Street Knowledge (Chapter 4)

 

Chapter 4: Death, Truth and Love

1982 was a somber time for Sesame Street fans everywhere. For 1982 was when Will Lee, the man who played Mr. Hooper, 13 years, passed away.

It was a tough time for the staff of Sesame Street as well, for not only did they have to deal with the loss of a good friend, but now, they had to find a way to address his absence to the viewers of the show. I mean, they couldn’t just not mention it at all. Mr. Hooper wasn’t just a muppet that just appeared in a single season, he was an actual human character that had made himself known for 13 years. They had to tell the viewers why wasn’t he suddenly wasn’t there anymore.

So they did, in episode 1839 of season 15, which features a scene where Big Bird gives all of the cast members pictures of themselves he drew. He did ones for Luis, Susan, Gordon, Bob, Maria, David, Olivia, and last but not least, Mr. Hooper. And as you’d expect Big Bird realizes that Mr. Hooper isn’t present to receive his drawing, leaving the grown-ups to tell him what happened.

Now, before I go on, I want to share a few scenes I made up of what would happen if Sesame Street just decided to take the easy way out.

SCENE 1

Big Bird: Hmm… where is he? I wanna give it to him.

Maria: Uh, Big Bird, don’t you remember we told you? Mr. Hooper moved away. He moved to Florida.

Big Bird: Oh yeah, I remember.

David: Yeah, and that’s why we hired Mr. Cunningham! Speaking of which, here he comes now!

Mr. Cunningham: Howdy, everyone!

Big Bird: Oh well. I’ll just have to mail it to him!


SCENE 2

Big Bird: Hmm… where is he? I wanna give it to him.

Bob: Oh, here he comes now, Big Bird!

(Another man dressed up like Mr. Hooper appears on screen.)

Not Mr. Hooper: Hi, Big Bird! Wow, is that a picture of me?! It’s amazing!

Big Bird: Aw, thanks.


SCENE 3

Big Bird: Hmm… where is he? I wanna give it to him.

Gordon: Uh, Big Bird, Mr. Hooper is… sleeping.

Big Bird: Sleeping?

Gordon: Yes, he’s in a deep sleep.

Big Bird: Oh. Well, when will he wake up?

Gordon: … Eventually, Big Bird. Eventually.

Okay, that last one was kind of a stretch, but the point is, Sesame Street didn’t take the easy way out. They decided that the best way to handle this was to actually address that he died, and in doing so, teach the audience about dealing with death and loss.

They consulted child psychologists and figured out that they should be direct when talking about what actually happened to him. They also found out, they shouldn’t mention the cause of someone’s death, or that it might be due to his age. And once they got all their facts straight, Norman Stiles wrote a script, and the episode was filmed.

And honestly guys, telling you about this scene isn’t gonna do it justice. Take a look for yourself, and see how amazing it is.

Wow. Just wow. You know, when I first started watching this show, I had NO idea who Mr. Hooper was, but after watching old episodes, and seeing this scene that showcases how much everyone cared for him, I couldn’t tell you how much respect I had, and still have for him.

And because of that, I propose a moment of silence, For Mr. Hooper.

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Okay, moment's over.

Surprisingly though, that episode wasn’t the first episode of the season. No, the first episode of season 15 was about both Gordon and Snuffy running in the New York City Marathon. Fascinating, isn’t it?

Now let’s talk about the new characters and inserts.

First, there’s Captain Vegetable. A superhero who loved vegetables, and looked like Mumford if he was a rabbit. He first appeared during a song in the last season, but here, he made more appearances on the street, where the other characters often helped him learn it’s alright to make mistakes.

There was also the debut of a new animated character, one of the most well known animated characters the street had to offer. He was teeny. He was little. He was super. And he was a guy. He was the Teeny Little Super Guy. A small man imprinted on a glass cup, who lived in a kitchen with other silver and dinnerware, who he would often give advice to.

When it came to guest stars, I think Sally Ride, the first woman to go to Outer Space took the MVP role, for telling Maria, Bob, Grundgetta and the kids what it was like to go to the moon.

Speaking of the moon, Ernie also sang a song this season about how there really is no place like home. Not even said moon.

