• Welcome to the Muppet Central Forum!
    You are viewing our forum as a guest. Join our free community to post topics and start private conversations. Please contact us if you need help.
  • Christmas Music
    Our 24th annual Christmas Music Merrython is underway on Muppet Central Radio. Listen to the best Muppet Christmas music of all-time through December 25.
  • Macy's Thanksgiving Parade
    Let us know your thoughts on the Sesame Street appearance at the annual Macy's Parade.
  • Jim Henson Idea Man
    Remember the life. Honor the legacy. Inspire your soul. The new Jim Henson documentary "Idea Man" is now streaming exclusively on Disney+.
  • Back to the Rock Season 2
    Fraggle Rock Back to the Rock Season 2 has premiered on AppleTV+. Watch the anticipated new season and let us know your thoughts.
  • Bear arrives on Disney+
    The beloved series has been off the air for the past 15 years. Now all four seasons are finally available for a whole new generation.
  • Sam and Friends Book
    Read our review of the long-awaited book, "Sam and Friends - The Story of Jim Henson's First Television Show" by Muppet Historian Craig Shemin.

Your Thoughts: Sesame Street Season 38

CensoredAlso

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2002
Messages
13,453
Reaction score
2,291
I wouldn't want to see all those segments and characters revived (a lot of viewers, child and adult alike, would get seriously confused). But for Pete's sake, I don't want to see mainstay Muppets like Ernie and Big Bird phased out either: they're not particularly outdated after 38 years, and the new performers are doing the best they can to fill the old performers' shoes.
Exactly! Well we'd have to wait and see, it is only the first episode. I sincerely hope they don't phase them out completely. Like I said, I'll be investing in SS DVDs!
 

ssetta

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 13, 2002
Messages
2,277
Reaction score
119
I'm not saying it has to be exclusively Muppets, but outside the main segment, Chris Brown's song, RSI, Elmo's World, and the Closing, the only Muppets that popped up were Cookie hosting part 2 of letter of the day, that bit with Abby, and the old Footage of the Count at his pipe organ.

There was way too much Non-muppet, non-animated junk for my taste.

But I liked how the new closing credits were short. Not too much time taken away from the show itself... no thanks to the multiple sponsers they have to advertise. 2 Minutes gone from the show already.
I didn't see Cookie Monster at all in this episode.
 

somethingofafan

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 4, 2003
Messages
277
Reaction score
29
I didn't see Cookie Monster at all in this episode.
He was there; it's just that his appearance was brief.

And as for the other classic characters...I don't think they would go through the trouble of putting them in a brand-new opening sequence if they weren't planning on using them at some point in the season.

As for Big Bird's gradual receding, it might be useful to look at history a bit. When the show started, there were three puppeteers, and two of them were busy with other Muppet projects, so their characters appeared primarily in inserts. This left Caroll Spinney with the job of interacting with the humans in most of the street segments. Nowadays, Big Bird and Oscar are part of a large ensemble. I don't think the intention is to phase them out. Elmo just seems to be the star because he has such a long regular segment in addition to the street stories.
 

Ilikemuppets

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 8, 2005
Messages
15,138
Reaction score
25
Yeah, that's was cookie and Lexine for maybe around 91, 92 before she was credited s a cast member for about six years after that. But my mom really liked that new theme song.. Well, she really liked how the slowed down the "how to get to, etc" part anyway, LOL!
 

Daffyfan4ever

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 7, 2002
Messages
5,043
Reaction score
589
Maybe maybe not.

Some may not be all that bad but it's really not for us to worry about.

My point to everyone it not that they can't have an opinion is there's no sense to keep repeating this time and time again when it's unlikely to ever happen and it's the audiance it's targetting that's important.

So it's just my opinon to not keep going over something that's been covered time and time again.
Well, I don't think it's a bad idea to keep bringing this stuff. Besides, some threads get outdated after a while, so it's always good to talk about this stuff. Like what happens when a character or puppateer leaves the show, you said to worry about it when it happens, but I feel like it's something to think about. Especially with Susan, she appeared today, but she's not on the show on a regular basis anymore, so I feel like people have a right to talk about what she's doing now and if she'll still be on the show in later years and stuff like that.

Yeah, that's was cookie and Lexine for maybe around 91, 92 before she was credited s a cast member for about six years after that. But my mom really liked that new theme song.. Well, she really liked how the slowed down the "how to get to, etc" part anyway, LOL!
Yeah, I thought I heard about something with Cookie Monster and Lexine years ago, so I guess that was nothing new there.

Anyway, now for my opinion on today's show. I liked the street scene, but I didn't care much for the inserts. Too much Elmo and Abby. That one with Elmo and that lady singing to the letter Y was from two or three years ago. They really need some new material. I think I was wrong with what I said before, I think the older format was better because all the classic characters got some airtime. I mean, we had Cookie Monster in the "Letter of the Day" segments, "Journey to Ernie" was good since Big Bird was involved and that was usually followed by an Ernie and Bert sketch. Then there was "Global Grover." He also sometimes did the Spanish Word. Then there was the Count in "Number of the Day" and of course at the end there was "Elmo's World" and "Trash Gordon." Now it seems like they're phasing out of that. I really think they should keep those segments and just make some new ones rather than showing the same ones all the time. Now the street scene was good because they incorporated Cookie Monster and the Count. Again, I feel like they could have done more, for example Chris could have worked with Big Bird on being a birdkateer instructor or maybe a trash collecter for Oscar. Some things to think about. Horatio Elephant? I never even knew he had a name. Also, what I liked is they had renditions of two classic songs, "People in Your Neighborhood" and "Sing After Me." You can't go wrong with those.
 

