Little things we've noticed

[SkyeFan]

It's no surprise to me that most of the Muppets were built so quickly during the first season. It almost appears as if there was little effort put into the designs by way of appropriate color choices as well as preparing the characters to look more presentable with a rather well-crafted fashion. (I once stated a theory claiming that it didn't matter what colors were used since it was probably predicted that a good majority of viewers saw the show on black and white TV sets, as opposed to seeing it all in color.) The character designs looked very primitive, as well. For example, look at the early Anything Muppets. They were SO limited to character designs, especially the "one-shot" characters (those who would appear in only one segment and that's it). Thankfully, that all changed by season 2. The AMs look far more appealing and carefully crafted from that point on. It's almost as if the Muppet Workshop designers made specific sketches and designs for such characters who would only make just one appearance on the show.

What I mean about there being two separate Ernie puppets is how it seems as though they would switch off to having the version with a maroon nose to the one with the magenta nose on some occasions. Even though the maroon-nosed Ernie puppet was used in many early season 1 inserts, including episode 1, I believe some segments produced later that season still cast that original version, like the two segments with the Salesman - the one where he's selling the rope letter U and one with the debate between the letters P and R.

 

[minor muppetz]

The Muppets were being built and rebuilt quite quickly during Season 1 . . . in fact, there were two different puppets of the original Orange Oscar, mainly because the first puppet was ruined since it was built around a right hand work glove that Caroll had to force his left hand into since the trashcan setup in those earlier episodes forced him to operate Oscar left-handed. Actually, the very first Oscar puppet just simply ripped to shreds and rebuilt from scratch.

I thought there were three orange Oscar's. There's the first one, which clearly didn't have any arms. Then there was a fuzzy orange Oscar that had at least one arm (could they have just added it to the original very easily?). And then there was an orange Oscar with much smoother fur than the previous two looks.

 

[minor muppetz]

Muppet Wiki points out that some of the celebrities who contributed to the celebrity version of Put Down the Duckie didn't appear in any Sesame Street material outside that montage (I guess it's possible they did segments that didn't test well enough to make it to the show or the final aired versions of scripts). And it notes Itzak Perlman as the only celebrity there who didn't do any other material around seasons 18-19 who had been on the show before. But there are some who seem like they also didn't do the show during the years when they would have been recording celebrity verses (and maybe the wiki doesn't have those guides yet).

I was recently reading the guide with Jane Curtain as Cinderella, and I think I saw that that one came in season 16 (it also looks like she was in completely different outfits than in Put Down the Duckie). I always assumed that at least one of Danny DeVito's appearances came when they were taping celebrity scenes, and his attire there is similar to how he dressed in the grouch bus stop segment (though I thought there was something different about how his hair was groomed), so I was surprised to see that all three of his starring segments came in season 17, a year before the original non-celebrity Put Down the Duckie. I assume that they didn't start shooting verses with celebrities until the original premiered or at least was completed. And there's also Rhea Perlman, who appeared as the Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe, but I think that appearance came either way before or way after (and I assume maybe she was on the set because her husband was doing some appearances).

Maybe I should check and see if the wiki lists the first appearances of all those celebrities around seasons 18 and 19, to see if it was primarily celebrities who appeared those seasons or just season 19 celebrity guests.

In thinking more, it is confirmed that the celebrity version debuted in Sesame Street, Special, which first aired during the time that season 19 was on the air (I wonder if that's the reason the special was made), but on the show itself, it didn't air until season 20. Yet I feel this should have been in the season finale. A big band call-and-response song segment with several celebrities does seem kind of fitting for an episode about a wedding.

 

[YellowYahooey]

I noticed, on the Muppet Wiki yesterday, that episode 1953 had the first appearance of "The First Day of School in History" sketch, which was about the letter N. However, the featured letters on that episode were actually P and V.

Also, after seeing a full summary of Episode 2006, there was a segment "Hello, Sammy!" with Carol Channing, which was about the letter S. It was an early airing, and it did debut on episode 1951 in April 1984, but the episode 2006 airing did not sponsor the letter S (N and O were the actual featured letters).

The first known episode with the first known airing of the "Ernie's M/N machine" didn't have M and N as the featured letters (L and W were the actual featured letters).