And before I forget, there were two specials that aired during this time. One was Big Bird in China, where Big Bird and Barkley pay a visit to this country and learn more about it. And the other was called Don’t Eat The Pictures, where the entire main cast (Except for Luis, AGAIN!) visits the Metropolitan Art Museum, and Cookie Monster, in particular, has to keep himself from, you guessed it, eating the pictures.

But if you thought that the seriousness ended there, you’d be wrong. For season 16 tackles another humongous (both literally and figuratively) issue: The revelation of Mr. Aloysius Snuffleupagus.

Now the SS staff had decided to confirm Snuffy wasn’t imaginary for two main reasons. 1, they were starting to run out of “Oh man, you just missed him!” jokes, and 2, and this was the biggest reason, on shows like 60 Minutes and 20/20, there were a good amount of stories that were about pedophiles and sexual abusers. After seeing these stories, they were worried that if they kept showing the grown-ups of Sesame Street not just disbelieving, but openly mocking Big Bird for telling them something he was being completely truthful about, kids would see that, and think that if something bad happened to them and they told the grown-ups in their life about, it would go down something like this:

Lindsey: Uh, mom? Dad?

Mom: Yes, Lindsey?

Lindsey: I need to tell you something important?

Dad: And what would that be?

Lindsey: … Mr. Williams was hurting me again.

(Mom and Dad sigh, condescendingly.)

Dad: Oh, you mean your imaginary friend Mr. Williams, is that right?

Lindsey: No, he’s not imaginary! He’s real!

Mom: If he’s so real, how come we’ve never seen him before?

Lindsey: Because he’s always at my daycare center! Every day he’ll take me with him to his office, have me put on a bathing suit and hit my butt with a big stick.

(Mom and Dad burst out laughing)

Mom: (laughing) Now, that’s rich! A big stick!

Dad: (laughing) I know! Kid imaginations really know no bounds. Alright sweetheart, it looks like it’s time for your nap. Maybe then you won’t be so hesitant to go back to daycare.

Lindsey: But-!

Mom: No buts, young lady. You’re taking a nap, and that’s final.

Lindsey: (sighs) Okay, mom.

…Yeah, not exactly the best message you want to send to kids.

So, it was decided that Snuffy would be revealed at some point. Though, it wouldn’t be in this season, for the staff had an idea in mind for how they would approach this.

In episode 1966, (the season premiere) Big Bird is excited to join the grown-ups in watching the sunrise, and wants to get Snuffy to come over and join them, but when it doesn’t work out and the grown ups disbelieve him again, Big Bird gives this speech about how he knows the difference between real things and imaginary things, and that he’s absolutely sure Snuffy is one of those real things.

And once he finishes, he gets a positive response from not just Gordon, but Maria and Linda as well. They all come forth, and tell Big Bird that if he’s really sure he knows what he’s talking about, then they believe that Snuffy’s real, too. And I know this may not seem like much, but considering how long this charade had been going on for, (14 years) it was nice to see that Big Bird finally wasn’t alone on this anymore.

But, as I’m sure you’re already aware, the cast was made up of more than just three humans, which means Bob, Olivia, David, Luis and Susan still don’t believe Big Bird’s claims. They will soon, but that will come next season.

There weren’t really any new noteworthy muppet characters this season, though this was the time where both Snuffy and Telly were given new amazing performances by Martin P. Robinson, who still does them to this day.

There were also two new additions to the human cast. Uncle Wally (Played by Bill McCutcheon), Bob’s uncle who first appeared last season in episode 1929, and also believed that Snuffleupaguses were real. And Piri (Played by Eddie Castrodad), a teenage breakdancer, who during his time on the street had two noteworthy episodes. One where he taught Bob some of his breakdancing moves, so he could impress Linda. And one where he asked the same question I did when I figured out what Hooper’s Store was called for the first time: Why was it called Hooper’s Store, if there was no guy named Hooper running it?

Now, you may think season 17 was next, but it wasn’t. For Sesame Street was in the midst of making something they had never made before: A movie.

