My own two cents

[rowlf84]

Just to be reassuring, although the writers do use new characters quite a bit, they still feel a lot of affinity towards classic characters and try to use them whenever feasible. Big Bird, Bert and Ernie, Prarie Dawn, Cookie, and Grover are most likely going to be around for a very, very long time. Especially if the muppeteers have anything to say about it!

 

[Rosewood]

I am glad everyone has something not as mean to say about Elmo. I just hope Elmo will not completly vanish. I really like the classic characters. But Elmo is just awsom!

You know, I don't think anyone here really has a wish for Elmo to completely vanish. He is a perfect example of the innocense of youth which we all hold so dear. For todays generation, he is the one holding the candle for SS. For old timers like me, it was more a "bunch of muppets all wrapped into one" that was the essence of SS. I guess the thing that scares people like me more than anything is the thought of loosing the muppets of "our" youth, just as you fear possibly loosing Elmo someday. People like to "feel" young, (especially when they are physically not). For centuries they have been trying to find a way to "turn back the clock" somehow. Sure, there's things like plastic surgery, for those who can afford it. But just because you "look" young doesn't necessarily mean you feel it. And, (IMO), if you don't feel young, why take the trouble to look it? I, myself, would much rather spend my money on some good, remastered SS clips that I used to watch as a child, and use that as my "fountain of youth", than use it to pay a doctor to make me into something I'm not. When people, like me, vent frustration at Elmo's popularity these days, its doesn't mean we want to see Elmo obliterated. (Believe me, I could think of a heck of alot worse things that my kids could be watching than Elmo!) Its simply due to the fact that, as we see more and more new muppets being created and taking their place on SS, the muppets that WE remember are slowly dissapearing, and the future fate of the few memories we have to remember them by, (that being the old SS episodes and clips), are on very unstable grounds right now. For the people who now own them, they are like a double edged sword: the artists of today would like nothing better than to make a name for themselves by showing their talent through their work on todays SS, and they know that alot of the parents of today are from the Jim Henson era. But they also know that, unless they can get people to start likeing their work as much as Jim Hensons, they wont have a job for very long. And the way it appears to me that they are trying to do this is by showing less and less of his work, and more and more of theirs. Don't get me wrong, their work will always have Jims to be compared to. And, if I were a SS artist, puppeteer, or writer, having to meet a standard of quality like Jim had each day would be a pretty daunting task. Don't forget, Elmo was a creation of Jims, too. Enjoy him while you can, furryred. Tape every SS episode and "Elmo's world" you possibly can on the finest quality recording material you can get. Don't think for one second (like I foolishly did) that your favorite character(s) will always be on SS. Hopefully what Rowlf84 said is true, and our friends will be around for years to come. But, when it comes right down to it, only the directors and producers of SS truely have the ability to make that final decision.

 

[dedeldedel]

i hope so too

Hopefully what Rowlf84 said is true, and our friends will be around for years to come. But, when it comes right down to it, only the directors and producers of SS truely have the ability to make that final decision.

i agree with the majority of what Rosewood just said; espescially the last part that i just quoted. i hope Rowlf84 know something we don't and there are some good surprises ahead. but its better safe then sorry. if you havn't got copies of eps. that have stuff in them that you wan't, i'd start stockpilin! i have noticed a big difrence in the way SS has changed since JH died; some i like, some i don't. i do know some of the stuff i realy used to enjoy is hardly shown anymore, and i'd like to kick myself in the butt for not recording it when i had the chance! (now i have to go around "begging" for those who did to please be nice to me, and you don't get very many kind responses anymore!) i do wish that SW would release some of the older eps. that they have touched up. they could make a killing off of it!

 

[MuppetDude]

Just to be reassuring, although the writers do use new characters quite a bit, they still feel a lot of affinity towards classic characters and try to use them whenever feasible. Big Bird, Bert and Ernie, Prarie Dawn, Cookie, and Grover are most likely going to be around for a very, very long time. Especially if the muppeteers have anything to say about it!

Ditto! In my opinion the CM/Prairie and Grover bits are some of the best stuff done in years! (That and Telly and Baby Bear together; the Muppeteers play very well off each other. Lots of great ad-libs, and sometimes they break character by laughing!)

