The last "best" year

[LincolnHeights]

I am just wondering, because I know everyone's opinion is different, but what year do you think is the very last year that Sesame Street was at its best? I would have to say it was 1993. Although the old theme music and old credit sequence with Barkley was discontinued a year before that, the show itself was still pretty much the same as it always had been during the 80's. Also we still had that old familiar harmonica music at the beggining and end of every show, that is until the last few weeks of the season when the music changed to the calypso version. Now in the fall of 1993 which was the 25th Season, the show had totally changed for the worst with that unneccasary around the corner set and all those new bright colors and new goofy human and Muppet charachters. The calypso music was now there permenantly, and there also seemed to be a cutback on classic clips. I much better perfered Big Bird's nest area when it was enclosed instead of wide open, and serving as somewhat of a halfway point between the original, and around the corner set.

Now It's your turn. What year in your opinion did you consider to be the last "best" year for Sesame Street, before it lost its edge? Also tell exactly why you feel that way. This can become a fun thread as long as we all respect each other's opinions. Keep in mind we all grew up in differet era's of the show, so we all have a different opinion on what's "classic"

 

[Ilikemuppets]

It's basically the same for the first 32 years. 33 was really the first major change and adjustment. But I still like tha show to this day/ It's still good to me.

 

[CensoredAlso]

I'm not that up on the years and when things changed to be honest. True, I wasn't thrilled with the Calypso theme. But I remember seeing a couple episodes from that time, and they were pretty good. (Though I still say it was unneccesary to start removing the old clips). So the last good year in my opinion was probably just before the very late '90s when Elmo's World became big.

And not just because it's different from my own childhood.

 

[zhelder]

You hit it right on the head, LincolnHeights. The show teetered a bit in 1992 with the new opening and closing credits, but it fell off the cliff completely in 1993 with Season 25 and Around the Corner. Overnight, the show transformed from a hip, exciting, brilliantly funny show to a syrupy, condescending, lethargic show. And it's gotten worse every year since then.

 

[Xerus]

I think the last best year was Slimey's trip to the moon saga. After that, they took away around the corner and flooded the last fifteen minutes with Elmo's World squeezing out room for more classic and new SS skits and cartoons.

 

[ISNorden]

I'd have to vote for the early to mid-90s; back then, Sesame Street still had episodes with real plots and memorable material. After that, the show started feeling less natural, less spontaneous: one-note Muppets, fewer humans, preachier and more dumbed-down lessons.

 

[wiley207]

The 1992-1993 years was the last "best" year, along with the 2001 year. 1992-1993 had that annoying new opening and closing, but at least they didn't go Around the Corner yet. The 2001 year was similar to the 1998-2000 years, probably the best years of the 1990s. They went back to the classic-style arrangement of the opening theme by then (and still use it today) but still use the 1992 end credits.

 

[Ilikemuppets]

It's funny because while the opening theme is more like the 'older' one and the closing theme is the newer one. The music to the opening of the show is the newer one and the cosing is the original one.

But there is a slight difference between the 98-2002 music in the theme. and the 2002-2006 credits.