Season 7. This is when the Sesame crew got taken to new heights they had never been taken to before: Presidential campaigns, banned episodes, Native Americans, and trips outside of their humble street set.
How did all of these things affect the show and were any of them any good? Well, that’s what I plan to find out, as we get into this new installment.
Production History
For the Children’s Television Workshop, it was business as usual, with the same cast and crew getting together to film on the same old Teletape Studio street set in Manhattan.
…Until the spring of 1975, that is, when they packed their film equipment and headed off to New Mexico's Rio Grande Valley to film Sesame Street’s first-ever multi-episode story arc that WASN’T about snow, which was about Luis taking his friends with him to visit his family in New Mexico. I’ll talk about that in the next section in a minute.
Anyway, Season 7 started airing on December 1st, 1975, and ended on May 28, 1976.
Overview
I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this at all, but as I’ve been making this retrospective series, I’ve noticed that Sesame Street seems to expand its story concepts and elevate them with each new season, and the same applies here. With the characters tackling challenges and new things that we’ve never seen them tackle, at this point in the show.
But what makes this season stand out in particular is how it feels much more American than the last six were. And what I mean by that is that the show focused a lot more on the country it took place in than it ever had before. They introduce a new human cast member who’s a Native American, two of the main muppets run for president, the humans discuss how their parents were immigrants in one episode, Kermit interviews George Washington AND helps Don Music rewrite Yankee Doodle.
But the biggest example of this is the six-episode storyline where Luis gets to travel back to his home in New Mexico, alongside Big Bird, Maria, Bob, Gordon, and (accidentally) Oscar, to help his family build some new houses, and we get to soak in all of the beauty and atmosphere of this new place that they’re in. And this will be one of many outside location trips the street gang takes throughout the show.
These kinds of episodes are ones that many fans remember the most, and I totally get why. At this point in the series, the cast has reached the point TV casts usually reach, where they can be placed in any location and you know how things will play out because they’re so distinct and well-defined. The writers knew this from the start, which is why all six episodes are so good. The six characters going on this trip all still feel like themselves, they’re just reacting to the new environment they’ve been placed in.
But I’m sorry to say that not every episode this season was one worth celebrating, in fact, there was one episode that elicited the opposite response, so much so, that it was the first controversial episode the show put out.
Episode 847 revolved around the street getting a surprise visitor in the form of The Wicked Witch Of The West from The Wizard Of Oz, who accidentally drops her broom in the hands of David and spends the rest of the episode trying to get it back using whatever powers she can use instead of common decency. Now, I get that this episode wanted to teach kids how to face bullies and how to respect others, and as a young adult viewing this episode, I think it’s alright, but there’s a key element in play that keeps it from working as well as it should have, and why it got such a bad rap when it aired.
I mentioned previously that I don’t think Bad Barney was a good fit for the show, and I still stand by that statement, but at least he was just an average run-of-the-mill bully that people face in real life all of the time. The Wicked Witch, on the other hand, is an over-the-top magical villain who has the ability to fly, change her appearance, and turn people into inanimate objects, and I don’t think ANYONE has ever come across someone like that in real life.
My point is, over the past few seasons, and in all of the following ones, Sesame Street has built a reputation for being a safe haven for both kids and adults, where any bad things that happen to others are real-world things that people can get through, or light-hearted fantasy scenarios that aren’t dangerous situations, but when you add a conniving witch who can easily disguise herself and threatens to turn people into basketballs or feather dusters, that kinda hurts said reputation because the characters we’ve come to know and love received an actual dangerous threat to their well-being.
To be frank, I can’t blame most of the kids who were scared of this episode, or the parents who wrote to CTW, because honestly, if you can’t go to Sesame Street to not be turned into a basketball by an evil cackling monster, where CAN you go to?
But other than that, this was a really great batch of episodes. Now let’s move on to the characters.
Characters
As I said in the previous section, the residents of Sesame Street are so well-defined at this point, that you know how each of them will respond to whatever situation is placed in front of them. This mainly applies to the muppets: Big Bird, Oscar, Bert, Ernie, Cookie Monster, Grover, The Count, and Snuffy are all pop-culture icons, and each of them is in full form this season, with none of them outshining one another.
In fact, I’d say season 7 is the sort of the inverse of season 6 because while the muppets were more or less the same, it was the human cast who received special attention from the writing staff. So let’s go over the standouts.