In 1985, the Children’s Television Workshop made their very first, full-fledged, full length Sesame Street movie “Follow That Bird”. Where Big Bird leaves Sesame Street to go live with a new family, after realizing it’s not worth it, he tries to make it back to his real home, once his friends find out about this, they set off in cars, planes, or just fly to see if they can get to him before the bad guys do.

I probably don’t have to say this, but this movie was a massive hit, pleasing both critics and fans of the show alike. Despite the overall good reception it received, there wouldn’t be another Sesame Street movie, until 13 years later.

But anyway, now it was time for season 17, and wouldn’t you know it? The first episode was the one where Big Bird had finally decided that today would be the day that all of the humans of Sesame Street (Except for Olivia, cause she wasn’t present in this episode. Man, there always seems to be one person missing in events like this!) were gonna finally meet Mr. Aloysius Snuffleupagus once and for all.

Now, you might be thinking: “But Big Bird’s been trying to have that happen for 15 years now. What makes this time any different?” Well this time, Big Bird came up with a fool-proof plan. When the time was right, he would yell out a secret code word: Food. The grown-ups would hear the word, come running into Big Bird’s nest and right then and there, the two parties would see each other at last.

But the first time he tries it out, it doesn’t work, and Snuffy leaves before anyone can see him. Gordon then suggests that Big Bird get someone to help make sure that Snuffy doesn’t go away, so Big Bird asks the adults if any of them can help him, but they’re all too busy. And that’s where this little red monster comes in.

This is Elmo. You may recognize him from just a chapter ago. That because for his first few years on the street he was just used as a background player, played primarily by Brian Muehl, then in the previous season I just talked about he was briefly performed by Richard Hunt, but there’s a reason his performance was brief, and said reason was because Hunt didn’t like doing Elmo, because he couldn’t make him sound right, so on November 26, after taping an episode, he went to the green room, tossed Elmo to a fairly recent young puppeteer named Kevin Clash and said:

“Look man, I can’t really do this guy, maybe you could try and do something with him? Whatever you do, it’ll be better than what I did.”

And was it ever.

Whereas Muehl and Hunt had given him a gruff caveman voice. Mr. Clash decided to give Elmo, a high-pitched, falsetto voice, making him seem more like a child, and that would be the thing that would launch Elmo into a breach of popularity that no muppet had ever seen before, but we’re not there yet.

Right now, Elmo volunteers to help Big Bird keep Snuffy from leaving. So after the adults finish a debate over whether Big Bird’s secret word is silly or not, with Phil Donahue playing the middleman, Elmo holds onto Snuffy just long enough for Big Bird to yell the word, and to get everyone to come in and see him.

And much like the scene about Mr. Hooper, I think it would do more justice to show you the scene rather than tell you about it. Though I will say that Big Bird’s “I told you so” speech is glorious.

So once Snuffy was revealed and met the cast, he was officially a full-fledged member of Sesame Street, and would stay there for years to come.

But believe it or not, that wasn’t the only big storyline that went down in this season. Because Gordon and Susan, over the course of four episodes, adopt a baby boy named Miles.

Also believe it or not, this idea actually came about when Mr. Orman introduced the staff to his actual son, and Caroll suggested he actually play Gordon’s son on the show. So it was settled, Gordon and Susan now had a child.

Aside from two big occasions, there was another handful of muppets introduced this season, which I will go through right now.

Chip and Dip, two cats who liked to mess with Oscar a lot.

Dexter, a monster who loves to juggle, and could totally stop whenever he wanted to. (Key words being “Wanted to.”)

Hoots, a smooth-talking, jazz-playing owl, who was also performed by Kevin Clash.

Leo the Party Monster. I think this one is self-explanatory.

The Oinker Sisters, pig versions of the Pointer Sisters.

And last but not least Placido Flamingo, the flamingo version of Placido Domingo.

There were also quite a number of songs sung in this season, which included:

The Count recalling a dance he did in his youth that involved bats.

Ernie and Elmo singing a song about their faces.

The Oinker Sisters perform their first song, which is about having a new way to get around using your feet.

And Patti LaBelle singing about how she misses a certain letter of the alphabet.

And now, it’s time to talk about the most important season of Sesame Street: Season 18.

