What a strong opener. Super Grover 2.0 repeat aside... this was a very good way to kick off the new season. A wonderfully hilarious Cookie Monster street story, a new Abby, and the new Elmo segment I'm going to gush about.
I really liked how Allen was comedically nervous about Cookie Monster popping up. You don't see him do too much of that. Just out of character enough to work and be some great comedic tension. David added a wonderful, almost Monty Python-esque comedic presence... I love how straight faced his first reaction to Cookie Monster was. And we really got to see Cookie Monster stretch as a character again. Plus, it's always fun to make fun of wine snobs. Imagine if he had to spit the cookies out, like in a real wine tasting?
Hallie Berry's segment was much more fun that I thought it would be, that segment about the girl waiting had some lovely animation, the Murray Tune ins were much less intrusive and cut to the point (except for the reused guessing game at the end)... Abby's segment was good as usual. And it's always great to see a new Two Headed Monster segment, especially one that holds up to the classic ones.
I will say the only thing that inhibited my enjoyment of the Five song was just the depressing thought about it being one of the last things Jerry did, and his passing is really starting to sink in.
But Elmo the Musical... where to begin? With Elmo's World, I feel that I could pull out a copy of War and Peace, read through the whole thing, and it would barely be through the insert film about children doing whatever the subject was. ETM? Sped by so fast, I almost couldn't believe it was over. Well, that's what happens when you have an engaging plot, fun music, and interacting with other characters. This was one of the best things to happen to Sesame Street for some time. Sure, Elmo's World had it's moments, but I don't think anyone's going to mourn the loss of that stale thing.