Starting with Maria, she was firing on all cylinders this season. I mentioned how in the previous season she was always building and fixing things, and that’s paid off in this season, where after demonstrating how good she is at repairs, Luis hires her to work at the Fix-It Shop. A status quo change that would not only stick for the remainder of the show but would lead to bigger and better things later down the road.
Speaking of Luis, he was also given quite a bit of attention this season, most notably in the New Mexico trip. Since the gang is going to visit HIS family, he leads the charge, and he and his relatives help the gang accommodate to their new surroundings and learn new things along the way.
Mr. Hooper also had a small storyline of his own. You see when he was younger, he didn’t have time to finish high school as he was too busy with work, so starting this season he’s taking night classes in order to gain his G.E.D. Not a common storyline to find in TV shows then or now. What makes it even better is how all of his friends are 100% supportive of him, despite his age and the usual social judgment that comes with it.
But season 7 didn’t just do stuff with its original cast members, it gave us a new one, who quickly became one of my favorites.
Buffy St. Marie debuted as herself in the 7th episode of the season (How ironic), and quickly fit in among the OG cast. Seriously, Buffy is such a great character who just oozes joy and charisma in every scene she’s in. She definitely rides the line of being both a happy friendly kid-show character and a real person you might know in your real life. I definitely wish she had stayed on the show longer than she did.
My Top 5s
My Top 5 Favorite Street Stories
#5: (Episode 900) The Sing-Along One: Aside from being one of the street stories that revolve around Ernie and Bert, it’s just a really fun episode about the cast singing together in a bathroom.
#4: (Episode 802) The One That Introduces Buffy: Buffy, as is typical with most human characters in this show had a very organic and natural debut, where after Oscar gives her a traditional hazing, she just spends the rest of her screen time just hanging out with the other characters, showing off some cool stuff she has, and explaining where she comes from in a way that’s easy to understand.
#3: (Episodes 797 and 923) The Ones Where Big Bird and Cookie Monster Run For President: Aside from the fact that the mere concept of Sesame Street characters running for president is great in and of itself, the two characters running here are both characters that have understandable reasons for wanting the position, Cookie Monster wants it so he can eat more cookies, and Big Bird wants it because he genuinely thinks he’d do a good job at it. ToughPigs reviewed both ofthese episodes for their Sesame Rewind series, and they made a pretty great point that they were a pretty accurate reflection of our previous president and his way of running things. Now I try my best to stay away from politics as much as I possibly can, but even I have to agree Trump did not make America any greater than it already is, and while BB and CM, who are good-hearted TV characters who learn from their mistakes, were able to see that being president wasn’t all it was cracked up to be, if the past few years have taught us anything, real-life humans aren’t always like that. But even so, these are still great episodes that I would recommend you show to any kids who are thinking about running for president when they’re older. Plus, 923 has a really nice ending scene with Maria and The Count.
#2: (Episode 832) The One Where Maria Gets Hired at the Fix-It Shop: Like I said, this episode introduces a status quo change that will lead to bigger and better things later on. I also like how it shows you that Maria is a good fixer by having her fix everything Luis is too busy to fix himself.
#1: (Episode 870) The One With The Sesame Street Bake-Off: An episode about my favorite muppet getting to do what he does best? Of course, this one was gonna make it to first place. And that other plot line with BB and CM’s high and low service is pretty great, also. Those two should partner up more often.
My Least Favorite Street Story: (Episode 825) The One Where Rodeo Rosie Tries To Catch A Horse Theif*: I don’t necessarily hate Rodeo Rosie, but it’s episodes like this one that make me realize that she’s one of the characters that gets really old really fast. Even though I haven’t seen it, the premise of Rosie constantly accusing the people she’s known for two seasons, at this point, and people she’s supposed to consider her friends, of stealing her horse and never learning from mistakes doesn’t give me any desire to watch it if it does come out.
Sesame Street New Mexico Episodes Ranked
#6: (Episode 815) The One Where The Gang Leaves New Mexico: This isn’t the worst of the bunch, it’s just the least good. Makes sense as it’s the one where the adventure comes to an end. The song is great, and I love the ending joke, where the gang almost leaves Big Bird.
#5: (Episode 813) The One Where Big Bird Misses Snuffy: Putting aside my frustration with the grown-ups’ lack of sympathy/empathy when it comes to Snuffy, it is really touching to see how much Big Bird cares about his pal, and the way Snuffy avoids being seen by Mr. Hooper isn’t as frustrating as it could have been, seeing that Big Bird gets exactly what he wanted.