The Count

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 12, 2002
Messages
31,305
Reaction score
2,947
Based on how it's progressing, I think this season will be sort of a lez affaire attitude. Sort of a watch the show, it's kinda OK, you just shrug it off and claim that you've watched it when talking here on the forums.


Episode 4136: Chris Gets a Job.
Word on the Street: Murray Monster asks about "newspaper".
Street Story.
*Thumbs up for the new reprise of "People in Your Neighborhood" by Chris.
Ah, the nuance of someone new meeting my namesake... "Are we expecting rain?"
Good interactions with Chris and Cookie Monster at a entrepeneurial enterprise that's guaranteed to backfire and go out of business from the first second.
*Thumbs down on the hip-hoppy dance version of "Be My Echo".
Nice to hear Alan whistling a classic version of the theme.
Animation Song: "When You Grow Up".
Nuance of reading a Newspaper.
Animation/Claymation.
Murray Monster and Pete: Push-Ups.
Song: "Jump".
Worms in Space: Worms make a capital Y and a lowercase y.
CGI: Y-Planet.
Song: "Don't Know Y" by Nora Jones.
Live Film: Two kids exploring a school and the playground and other places in town.
Abby demonstrates "Surprise" with the extent of her teleporting and pumpkin magic.
Animation Song: "I Wanna Be Me" by Cecille.
The Count's Counting Organ: 5, with five bats again.
Animation Song about the Number 5, didn't understand it.
Kids clapping hands in growing succession up to 5.
Elmo's World: Mouths, New.
Elmo asks Mr. Noodle how to whistle.
Kids show Dorothy how to whistle.
Baby segment and Elmo tries to whistle without success.
Counting flies caught by a frog using his tongue.
What has a mouth, and what are different mouths called?
Email from Cookie Monster.
Live Film: Riley goes off to do breathing exercises at singing school.
TV: The Mouth Channel: The Boy who Loved his Mouth.
Elmo tries to whistle while sleeping.
Guest: Mr. Fred Newman.
Mouth Song.
Trash Gordon: Planet Fairytale surrounded by lost sheep repeat.


You know... I wonder if Snowths will have a comment or two in his review comparing Elmo to that classic episode of Whose Line where Collinn tries to whistle and won't stop doing it all show long.
Also, was very surprised to see Fred Newman as Elmo's guest. This marks the second time he's worked with the Muppets, the first being the TV special known as Puppetman.
 

Drtooth

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 16, 2002
Messages
31,717
Reaction score
6,710
Dagnabbit you guys! I was trying to get the first one in!

Anyway, I may comment on the new stuff, since there was so much old stuff, I thought I was watching a rerun. Even reused another Pipe organ bit.

The main segment introduced an new human today, Chris. And not in the whole "let's do a tour of Sesame Street" way they usually go for.

I must admit... Chris seems like the reincarnation of David. he looks and sounds very similar to him. Almost eerily similar.

I really think he;s gonna be a great human cast member.

Susan makes a come back, finally.,... though it may just be her one episode a season.

Great bits with the Count and Cookie, and sort of memorable stuff with the Elephant.... I like Joey mazzarino and all, but I am sick of his whiny Elephant voice.

Matt Laur was not as funny as Brian Williams's shtick yesterday. Is NBC doing something with SS? Between those skits and the upcoming MSNBC thing, it makes you wonder.... I guess we all know what channel the special is going to be on.

Boring interminable bit about paper....

long line of rerun stuff....

Stupid collage animation about a girl's neighborhood (didn't know if it was new or not)

Cute bit with Abby and Elmo.... noticed someone actually put a letter into the pumpkin

And blah blah blah... nothing until Elmo's World.

Now this was a good one. Not only was there a sneaky Taxi Driver reference in there, but Special guest star the master of oral onomatopoeia, Fred Newman. Not only was this the most interresting bit of the show, but I really liked seeing a special guest in Elmo's World instead of talking to a Muppet version of what they're talking about.

Too bad Fred wasn't on Sesame Street with his Doug Co-star Fran Brill. I love Fred Newman's work on both Doug Series, as he played the 2 best characters Skeeter and Mr. Dink. He also did the music too....

However, once again, less and less muppet stuff... no Ernie and Bert... and only ONE letter of the day, so there was no excuse to not show any extra muppet bits.

Is the random celebrity singing a self serving, horrid send up of their own song going to be a regular segment now? Cuz really, I don't want that at all. The Nora Jones "I don't know why" has been on 3 seasons now. I'd love to see something new.\

Indeed, half the show was old stuff from the 90's, and not even good stuff
 
Top