MetaFilter posts tagged with sesamestreet

Now at TKTS in Times Square, It's Monsterpiece Theatre!

zarq — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 11:05:35 -0800

"On an average afternoon in the area around 44th and Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, you’ll find a motley crew of Chewbaccas, Buzz Lightyears, and Minnie Mouses — along with the usual Naked Cowboy and face-painted Statues of Liberty—posing for tourists’ pictures and demanding cash in return." Condé Nast Traveler editor Eimear Lynch spent a couple of days dressed up as Cookie Monster to see what it was like. Video. This is part of feature for May on Condé Nast Traveler's website called "In Their Shoes: Undercover Travel Industry Job Reports." "They clean our rooms, serve us drinks, and sell us tours, yet most of us know nothing about them. Condé Nast Traveler editors work the jobs of the people who make our travels possible (or at least enjoyable) to learn what it really takes to keep us happy."

The Count: 1 Billion YouTube Views!

ericb — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 14:21:27 -0800

"How do you get to be the first nonprofit to top 1 billion YouTube views? One view at a time. The Count from 'Sesame Street' tallies them up."*

B is for Beastie, that's good enough for me

TheSecretDecoderRing — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 23:27:01 -0800

Because you can't, you won't, and you don't stop learning: Oscar, Grover, and Cookie Monster rockin' the Beastie Boys' "Sure Shot." A version with only the first verse was posted here previously, but fortunately, this full version was indeed made. "Sure Shot" in other flavors: official video, studio performance, live Song trivia and references at Geeks of Doom and Beastiemania. Flute loop by Jeremy Steig - "Howling for Judy." And, if you're up for it, the Cookie Monster "rap" footage is originally from the late '80s song, "Healthy Food."

a distraction that none of us want

gerryblog — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 16:24:07 -0800

Kevin Clash has resigned from Sesame Street as his first accuser retracts his retraction and a second accuser emerges. Mary Elizabeth Williams at Salon says this can't kill Elmo. Previously, and previously, alas.

Jim Henson was no square

Brandon Blatcher — Sun, 28 Oct 2012 16:45:09 -0800

Neat early puppetry by Jim Henson and the later finished piece that became part of Sesame Street.

The Count Is Down

oneswellfoop — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 04:03:48 -0800

Jerry Nelson, one of the major talents 'underneath' the Muppets, has passed away at the age of 78. He got his start with the Muppets when Rowlf was appearing on The Jimmy Dean Show, with Jim Henson operating his mouth and one hand and Frank Oz working the other. But when Frank needed a temporary replacement, Jerry became Rowlf's right hand. He became a full-time member of the Muppet repertoire players, getting his big break as the title character in "The Frog Prince" (previously here) who later became "Kermit's nephew Robin" on The Muppet Show. He joined the Muppets on Sesame Street where his most notable roles were: Count von Count (counting flowers) (Counting cookies for Cookie Monster) (singing his theme song), Herry Monster, Sherlock Hemlock and Mr. Snuffleupagus (his first appearance) (Snuffy calls his mother) (Mount Snuffleupagus). He gave up the physically demanding full-body puppet in 1978. When the Muppets provided some strangely alien puppet characters for the first season of Saturday Night Life, Jerry portrayed the ugly/cute Skred. (with Lily Tomlin) (Last Gasps in The Land of Gorch) Jerry portrayed the title character in Emmet Otter's Jug Band Christmas. On The Muppet Show, in addition to Robin the Frog, Jerry performed as Sgt. Floyd Pepper of the Electric Mayhem, Camilla the Chicken, Lew Zealand and Crazy Harry, originated the character of Statler and became the announcer for segments like "PIGS... IN... SPACE!!!" In fact, he served as "Announcer" for most of the Muppet projects all the way to the telethon sequence in the recent movie. He also did a lot of the musical numbers as a one-shot character. He had several roles on Fraggle Rock, most notably as Gobo Fraggle. Jerry mostly retired from his Muppet work in recent years, sometimes providing voices but not doing the physical puppeteering. But in 2009, he sang and played guitar on an interesting little album titled "Truro Daydreams", with songs like "Get Yourself Free (Happy Little Song)", "(Groovin' on) Noah's Ark" and "Little Red" (with a little help from some other Muppeteers - that's Kevin "Elmo" Clash as the Big Bad Wolf!!) Here are interviews with Jerry Nelson by Ken Plume in 1998, Joe Hennes of the Muppet fan site Tough Pigs in 2009, Ryan Dosier of "Muppet Mindset" in 2010.

You have cookie... So share it maybe?