 

[Censored]

All television shows evolve, but most television shows don't bury their reruns and make them inaccessible. It seems to be unique to children's shows that they often don't want to show reruns that are very old.

On a documentary, the people at Sesame Workshop once said that although they use children's reactions as a test for what works, it is the adults' interpretation of how the kids react that makes the final decision.

Personally, I think all of the old episodes could be just as beneficial to children as adults. I think they ought to show (or sell) the old clips, side by side with the new and let the market decide.

 

[rowlf84]

Ah, but therein lies the problem. Studies have shown that moms think the current Sesame Street looks old and tired compared to shows like "Dora" and "Blue's Clues." Unfortunately, it seems like moms want to sit their kid in front of the television and use it as a baby-sitter. No matter how true the comments are, if they have that opinion of the current shows, imagine what they'd have to say about re-showing the old episodes. Believe me, my vote would be to show the old episodes during prime time or late night on a cable network, although I'm not sure about the feasibility of that. Cable television is expensive (though not as much as broadcast) and it's difficult to get sponsors, especially for such a niche group of viewers as old(er) Sesame fans.

 

[Rosewood]

My thoughts exactly

Ah, but therein lies the problem. Studies have shown that moms think the current Sesame Street looks old and tired compared to shows like "Dora" and "Blue's Clues." Unfortunately, it seems like moms want to sit their kid in front of the television and use it as a baby-sitter. No matter how true the comments are, if they have that opinion of the current shows, imagine what they'd have to say about re-showing the old episodes. QUOTE]

I agree that the problem today, and the main reason that Elmo's popularity has exploded the way it has, is because Elmo is the PERFECT babysitter! He's not only attention-grabbing, he has become an addiction to many of todays kids, thanks to the fact that telivision gets abused the way it does. When SW says they have research-based proof that Elmo is a smash hit, not only with kids, but with moms also, I would like to know how many of the moms they are basing these poll results on actually follow through and sit and watch THE ENTIRE SHOW, (including "Elmo's World"), every day with their kids. I'd bet, dollars to donuts, that most of them don't. If this question were to be asked to all the moms who rant and rave so much about Elmo, (and was answered truthfully), I'll bet the experiment-based results that SW uses to justify Elmo's saturation would become null and void in the world of true and honest research.

 

[Censored]

Ah, but therein lies the problem. Studies have shown that moms think the current Sesame Street looks old and tired compared to shows like "Dora" and "Blue's Clues." Unfortunately, it seems like moms want to sit their kid in front of the television and use it as a baby-sitter. No matter how true the comments are, if they have that opinion of the current shows, imagine what they'd have to say about re-showing the old episodes. Believe me, my vote would be to show the old episodes during prime time or late night on a cable network, although I'm not sure about the feasibility of that. Cable television is expensive (though not as much as broadcast) and it's difficult to get sponsors, especially for such a niche group of viewers as old(er) Sesame fans.

It's difficult to see showing a children's show on late night, even if it is an old show. To me, that's like saying that the content is inappropriate for children and has no value for them. Sesame Street, from any era, is for children.

While research may show that a lot of mothers think the previous format is "old and tired", I doubt that they'd think it was harmful or dangerous to their children.

Keep Elmo on the current show, keep Elmo's world, keep the current format; the new shows have passed the point of no return anyway. Just give the old episodes reasonable air time and give kids a chance to watch them too. If the old shows ultimately get less viewership, so what? It would give kids more choices of what to watch, allow nostalgic adults to share their memories with their own children, and most importantly, would do no harm to anyone. JMO

 

[Rosewood]

Just curious..........

Studies have shown that moms think the current Sesame Street looks old and tired compared to shows like "Dora" and "Blue's Clues."

How can moms of today say that SS looks "old" compared to "Dora" and "Blues Clues"? First of all your comparing a show with mixed media to 2 completely animated ones. And second, if this is true, than why is it that "Dora" and "Blues Clues" are the ones that have taken the axe, while SS is still being aired on public television in most places?

 

[ssetta]

Well, sadly, PBS isn't a very popular channel anymore. Nickelodeon and Disney are. And because they have all those other shows, most people don't even think to tune into PBS.