“But Noah,” I hear you saying. “Season 17 just featured one of the show’s longest standing characters being introduced to everyone, and two more of the show’s longest standing characters adopting a child! What could possibly be more important than that?!”

I’ll tell you. Season 18 was the most important, because it gave us the great honor of being introduced to a goddess sent from heaven, UH, I mean, Gina Jefferson!!! Gina Jefferson. Who was played by the most amazing woman on planet Earth, I MEAN, I MEAN, Alison Bartlett!!! Yeah, Alison Bartlett. That’s what I, that’s what I said. …

Anyway, Gina Jefferson was introduced as a shy, forgetful student of Gordon’s science class, but would soon make her way to being the best Sesame Street human of all time. (And also, my favorite. :))

In terms of new segments, muppet characters and songs, we actually got a few good ones.

There was a song where Hoots basically tells Ernie that when playing an instrument, multitasking isn’t really something you wanna do.

Then there was Do The Rubber Duck, while not being as beloved/popular as Rubber Duckie, was still a nice song to get your kids to take a bath.

Next up, is the American Revolution segments, which feature our muppet friends playing the roles of our founding fathers.

And last, but maybe least, there was a new muppet named Sonny Friendly. Much like Guy Smiley before him, he was a game show host, unlike Guy Smiley however, his game shows felt more like cruel jokes on whoever was playing them, particularly Maria.

But now we come to season 19, and boy did that have new stuff. The biggest thing of which, I’ll save for the end.

For new characters, Gina had now cemented herself as part of the main cast, even with a job at Hooper’s to go along with it.

But we were also introduced to three new muppet characters.

• Meryl Sheep, the sheep version of Meryl Streep
• Ruby, a young girl monster, who loved doing experiments, and Gina. (Who can blame her?)
• And most importantly, Snuffy's 2 year old sister, Alice Snuffleupagus.

There were also more shorts that aired this season. One where Kermit sings the African version of the alphabet.

One where Bert tells some sheep how his blanket was made.

And one where Cookie Monster sings a rap about all the healthy foods he eats. Remember this, because it’ll be important later.

But now we come to the main highlight of this season: Luis and Maria becoming more than friends.

Now these two had been working together at the Fix-It Shop for 12 years now, and when you spend that much time with a person, your feelings for them are bound to change, if only a little bit.

When the two start taking care of a stray kitten they found together, they start to realize they might be more special than they initially thought. So, one night, Maria invites Luis over to her apartment to have dinner, and they immediately hit it off. Well, more than they already had. And after a few episodes, Big Bird and Snuffy spot the two holding hands, while crossing the street, which confuses them, because adults don’t have to do that, only kids have to. So they decide to ask Luis and Maria individually, and through the kids’ questioning, Maria and Luis finally realize something: They’re in love with each other. So they find each other, confess their true feelings, and share an on-screen kiss.

So, it was official! Luis and Maria were a couple, which was good news for everyone! … Except for David.

Yeah, for those of you who weren't paying close attention to the show in its early years, David and Maria were actually a thing back then, so you can probably somewhat imagine his disappointment when he found out she was now love with Luis, but the show assured the audience that no matter what happened, Maria and David would always be friends, showing the audience that even if your significant other leaves you for someone else, you don’t necessarily have to cut off all social contact with them.

But you know what they say, first comes love, then comes marriage. So after confirming it in episode 2455, and preparing for it in episodes 2483 and 2484, in the final episode of season 19, Maria and Luis got married and had a wedding. Bob was the best man, Linda was the bridesmaid, Elmo was the ring bearer, and the rest of the cast was there to show their support. Even Oscar.

But even after all that hub-bub, there was still something else set to happen this year. The Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade would still feature the Sesame Street cast, but now, they’d be joined by a giant balloon version of, who else: Big Bird.

And we thought Big Bird was big before!

Before the world knew it, Sesame Street had now reached 20 seasons, and 20 years of existence. So another anniversary special was in order.

And on April 7, Sesame Street: 20 and Still Counting aired on NBC, this time hosted by Bill Cosby.

This would also be the year where Big Bird and Barkley would take a trip to another country outside of the U.S. This time it was Japan. And on January 16, Big Bird in Japan aired on PBS.

