Opening theme truncated!

[Rosewood]

I just saw it.........

The other day they aired the show where Big Bird gets shrunk, and I, too, noticed an additional sponsor and a shortened opening theme. Sad to say, but if they have decided to do this, I don't see much hope of it going back. With all the changes they have made up untill now, I still have yet to see them revert back to something that used to be. The way I see it, I'm just glad they're still singing the old song at all. I thought for sure by now they would simply be opening it with the tune to "EW!" (Elmo's World)

 

[BooberFraggless]

I watched the episode from Season 34 when the Duck thinks Telly is his mother and I also noticed the very short theme song they do now. I think it's rather sad that they arent playing the complete theme song anymore. Who would have thought that after 36 years they would do that. It looks like we won't hear the second verse of the theme song anymore, (come and play, everything's AOK, Friendly Neighbors there that's where we meet) only on Album releases. This is the reason I don't watch the show much anymore, it seems like it's just one disapointment after the other.

 

[D'Snowth]

I hate them.

 

[Drtooth]

I have to check this out.... I'll try to wake up early enough tomorrow!

 

[Daffyfan4ever]

Well, here's another possibility. Maybe next season they won't have those 'happy, healthy' openings, so they'd have more time to show the complete version of the theme. But that's pretty unlikely, considering they don't do that for season 34 eps.

 

[Drtooth]

>>Daffyfan2003, what happened was... PBS slashed and burned away at the generous budget they used to give Sesame Street. This also helps explain why the seasons got shortened to just 26 episodes for each year. Because the budget was so drastically cut, they had to get corporate sponsorship outside of PBS. Ralph Nader blasted them for doing this, which in my mind was a stupid move on his part.
He's condeming them for getting corporate sponsorship? Then where do you suggest they get the $3 million or whatever it was they used to get from PBS before?
Completely stupid.<<

I do not want to get political, but this is a direct result of a certain tax cut. Considering the budget now, education, and educational TV are low on the priorities list. Now, I am both annoyed and pleased with corporate sponsership. Annoyed, because they use their "Sponsership" as a tax write off and free ad time. Remember the "Spaggetti-O's" bumpers which kept saying how it "Has as much calcium as a glass of Milk?" They can't even be subtle about it. I wish they'd at the very least be "Quiet" sponsers, that just say their names at the beginning and end of the episodes.

Seriously: There's one before Arthur, which goes EXACTLY like this:\

Brought to you by Rhoads 60 second Cinnimon rolls! How many seconds are there in a minute? 60! Rhoads reminds you to wake up your mind with PBS kids. Sponsered by Rhoads 60 second cinnimon rolls!

No kidding EXACTLY like that! The footage shows the mascot (a CGI smiling cinnimon bun) at the beginning and end, and kids obviously getting out of bed to get a certain breakfast. Absolutely sick!

So far there are 4 Sponsers I've counted outside of the local bumper (the fifth, local one was Blue Cross/Blue Sheild in MA), McDonalds, Organic Baby Food, Pampers (the subtlest one BTW) and Beaches. I also find it odd that they always get a new sponser during the reruns. I mean, do they cost that much more than first run that they need a new sponser.

As for the song, here are the edits I was aware of:

Firstly, the musical intro was cut, going right to the first verse. They only showed the first verse, and the "Building Block" footage of Elmo's World and Monster Clubhouse. They cut the ENTIRE second verse, and it's footage, then at the end they shortened the Super Grover footage, and cut off the final closing guitar riff (the "sssssQuink" sound at the tail end of the song).

But I guess, at least they cut the opening, not the actual program content..... yet.