Newer Sesame Street?

[TheRealFraggle]

Hey y'all, I haven't watched new episodes of Sesame Street since I was, well, in the target age group for it, but I was wondering, if there's anyone on the forum who still watches it with their kids or anything... what's it like nowadays? Has it gone all woke and squeaky-clean like so many kids shows? Is it even funny at all? Are Ernie, Bert, Oscar, Count von Count, and Snuffleupagus still on the show at all? Is Elmo still the star?

 

[YellowYahooey]

Hey y'all, I haven't watched new episodes of Sesame Street since I was, well, in the target age group for it, but I was wondering, if there's anyone on the forum who still watches it with their kids or anything... what's it like nowadays? Has it gone all woke and squeaky-clean like so many kids shows? Is it even funny at all? Are Ernie, Bert, Oscar, Count von Count, and Snuffleupagus still on the show at all? Is Elmo still the star?

I had lost interest in the show around February 1985 during the midst of Season 16 but based on what I saw on Muppet Wiki in recent years, it turns out I didn't miss a thing. Elmo, as much annoying he was to many people, wasn't a factor in my decision to stop watching the show (his voice was rarely heard, and by the time I stopped watching he had a gruff voice instead of the very familiar high-pitched voice many all know and love - or should I say "hate"?). Plus, by the mid-1990s, many classic animated segments and even some live-action segments had new music and/or new sound effects added - which, to me, ruined the quality of said segments as well as ruined the quality of the show, in my opinion. And today, all of the classic segments disappeared from first-run episodes - likely due primarily to the show's current HD format.

But according to what I saw on Muppet Wiki so far this season, I could have sworn I saw images that had Bert and Ernie in some form in Season 53. But yeah, the most common characters we see these days are Rosita, Zoe, Elmo, Abby Cadaby, Rudy, and maybe Ji-Young. Murray Monster used to be a major character, but he was dropped years ago. We see far less of the iconic classic characters, including Big Bird, these days. If they appear, it's a rare treat.

I personally don't know who the star of the show is nowadays. It's kind of a toss-up between Elmo and Abby Cadaby. But I did learn that Kevin Clash, who voiced Elmo, was let go from the show due to being named in a teen sex scandal.

I also find that Elmo's father is basically the same Muppet used for Telly (as it seems), since Telly doesn't appear anymore (or does he?).

 

[TheRealFraggle]

That's too bad. I don't think I'd even be able to watch the show anymore, because most of the classic characters I love (Ernie, Bert, Cookie Monster, Grover, the Count, etc.) are either not on the show any more or not nearly as prominent as they used to be). Plus, I hate Elmo and I also can't stand any of the new characters such as Rosita, Abby Cadabby, etc.

 

[Daffyfan4ever]

I also find that Elmo's father is basically the same Muppet used for Telly (as it seems), since Telly doesn't appear anymore (or does he?).

Oh, Telly and Louie are the same puppet? I never knew that. But yeah, seems like Telly is only seen in new material if the street story is a repeat invovling him. Considering how often he used to say 'what if,' it's interesting that he never really did an "I wonder. What if. Let's try."

 

[ACvillagerFan]

They're not the same puppet. Not even close. Just because Louie has some design resemblences to Telly doesn't make them the same puppet. Telly has a more rounded nose while Louie's is more triangle shaped. Also, Louie and Telly were onscreen at the same time during A New Neighbor on Sesame Street.

Marty has stated in interviews that Telly stopped appearing because the research team found that during test studies, they found that kids thought that Telly comes off more angry sounding in certain times where he was anxious, so they stopped using him. Personally, I think if they're going by his more recent appearances, I can sort of see why, as there were moments where Telly seems to show more of that anger type of vibe, such as the street story from Season 46, where Telly was pestering Abby about how she keeps doing art the "wrong" way by experimenting with different ways of making art. I think it comes down to the fact that the modern writers of the show just doesn't know how to write for Telly, as all they can really seem to write for him is just that he's anxious (that "I am whispering" moment from the 50th anniversary special feels like a good example of that).

Marty did say in a recent interview that he may talk with producers and such about wanting to have Telly start appearing more. The fact that Telly did show up during The Mindfulness Special, and looks like he's going to have a role in the upcoming Cookie Monster's Bake Sale special has rekindled a small amount of faith that there's still hope for Telly.