This season was also the next step in Luis and Maria’s relationship, after returning from their 5 episode honeymoon, in episode 2544, Maria tells Big Bird that she’s pregnant and is going to have a baby.

So the last two episodes of the season focused when the time came for the baby to be born. Episode 2614 was about Maria going to labor, and Oscar driving her and Luis to the hospital in his Sloppy Jalopy. And episode 2615 was about the actual birth, where it was revealed the baby was a girl and the couple had decided to name her Gabriella, or Gabi, for short. Additionally, at the end of the episode, Oscar gives Maria a call to talk to her about how Gabi is. It was a very touching moment.

Okay, now it’s time to discuss shorts and songs. First, I’d like to mention the one where Billy Joel and Marlee Matlin give Oscar an old, broken piano, but not before performing a song about how they love him just the way he is. Much to his dismay.

Sally Cruikshank also started animating some segments for the show, including this one, that should show you the difference between above and below.

William Wegman also made some segments for this series which all revolved around his dog, Fay Ray.

Oh, and did I forget to mention that Big Bird made up a superhero this season? Yeah, his name was Blue Bird. He was pretty super. (Not as super as Super Grover, though.)

Now that Sesame Street was in its 20s, it was time for the 21st season. And in said 21st season, there would be one big change. Northern Calloway had been playing David for 18 or 19 years, but after season 19 had finished, he had to leave because of medical problems, and that meant Hooper’s Store needed to find new management. Gina couldn’t run Hooper’s all by herself. (Though, let’s be honest, she totally could, she’s so awesome.) So in episode 2620, Mr. Handford (played by Leonard Jackson) was appointed to be the new manager of HS.

Speaking of Gina, this season would also show her graduating from high school. Something that I will be doing next year. And I’m realizing that when that happens, I’m probably gonna be feeling the same feelings she had.

But that wasn’t the only thing that was going on on the street. Now that Gabi was born, we got to see Luis and Maria go through the trials and tribulations of parenthood, with Oscar playing a bigger part in it, than they would’ve wanted.

Now it’s time to go through the new characters. Which means another bullet list.

• There was a word fairy named Wanda Falbo (Played by Andrea Martin), who appeared in some segments to teach kids about, what else, letters.
• Gina’s high school friend, Mike, (Played by Ward Saxton) who made some appearances last season, but became part of the main cast this season.
• Preston Rabbit, a rabbit who loved giving gifts to people, even if they were pointless.
• And last, but not least, a seal named Wolfgang, who like most seals loved to eat fish. In fact, Wolfgang loved fish almost as much as Cookie Monster loves cookies. Almost.

There were also some great songs this season, as well. We’ll start with this one that Elmo wrote himself, and would also contribute to his growing popularity pretty soon.

And here’s this song about Grover interacting with his reflection. NOTE: This version is one that features the biggest amount of celebrities Sesame Street has ever had in one piece of media. (Including a certain yellow, animated family of five.)

There’s one about Kermit wondering what’s above Earth.

And finally one where Ernie reminds us not to litter.

You probably noticed that the last two songs I mentioned were sung by the two most popular characters performed by Jim Henson, and there’s a reason for that. Those were some of the last few songs Jim performed before… his death.

Yes, on May 16, 1990, Jim Henson died, and it was truly a sad time for everyone. It should go without saying that Jim was one of the most important players in Sesame Street’s success. Without his muppets, the show wouldn’t have been as nearly as great or well-known as it is. But, I guess it just goes to show how many people really loved and appreciated his work.

But, never fear, the good people of the Children’s Television Workshop, weren’t gonna throw in the towel. After all, a new puppeteer for Kermit was found in Steve Whitmire, and he’d also perform Ernie too, but not yet.

Anyway, in season 22, there were actually quite a few noteworthy street stories to go over. There was the one where the cast celebrates Grouch Appreciation Day, a five part story where they turn a dirty vacant lot into a community garden, another five part story, where Hooper’s falls apart and gets rebuilt again, and a very special episode where everyone gets together to celebrate Big Bird’s birthday.

Now, I’d like to take the time to go over the new characters that gained importance this season.

