A lot has changed on Sesame Street since the classic kids TV show made its debut in 1969. If you tune in today with your kids, you will notice a lot of new characters and segments. Still, almost all of the classic characters and humans are still around, and the show is unparalleled in its ability to teach children.
The old guard includes adult humans Gordon and Susan (married), Luis and Maria (married) and Bob and Linda (just friends). Gordon and Susan have an adopted son named Miles, who is a teen-ager. He pals around with Luis and Maria’s teen-age daughter Gaby. Linda, who uses American Sign Language, has a huge Muppet dog named Barkley.
The classic Muppet characters that are still around include Big Bird, Ernie, Bert, Snuffy, Grover, The Count, Cookie Monster, Prairie Dawn and Oscar the Grouch. Kermit the Frog is no longer around, since branched off to The Muppet Show in the 70s.
If you grew out of Sesame Street as a child at this point in time, here’s whom you missed:
Telly Monster – always worried about something, loves triangles;
Zoe Monster – often dresses as a ballerina;
Elmo Monster – giggling 3-year-old who loves to draw with crayons, explores new ideas in his 15-minute Elmo’s World segment at the end of the show;
Baby Bear – character from Goldilocks and the three Bears, speaks with w’s instead of r’s like Elmer Fudd, loves porridge; and
Rosita Monster – introduces the Spanish Word of the Day, has wings like a bat (but can’t fly), and loves hugs.
Rather than flowing freely from topic to topic, Sesame Street now features regular segments that appear at about the same time on every show. These segments include:
Letter of the Day – The unlikely comedy duo of Cookie Monster and Prairie Dawn introduce the day’s letter, which usually appears on a cookie. Prairie is always unable to keep Cookie from ultimately munching the Letter of the Day cookie.
Number of the Day – Now the daily number can be anything from 0 to 20 (instead of 1 to 12 like in the old days). The Count hosts this segment, of course. He usually plays his pipe organ, which counts along with him. Sometimes he shares a fancy dinner with The Countess, who shouts “STOP!” when Count reaches the Number of the Day (always funny).
Journey to Ernie – This is daily game of hide-and-seek, with Big Bird journeying through different cartoon-drawn environments (the beach, the jungle). He follows a series of clues until he finds Ernie. If you think this is like a mini-version of Blue’s Clues or Dora the Explorer, then you’re paying attention. The gibberish-spouting Two-Headed Monster always appears on Journey to Ernie.
Global Grover – This is one of the best parts of the show, as the hyperactive blue monster takes kids on a trip to a foreign country to experience how other kids live. Grover showed how kids in Trinidad walk on stilts, and how Chinese kids share tea with their family.
Elmo’s World – It’s love-him-or-hate-him time, as Elmo dominates the end of the show. He talks about everything from dogs to doctors with the help of his crayon-drawn friends TV, Computer, Shade and Drawer. Elmo also consults Mr. Noodle (Bill Irwin), kids and even babies for help in understanding his world. It’s a great way for kids to learn, but if you’re one of those parents who can’t stand Elmo, you better leave the room.
Other segments that pop up from time to time are Traction Jackson (an animated boy who uses a wheelchair), Global Thingy (a cartoon globe), Madlenka (a cartoon girl who lives in a multicultural neighborhood) and Hero Guy (Baby Bear’s cartoon alter ego).
With so many changes to the show, some of the old guard are left in the cold. Many of the humans (including Gina the veterinarian and Alan, who runs Hooper’s Store) only show up once every two or three shows. Oscar the Grouch and Herry Monster are not on much. Poor Bert really gets the shaft, since his buddy Ernie is always running around with Big Bird. It’s just impossible to get a lot of screen time for all these characters.
Sesame Street is at its best when it deals with issues that directly affect children. Three DVDs that are good examples of this are Elmo Visits The Firehouse (Elmo deals with a fire at Hooper’s Store), Friends to the Rescue (Big Bird copes with the destruction of his nest by a hurricane) and Three Bears and a New Baby (Baby Bear deals with the arrival of his sister, Curly Bear).
The changes can be jarring to older viewers, but Sesame Street does an even better job of teaching than it did in the past. It’s still the king of kids TV shows.
Reference:
- Sesame Street – www.sesameworkshop.org
