Rumor: Big Bird only in four Season 41 episodes

[SSLFan]

Since this rumor has already been confirmed by a source, shouldn't we take "Rumor" out of the threads title?

 

[SpinneyBigBird1]

That is another reason why I don;t like this new MURRAY MURRAY MURRAY format. One of the reasons why Big Bird was featured prominently in season 39 is that he did some of the "introducing the letter/number of the day" sketches. That was a great way for characters who maybe don't get a lot of screen time to be seen, the Bird being a prime example. Now that Murray does it all, most characters have no chance of being seen now.
WE NEED MORE !

 

[Drtooth]

I like Murray and I think the even Jim would be proud of the fact they're bringing Muppets out into the real world and talking to real people. And I want that to continue. However, they DON'T need to say "such and such segment is next" epsiecially since they only made a few of each, and reused it. Plus, having him close the show is a little much, again, because it's mostly reused and re-dubbed footage. But I kinda like him hosting the letter, word, and number.

The thing that gets me is there's less and less room for segments, be they old, new or whatever. The street stories are quite short (less than 15 minutes... barely 10 in some cases). And I still think the one elephant in the room is Elmo's World sitting at the end of the show for 15 minutes. There WOULD be a lot more room for said segments, rerunning older segments and filming new ones (with big Bird, Ernie, or what have you) if they trim a few things, make Abby's Flying School every other episode... cut some of the segment theme songs off... then we'd have a little more room.

 

[minor muppetz]

Since this rumor has already been confirmed by a source, shouldn't we take "Rumor" out of the threads title?

What source has confirmed the rumor? I checked the last few posts before this and didn't find anything.

 

[mrfinch]

I find it hard to believe any of this would be the result of oversight. This is a meticulously researched show. Big Bird just isn't star material on today's Sesame Street. He's too subdued and not "cute" enough. They would never drop him, if only out of loyalty to Carroll and nostalgic parents everywhere, but it's the marketing and educational suits that run the show these days - not the Henson crew or the veteran puppeteers, as was once the case - and they don't have time for the Bird.

They don't really have any time for any of the more complex classic characters, but I suspect some endure even in the infant/toddler-centric incarnation due to their absolutely ingenious design. I'm looking at you, Ernie.

 

[Oscarfan]

I don't know why you guys keep citing Ernie as a sign of disappearing characters. Has he gone the way of Mumford? Or Leslie Mostly? or Don Music? No. They still use him and Bert on a regular basis. Just because he hasn't been in any new material the last few years doesn't mean he's gone forever. It's not like they don't want to make new E&B bits; there's just no time with Steve to do it in.

 

[Drtooth]

I don't know why you guys keep citing Ernie as a sign of disappearing characters. Has he gone the way of Mumford? Or Leslie Mostly? or Don Music? No. They still use him and Bert on a regular basis. Just because he hasn't been in any new material the last few years doesn't mean he's gone forever. It's not like they don't want to make new E&B bits; there's just no time with Steve to do it in.

When it comes down to performer availability, that's when some characters go on break for a while. Look at Frank Oz's characters. If it wasn't for Eric taking on Grover and Bert and David with Cookie, we wouldn't see them all that much either. Probably even less. And it's not like we haven't seen anything with the characters either. Some characters stood on the show for years as older inserts ONLY. We're still getting reruns of older Ernie and Bert sketches and the claymation shorts. Again, Ernie toys are still a big seller. I still see toy makers prefer Ernie over Bert, and we all have to remember, Ernie was the SECOND character to get a large singing dancing plush toy (Sing and Snore Ernie).

Steve's busy... John Tartaglia is busy... we DID see Ernie in the Will I Am song. So unless they only had Steve available to dub in a singing line and someone else puppeteered, there just as easily could be a new skit somewhere. The season isn't half over yet, so you never know what will pop up between now and the end of it.

Anything else screams budget problems. Something about Big Bird's lack of appearances calls out to both maintenance (it's a VERY expensive puppet after all) and to the lack of puppeteers available on a single day. Something tells me had they more money to keep more puppeteers on the payroll for a single day's shooting, we'd see Big at least walk by every so often and say "hi" to everyone, or Oscar popping out of his can to react to the scene... even if they don't have big roles or even lines in the episode. Now I understand where Carol's pay cut comes from. I'm sure a lot of other performers had to get paid much less due to them not being required as often. As for Kevin... heck, dude wears so many hats on the show, I'm not surprised to see someone else puppeteering him from time to time.

 

[zns]

That is another reason why I don;t like this new MURRAY MURRAY MURRAY format. One of the reasons why Big Bird was featured prominently in season 39 is that he did some of the "introducing the letter/number of the day" sketches. That was a great way for characters who maybe don't get a lot of screen time to be seen, the Bird being a prime example. Now that Murray does it all, most characters have no chance of being seen now.
WE NEED MORE !

Like I said, is there any way tht Sesame Workshop can fill us in on all of this here on the forum? Of course, they might not be permitted to do that. Maybe they could try to expalin Big Bird's popularity right now along with Elmo and how those two characters even out.

 

[Daffyfan4ever]

Yeah. Big Bird should actually host the show rather than Murray. After all, wouldn't it make more sense to see a classic character get all that screen time rather than an obscure character? Murray would serve better as just a background monster.

 

[Drtooth]

I don't think ANYONE should host. Not Murray, not Big Bird, Not Sherlock Hemlock... sure as shooting not Elmo. I find the whole need for a host and the block format one of the biggest problems. Again, I'd keep Murray's word on the street, number and letter introductions and junk the rest.