What year did it all change for the worst?

[CensoredAlso]

But as a kid (admittedly a slightly older kid than SS's target age), that theme song change seemed like a sign that things were changing for the worse, and in retrospect, I'd have to say that I was right. For the record, I stopped watching the show regularly around 1995, when I was 10.

That was my experience as well as a slightly older kid. The theme song change was off-putting, and then in general the show became unwatchable. And I generally have no problem watching kid's shows.

From my experience now, I see kids liking Elmo, but I'm not seeing a particular interest in Sesame Street the show.

But you know, it is what it is. Television in general has been suffering the last few years. There are still plenty of ways to see Sesame Street the way it used to be. There's no reason kids can't watch the Old School DVD. Sure, they might be confused by some differences, but kids tend to accept these things very quickly.

 

[Big Bird Fan]

If we're talking about bad changes, I really feel the need to bring up that "around the corner" idea they had. I'm just grateful they realized how dumb it was and got rid of it. But that was four seasons too long.

http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Around_the_Corner

There's the link for anyone who wants it.

 

[Barry Lee]

In my opinion, everything was until, Elmo's World.

 

[Drtooth]

The 2002 format was the worst change as far as the show is concerned.

I hate the opinion (though those are welcomed to it) that the show changed terribly in the 80's. I feel that's when the show really shince. Elmo was a smaller character, we still had Kermit in new segments, we had a lot of great independant animators getting a career out of it (Sally Cruikshank for one) and the great song parodies (to be far, some were from the 70's, but the 80's is when most of them showed up).

But the #1 worst change I feel is not SW's fault. I guess you can tell what I'm thinking of.... the lessening appearances of Kermit. Other than Do the Rubber Duck, he hasn't appeared in a new episode, even in an older skit. Reruns of the Hurricane episode don't count. Heck, I was surprised they used "African Alphabet" for the opening of the Documentary.

I mean, Elmo's World, JTE, Get up it's time to Play.... yeah... they suck, but no Kermit? That's what really ruins SS for me.

 

[JimmyGillentine]

The 2002 format was the worst change as far as the show is concerned.

I hate the opinion (though those are welcomed to it) that the show changed terribly in the 80's. I feel that's when the show really shince. Elmo was a smaller character, we still had Kermit in new segments, we had a lot of great independant animators getting a career out of it (Sally Cruikshank for one) and the great song parodies (to be far, some were from the 70's, but the 80's is when most of them showed up).

But the #1 worst change I feel is not SW's fault. I guess you can tell what I'm thinking of.... the lessening appearances of Kermit. Other than Do the Rubber Duck, he hasn't appeared in a new episode, even in an older skit. Reruns of the Hurricane episode don't count. Heck, I was surprised they used "African Alphabet" for the opening of the Documentary.

I mean, Elmo's World, JTE, Get up it's time to Play.... yeah... they suck, but no Kermit? That's what really ruins SS for me.

I couldn't agree with you more. In a way, I think Kermit was the Heart of the show. Or to be more precise, Jim Henson was. I wonder about something. When Henson passed, just how much involement did he have in the show? I think one of the things that has hurt SS is focusing so much attention on just one chareter. I wonder what Henson would think about everything that is going on with the show now?

 

[Daffyfan4ever]

Superboober: I disagree----despite Henson's death, I don't think much really changed at all after 1989. The only significant thing that changed in 1992, as far as I remember, was the theme music. I don't recall them retiring a lot of old material around that time, since there was still quite a lot of it floating around.

Yeah. I don't think Henson's death would have had much to do with it, since at the time, Henson didn't do too much on the show considering Ernie and Kermit were only shown in inserts. Though I do wonder if the show would be like it is now if he were still around today. I sort of doubt it.

 

[Drtooth]

Actually, I wouldn't say too much the fact Henson died, as the fact most of the people who shaped SS died pretty soon with in the time frame of each other. Joe Raposo and Jim died within months of each other. In fact, a Joe Raposo tribute aired with a second "in memory of," Jim Henson. Then Jon Stone, and Richard Hunt... years went by, Jeff Moss was lost too.

Of course, some people also left the show. Frank did do occasional things, Chris Cerf left a few years ago, bringing a few others.

 

[JLG]

Daffyfan2003: You're right about that. Even though I don't think Henson's death had much immediate impact on the show (apart from Ernie and Kermit's three-year absence except for old inserts), I do think the show would be different if he were still here today.

I imagine that, had he lived, over the years he would have drifted further and further away from Sesame Street, spending less and less time on it, but always keeping tabs. He would probably be like Frank Oz was until recently, showing up for a few days a year to shoot a few new inserts.

But mainly, I imagine he would have been very uncomfortable with the changes in format and tone starting in the late 90s. If he were alive and kicking, I don't think the changes would have been quite as acute. Henson was a very funny performer, and I don't think he would have had it in him to tone himself down to the degree that the Muppet material generally has done in recent years. I could be wrong about all of this, of course, but it's just difficult for me to imagine him limiting himself like that. Depending of course on how much latitude he and his crew were permitted with the cirricular material, I think the SS Muppet element would have retained a little more of its edge.

(also, even though he was about to sell to Disney before he died, I'm sure he NEVER would have allowed the Muppet ownership to be broken up into pieces like it's been, with one result being Kermit moving off the Street for good. I don't know why his kids agreed to such a situation...)

 

[JLG]

Drtooth: You brought up a point that probably too few of us have thought of: Jon Stone. From what I've read it seems that he, more than any other person, was responsible for the tone and overall feel of the show. I'm not sure but I think he finally left around 1995. It wasn't very long after that when things started changing noticeably.

Raposo, Henson, Moss, and everybody else had huge roles, but Stone was the glue that held all the pieces together in a certain shape. When he left, the shape shifted. Put that together with new research that led to a format overhaul, and there you have it....Sesame Street 2.0!

 

[mjb1124]

I hate the opinion (though those are welcomed to it) that the show changed terribly in the 80's. I feel that's when the show really shince. Elmo was a smaller character, we still had Kermit in new segments, we had a lot of great independant animators getting a career out of it (Sally Cruikshank for one) and the great song parodies (to be far, some were from the 70's, but the 80's is when most of them showed up).

Maybe I have no room to talk because I'm a child of the 80's, but I absolutely agree. Sure, they may have made some unpopular decisions (i.e. making Snuffy visible to everyone), but the spirit and quality of the show was very much the same throughout that decade as it was in the 70's. Obviously as a kid, I made no distinction between the older and newer material, but now that I know more about the show, I can say that I find the 80's material to be every bit as enjoyable as the late 60s/70s material.

Drtooth: You brought up a point that probably too few of us have thought of: Jon Stone. From what I've read it seems that he, more than any other person, was responsible for the tone and overall feel of the show. I'm not sure but I think he finally left around 1995. It wasn't very long after that when things started changing noticeably.

Good catch there. Looking at some of these episode guides on Muppet Wiki, it does seem like that was just about the point where they really started sugar-coating everything.