Uncle — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 09:23:57 -0800

Cookie Monster is going crazy. So share your cookie maybe? SLYT

8/31/1972 – ‘Robot due on Sesame Street.’

PhoBWanKenobi — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 06:34:43 -0800

Jim Henson's Red Book "In June 1965, 28-year-old Jim Henson started a written log of his activities in what became known as “The Red Book.” He noted what had happened up until that point (deemed “Ancient History”) and then recorded anything that he felt was worth recording as single line journal entries until the end of 1988." via retroist.

Friendly neighbors

IvoShandor — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 18:50:09 -0800

Take the Ultimate Sesame Street Quiz (and watch a bunch of Sesame Street clips)

Anubis was taking a day off.

mightygodking — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 22:31:42 -0800

Big Bird overpowers the will of gods and demons in a quest for celestial justice.

I was kind of hoping for a discussion of necessary trespass, but...

Navelgazer — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 20:02:50 -0800

Justice Sonia Sotomayor stops by Sesame Street for a cup of coffee...

There are three primary colors!

Slap*Happy — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 18:45:06 -0800

The band "OK Go" are using their signature blend of pleasant indie pop and quirky, home-grown videos to teach kids about primary colors in a new short for Sesame Street. - SLYT

Northern Calloway, Sesame Street's David: 1948 to 1990

filthy light thief — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 12:42:47 -0800

Between February 1989 and May 1990, there were three significant deaths in the Sesame Street world. The first was Joe Raposo, a significant musician for Sesame Street and Electric Company. The last was Jim Henson, mourned by Big Bird, remembered by Frank Oz, and celebrated in song by many (from the St. John's Memorial, detailed here). The second person to die in this time period was Northern Calloway, Sesame Street's David. Unlike Joe and Jim, there were no television tribute to Northern's life and career on Sesame Street or Broadway. Instead, David, once a young, cool, urban guy, who was studying to be a lawyer while working at Mr. Hooper's storeand the initial romantic interest of Maria, left the show through a letter, read by Gordon. The story behind David is told below the fold. Born on January 22, 1948, in New York City, Northern grew up in Harlem. He was involved in stage shows through school, attending Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Arts and Performing Arts, where he was a classmate of Sonia Manzano, who would become Maria on Sesame Street. In 1966, two days after graduating from high school, he joined the Lincoln Center Repertory Company. In 1970, Calloway starred in The Me Nobody Knows, a musical about complex, introspective children in poor neighborhoods of New York City. Northern and Sonia were hired to Sesame Street around the same time, both appearing in 1971 with four other new human cast members. Northern and Sonia started getting close on the set, so David and Maria became a pair on the show (Google books), creating the first interracial couple on children's television. Northern also had a puppet, Same Sound Brown, a similar character to the former puppet Roosevelt Franklin (previously). In 1980, while staying with a friend in Nashville, Tennessee, Northern Calloway had a mental breakdown, attacking his friend, then running into the neighborhood with only a t-shirt on, breaking a car window and vandalizing a house. When police found him, he appeared to try to eat grass, and when finally restrained, he shouted "I'm David of Sesame Street and they're trying to kill me." Luckily for Calloway, the story never got much coverage, and he was allowed to return to Sesame Street (Google books). But Calloway was then on lithium for his rarely discussed bipolar disorder, which sedated him, and he put on weight. Around the same period, he was also doing cocaine, making him even less reliable on set. He was still a cast member, but with fewer and smaller parts in the following years. In the earlier days on Sesame Street, Calloway's character David was studying law while working at Mr. Hooper's store, until Mr. Hooper died (as the actor, Will Lee, died of a heart attack, at the age of 74). The episode was significant for Sesame Street, as it directly addressed death in the context of the children's show (key clips, in order: Intro / Forgetful Jones forgets why he's happy / Fuzzy and Blue (and Orange!), with Grover, Herry, Cookie Monster and Frazzle / Big Bird's "Just Because" Walk / A boy visits the hospital to see his mother's new baby / Big Bird Listens to the Adults / Bert feels sad and angry about losing his paper clips / Big Bird draws his grown-up friends, and comes to terms with death Mr. Hooper's death / end credits). Mr. Hooper left the store to David, who became the full-time caretaker of the store. Then another in-show dynamic changed. Instead of Maria and David, it was Maria and Luis, and the new couple got married as a season finale in 1988. The next season ends with another big event for Luis and Maria: their first baby (part 2). It was Northern's last season with the show. He disappeared from Sesame Street, written off in the fifth episode of the 21st season, saying goodbye in a letter, as he moved to his grandmother's farm. In real life, Norther disappeared, too. The cause of his death had not been determinedwhen his short New York times obituary ran, and a story about a struggle with stomach cancer gained some ground. But as noted in the comments of that last link, a more complete history has been put together, as told in Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street (Google books). Held in Stony Lodge Hospital in New York, the police were called on January 9, 1990, to help after Calloway struck a staff physician. "Agitated and troubled," Calloway fought restraint, and when he was finally subdued, he went into a seizure and went to the ground. Two weeks shy of his 42nd birthday, he went into cardiac arrest, and was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. The official report said he died of exhaustive psychosis, more commonly refereed to as excited delirium syndrome (EDS). He had been a cast member on Sesame Street for 14 years, as marked in numerous clips and appearances on a small collection of Sesame Street records. More clips: * It Feels Good When You Sing a Song (circa 1970s) * Luis and David in the wrong settings (circa 1970s) * David disco skates around Central Park (circa 1970s) * Jasper Johnson's J Walk (circa 1970s) * David gets three wishes, with Maria the genie (1973) * What's The Name Of That Song? (1974) * David, Maria, Luis and Bob, dressed as scarecrows, sing a song about the knee, the ankle, and the shoulder (1975) * Hooper's Store's 25th anniversary (1976) * Buffy gives Cody a Bath (1977) * Gimme Five!, with "The Lovers of Five" (consisting of Gordon, Bob, David, and Luis) (1978) * Oscar & David on a farm (1984) * Hey Nonny Nonny, with Bob, David and Olivia (1985) * David the Boxer, and Luis his manager, look for the right gloves (1986) * Professor David lectures about trees (1988) * A Tribute to Northern Calloway (David reads The Night Before Christmas, with some changes) Another two tributes, of sorts: 1. Elmo traded his binky for Baby David, a doll named in memory of Northern Calloway's character. 2. Hell Oh, by Cage, from a free EP from 2009, in which he (Chris Palko) recalls his time at Stony Lodge, and seeing Northern Calloway in the same facility.

