Unearthing previously "lost" Sesame Street episodes

[LittleJerry92]

P is for pedantic

I mean….. he’s technically not wrong on that. (CTW)

You may have a point in terms of some of the content, i.e., some scenes and very long films that would later be abridged and rescored, but as a reference source, it's the very nucleus of the first 10 to 15 years of the show. And, lots of Muppet inserts, many E&B skits among them, would be gone from regular rotation after the first few seasons, which that alone makes up for the boredom factor.

P.S.: in the category of "most boring season", I would posit some other very worthy competitors, such as … Season 53 … 52 … 51 …

In all fairness I don’t mind most of the inserts (the only ones I never really cared for were Buddy and Jim; they have their moments, but more often I find them rather annoying, particularly Jim), but watching a full show including the street scenes is a good way to put me to sleep. It’s practically become a good medicine for my insomnia.

 

[DotBridgekeeper]

Eh, I guess it's the born and bred New Yorker in me that Buddy and Jim appeal to the most; plenty of Jackie Gleason in my heritage.

 

[Oscarfan]

On the one hand, from what I've seen of the 70s stuff, it's not super interesting unless something actually interesting/funny is happening, like Oscar doing an election or Cookie eating Hooper's Store. When it's just "Let's play 'Here are Some Things'...again!" it's not very fun to watch as a not child.

On the other hand, there's such a free spirit, "we have one take to do this" way everything is that it helps keep things from truly being boring; kids roaming around the set randomly, the adults not adhering to the script completely. By the 80s, they're almost a too well oiled machine and when things aren't "Maria and Luis get married" or such then it's also not that fun to watch. Sure, it becomes less grounded in the 1990s, but there's a more consistent effort to be funny/creative that makes the street parts more enjoyable.

 

[LittleJerry92]

My problem with most of the 70s (and early 80s) scene material is how most of it is just random and improvised.

Sure, they have funny bits here and there, but I’d rather take street scenes with stories than one where it’s just the adults and kids looking at an animal and then playing “One of these things” in another.

 

[ssetta]

You have to realize Season 1 is the very first season. There was never anything before it. So all the stuff they had was state of the art for its time, compared to some of the other educational shows that were on at the time. I know this is going to sound crazy, but there were other educational children's shows on before Sesame Street, such as Misterogers, which came on about a year and a half earlier. And there were others too, which actually were shown on the A&E Biography years ago.

But I do agree that Season 1 can be boring compared to any season after it, even season 2 or 3. By season 2, they started to add a lot more Muppet characters, and even more by season 3. But even though I was only born in the mid 80s, I think the early seasons of Sesame Street (including Season 1, in its own way) are some of the best television ever made.

 

[LittleJerry92]

Season 2 for me is honestly on the same level of 1. It just has a much more colorful look with better lighting, more background shades and the introduction of the Lavender AM.

 

[Gordon Matt]

The early seasons are "my" Sesame Street, especially the first three seasons with the "real" Gordon. I wouldn't change a thing, except for the constant repetition of segments.

Having watched the Unpaved and 123 series on Noggin, they continued to do a great show for at least the first 20 years. I pretty much have no use for the 1990s and later stuff though. But I'm not someone's parent and it's just nostalgia for me, like visiting an old neighborhood.

 

[TimzUneeverse]

Season 16 pretty much builds on most of the elements of season 15. Some of the episodes during this season are much more vibrant in color to me.

 

[dvakman]

The early seasons are "my" Sesame Street, especially the first three seasons with the "real" Gordon. I wouldn't change a thing, except for the constant repetition of segments.

I grew up with Roscoe Orman, and I suppose that he will always be my sentimental favorite. I even got to meet him as a kid! But Matt Robinson is consistently very funny and edgy, and is probably objectively my favorite Gordon. He is all about improvisation and would be a completely different character if he were forced to stick to the scripted page... like the time Oscar slammed into his trash can and Gordon simply retorted, "Isolationist!"

Everyone has their favorite era, and that's fine. I personally prefer the first 14 seasons, although I still have some time for seasons 15-20. We all come to it with our own memories, so it's silly to assert your personal nostalgia as some kind of objective truth. It's not like we're sizing up the collective works of Shakespeare here.

Sure, season 1 could be a little repetitive. They also had to produce or at least procure every single segment you see on the show that year! All the subsequent seasons had the luxury of being able to draw from (by the mid 70s) a vast catalog of material.

Looking at the totality of what season 1 produced, basically inventing the format, all the new characters (human and muppet) that were created, and all the memorable segments introduced that remained in circulation for decades, is my preferred approach to evaluating it overall.

 

[hooperfan]

I grew up with Roscoe Orman, and I suppose that he will always be my sentimental favorite. I even got to meet him as a kid! But Matt Robinson is consistently very funny and edgy, and is probably objectively my favorite Gordon. He is all about improvisation and would be a completely different character if he were forced to stick to the scripted page... like the time Oscar slammed into his trash can and Gordon simply retorted, "Isolationist!"

Everyone has their favorite era, and that's fine. I personally prefer the first 14 seasons, although I still have some time for seasons 15-20. We all come to it with our own memories, so it's silly to assert your personal nostalgia as some kind of objective truth. It's not like we're sizing up the collective works of Shakespeare here.

Sure, season 1 could be a little repetitive. They also had to produce or at least procure every single segment you see on the show that year! All the subsequent seasons had the luxury of being able to draw from (by the mid 70s) a vast catalog of material.

Looking at the totality of what season 1 produced, basically inventing the format, all the new characters (human and muppet) that were created, and all the memorable segments introduced that remained in circulation for decades, is my preferred approach to evaluating it overall.

Couldn't have said it better myself