Sesame Street censorship

[Boober_Gorg]

Originally posted by Ol' Buddy Bert
But I tell you what no one can make a puppet drop to the floor like Frank Oz can.

That, and throw a fit.

 

[Daffyfan4ever]

Reply

I think another reason why Harvey Kneeslapper was chucked was because people didn't like him all that well. He was a one-note joker, where all of his jokes sounded pretty much the same. They still used inserts with him for many years after they stopped using him. They just didn't need to do anymore, because they were all the same.

I've thought about that. I've read that Harvey Kneeslapper was retired because the laugh he did was hard on Frank's vocal chords, but then why not just let someone else do the voice? So I have to agree with you there.

 

[Drtooth]

Maybe it would be better if they edited out the part with Bert throwing the pie.

Plus, it had Bert calling Ernie names like Meatball (a weight insult). Oscar doesn't do this much anymore, if you notice!

As for Harvey Kneeslapper, wanna hear something funny? Watch an old episode of MASH! Allan Alda laughs JUST like Harvey!

And, Oscar's comments on Big Bird, I watched it last night. Remember Muttley from the Dick Dastardly cartoons, and how he said something like "Rassa Frazzin Rick Rassserrry?" The old kind of cartoon swearing? That's what Oscar REALLY says. "You are, without a doubt the stupidest, razza muzza gragga zaaammma fraggzzin bird I ever met" (or close to it!)

 

[Ol' Buddy Bert]

Originally posted by Boober_Gorg
That, and throw a fit.

You know, I was just saying that to my girlfriend last night. I love the way Frank uses the octaves of his voice for his characters. When Grover, Bert and Fozzie get frustrated and lose their tempers he uses the top end of his register. When Piggy means business he drops to the lower register of his falsetto. I think he's a tremendous actor.

 

[roadrat15]

They censored some Bert & Ernie because Bert fainted? Very overkill.

 

[Boober_Gorg]

Originally posted by Ol' Buddy Bert
I think (Frank Oz) is a tremendous actor.

True. I liked his part in Monsters Inc., even though it wasn't a major one. In that movie he's[color=dark red] the meek 3-eyed worker[/color] known as [color=dark red]Fungus[/color]. I wish he could have worked on Fraggle Rock though. I once thought I heard him in The Great Radish Famine, in the scene where all the Doozers are panicking. Anybody know what I mean?

Now I see how easy it is to wander off topic.

Hoo boy I'm sleepy. G'night.

 

[Niall]

Originally posted by ssetta


And also, there is this Ernie & Bert sketch, probably from the 1st season, in The Sesame Street Story Book. I am assuming that it was on the show...was this ever on the show?

LOL!

I remember they had that book in MY elementary school library as a kid, and I very clearly remember this one. It was presented in a sort of "comic-book" format, wasn't it?

But to answer your original query: No, I think it's very unlikely that it was an illustrated version of a skit from the show. AFAIK, the Muppet characters on Sesame Street were NEVER on the receiving end of pies in the face. Only the humans suffered this indignity, as I recall and is also noted by David Borgenicht in "Sesame Street : Unapaved" (the book, not the show) You would think that the reason for this is because of the damage and staining that could result from this or the difficulty cleaning them afterward. Interestingly however this was not the case on The Muppet Show, where I recall Kermit receiving a pie in the face in the Roger Moore episode. Roger Moore of course was the actor who played James Bond in the Bond movies of that time. Scooter approaches Kermit backstage with a tray full of cream pies that he thought he wanted. Kermit says "No! I said SPIES, not PIES!" (keeping with a theme surrounding the nature of their guest star obviously) Scooter asks what he should do with the pies and Kermit says "just throw them away" and then goes out on stage to introduce the next act. Scooter just shrugs his shoulders and says "OK" and heaves the whole tray of pies towards the front of the stage where Kermit is hit with one of them. I think there were a few more , but they all involve Kermit getting hit. Maybe that was because unlike other muppets, there were several versions of Kermit and would have regarded one or two as expendable.

 

[punkNpuppets]

sesame street doesn't seem like a "pie in the face" show, but the Muppet Show does

 

[Drtooth]

There are some animations in which they have pies in the face. There is this one with a movie director and clowns. They throw 12 pies in his face. Obviously a skit about 12!

 

[Daffyfan4ever]

Reply

That's what Oscar REALLY says. "You are, without a doubt the stupidest, razza muzza gragga zaaammma fraggzzin bird I ever met" (or close to it!)

THANK YOU, DR. TOOTH!!! I'VE BEEN WONDERING ABOUT THAT EVER SINCE I SAW THAT SPECIAL!!! NOW, I CAN SLEEP TONIGHT!!!!

I'm sorry, but I don't care much for character's fainting either. I don't know why, but I've just always had a problem with it.