Engage the hyperdrive!

Slap*Happy — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 06:19:53 -0800

Bert and Ernie recording their voices for TomTom. This is perhaps the funniest viral ad for a product that I've seen. TomTom in-car navigation systems offer custom voices to read out directions, and their latest additions are from Sesame Street. This is the promotional video, showing what the recording session was like... [SLYTPB]

Have you seen this Gordon?

mightygodking — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 11:46:59 -0800

In 1969, Sesame Street put together an unaired pilot to test in front of children. The pilot contained the appearance of an actor playing Gordon different from the other three actors who subsequently played that character. Sesame Workshop has no idea who this actor was and has exhausted all leads. Do you know who the mystery Gordon is?

Who is that old dude with Elmo?

fings — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 19:22:21 -0800

Elvis Costello sings A Monster Went and Ate My Red 2. (slyt)

In a democracy, it's your vote that counts. On Sesame Street, it's your Count that votes. Ah-ah-ah!

sweetkid — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 18:34:56 -0800

The Best of #OccupySesameStreet. Since its launched two weeks ago, the #OccupyWallStreet movement has gone national, spawning copy-cat demonstrations in far-flung locales like Tulsa and Boise. Its members have serious concerns--about income inequality, the influence of large corporations in our political system, and their own financial futures. The #OccupySesameStreet movement? Not so much.

Elmo backlash? Lovable little monster, or furry menace?

ericb — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 16:37:14 -0800

"'Being Elmo,' the crowd-pleasing [documentary film] profile of the man behind Elmo, arguably the most-loved Muppet on 'Sesame Street,' has been melting hearts on the festival circuit since premiering at Sundance this year, where it won the Special Jury Prize. ... [It's the] story of how puppeteer Kevin Clash came up through the ranks on sheer ambition and ingenuity to become one of the best in the business is an underdog tale of the best variety."* However, could it be that there is an Elmo backlash brewing? The film will be released to theaters on October 22nd.

C is still for Cookie, and that's good enough for me

zarq — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 21:19:41 -0800

Science! (autoplaying video) The 42nd season of "Sesame Street," which premiered today, will be including a few new educational categories for preschoolers in its usual mix of le ss ons and parodies: STEM skills — Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. In addition to more scientifically accurate slapstick, characters will try experiments, build bridges and boats, launch rockets and think through problems that require trial and error, observation and data -- all problem areas for America's students. The "parodies" link is Sesame's new, pitch-perfect take on Glee.

CookieWaits: Does that it says, etc

mathowie — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 10:58:05 -0800

CookieWaits is a Tom Waits/Cookie Monster mashup that is so obvious you'll wonder why you never thought of it before. Not the best Sesame Street lip-sync I've seen but still satisfyingly amusing.

This is going to be stuck in your head alllllllll day.

