Lieutenant! Things just cannot flyyyyy, awayyyyyyyy!
S: (Looks at camera and shrugs shoulders)

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I think that look back at the zero on the blackboard was an opportunity to shift Mr. Hooper into chroma key, in order for him to "fly away".

 

[The Count]

Is this an actual sketch that aired on the show? :confuse:

 

[Oscarfan]

Yeah, it aired in #0524, and presumably other shows.

 

[The Count]

Okay, thanks, wasn't sure if this was a legit sketch or some sort of fanfic oneshot.

 

[YellowYahooey]

I know there was a Friday episode that aired late in Season 12 which involved all of the street scenes linked into a full storyline in which Oscar went to the moon. I believe it was titled "Close Encounters of the Worst Kind". It was a pretty interesting episode, and perhaps one of the best episodes of that season.

Surprising that the "Yip-Yip" Martians never appeared in this episode, nor the sketch on Episode 524.

 

[SesameMike]

One other Project Apollo-inspired segment was where Grover was introducing the letter R. If I remember correctly, he asked the letter to demonstrate some R-words, like to rock back and forth. Finally, Grover asked the R to show off a big one: "Rrrrrrrrr-rocket!!". They then showed the R against a black background, at which point it did a rather convincing slow ignition, complete with realistic sound effects, as the letter launched itself upwards. The camera then cut to a wowed Grover. (I'm not sure if he coughed from the resultant cloud of smoke; I might be getting that mixed up with the fallout from the disappearing pineapple/Mumford trick.)

Then there were those animations where a man is counting down a rocket launch -- and something always goes awry, e.g., the spectators "blast off" instead of the rocket. Following at least one of those, a live-action Carol Burnett appeared and said something like "Oh well, back to the ol' drawing board."

 

[SesameMike]

The thread-starter has appeared on YouTube!!