"Sesame Street's 50th Anniversary Celebration" special to air November 9 on HBO and November 17 on PBS

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Oscarfan

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I'm having high hopes that we may see Barkley make an re-appearance for the 50th anniversary. I mean it would feel a bit off if Barkley doesn't make an appearance in the special with Linda back for the special.
Whatever classic characters crop up in this are going to be ones that can easily be assembled from AMs and such. Repairing Barkley is a tall order and it's probably not gonna happen.
 

MuppetSpot

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Whatever classic characters crop up in this are going to be ones that can easily be assembled from AMs and such. Repairing Barkley is a tall order and it's probably not gonna happen.
I have a question how long does a character like Snuffy last for and they decided to rebuild or repair?
 

Oscarfan

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I have a question how long does a character like Snuffy last for and they decided to rebuild or repair?
It all depends on what materials the puppet is made from. Some last longer than others just by their nature, others can wear down from overuse, or how it's stored, etc. For example, Grizzy from EIG was revealed a couple of months ago to be deteriorating despite not being used in like 20 years; it's simply the foam she was made from doesn't last long.
 

minor muppetz

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I have a question how long does a character like Snuffy last for and they decided to rebuild or repair?
Some time recently I saw something that said that the Snuffy puppet has always been the same, with them maintaining it all this time, changing out fur and inside parts when needed. I can't remember where I saw this, though.
 

MuppetHistory

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Some time recently I saw something that said that the Snuffy puppet has always been the same, with them maintaining it all this time, changing out fur and inside parts when needed. I can't remember where I saw this, though.
That would make sense, seeing as he hasn't had any major design changes since the early '70s
 

D'Snowth

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Obviously we have a less than appealing newer Oscar puppet, but Caroll has said years ago that Oscar was one of the only Muppets that had never been replaced with a new build, and that the puppet just always went in for repairs and patch work, since aging helped with Oscar's overall appearance. Of course, he's also mentioned times where his eyebrow mech would break, resulting in only one half of the eyebrow being able to move up and down (ala :skeptical:), which Caroll said he found amusing, but it gave Oscar some rather interesting facial expressions that kind of made him look mad or insane.

Otherwise, the SSU book mentions that certain Muppets tend to be rebuilt and replaced every five or so years, while certain others like Ernie and Bert, Grover, Cookie Monster, etc. were usually rebuilt and replaced every ten to twelve years.
 

sesamemuppetfan

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And let's not forget Bruno having suffered the same fate...but I guess it had to do with him being made out of a certain type of foam.
 

D'Snowth

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He was made from foam plastic, rather than foam rubber; rather than crumble into toast as most puppets do over time, Bruno just basically fell apart, and that was that.

You have to admit though, considering he was in use from the late 70s all the way into the early 90s is a testament to his longevity.
 
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