Jazzy Spies #1 and Baker #1 ... do they exist?

[superboober]

I have read some sources that said that the baker films were last shown in 1986, and some that say they were shown until 1988. I think I've seen a Muppet Wiki page for at least one post-1986 episode featuring one of these sketches.

1988 is closer. I was still a steady viewer between 1986-1988, and they aired very frequently during that period. Perhaps what we can look at now is when each individual one was last seen.

 

[JLG]

I agree that 1988 is probably more accurate. I would have been five for most of that year, and I definitely remember seeing them then.

Incidently, is it really true that parents were complaining about their kids imitating the Baker? It just seems strange that that would happen out of nowhere after almost two decades.

 

[ISNorden]

I agree that 1988 is probably more accurate. I would have been five for most of that year, and I definitely remember seeing them then.

Incidently, is it really true that parents were complaining about their kids imitating the Baker? It just seems strange that that would happen out of nowhere after almost two decades.

I agree, although that was the reason going around the rumor mill at the time; by the late 80s, a lot of other characters were retired (or at least had their sketches edited) because of parents' complaints.

Even one Bert & Ernie skit from that time looked like Sesame Street's backhanded answer to the protests I'd read about: after watching Baker #8 on TV with Bert, Ernie staggered into the room with a stack of eight chocolate cakes. Bert, of course, was terrified of his friend falling; Ernie revealed that he'd used fake cakes and glued the stack together.

 

[squirrelboy]

Hello squirrelboy here,

I just recently saw this thread and I too have often wondered about why the "1" sketch was almost never shown - I am refferring to the Baker sketch.

I mean, I agree with what a lot of you people are saying, but how exactly are you trying to teach kids how to count without the #1? The sketch wouldn't even sound proper without the #1. Am I right?

I just wish someone had a copy of that sketch to put out onto youtube so at least we would know it existed, but I doubt anyone has a copy to share.

I hope I didn't offend anyone in any way. I am just as hurt as you are, trust me.

thanks,
squirrelboy

 

[LincolnHeights]

Even one Bert & Ernie skit from that time looked like Sesame Street's backhanded answer to the protests I'd read about: after watching Baker #8 on TV with Bert, Ernie staggered into the room with a stack of eight chocolate cakes. Bert, of course, was terrified of his friend falling; Ernie revealed that he'd used fake cakes and glued the stack together.

That was actually Baker #10. And that skit actually had Ernie and Bert, watching a Sneak Peek Previews skit starring Telly and Oscar, who watched Baker #10. At the very end of the skit, Ernie and Bert started arguing and Telly and Oscar looked in their window and commented on their argument. It was probably one of the most unique Ernie and Bert skits they ever did. It was actually a E&B/Sneak Peek Previews/Baker#10 skit all in one.

 

[GonzoLeaper]

So I guess there wasn't a 0 version of these films either....

That would have been quite pointless I suppose- but still, zero is a number of things you can have. And after Guy Smiley ate his last few cookies, zero is how many cookies Cookie Monster had! (The one song I remember that does teach kids about the number zero. )

Ha ha- that could have been really funny- to see all the usual people from the Baker films- the guy who opens trap doors, the black guy with the afro, Jim Henson, Brian Henson, fairly obscure Sesame Street Muppets like Little Bird or Rowlf, and random kids- (it seems there was one black kid that always got stuck counting wind-up toys)........

Well, perhaps this is the kind of thing that would be better in a Sesame Street parody

 

[ISNorden]

I mean, I agree with what a lot of you people are saying, but how exactly are you trying to teach kids how to count without the #1? The sketch wouldn't even sound proper without the #1. Am I right?

I just wish someone had a copy of that sketch to put out onto youtube so at least we would know it existed, but I doubt anyone has a copy to share.

You've got a point; still, there's a difference between learning that you couldn't count without 1, and stopping a count at 1. If the #1 sketches had taken the former approach, they wouldn't have seemed so weird to me as a kid. No hard feelings, I hope?

 

[ISNorden]

So I guess there wasn't a 0 version of these films either....

That would have been quite pointless I suppose- but still, zero is a number of things you can have. And after Guy Smiley ate his last few cookies, zero is how many cookies Cookie Monster had! (The one song I remember that does teach kids about the number zero. )

Ha ha- that could have been really funny- to see all the usual people from the Baker films- the guy who opens trap doors, the black guy with the afro, Jim Henson, Brian Henson, fairly obscure Sesame Street Muppets like Little Bird or Rowlf, and random kids- (it seems there was one black kid that always got stuck counting wind-up toys)........

Well, perhaps this is the kind of thing that would be better in a Sesame Street parody

I recall part of a street-scene conversation from a 90s episode, with a kid trying to count to 0 but never getting there...until an adult told the kid he needed to count backwards. That's probably the best way to teach 0, starting with "something" and working down to "nothing" (just like poor Cookie Monster in that song).

If a serious update to the Baker films were made for 0, I'd imagine it as a series of "where the heck did it go?" moments as various things vanished, leaving the people stuck with counting nothing. Of course, this would also be the only clip in which the baker made it down the stairs unharmed. :-D

 

[minor muppetz]

It seems like the one sketchw as rarely seen just because one didn't sponsor the show until later. However, in 1986, the show started teaching kids to count up to 40, but the highest number to be a sponsor was 21, which only sponsored the show twice. It was common for skits about numbers higher than 20 to be shown. I recall Monsterpiece Theater: The 39 Stairs being shown quite frequently. And if one wasn't a sponsor, couldn't it be shown just as regularly as any non-letter or number skit?

 

[squirrelboy]

Hello squirrelboy here,

I just wanted to say, you're right, you are all right. I feel like an idiot for even posting anything in this post, have I known this would be the result.

All I wanted was to share my opinion so anyone who never got the chance to see the "1" sketch (baker films) and had a copy that they wished to share on youtube, could see it and know it's there for everyone to view - both young and old. A lot like the Baker 2 - 10 sketches (which are on there allready). But I guess my dream will never become a reality.

I am sorry for waisting anyone's time,
squirrelboy

P.S. And ISNorden, thank you for what you said.