Your Thoughts: The Street We Live On

[Don_Music_2004]

I thought the special was pretty good, I think theyr'e gonna start using the Baker #10 films again.

 

[Cheebo]

well then they shouldn't air it in the daytime.

Or they shouldn't of been nice and gave us the season premire a day earlier and at a new time?

 

[Convincing John]

But they can't show Rowlf...

They could show those baker clips again...except for the #9 one...since is in it...(sigh).

If they do show 'em again, I hope they don't add those annoying extra sound effects. It bugs me to no end when they do that! Extra "wobble" sound effects are used everywhere, and every time someone blinks, you hear a synthesized xylophone note, like in the Typewriter clips. To a "Sesame Seed" like me, it's like having a photo of an old friend suddenly get a permanent, unrepairable scratch across the middle.

Convincing John

 

[Censored]

And alot of want to too but until that happens ur either going to have to watch what u taped over and over or watch the new ones. U see Ssetta she hasn't cried about the speical being bad even tho she might not like him that much. I really don't care at all, I care about is seeing new episodes even if I do have to set through Elmo's World. I don't like him that much but I remember him being on when I was little and that was 1980's. I've seen alot of SSU and I see why alot of people want old Episodes but we can't expect everything to come on TV. Look at Nick. There are alot of shows that I miss so much that I could see them but I know until they show them on TV again or when they make VHS or DVD then I'm going to have to wait. There's alot of old show that don't come on TV land that used to come and they don't. I liked Donna Reed, Patty Duke, My Three Sons and Car 54 Where are u? I used to watch them alot but I really don't care anymore because I don't care. So just deal w/ SS and get over it. JUST SHUT UP! ELMO ELMO ELMO ELMO!!!!! HA ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!!!!!

I think that banana in your ear is going through your brain. I guarantee you that it would be easier to get the existing episodes of any old television show through some circles than it is to get vintage Sesame Street episodes anywhere. Heck, even old shows that are considered racist such as "Amos and Andy" can be obtained. It makes absolutely no sense that a totally harmless show like Sesame Street would not be available in the same way. BTW, Erine81981, I think the majority of people on here are fond of the old days and want to see more of it. If our complaining bothers you that much, you might be happier on the current kiddy Sesame Workshop website. Just a suggestion.

 

[Censored]

. and i don't wanna hear about the young kids of today and all that has been discussed about how kids are different today then from what they were when SS 1st hit the airwaves i do understand they're more of the focus and is generally more important. but they have every day Mon. thru Fri. for the kids. i think just this once they could of done a very good job compared to what they did and if the young ones liked it fine. but if not. oh well. they have all week long for the stuff they're most familier with.

Actually, Mr. Roger's philosophy was that kids never really change, which was why his show remained relatively the same throughout his lifetime. I think adults are the ones who change and they project it on to the children.

 

[Censored]

Elmo's visibility in the wedding scene was regrettable, but as a Doctor Who fan, I know that continuity errors are inevitable in an anniversary special for a long-running series, especially when the plot involves time travel.

Perhaps, but making sure a scene doesn't include a character that was supposedly "not yet born" is a no-brainer. The truth is that there were many delightful things that were truly "before Elmo was born", such as their trip to New Mexico, SAM the Robot, other humans and muppets that have come and gone. They could have shown numerous memorable scenes from the 70's that would have made perfect sense for Elmo to be curious about. But no, even when they show the old days, it can't be too far back and the late 80's is about as far as they're willing to go (save a split second of a mute Mr. Hooper).

 

[Splurge]

Also, I distinctly recall seeing the "10 bells" section of the "Song of 10" in the early 80's -- if it was edited into the segment after the fact, this was done before then.)

The "10 bells" was edited into that skit/song for the longest time, it's not new. In fact I had no knowledge of "10 Little Indians" until I saw it on Noggin. They must have realized how problematic it could be and made that change very early on.

I even remember Gladys the Cow making a reference to part of that film, which cuts off after the bells, and right to Gladys. She says, "You must admit, the number 10 has a nice ring to it."

 

[Mark The Shark]

My reaction (36 year old SS veteran viewer)

First: Does anyone else besides me find it a little ironic that an anniversary special for a supposedly *educational* children's TV show should have a *grammatically incorrect* title? ("The Street We Live On;" didn't anyone teach these people that a preposition is the wrong kind of word to end a sentence with?) (Before the humor-impaired jump on me, I'm aware I just did the same thing...it's a joke, kids, irony, get it?)

I was really looking forward to this show after I read the same press release that the rest of you read a few months back. It sounded cool, like Elmo (who I find reasonably cute in very small doses, but irritating for more than a couple minutes) would maybe (through the magic of digital technology) would be *interacting* with Mr. Hooper, etc. but maybe I was just expecting too much...however, the cursory way in which that segment was done almost seems like it was *deliberately* glossed over, almost as a joke or commentary on the way SW has been criticized for ignoring its history sometimes. There is literally a seconds-long silent clip showing Mr. Hooper, his voice is never heard, then Grover says something along the lines of "You know Hooper's Store? That's Mr. Hooper. He used to own Hooper's store." And that was it! The other clips were just the same old ones they trot out on every special: the Maria/Luis wedding, adoption of Miles, etc. That was a big disappointment to me, especially since I was in high school or college when all of those segments originally aired and never watched them originally. Maybe I'm just a cantankerous old man, but the "foleying" of Grover's footsteps over the first 20 or so minutes really grew grating on my nerves after a while. The first half of the show just seemed to drag on and on and on...I have not really kept up with "Sesame Street" lately, but I watched a handful of shows over the last couple of years and most of what was in there seemed like more of the same...a long, drawn-out shoot-me-in-the-head "Elmo's World," "Journey To Ernie," etc. I kept saying, "Okay, yeah, and?"