Lillian, a daycare runner (Played by Lillias White) that took care of Gabi in the previous season, got more involvement in the street scenes.

Savion Glover, a famous tap-dancer, (Who actually did the choreography for Mumble in the movie Happy Feet. How cool is that?) played himself in the previous season, and would continue to do so here.

And while Mr. Handford was also introduced last season, he got a new actor, David L. Smyrl, who the audience had much more time to get familiar with.

This season would also mark the debut of the orange, singing, shape-shifting, spherical sensation, Cecille.

You might have noticed that I haven’t talked about guest stars for a while, and that’s while I think every guest appearance is special in its own way, I just wanted to focus on the ones I found the most noteworthy. Speaking of which, Whoopi Goldberg actually made two appearances each with Kevin Clash’s two most well-known SS characters, about being proud of what you have.

Now, it’s time to go on to season 23, and much like seasons before it, it had quite a bit to offer.

The biggest of which being the collection of new characters, which I will go over right now.

There was a little monster named Merry, who could be both very soft and very loud.

Roxy Marie, Biff’s niece, who was in fifth grade, loved bugs, and was always being assisted by Elmo, whether she liked it or not.

Chicago, a lion who was actually a vegetarian.

Monty, a British muppet who had a very weird sense of logic.

Baby Tooth and the Fuzzy Funk, three monsters who were really good at dancing.

And last, but certainly not least, Benny Rabbit. A cranky sort of character, who didn’t like it when people touched him, or confused his name with “Bunny”.

But there were two muppet characters in particular, that would really get to shine later on.

First there was Baby Bear. The Baby Bear from Goldilocks and the Three Bears, who during this season made appearances on the street being constantly thwarted by his nemesis, Goldilocks, before the two would form more of a frenemy relationship in later seasons.

And then there was Rosita, the Monster of the Caves, or Rosita, la Monstrua de las Cuevas. She was a five year old latina monster, who knew what culture she was a part of, and was proud of it. She was also very affectionate, making friends with all of the other characters very quickly.

This season was also another road trip season. For Luis, Maria, Gabi, Big Bird, Oscar, and for the first time, The Count, took a trip to Montana, to visit some friends. And the usual antics you’d expect from these guys ensue.

Also featured this season was a song sung by En Vogue about having an adventure with the Sesame Street muppets.

And now, we’ve reached Season 24, where there was one really REALLY big change.

Ever since the show began, the show had been using the same intro for all of their seasons, featuring kids playing, and Big Bird occasionally joining them.

But in this season, while the theme itself didn’t change, it was now set to a calypso beat, and still showed kids playing around, but it also featured Big Bird, and some of the other major muppets as well.

And there was also a new credit sequence, too. An animated one by Joey Ahlbum and featuring a sick version of the theme song.

In terms of new street scenes, for a couple of episodes, Telly broke his arm and had to wear a cast, for a good portion of the season. But don’t worry, he got it off in episode 3113.

And an episode where Big Bird and Snuffy met Maria’s old friend, Gloria Montoya when she came to visit Sesame Street for the day.

And an episode where Mr. Handford dated Maria’s aunt.

There were also some new inserts this season. One was a series of segments where Big Bird would send video postcards of his trips to other parts of the USA.

And a song by Queen Latifah, Prairie Dawn, Merry Monster, and featuring Telly, about the letter O.

For new muppet characters, we had… (Time for another bullet list.)

• Colambo, the muppet version of Columbo, a police detective.
• Wanda Cousteau, a fish who likes to explore on dry land.
• A muppet elephant, who would grow a personality of his own, a few seasons down the road.
• Cyranose de Bergerac, a muppet version of Cyrano de Bergerac, who flips out whenever someone says the word nose.
• Kingston Livingston III, a guy who loves to be different than everyone else.
And last, but not least, two hilarious monkey brothers, named Joey and Davey, who really love, as all monkeys do, bananas.


Yeah, season 24 was great, but no way could it prepare anyone for the massive change the show was about to take.

Chapter 3: https://thomperfan.blogspot.com/2020/10/street-knowledge-chapter-3.html 

Chapter 5: https://thomperfan.blogspot.com/2020/10/street-knowledge-chapter-5.html