Telly and Oscar

[D'Snowth]

Even I can remember a time when Telly considered Oscar to be his best friend before he and Baby Bear were... if fact, I think their friendship lasted into the waning days of the old-school era, and into the earlier part of the ATC era.

But since this too was a little before my time, I have to wonder, how exactly did Telly and Oscar come to be "best friends"? I mean I'm curious as to why Telly willingly tried to hang out with someone like Oscar in the first place, and why he considered him his best friend, even though at times, he treated him like crap (ala Big Bird in China where Telly wishes to go to China, so Oscar makes him dig their way there, then when they get there, Oscar is unimpressed and decides they should go home, after Telly spent all that time digging). Also, when exactly did their friendship begin? I'm assuming it was fairly early on, considering some of their interplay dates back to when Brian Meehl still played Telly.

 

[andyf]

I think it's one of those things that just clicked really well. They probably did a Telly and Oscar storyline and realized it was a fun combination. I always knew they worked well together. Yes, around 93, or 94 Telly's obsessive behavior towards Oscar toned down a bit as he was paired with Baby Bear. I do however miss the old days when he worshiped Oscar as if he was some sort of hero. Telly saw something in Oscar that nobody else ever saw, and Oscar loved this because it made it easier for him to to play mean tricks on Telly and give him a hard time. I often wonder if the writers phased this out because it would send across a message to kids that it's okay to let someone bully you if you think theyr'e "cool"

 

[D'Snowth]

That's actually an interesting take.

 

[Oscarfan]

I think it's one of those things that just clicked really well. They probably did a Telly and Oscar storyline and realized it was a fun combination. I always knew they worked well together. Yes, around 93, or 94 Telly's obsessive behavior towards Oscar toned down a bit as he was paired with Baby Bear. I do however miss the old days when he worshiped Oscar as if he was some sort of hero. Telly saw something in Oscar that nobody else ever saw, and Oscar loved this because it made it easier for him to to play mean tricks on Telly and give him a hard time. I often wonder if the writers phased this out because it would send across a message to kids that it's okay to let someone bully you if you think theyr'e "cool"

Marty explains the reason in his Muppet Mindset interview. Telly's evolved so much since then, saying he's kinda immune to Oscar now.

 

[cjd874]

I think it's one of those things that just clicked really well. They probably did a Telly and Oscar storyline and realized it was a fun combination. I always knew they worked well together. Yes, around 93, or 94 Telly's obsessive behavior towards Oscar toned down a bit as he was paired with Baby Bear. I do however miss the old days when he worshiped Oscar as if he was some sort of hero. Telly saw something in Oscar that nobody else ever saw, and Oscar loved this because it made it easier for him to to play mean tricks on Telly and give him a hard time. I often wonder if the writers phased this out because it would send across a message to kids that it's okay to let someone bully you if you think theyr'e "cool"

I think it says in the SS 40th anniversary book or maybe Street Gang that one day Caroll Spinney hurt his ankle while riding his bike, so he couldn't play Big Bird. So the writers had to find someone else to put in the script for that day. Lo and behold, they found Telly, put him with Oscar, and it just clicked. And it still works to this day.

In regards to the other comment, a lot of things from SS have been phased out. The litter on the original set. Several frightening cartoons and films (Crack Master, anyone?). Lots of Muppets (Roosevelt Franklin, Lefty the Salesman, Sam the Robot, Harvey Kneeslapper, Nobel Price, Kingston Livingston III). It's inevitable that someone, whether it's a parent or even a CTW staff member, will find something on an aired episode to nitpick, and say that it isn't a good example for children. Thus, SS can remove the material or tone something down if the argument is deemed valid. I suppose someone put forth the idea that Oscar could be seen as a bully to Telly, so they had to comply and make Oscar more mellow.

 

[Xerus]

I remember in a late 80's episode, Oscar told Telly about a game. He told Telly to shout out, "Come and see the monster with the silly look on his face!" and Oscar would hold up a picture of a silly monster. And Telly shouted that when Maria came over. But Oscar ducked back in his can and Telly realized he was the monster with the silly look. Maria scolded Oscar for that mean trick, but Oscar just laughed saying that Telly was like a little mouse just waiting for a cat to jump on him. Maria asked Telly why he let Oscar do that to him. Telly was worried that if he didn't, Oscar wouldn't be his friend anymore. But Maria told Telly that Oscar wasn't being a friend at all.

Later, Maria witnessed Oscar about to do something else to Telly. Oscar told Telly that there was a way to make him fly. He gave Telly a rubber chicken and told him to twirl it over his head like a helicopter and make chicken noises. Telly realized that Oscar was just trying to make him look silly again, so Telly didn't do it. He threw the chicken on the ground and ran into Maria's arm shouting, "I couldn't do it!" And Maria was proud of Telly for saying no to Oscar.

 

[D'Snowth]

Even I can remember a time when Telly considered Oscar his best friend; in fact, it really doesn't seem like Telly and Baby Bear's eventual best friendship solidified until the waning days of the ATC era.

What's interesting is that even since then, we still get occasion moments with Telly and Oscar, one of which that sticks out in my mind is from Season 33, where Oscar was going on a roadtrip to see his cousin (?) Roscoe, and Telly wanted to tag along, but Oscar kept pulling the wool over his eyes - eventually, Telly kept getting wise to Oscar's little tricks, but somehow, all Oscar had to do was tune his radio into the contrived coincidence station that plays "Let's Go Driving" all the time, and somehow, that seduced Telly, once again turning him into puddy in Oscar's hands.

 

[Drtooth]

Marty explains the reason in his Muppet Mindset interview. Telly's evolved so much since then, saying he's kinda immune to Oscar now.

He sure told him off in the Road Trip episode. That's for sure.

The one thing I really liked was the fact that it was, while slightly tilted, there was a back and forth. Oscar would troll Telly, Telly would wind up annoying Oscar... Imagine if they merged Crummy Pictures with Sneak Peak previews. That would be the ultimate segment.

 

[cjd874]

One of my favorite Telly/Oscar exchanges from Don't Eat the Pictures:
"It shouldn't be too hard to find Big Bird, should it Oscar?"
"Nah, easy as finding a needle in a trash heap. And I though this was gonna be boring! Heheheheh…"
And does anyone remember the 1980s skit? One of my faves.

And those "Ask Oscar" bits were great as well.