Little things we've noticed

[Oscarfan]

In addition to all those season 21 segments I listed that Jim Henson did, Muppet Wiki does list Ernie and Bert going to the movies to see "The Picnic" with a season 21 EKA, but looking at a wiki page from after its earliest known appearance, the wiki just lists it as an eka, not first, so it could have aired earlier (and I have been told that the scripts do indicate segments that debut in the episodes so it probably aired earlier).

That bit is from season 16.

 

[minor muppetz]

Thinking a bit about the Bert and Ernie sketches that were produced in season 21, it's fitting that one of Frank Oz's last performances as Bert alongside Ernie is one where Bert is genre-savvy enough to be aware that as soon as he wants to play the game that Ernie will be ready to end, while another is a rare segment where Bert is enthusiastic from the start about playing a game that Ernie initiates.

 

[D'Snowth]

"Snuffy Revealed" on YouTube has become "Snuffy Revolved" in recent years. I honestly don't know if that's a genuine typo on somebody's part, or if it's some sort of an attempt to beat copyright . . . the latter of which makes me doubtful, because YT's copyright system can identify audio/visual content regardless of the title, description, tags, even the privacy settings.

 

[LittleJerry92]

I mean, given that we once had a series of videos of Snuffy knocking things down, doesn’t surprise me anymore.

 

[cjd874]

For anyone that doesn't know, the Cookie Monster puppet has a hole in the back of its mouth so that cookies, letters, telephones, and bicycle parts can actually go down his "throat." Usually, I thought he would just mash the food up and send cookie crumbs flying in all directions. But I've noticed that sometimes, most of the food/objects actually did go down his mouth. Check out these classic sketches to see what I mean:

 

[minor muppetz]

Thinking more about Jim Henson's last Sesame Street segments...

The heavy and light game is one of the only times when Ernie initiates a game and Bert is actually excited about playing one of Ernie's games at the start. Nobody really knew that Jim Henson wouldn't have much time left (though I've seen quotes from people suspecting that Jim suspecting he'd die at a fairly young age), but if they knew, Bert's excitement over playing a game with Ernie (when he rarely wants to) could have had a little subtext - like knowing a friend or relative won't be around for too much longer and being excited to spend a little more time with them.

Then again, Bert's excitement also could have subtly reflected both Jim Henson and Frank Oz's busy careers. I used to wonder if they did anything together on Sesame Street during seasons 20 and 21, due to both busy careers, (and now know that some of their performances together premiered in those seasons), but Frank Oz did point out in 1989's An Evening with Jim Henson and Frank Oz that his directing career limited his involvement with The Jim Henson Hour (where Henson and Oz also barely worked together) and the recent seasons of Sesame Street, so it could be Oz being happy to have some time to work with Jim Henson again, after being so busy with his directorial career. And there have been a number of quotes that Henson and Oz usually improvised most of the dialogue from the Ernie and Bert sketches, so it could be Oz's own excitement as opposed to a writer putting it in the script.

Now knowing that "Best Friends Blues" came out in season 21, where Ernie mentions that Bert was suddenly sick, I guess it's great that it was Bert who got sick and not Ernie, otherwise that could have been a "harsher in hindsight" with one of Jim Henson's characters getting sick so suddenly. And it's also good that Jim Henson finally got to perform one of his characters interacting with Mr. Snuffleupagus, so close to before it would have been too late.

On the subject of another of Jim Henson's last segments, but no coincidence or subtext or anything, in the opposite game segment, Bert spends the whole segment being genre savvy, telling Ernie that he knows every time Ernie wants to play a game that Bert doesn't, he'll keep pestering him/roping him into the game anyway, and always happens to end right when Bert decides he wants to play. Which does end up happening here... Too bad Bert didn't decide to play then, knowing that's what would happen. Maybe it should have ended with Bert making a line similar to his "can't lose them all" from the drum beats game. Or maybe this was why he was so excited about playing a game in the heavy and light game - he decided to be enthusiastic from the start in hopes that Ernie would be ready to stop playing soon.

 

[LittleJerry92]

I was surprised to find out “Sad” by Little Jerry was actually a season 5 skit.

Granted, when it first came on the Internet, I actually thought it was from that season, but was surprised to see it was incorrectly listed in a season 4 episode. Looking at it now, it makes sense because it didn’t look as bright/overexposed as seasons 1-4.

 

[D'Snowth]

There's a variation with Milo Counting when it comes to #12: in the segment where he counts to 12, we see a tight shot of him emerging from the tall grass, and it gradually pulls out when he moves further out of the grass into the foreground; in the segment where he counts to 13, the #12 portion is a single wide shot of him emerging from the grass and moving forward, with no pulling or other camera adjustments.

 

[LittleJerry92]

Speaking of Milo, has it ever been confirmed if 13 is the highest the skits have gone to or no?

 

[D'Snowth]

It appears so. I mean, I've never seen higher than 13, and there's nothing on the Wiki about anything higher.