Unearthing previously "lost" Sesame Street episodes

LittleJerry92

LittleJerry92

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Just wondering but was Cookie even referred to by name in this episode if he was in a street scene?
 
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minor muppetz

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Episode 0084 - which has Oscar the Grouch performed by Jim Henson instead of Caroll Spinney.

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Episode 0084

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Back In 2003, somebody on the Toughpigs forum got in contact with Karen Falk, who confirmed that Caroll Spinney was sick for a few episodes so Daniel Segren performed Big Bird and Jim Henson did Oscar. While we knew Segren did Big Bird in episode 83, we didn’t know when Henson was Oscar, though I figured it was that week.

i can’t remember if the wiki already mentioned that Jim was Oscar in at least one episode, but it was something I was curious about, I wondered if Falk’s source was mistaken. Considering how rare it was for Jim and Frank to perform in street scenes that season and that it was rarer for Jim to do street scenes than the other performers in the early years, I wouldn’t have been surprised if it was an error (which it obviously wasn’t).

but I wonder what it was like, suddenly needing more performers on set while Caroll couldn’t make it. Jim was busy with a lot of things, interesting how one of his few first season street scenes had him doing somebody else’s character - and in an episode where they just happened to also have Frank on set (and had Oscar and Rufus appear together).
 
MuppetSpot

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minor muppetz said:
Episode 0084 - which has Oscar the Grouch performed by Jim Henson instead of Caroll Spinney.

muppet.fandom.com

Episode 0084

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Back In 2003, somebody on the Toughpigs forum got in contact with Karen Falk, who confirmed that Caroll Spinney was sick for a few episodes so Daniel Segren performed Big Bird and Jim Henson did Oscar. While we knew Segren did Big Bird in episode 83, we didn’t know when Henson was Oscar, though I figured it was that week.

i can’t remember if the wiki already mentioned that Jim was Oscar in at least one episode, but it was something I was curious about, I wondered if Falk’s source was mistaken. Considering how rare it was for Jim and Frank to perform in street scenes that season and that it was rarer for Jim to do street scenes than the other performers in the early years, I wouldn’t have been surprised if it was an error (which it obviously wasn’t).

but I wonder what it was like, suddenly needing more performers on set while Caroll couldn’t make it. Jim was busy with a lot of things, interesting how one of his few first season street scenes had him doing somebody else’s character - and in an episode where they just happened to also have Frank on set (and had Oscar and Rufus appear together).
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Can I be honest, Jim’s voice coming out of Oscars sounds very off and kind of scary
 
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minor muppetz

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It’s a shame episode 361 is among the lost episodes. That one does get talked about a lot in books and interviews and such. I was surprised to see that Big Bird becoming convinced Snuffy is imaginary came so soon after his debut, I would have thought it’d come a few years later at earliest. I think I’ve seen somebody say that that’s when the adults should have met him. Can you imagine Snuffy only being “imaginary” for one season, before Big Bird decides he’s imaginary but then the others finally do?

I wonder if that episode was remade. The interviews and non-fiction books mention that Big Bird became convinced he was real when they hugged and Bird felt real tears coming from Snuffy, but the guide says that Snuffy gave him a goodbye tap that Big Bird felt (of course feeling the hug, without the tears, should have been enough). Of course this could either be a case of them changing it from the final aired script or Spinney’s faulty memory (and we won’t be able to know for sure for a while). Though I wouldn’t be surprised if they eventually did another “Big Bird agrees that Snuffy is imaginary” plot later on.

I remember seeing a guide sourced from the CTW Archives a long time ago with the description of Big Bird thinking Snuffy is imaginary, probably that one, but if there wasn’t another such episode (and this one’s plot wasn’t repeated two years later), then I’m surprised I didn’t think it was odd at the time I learned it came from the third season.

Caroll Spinney talked about this one during his interview on the Old School Vol. 3, I was always disappointed that he talked about it without them showing any clips. But I figured it was a case of them not wanting to show any clips that had not been released on DVD (which tends to be the case with DVD-produced bonus features on many shows), as opposed to the footage being lost (or the staff not wanting to comb through info to find the episode).
 
scarecroe

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minor muppetz said:
It’s a shame episode 361 is among the lost episodes....

I wonder if that episode was remade. The interviews and non-fiction books mention that Big Bird became convinced he was real when they hugged and Bird felt real tears coming from Snuffy, but the guide says that Snuffy gave him a goodbye tap that Big Bird felt ... Of course this could either be a case of them changing it from the final aired script or Spinney’s faulty memory.
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That's a good question. I find those three elements equally likely: 1) plots are known to have been remade, 2) Caroll has a terrible memory, 3) it's possible the tapping from the script was changed to crying on set by the director.
 
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