Sesame Street Season 46 Press Kit; HBO premiere set for Saturday January 16, 2016

[antsamthompson9]

I just wanna say today is a good day for me: My dad just added HBO to our cable provider. So now I'm all set for when the new season premieres!

 

[Oscarfan]

I mooch off my friend's HBO Go account.

The American way!

 

[D'Snowth]

And now I'm suddenly reminded of the time you played Kramer.

 

[Drtooth]

I mooch off my friend's HBO Go account.

The American way!

I'd say something about my provider not knowing they didn't turn off the free HBO trial, but I don't want to jinx it. I certainly don't want to lose any of the channels I'm not supposed to get as well especially FXX. Though would it have killed them to give me Disney XD without knowing?

Then again, I rarely watch HBO.

 

[D'Snowth]

What is FXX anyway? FX on steroids or something?

 

[Drtooth]

FXX is an excuse to put some of their shows on another channel that you only can get on super premium somehow. Plus it has nightly Simpsons reruns that, despite the fact they promised not to, air cut episodes anyway for extra commercials to fund a channel that you have to pay extra to get. Not doing any favors to Always Sunny, of course.

 

[MuppetSpot]

So is any one else ready for the premiere, I'm mooching off a friend's HBO so how are you guys watching SST.

 

[Pig'sSaysAdios]

More interviews regarding the recent changes:

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/13/business/media/sesame-street-on-hbo.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/busi...50ec70-b491-11e5-9388-466021d971de_story.html

 

[Oscarfan]

And here's one that discusses the changes from a perspective within the organization, including how/why Joey Mazzarino left:

http://www.vulture.com/2016/01/what-does-hbo-mean-for-sesame-street.html

 

[D'Snowth]

I know I've said this before, but these articles are touching on something that's really been bothering me for years now, it's that kids are given no choice but to become hooked on gadgets and gizmos practically as soon as they're yanked out of the womb - the fact that one of the articles mentions that toddlers today can't differeniate between a TV screen and a mobile phone screen, and other calls toddlers of 2016 "media-drenched," just bothers me immensely. I mean, really, how is this benefitting our kids today? When SST started back in 1969, educational television was an affective tool that helped underprivileged kids learn, but there were also fewer options back then, such as computers and phones -- heck, Jon Stone even insisted the setting be an innercity street because of all the action that takes place on such a street, namely kids running up and down sidewalks, jumping rope, hop-scotch, among other things. Not to mention back then, there was a concern over keeping kids TV intake in moderation. . . . how did we go from too much TV is a bad thing for kids to making sure kids are always absorbed by TV, computers, and phones as much as possible? Look at all we're depriving kids of today: namely imagination. Even ALVINNN!!! AND THE CHIPMUNKS did an episode where Dave drags the Chipmunks on a camping trip because he feels they're too addicted to their video games and cellphones . . . and they're absolutely miserable when they realize their cabin has no signal for their phones. I can even remember a time when the subject of what age should be considered 'old enough" for kids to have their cellphones was actually a big debate - and again, the concern was kids getting too hooked on them at too young an age. I guess that's not a concern anymore.

But, I digress...

More interviews regarding the recent changes:

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/13/business/media/sesame-street-on-hbo.html

Looking at the slideshow, is that new Laundromat sign a permanent new change to the set? I've never seen it until these pictures.

I am glad, however, there will be fewer celebrity segments - as I've said before, the oversaturation of celebrity guests in recent seasons felt like a contrived move of desperation on SST's part to try to stay relevant for both kids and adults, epsecially when even the street stories felt more like a day in the limelight for whatever celebrity guest they had.

So Oscar really does have a network of tunnels under the street? I knew he had been watching too much HOGAN'S HEROES.

And SW's new CEO is a former Nick executive? Suddenly, this makes so much more sense.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/busi...50ec70-b491-11e5-9388-466021d971de_story.html

[/quote]I notice this article mentions a plummet in DVD sales . . . uh, yeah, probably because all they keep putting out is Elmo DVDs, which everybody has been saying, loud and clear, that they're tired of.

But I commend them for trying to teach kids to be kinder and nicer to each other in this world we live in today where nobody values companionship, and it's all about looking out for number one.

And here's one that discusses the changes from a perspective within the organization, including how/why Joey Mazzarino left:

http://www.vulture.com/2016/01/what-does-hbo-mean-for-sesame-street.html

Well, I'm glad this points out that Joey's departure wasn't entirely because of whatever they're doing with Murray; our hunch (or mostly mine, anyway) that part of the reason for his leaving was because of the scaling back of Muppets is proven to be correct, but now we also know that it was a combination of that, dropping parodies, shortening the show, new subject matter ("boo-boos"), and clashing with new SW staff is what finally drove him to leave . . . so in a sense, just about all of our hunches and speculations (sans the Murray one) have been correct.

The fact that this article mentions that Sonia "moved out" and "younger Latina Nina moved in" seems to only add fuel to my speculation that Sonia's departure wasn't entirely her choice; the idea of replacing Maria with a younger Latina character (one that was described in this very article as a "living Dora the Explorer") sounds very much like a show business move that's been around for a long time: dumping older actors in favor of younger ones.