An earlier episode had the Jim Thurman voiced cartoon segment where the dog looked thirsty and was making breathing sounds, showing a moving H from his mouth, breathing, and even illustrated HOT DOG which was a term starting with H. In many of the early airings of this skit, it was on episodes in which the letter H was not sponsored. It did not become an actual letter H segment until later in the 1980s.

What I wonder is, why were those segments' earliest appearances in episodes where letter featured in the segment was not sponsored?

 

[YellowYahooey]

I also would like to ask a question regarding a certain letter E sketch. This was a sketch where three Anything Muppets were screaming "E!" and the second Muppet was Farley. The third Muppet (a Fat Blue one) had a mustache and a hat, so what I ask is, was this Muppet actually Simon Soundman but with a different voice actor? if it was Simon Soundman, it was from a time when his mustache and hair was brown and not black.

I was led to believe that the Fat Blue Muppet was Mr. Johnson, without realizing that Mr. Johnson never wore a hat in his appearances, unless I overlooked something.

 

[minor muppetz]

I also would like to ask a question regarding a certain letter E sketch. This was a sketch where three Anything Muppets were screaming "E!" and the second Muppet was Farley. The third Muppet (a Fat Blue one) had a mustache and a hat, so what I ask is, was this Muppet actually Simon Soundman but with a different voice actor? if it was Simon Soundman, it was from a time when his mustache and hair was brown and not black.

Probably not meant to be either (the Fat Blue Muppet was often dressed identically to Mr. Johnson in a lot of early sketches, where he's performed by Jim Henson, but people at Muppet Wiki determined that's not supposed to be him). If it was supposed to be Simon Soundman, they'd probably have him making noise.

I believe the Fat Blue Muppet was also seen in that hat and attire in the song "How Do You Get from Here to There?"

Mr. Johnson was shown wearing a hat in The Sesame Street Dictionary, as if that was his regular attire (since he has it in multiple scenes and there's no special reason for it - though I recall one spot in the book where he's shown to be mad enough for the hat to fly a little off his head, maybe that's why he had it).

I was trying to determine what episode of Sesame Street established Roxy Marie as Biff's niece (seems she wasn't at first), and it looks like that's episode 2984. And that one might be Richard Hunt's last episode on the show (I should check his posthumous works and see if there's any later episodes noted, though I've heard David Rudman did take over Sonny Friendly in an episode taped before his death). To think that Roxy Marie sort of replaced Sully, but she did debut in Richard's last season, before he was officially gone, and they already established the family relation in an episode that might be Richard's last (though Sully does not appear in that episode).

 

[Oscarfan]

I was trying to determine what episode of Sesame Street established Roxy Marie as Biff's niece (seems she wasn't at first), and it looks like that's episode 2984.

They mention the relationship in #2927.

 

[minor muppetz]

I think fans thought Roxy Marie was meant to replace Sully, and I guess I thought she debuted in season 24 instead of 23, but it is interesting they added her while Richard Hunt was still around, but I guess they knew Richard Hunt didn't have much time left and were already preparing.

David Rudman took over Sonny Friendly before Richard Hunt died, but just yesterday I thought up a theory on why they recast Sonny Friendly. He wasn't really used that often, and he wasn't in many inserts (I think just What's My Part?, where he's not even in that much), so it's not like the kids would be exposed to how he previously sounded (unless they taped one of the old episodes). Though he was in The Alphabet Game which was still in print at the time (I wonder how well-selling that one was).

 

[minor muppetz]

Was looking at the Wally and Ralph page on the wiki to see if they did new material in seasons 4 and 5 (or if they just repeated their bits in those seasons). I realize that the wiki does not yet have guides for all of seasons 4 and 5, but it looks like only two segments aired past season 3, both in season 4, making me wonder if those were shot for season 3 and held over to the next (and I realize the scripts probably don't list the seasons they were produced in).

However, I also saw that the first appearance of a Wally and Ralph sketch (and I think I read that the wiki now has guides for all of season 3) was in episode 318, about 42 episodes after the season premiered. Makes me wonder if they were having trouble with casting or determining whether to have another comedy duo or if they had scheduling issues or what.

 

[TimzUneeverse]

I believe there was an episode/sketch featuring Big Bird or somebody else baking a cake for an unidentified human person. What was it?