(Forewarning: Long post here and i'm trying to rapidly get the various thought i've had over the last week and a half all out here, so be prepared for spelling errors and typos!)
Okay, when i first tuned in, it was more out of loyalty to JHC more than excitement, not knowing what to expect and figuring it would probably be good but most likely something i could ultimately take or leave...
However it wasn't too long before i could say i am totally in love with this show - it ROCKS and is a totally worthy addition to the Jim Henson banner.
No big discussion here on computer animation vs puppetry vs the Hensons' technology of merging the two...that's the thing that i think is dominating too much discussion about the show in other places but no one seems to be looking at the quality of the show beyond that and this show has so much awesome stuff going for it - in the best tradition of Sesame Street (at its classic best) and Fraggle Rock, it makes learning FUN and it's not heavyhanded - 30-something me loves watching this show and i totally know that child d.w. would totally groove on this show and it would be a beloved favorite!
Like the best of Henson productions, the characters (and the performers behind them) are the backbone of the show. They're all well-developed with lots of nuance beyond architypes with even the parents (who don't get as much screentime as the kids and teacher) well-defined than just the prerequisite minimum requirements - they're smart in their own right (not stooges for the children) but aren't afraid to admit when a question Sid has might be better asked to their teacher if they (a) don't actually know how to answer the question or (b) want to encourage Sid to explore the answer for himself. While discussion the parents i think it's great that the designs subtlely suggest that Sid is from a mixed-race family. I wasn't too crazy about Sid's final design, but after realizing that he would be a mixed offspring, i appreciate it more. They actually did a good job with the color scheme of the characters (for the most part) taken a little bit of a Simpson-esque cue of making the basic hue yellow but still with hints of different races (with Gerald's pinkness more evocutive of the ruddy/lightskinned redhead) and with Susie the teacher being hispanic and Sid's mother most likely African American, but it doesn't hit you over the head...the multiculturalism is more subliminal and like the original Sesame Street Muppets are a great example of using different colored hues to represent diversity with some more abstract (orange Ernie/yellow Bert) and some more representative (Roosevelt Franklin) of a particular background. The only thing that really kind of sticks out and bugs me is they made Sid's father's nose too red...if this was a more standard look to the rest of the characters (again thinking of Ernie and Bert's noses compared to their skin color) it probably wouldn't matter but otherwise the characters' noses are pretty close to the rest of their coloring, and so it sticks out and actually has the effect of making him look drunk or alchoholic!
Getting back to the characters, they're all so engaging and all the kids seem like people i would totally want to be friends with if i was a kid and would probably do a lot of pretending or fantasizing of going to their school and hanging out with them...especially since not only are the kids a lot of fun but the school and teacher (how way-cool is her belt?) are all way too cool again making child d.w. wish he could go there himself and have Susie as my teacher. Not sure which grade/age group it's representing, but it seems like either a nursery school if one was to think of the characters as younger or if one thought of them as older, it kind of comes across as a special school for gifted children, in between the small class size (4 kids), close teacher/student relationship, generally inquistive/intelligent and talented each-in-their-own-way kids, sitting on mats on the rug or having discussions outside, the "Super Fab Lab" and being encouraged to explore and keep journals...man oh man again child d.w. wants to dive through the set and join them all!
The whole show itself in and outside of the school setting makes learning fun, it doesn't talk down to kids, and depending on the age group watching actually introduces some advanced concepts and topics. In so many ways, the show reminds me of classic Sesame before it became so curriculum-controlled, politically correct, dumbed down, and more aimed at toddler viewers than preschoolers and also the adults watching with them...how appropriate that the show is the latest major Henson project and is on PBS (and is in many ways based around a well researched and controlled curriculum but doesn't feel like it cause it's all so entertaining)
Oh and by the way remember how i keep saying how i child d.w. would totally want to be a part of the world they created but it would REALLY get me hooked on the idea of carrying around a Sid style microphone and wanting to go around "hosting" my own show playing off of my stuffed animals, friends, family, neighbors, birds in the trees etc. Henson would be missing out on a major marketing opportunity if they didn't put out Sid style toy microphones out there! (Not only a money-maker but a toy that encourages creative play)
Of course one can't heap such praise on the characters without giving a major shout-out to the very talented performers who bring them to life. Many of the people involved have been known to Hensonites for awhile now but even though they're been doing a lot for the company between Puppet Up! the newer projects like Scrumps, other digital puppetry projects, Sam Plenty, etc etc... as far as the real "high profile" projects, they've still mainly been on what i would call the "third tier of Muppet Performers" (first tier being the vets or frequent stars like Steve, Dave, Kevin, Bill, even Eric Jacobson; second tier being the supporting puppeteers...maybe they get lines/characters, other times they're still right-handing, filling out the crowds like David Rudman, Joey Mazzarino, Camille Bonora)...so it's nice to see them basically being the stars of such a major high profile project and they really shine. There are those who really don't like the "Henson alternative" projects like Puppet Up but something like Sid shows the results that the whole idea of doing puppet improvs was initially meant to accomplish - building creativity/performance skills/comaradery/character building skills - and one really sees how tight this set of performers have become. Drew Massey carries the show well and his earned his stripes as a lead while i have to credit Julianne B and Victor Yerrid for their work with Meg and Gerald who are my personal favorites (hard to pick between them...but i think between the performance and the design, Gerald would be my favorite...kind of in the way that between the voicing and the "life" and "energy" the animators gave Baby Animal in Muppet Babies that always made me relish his screen time, Gerald is the same way - total scene-stealer - check out that expression when he looks at the viewer at the end of the show when they're promoting the website!)
The only real kind of nit-pick is that some of the moments like the song they do when Sid comes to school comes across more as a cheap attempt to recycle animation more than a sincere desire to create a classic moment that kids look forward to every episode. But at least other recurring segments like Susie Sings have a different intro each episode where they could have done a "repeated animation" thing there...and for the most part the clip-heavy Friday review shows seem more like a genuine review done for educational purposes than a money-saving device (though some moments like using a repeated "Big Idea" at the end was overdoing it a bit...that part could have been an original bit.)
All in all, this show is an absolute winner that is going to win major love from the kid viewers, their teachers, their adult chaperones, and one of the toughest audiences to please...the Henson fans!
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