Am I the only one that finds it sad that they spent tens of thousands of dollars researching this character (who is pretty boring so far, not that they used her in that many episodes this season, despite the fanfare)?
Jim Henson created the muppets from his heart, and ran with them. I know that it's difficult to even come close to the genius that Jim embodied, but come on. That much research pretty much ensures a dull, lifeless, overly-PC, underimagined character.
My 2 year old's favorite character, hands down? Ernie. Followed closely by Cookie, Count, Grover and then Elmo. He sees both modern Sesame and the old, real genius from clips online. He's pretty much walked out of the room for the Abby episodes.
I'm not bashing the Elmo wave, either. Kevin Clash has done great keeping Sesame alive after Jim's passing and Frank naturally progressing to other creative outlets. Elmo may not be everyone's cup of tea (though I think a big part of that is his sudden overexposure and continued singular prominence), but at least Kevin picked up the muppet and made it his own, without surveys, field testing, social agenda or even a penny more than his salary. I confess that he isn't my favorite muppet, either, but I respect the work that Kevin has done and how he has touched children's minds and hearts.
Sesame Street might need a few new residents, but they're going to have to come of their own freewill, and not be committeed into existence.
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