P.o.B. — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 14:10:28 -0800

one, two, three, FOUR, five, six, seven, eight, NINE, ten, eleven, twelve! The Sesame Street's Pinball Number Count by the Pointer Sisters reimagined with stop motion.

Grover Won't Stop

Nathanial Hörnblowér — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 20:07:08 -0800

Sesame Street a la BBoys. (Vimeo link)

Big Bird Evolution

Deathalicious — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 07:12:48 -0800

Big Bird Through The Years If you grew up watching Sesame Street, how Big Bird is "supposed" to look to you depends greatly on when you did the watching. He started out looking pretty scruffy looking, as seen one of his more famous songs. This song features a Big Bird closest to the one I know. The puppeteer behind Big Bird is Caroll Spinney who received a Lifetime Achievement Award during the 2006 Daytime Emmy Awards. In addition to performing as Big Bird, Spinney also performed as Oscar the Grouch. Once you know, it's obvious, but this blew my mind.

You know what they call Sesame Street in France? 5, Rue Sésame

filthy light thief — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 14:00:43 -0800

Given Sesame Street's popularity over the past four decades, it's not surprising that the show has been broadcast all over the world. But it might be surprising to know the international extent of Sesame Street: the show has been localized with co-production of more than 40 programs in 30 countries, plus another 20+ dubbed versions. For the 40th anniversary in 2009, the Canadian National Post had a gallery of 101 Sesame Street characters (prev) and included a few international faces, Smithsonian had a spotlight on 18 local characters, and The Sesame Workshop had a list of Sesame Street Milestones, including some international Sesame events. But the Muppet Wiki trumps them all, with a a collection of international Sesame Street crossovers and a complete list of all international Sesame Street editions. Hop on inside for video clips from most of the 37 international editions of Sesame Street. With localized co-production, international versions of Sesame Street aren't simply the same program as seen in the US but with local puppets and puppeteers. With the show in the Netherlands, Sesamstraat, each episode is thematic and lacks the focus on letters and numbers. In Sweden, Svenska Sesam was set behind the scenes of a theater and did not feature any puppets, except for in dubbed versions of US-produced skits. But more than the odd changes, there were the significantly different settings and lessons that some programs provided. In 2000, the Egyptian co-production, Alam Simsam promoted gender equality, health and hygiene practices and emphasized environmental messages (prev., dead link). 2002 saw the TV debut of the first HIV-positive Muppet (prev., dead link), on the South African co-production, Takalani Sesame. Also in 2002, a localized version of Sesame Street was being planned for Northern Ireland to promote peaceful relations (prev), but it took another 6 years before Sesame Tree became a reality. The full list of localized shows, with clips and playlists: Bangladesh -- 2005 (to present?): Sisimpur (opening), YT playlist Brazil -- 1972 to 1977, then 2007 to present: Vila Sésamo (old opening in black and white; vs full color modern opening), playlist (mostly modern with some old clips) Canada -- an edited version of US edition first aired in 1973, then the intro was edited by 1980, and in the later 1980s there was additional Canadian content. From 1996 to 2002, the Canadian program was titled Sesame Park. Canadian clips (multilingual), Canadian ending clip, counting with Basil the polar bear (quiet clip), and Trash Busters (a musical clip set to the Ghost Busters themesong). Bonus: Oscar in a 2008 PSA China -- 1998 to 2001, revived in 2010: 芝麻街 (Zhima Jie) Ernie sings Rubber Duckie, 7 minute clip from Chinese TV (with an annoying out-of-sync flicker). But before the series, Big Bird when to China, for a US movie that was shot in China in 1983. The movie is on YouTube in parts, as a camera recording of a video screen: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8; VHS clip including a part removed from the US DVD. Denmark -- a dubbed program first aired in the 1990s, and a co-produced show started in 2009: Sesamgade, with dubbed clips. Local production intro, and a clip: Imagination Egypt -- first airing in 2000: Alam Simsim (flash site for the show); intro, playlist France has had two co-produced series: 1, Rue Sésame started in 1978, and then 5, Rue Sésame started in 2005. 