The clip montage at the end was cool, and it was nice how they started it off with Gordon's (the original Gordon, Matt Robinson's) introduction from the top of the very first show. The quick-flash clips that followed were all cool, but then, I have most of that on tape from Noggin. Nice to see Northern Calloway as David in there too.

The Baker #10 film was very nice to see. I have grown very, very weary of "political correctness," and I understand the editing of the "10 Little Indians" segment, but come on...but seeing the "ten bells" part was very interesting. I do not remember that at all, and it looked like a vintage segment from the same time period or at least close. Anyone know the story on that? Has that been shown before and I just don't remember it? Also, I thought the addition of sound effects was unnecessary, though a lot less intrusive than it could have been, and if that helps to make some of these old segments more "repeatable" for a current audience, then it's a small price to pay to see some of this stuff again. I couldn't help but think, though, that if there had been one less monster in the "monster parade," then the "number of the day" would have had to be 9...and then we would have gotten to see the #9 Baker film with Rowlf in it ("Nine lights!") Well, maybe another day...

I cheered for Oscar a little when he referred to Elmo as the "little red menace."

There were a few "laugh-out-loud" moments for me. One was Grover's joke about having a cab actually stop for them, so it had to be a fantasy. That was funny. I also liked Grover's scene with the peacock. There were a few flashes of the kind of humor I remember from watching the show as a kid...the kind of jokes that parents would get, but kids probably wouldn't. The kind of writing that *respects* the viewers instead of talking down to them in a condescending way. When Ernie was doing "Dance Myself To Sleep," I almost got a little tiny bit choked up for a moment as I thought about the great songwriting that used to be part of the show. The song Elmo sang at the end of the show did not impress me, and it stood in stark contrast to the kind of writing and performing I remember. The show really has been "dumbed down," and that's a shame. As more and more newer and "hipper" shows come down the pike, SS is going to have a tougher and tougher time competing. If there was more stuff to grab the parents' attention, it could only be a positive and could help keep the show going and thriving for a little while longer than if they keep "dumbing the show down" and pandering and talking down to their audience. But that's just my observation.

"And Gordon is still bald. Some things never change." That was kind of clever, although of course, that *did* change, since the original Gordon (in fact, the first two Gordons) were not bald.

The opera interpretation of "C Is For Cookie" was pretty clever and inspired, at least I thought so. Whoever wrote that was probably laughing themselves silly while they were writing it. That's the kind of humor I remember; again, maybe there will be a return to that kind of humor to some degree.

The "Manha Manha" clip that ran under the closing credits might actually have been the best of all the clips they showed. Of course, that was shown in a couple of "Unpaved" episodes, but was still cool to see again.

I kind of liked that animated segment on the "Big Bird, Grover And Maria Channel" (which was enough of a "non-sequitur" by itself to get some snickers out of me). That was different.

So overall, it was not a completely wasted hour. But did the content justify running it on a Sunday evening? I'd say no. I doubt a lot of parents or other adults would be too impressed with it. But hey, it wasn't a total loss.

 

[jzion12345]

Well, on further review of this thread, I can tell you that two institutions of American TV have gone in completely different ways in preserving history. You look at Sesame street and The Price is Right, both shows on US TV for more than 30 years, and you see how they both have evolved over the years. Bob Barker does not have as much time to talk to the contestants as he used to. It frustrates him so much, that some games are so rushed and are pulled from the show. But, still, The Price is Right still remembers its past, even though owned by Freemantle. When Mark Goodson sold his library, some people say the show went down the tubes. The whole sense of family is lost. When the Barker's Beauties stopped being regulars and they started rotating models, the show started getting the feeling of being all about Bob. The same arguments can be made about Sesame Street. When Jim Henson sold sesame Street to CTW, now Sessame Workshop, many people say the show went down the tubes, that the show doesn't have a sense of history, that it had dumbed down the show, shifted focus. Yes...All of those points are right. neither children's programming of game shows are produced the same way they were 30 or more years ago. The Sesame Street some of us knew from 1969 is completely different from the one we know today. Even Bob Barker was a pretty plastic host back in the early days and look at him now after 32 years. Things change over time. Whether they change for the better or for worse is just your decision to make.

 

[Censored]

Also, game show fans may be one of the few other television audiences who would have the same difficulty in finding reruns of their favorite shows in their prime. I'm not even sure if they saved every episode of old game shows. Game shows aren't my thing, but if anything from television still exists, and it was good enough for public viewing at one time, people should be able to see it somehow today. Bring in the new, but don't erase the history of the old.