What if it happened like this...

[SSLFan]

What if these things had happened during the course of Sesame Street's history? Just some weird thoughts lol.

• The first season was completely in black & white.
• Bert & Ernie were originally written as brothers.
• Big Bird & Oscar did not appear in the first season; Kermit & Rowlf were the primary street muppets.
• Big Bird was originally orange, Oscar was originally yellow.
• Rowlf was the "unofficial host", sort of like Murray is.
• Frank Oz performed Ernie while Jim performed Bert.
• Instead of "Tickle Me Elmo", there was a "Tickle Me Grover".
• In 2000, starting with Season 31, SS episodes began running 30 minutes instead of the full hour.

Those are just some weird things to think about, lol. Does anyone else have any other "what if" momments that could've "fractured" Sesame's history per say?

 

[Gelfling Girl]

Well, if Bert and Ernie were brothers, it would cause less rumors, and I would feel much more "Street smart." (even though I guess I shouldn't be so hard on myself, I was just a little kid.)

 

[Drtooth]

The first season was completely in black & white.

Doesn't seem like that would make all that much of a difference. They may have kept orange Oscar for another season... but I wouldn't see anything major happening to the course of the show. Though, color casting was common practice for years before SS started... and even though some people still had B&W TV's, it was pretty much the norm by then.

Big Bird & Oscar did not appear in the first season; Kermit & Rowlf were the primary street muppets.

Interresting question. Do you mean the characters would have been replaced by Big and Oscar in the next season. or that Rowlf and Kermit were the only ones they'd have? If that was the case, definately by the time The Muppet Show came on, either TMS wouldn't feature Kermit or Rowlf, or SS would have replaced them with other characters. Only because Jim would have been busy with TMS most of the time.

Instead of "Tickle Me Elmo", there was a "Tickle Me Grover".

Only if Grover was recast by then. The secret to Elmo's success was the absence of performances, and Frank's inability to come on the show every day, as he was busy with his films. Even if there was a massive talking Grover at the time, I don't think it would have made the same impact. Grover was splashed all over merchandise (books mostly) for years before Elmo became big, and he pretty much had the same screen time everyone else had.

In 2000, starting with Season 31, SS episodes began running 30 minutes instead of the full hour.

Honestly, I'm surprised they didn't do that already... but SHhhhh! They'll probably hear you.

 

[Beauregard]

Honestly, if they cut the format to 30 minutes, we'd be much more likely to see it over here in the UK.

Now, I've always wondered...What would have happened if the series had been called, "Poppy Road" instead of "Sesame Street." Or if it have been called anything else for that matter. "People in your Neighbourhood" would have been a good name. I wonder if the name and its catchy title had something to do with its success.

 

[D'Snowth]

[*]Frank Oz performed Ernie while Jim performed Bert.

Let us not forget that it actually was originally going to happen this way, but somehow, they both felt that everything just worked better when Jim did Ernie and Frank did Bert.

 

[DrmaticEmphasis]

[*]The first season was completely in black & white.

I dont know if this would have been a deal breaker, but i dont think the enormous first season success would have occurred if it had been. The extraordinary color of the Sesame world is part of what drew in the audience.

[*]Bert & Ernie were originally written as brothers.

I actually see no downside to this. It does get rid of the bit of weirdness there is between them... and cmon... there is some weirdness... and the big lesson with Bert and Ernie is being best of friends and loving each other despite huge differences... and I think that can still be taught with two brothers who are also very close friends.

[*]Big Bird & Oscar did not appear in the first season; Kermit & Rowlf were the primary street muppets.

I actually think this would have been a disaster. Jim Henson wanted to make absolutely sure that he didnt get pidgenholed into only ever doing children's entertainment.... which happened anyway to some extent. However, if the Classic Muppets were also the Sesame Muppets, there would have been no line between Henson's attempt at adult entertainment and children's entertainment. I dont think The Muppet Show would have happened, since the character would have already been famous as being for kids.

[*]Frank Oz performed Ernie while Jim performed Bert.

Because they felt the need to switch due to a lack of chemistry with the original characters, I would assume that if they hadnt switched, the characters wouldnt have become as successful as they are. They just wouldnt have the chemistry that makes them so wonderful.

[*]In 2000, starting with Season 31, SS episodes began running 30 minutes instead of the full hour.

I actually am not sure that would be a bad idea, and Im sure its been tossed around. I dont know if that would have helped ratings... my fear though, is that they would have done a 30 min Sesame Street and a 30 min Elmos World... then the ratings for Elmos World are way better than Sesame Street and Sesame Street gets canceled... which would be horrible.

 

[dwmckim]

In 1969, a lot of people still had black and white tvs. Given that SST was especially reaching out to inner city or lower income kids, a lot of its original viewers were seeing the show in b&w anyway even if they were broadcasting in color. Ultimately the only way it would have changed the show would be that they couldn't have talked too effectively about colors in their cirriculum.

B&E as brothers - i would venture to say (even though it doesn't get talked about the way the gay thing does), more people seriously think they are more than people who think they're gay. In the original concept they were originally going to have a father/son type relationship. I think it's best to have them as friends though as it keeps them more ambiguous as age and relationship with parents (i don't think there's ever been ANY reference to either B or E's mothers or fathers on the show even though they've had brothers, nephews and the like.)

 

[DrmaticEmphasis]

In 1969, a lot of people still had black and white tvs. Given that SST was especially reaching out to inner city or lower income kids, a lot of its original viewers were seeing the show in b&w anyway even if they were broadcasting in color. Ultimately the only way it would have changed the show would be that they couldn't have talked too effectively about colors in their cirriculum.

I hadnt thought about this... but now that you say it... stupid me!... I know they fought like **** to make sure it was color, cause they thought the bright colors of the puppets would really draw in the kids... but if you didnt have a color set... it didnt even matter!

 

[Drtooth]

B&E as brothers - i would venture to say (even though it doesn't get talked about the way the gay thing does), more people seriously think they are more than people who think they're gay. In the original concept they were originally going to have a father/son type relationship. I think it's best to have them as friends though as it keeps them more ambiguous as age and relationship with parents (i don't think there's ever been ANY reference to either B or E's mothers or fathers on the show even though they've had brothers, nephews and the like.)

"ALLRGIHT! YOU ASKED FOR IT! You're a WONDERFUL guy, Ernie! You took me in here, you gave me a place to live, and something to live for! I'm never gonna forget that, Ernie! You're the TOPS with me!"

 

[dwmckim]

Interesting that you asked about Tickle Me Elmo vs Tickle Me Grover. I remember when i first heard of Tickle Me Elmo back in the day (when it first came out and before becoming a craze) that it seemed kind of weird that they did the "Tickle Me" idea with Elmo since Grover always seemed to be the Muppet that was most often tickled where Elmo just seemed to be a random choice.