Why people dislike modern Sesame Street

[Convincing John]

I remember the two episodes they aired with no EW whatsoever. Yeah, kids whined about it...

I wonder if they could take a different approach to this. They could do an "Elmo's Backyard" type of thing...or if they wanted to drop the whole "15 minutes of Elmo" thing, then each season...or gradually over one season, they could snip tiny bits of time away from it gradually. 14 minutes of Elmo's World for a month, 13 minutes the next month, then so on. I know the episodes don't run like that, but you get the idea.

It's like trying to quit smoking...only for kids. They can't quit Elmo's World cold turkey, so why not gradually shrink Elmo's World over a long period of time? If done gradually enough, the kids might not even notice it will eventually be gone. It's not like Elmo isn't all over the place in the rest of the show, so kids will always get their Elmo fix.

Convincing John

 

[Drtooth]

I've spoke my peace about EW for years, but it's time for them to look into an alternative. They can't keep up using the same segments over and over, and they appear to have stopped making them after Frogs.

I find Elmo's Backyard a superior Elmo segment anyway (based solely on the preview that used to be up on SW's website) as he actually interacts with other characters TELLING him things. Shorter running time aside, the fact they're focused on a single subject, and Elmo interacts instead of hosts just make it much more enjoyable on every level.

But even when EW premiered, they STILL were able to have broken up stories, lest we forget. The segment structure they were trying to move away from in recent seasons came back with the block format. Again, I like Murray hosting the word, letter, and number of the day, but using the same transitions over and over, and odd guessing games just bulk out time. Plus, I don't like how they close the show with the EXACT same Murray dialogue.

 

[Canadian Fan]

Like I said, Elmo's World is just plain weird! Elmo is much better when he's interacting with other muppets/humans. I think when I was a kid, I would have been more upset if there wasn't any Bert & Ernie sketches featured; they were the comedians on the street. At least they have the claymation skits, they're kind of cool, but I'd give anything to see new sketches in their muppet form, but I realize Steve and Eric are busy.

 

[Drtooth]

Elmo's World seems like another show entirely. Let's just say that. It doesn't fit, but then again, I doubt they were going for a sketch that was the same as the rest of the show entirely.

I'm starting to wonder if Abby's School would benefit from a shorter run time. Would more episodes be easier and cheaper to make if they were 5 minutes long vs 8 minutes? Seems that oen's all about budget issues. Would a shorter cartoon cost less, is what I'm asking.

 

[Oscarfan]

What I want to know is why "The Electric Company" can follow SST's old format of story interspersed with inserts, and yet SST can't.

 

[CensoredAlso]

What I want to you is why "The Electric Company" can follow SST's old format of story interspersed with inserts, and yet SST can't.

Oooo, excellent point!

 

[Drtooth]

Older demographic free of meddling from child psychologists and their conflicting data. But then again, you can't blame them from trying 2 years ago... unfortunately, it seems like they tested poorly.

They dig themselves into these holes, and when it comes time to change them back, they're not able to.

 

[Drtooth]

MMmm... nah, Elmo's voice can be worse at times. And Abby is far from as annoying as Rodeo Rosie was (only character I'm glad is gone).

 

[The Shoe Fairy]

I've heard a lot of bad comments about Abby's voice. It's why many adults don't watch it with their children anymore.

I actually like it, for one.

 

[eday2010]

I don't like the new format either, and neither does my three-year-old (he likes the classic episodes and the ones from before the four segment block shows (started in Season 40, I believe). But with Sesame Street stating that viewership was up 60% for this last season wit hthe current format, I doubt they will change it. Plus keep in mind they are writing and producing the shows for children, not for us. What we want to see and what kids pay attention to and can keep focused on are two different things.