1, Rue Sésame opening, Ernest et Bart clip; 5, Rue Sésame opening, The Horse Whisperer (redub?) Germany also had two distinct local productions: first dubbed with a local intro from 1973 to 1977, the co-produced Sesamstraße first aired in 1978, with major updates in 1989 and 2000. In 2010, there was a spin-off called Eine Möhre für Zwei (Google translation). Sesamstraße intro and outro, intro from 2006, playlist of clips; Eine Möhre für Zwei intro, and a news(type) clip for of/for the show. There also appears to be a localized Elmo show for Bavaria: collection of teaser clips. India -- 2006: Galli Galli Sim Sim (intro), playlist of clips (yes, that's Cartoon Network India's channel logo on some clips) Indonesia -- 2008: Jalan Sesama (news clip on the show), intro (loud, poor sound quality), Rain Lamp (?) clip, rain, umbrella (?) clip, Cookie Monster: H, Israel has had two productions -- 1982 to 1986: Rechov Sumsum; and 2002 to present: Sippuray Sumsum, though in 2006 the show was renamed to it's original title. Rechov Sumsum opening, a subtitled episode: Natan's Reserve Duty, part 1 and part 2, playlist of clips. There was a joint Israel-US production called Shalom Sesame, to bring Israeli life and Jewish culture to American audiences: a long 1988 intro, a slightly different opening, and YouTube user shalomsesame has 42 clips. Israel and Palestine had a joint production that started in 1998: Rechov Sumsum in Israeli and Shara'a Simsim in Palestinian (Google Quickview, PDF). Shara'a Simsim intro with subtitles, slightly different version without subs. Japan -- broadcast in English for more than 30 years, the show was localized from 2004 to 2007, keeping the name Sesame Street (Japanese website); recent Japanese intro, older outro. But earlier still, Big Bird visited Japan, similar to his Chinese journey. The movie is also available on YT, with the same weird camera recording of the video: parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. Jordan -- 2003: Hikayat Simsim. Video clip: Good Citizen song. Kosovo -- 2004, aired in Albanian with the title Rruga Sesam and in Serbian as Ulica Sezam (Sesame Workshop, with video clips). Kuwait -- first Sesame Street co-produced in Arabic, in 1979: Iftah Ya Simsim (intro), playlist of clips Mexico -- debuted in 1972, and broadcast to a number of South American countries, Plaza Sésamo (Spanish website) became more localized to Mexico over the following years. In 1995, the show debuted on PBS in the United States, primarily in the Southwest. It is the only Sesame Street co-production that can widely be seen in the US. Modern intro, 1980s themesong, playlist of clips. Netherlands -- first aired in 1976: Sesamstraat. 1976-77 opening, 1979 opening, 1980-81 opening, 1982 opening and outro, and a playlist of clips. Nigeria -- in 2009, Sesame Workshop paired with The United States Agency for International Development and Presidents Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief to create The Adventures of Kami and Big Bird, to assist in education, de-stigmatizing HIV/AIDS and coping with loss. The initial program grew into Sesame Square in 2010. Clips: Kami and former President Clinton share HIV/AIDS message, from UNICEF, and Sesame Square on CNN, M Party clip. Northern Ireland -- 2008: Sesame Tree (teaser clip), an episode split: part 1, part 2. Norway -- 1991: Sesam Stasjon (intro) is based in a train station. 198 episodes were recorded, and re-run until 2004. Playlist of clips. Pakistan -- the newest addition to the international Sesame family is set to debut in Fall 2011: SimSim Humara Palestine -- following the 1998 Israel/Palestine production, there may have had a second Palestinian show called Hikayat Simsim, though details are unclear; the third, Shaareh Simsin, was set to start production in 2007. Philippines -- in 1983, one season of the show Sesame! was produced. The follow-up program, Batibot, was more successful, but did not involve the Children's Television Workshop. Related (?): a clip of Sesame Street Live the Philippines. Poland -- first aired in 1996 (though no longer in production), Ulica Sezamkowa (clip), following a Polish dub of the US program, in which one man provided the voices for the whole cast. Portugal -- 1989 to 1994: Rua Sésamo (intro), playlist of clips, an episode in two parts Russia -- 1996, with four "runs" (2nd: 1999; 3rd: 2003; 4th: 2006): Улица Сезам (Ulitsa Sezam - opening), playlist of clips South Africa -- 2006: Takalani Sesame (intro) featured the first HIV-positive Muppet, Kami; Pollution Song with subtitles Spain has had a local co-production three different runs 1979-1980, 1983-1987, 1996-2000: Barrio Sésamo (intro circa 1984), intro without title, and end credits from 1984, playlist of clips Sweden -- 1981-1982, with re-runs through 1984: Svenska Sesam (two intros), an episode split in three, and a couple newer shows in parts from YT user s0fierce. Turkey -- 1986 to 1991: Susam Sokagi (intro); playlist of clips, some are original US clips United Kingdom -- 2002: Play With Me Sesame (intro and a clip)

What Fabric Would You Be?

k8t — Thu, 19 May 2011 10:55:57 -0800

Bert (from Sesame Street) interviews Andy Samberg. [SYTL]