Where are the older humans?

[MikaelaMuppet]

No. This is just way too sad for me right now.

 

[mbmfrog]

No, it's really SW's new staff that's behind most, if not all, of these creative decisions that are not sitting well with people, so much so that they pretty much drove Joey away from the show altogether.

It's easy to see why people are blaming HBO, though: in this day and age, where networks are the ones who own shows and are behind all of the creative decisions, I think ordinary people would assume that HBO is the one behind all of these changes made to the show. Outside of us here at MC, and in the Muppet fandom in general, how many people out there do you suppose stop to think that SW still retains the creative decisions of the show?

While HBO may not be to blame SOMEONE needs to FIRE the new staff for the show.

I mean they maybe saving money, but they're killing what made the show great in the first place.

 

[mbmfrog]

Clearly, it's a combination of a lot of things: scaling back of both Muppet and human characters, doing away with spoofs and parodies . . . in a sense, it almost feels like a deja vu of when Jon Stone said of the ATC era that the show was being "dumbed down," which resulted in him being fired. One of the things about SST was that they always made it a show that parents could watch with their kids, however, the research is turning up parents don't watch with kids anymore, hence the end of parodies - because kids don't understand them - and celebrities - because kids don't know who they are; research is also showing that most kids shows have smaller casts with only a few main characters, hence why they're scaling back on both Muppet and human characters. But the thing of it is, all of that has been part of what made SST the show that it is, so I can see all of that playing a contributing factor in Joey's decision to walk away.

EDIT: Ziffeled twice.

It truly feels like the original show's vision by its creator it just being plucked away.

Remember there was suppose to be a balance between the Muppet performers and the humans on the show.

 

[dwayne1115]

It truly feels like the original show's vision by its creator it just being plucked away.

Remember there was suppose to be a balance between the Muppet performers and the humans on the show.

Well I wonder what Joan Ganz Cooney thinks about all the changes to the Street.

Gordon and Bob have been on the show since the very beginning, and the way the two characters have been treated in the last decade or so has been sad. I love both of them, and it's sad to see them go.

 

[Drtooth]

People need to stop making HBO the scapegoat for all the things they don't like about the show these days.

Indeed. The only baring that HBO holds is a 9 month exclusivity deal. And if HBO had any clout on the show, we'd have to wait until season 47 when the HBO produced episodes actually kick in.

If we really want to blame anyone, it's the new CEO of Sesame Workshop. I mean, the guy is ex-HIT entertainment. A company that bought up the rights to, and then ruined, certain preschool shows and eventually turned them all CGI.

After hearing the recent news about Bob and the other original cast members leaving, I'm starting to think this is what Joey meant about losing the "heart and soul of the show" in his Facebook post last year.

It's clear the new CEO wants to bring Sesame Street back to the pre-pre-preschool days. Not just the gimmicky "Barney exists" level of the ATC era, I mean the 2002 era that even the writers hated. Again, a show that was groundbreaking in 1969 now struggles to stay afloat in 2016 in an endless sea of waaaaay too many preschool programming/educational app options. On the level of trying to remain relevant outside of nostalgia and parody references, I begrudgingly support the changes the show had to make, especially due to their dwindling budget. Still, Joey's departure and parting words pretty much signaled that something was going down with the show. It does appear the show has already been, I don't want to say Dumbed Down like a fanboy, let's say shoved to a younger demographic after they finally got the older viewers back.

On the plus side, we don't have to see Abby Cadabby fight a giant pasta dinosaur ever again.

 

[Rugratskid]

I haven't really been watching a lot of Sesame in a while, but hearing about this doesn't just upset, it turns me off from the future of Sesame as a whole, honestly. I didn't like the 30 hour block at first, but I got used to it. I didnt like the retooling all that much. but whatever, I let it go. And now this? Sesame Workshop, what the heck are you doing? I don't think I'll be supporting the future of Sesame Street anymore; the Muppets are still there, but the love, heart, and soul that made the show enjoyable for all ages is gone, in my opinion. We all now know what Joey meant when he said what he did, and I'm with him on this one. Sorry Sesame, I'm cutting the ropes with you. I still love your past, but your future is none of my concern anymore. Also, I know people have said this already, but I'm trying to make it clearer by restating; HBO HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS.

 

[Drtooth]

I'd be a little more upset if the fact of the matter was they've been phasing out the older humans for the past 5 seasons now. Sure, Luis finally got a major place back in the show when they had the bike shop, only for that to oddly be taken away. Kinda annoying. Other than the fact that budget is clearly the reason we're down to 3 recurring cast member's, we've pretty much seen Chris and Alan take on the major human roles the past several seasons. If it's true about Mando's actor leaving for other opportunities, that's fine and I hope he finds them. Still, the fact Leela just disappeared too kinda bugs me.

 

[LaRanaRene]

It would've been nice if they gave Bob, Luis, and Gordon a proper send-off on the show. Not an episode where they leave, but maybe an episode about them or something. Oh well.

 

[minor muppetz]

This is sad news. I am surprised that Loretta Long hasn't been specifically mentioned here, as she seems to have been making significantly less appearances since around season 30. I would have thought she'd be let go before Gordon, who I feel has been on the show a lot. Of course, I guess I haven't been watching the recent seasons that often, as I'm always surprised when I see it pointed out that a lot of the cast hasn't done much in years.

It would be great if they'd do a TV special or DVD release honoring the best of the humans. Maybe a screening would be most likely (or one of those "collections" Sesame Workshop does on YouTube).

I wonder if Sesame Workshop will make an official press release about this. It seems like we only know this because a couple of the cast members in question just recently confirmed it. Has Sesame Workshop put out official press releases announcing certain cast members would be gone before?

 

[DePingPong]

This is sad news. I am surprised that Loretta Long hasn't been specifically mentioned here, as she seems to have been making significantly less appearances since around season 30. I would have thought she'd be let go before Gordon, who I feel has been on the show a lot. Of course, I guess I haven't been watching the recent seasons that often, as I'm always surprised when I see it pointed out that a lot of the cast hasn't done much in years.

It would be great if they'd do a TV special or DVD release honoring the best of the humans. Maybe a screening would be most likely (or one of those "collections" Sesame Workshop does on YouTube).

I wonder if Sesame Workshop will make an official press release about this. It seems like we only know this because a couple of the cast members in question just recently confirmed it. Has Sesame Workshop put out official press releases announcing certain cast members would be gone before?

On Facebook, the SST page said this;
"Bob McGrath, Emilio Delgado (“Luis") and Roscoe Orman (“Gordon") remain a beloved part of the Sesame family and continue to represent us at public events. To us, and for millions of people worldwide, they are a treasured part of Sesame Street. Since the show began, we are constantly evolving our content and curriculum, and hence, our characters, to meet the educational needs of children. As a result of this, our cast has changed over the years, though you can still expect to see many of them in upcoming productions. As we’ve stated previously, Sesame Workshop retains sole creative control over the show. HBO does not oversee the production."

Probably the closest we'll get to a press release.