#4: (Episode 812) The One Where Oscar Gets Burnt: You heard right, folks. In this one, Oscar hops into a mud oven and burns himself to a grouchy crisp. But don’t worry, Luis helps him find a much better place to spend his time. Other funny plotlines include The Count making multiple collect calls to the Gang in New Mexico, and Bob and Gordon trying and failing to ride a horse.
#3: (Episode 811) The One Where The Gang Arrives In New Mexico: Watching the characters adjust to their new surroundings and learning new things about the place they’re in is just so fun to watch. I love how Gordon and Bob wanted to do something nice for Oscar by giving him what they thought was old junk, I love how Oscar complains about mud being used for bricks, and I love how Bob helps Big Bird to come out of his shell when meeting the locals. Just a great start to a great trip.
#2: (Episode 814) The One Where Maria, Buffy, and Big Bird Visit the Taos Pueblo: Seeing Buffy again was a pleasant surprise, and once again, this episode is just about the characters going to the new place and interacting with the locals, and it’s great to watch because the characters are great to watch. Specifically Big Bird.
#1: (Episode 810) The One Where The Gang Begins Their Trip: All of the cast is firing on all cylinders in this one. From The Count desperately trying to convince as many friends as he can to go to New Mexico, to Gordon and Susan’s real and heartwarming conversation, to the way Oscar accidentally gets roped into coming along, it’s an all-around fantastic way to begin this storyline.
My Top 5 Favorite Songs
#5: The Fisherman Song: Judy Collins is amazing, and if you don’t believe me, just listen to this song and let it change your mind.
#4: Buffy’s Letter E Song: Obviously, I HAD to include one of Buffy’s songs on this list, and out of the ones this season, this one is just the most fun to listen to.
#3: Tell A Joke: I’ve mentioned before that I think Harvey Kneeslapper is a very fun and underrated muppet and this song just cements that fact to me even more. It’s true what they say, laughter really is the best medicine.
#2: Frazzle: This song is our formal introduction to the character of Frazzle, a scary-looking monster who can only communicate in growls, but as these singers are quick to tell us, even though he looks menacing, he’s a really nice guy who happens to have a limited range of vocals.
#1: A Postcard From Amy: I didn’t even know of this song’s existence until I read this blog post by A Much Deeper Level, and it really opened my eyes to how things have changed in our society. I mean, we hardly ever write letters, let alone postcards to each other, because the internet has made it so we can communicate with anyone, anywhere at any time, and that makes the ones we DO send all the more special. Great message and great song.
Honorable Mentions: Wynken, Blynken & Nod, I Stand Up Straight & Tall, My Special Place, Song For Judith, Goin’ Home, A Song Without a Reason, Buffy’s U Song, Keep on the Sunny Side and Fur
My Least Favorite Song: I Want A Monster To Be My Friend: Once again, this song isn’t bad, per se, but it is one of those songs where you can infer some not-so-innocent and even dangerous things from. (More specifically, the verse at 1:08-1:27)
And there weren’t enough noticeable segments this time around to make a top 5 list, so I didn’t.
Conclusion
Overall, I’d say season 7 surpassed season 6 in almost every department. The characters are becoming more defined with each appearance, their relationships are as natural and unforced as they’ve ever been, and they’re now able to explore new places outside the set of the show. Between this and how much it focused on the US of A, this season helped give Sesame Street a very real feel to it that would only grow as the series went on.
I would definitely recommend that at the very least, you check out the New Mexico episodes. They’re some of the best.
Welp, another retrospective installment is finally finished. Next up is season 8, and I have a feeling I’ll have even MORE material to work with there. Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you in the next installment.
(NOTE: The second picture of this blog post was edited to better fit this season and exclude something from the season after it. Original picture by Tony Whitaker can be seen here.)
This season of SS had something in common with two other very popular TV shows at the time: it was also during M*A*S*H's respective seventh season (which wouldn't come until three years later) that they began to break away from its same old sets that viewers had become accustomed to for so many years, to make the show look and feel more visually interesting; SANFORD AND SON's series finale (which would be the following year) likewise saw Fred attending night school in spite of his advanced age, since he never finished high school. I'm sure these are all coincidental, but I find it a unique coincidence that the shows would do very similar things in such short succession.
Buffy did indeed make for a good fit to the show and its diverse, multi-cultural cast of whites, blacks, Jews, and Hispanics; unfortunately, Native American culture is often overlooked in the media, but of course a show like SS aimed to rectify that, even if, like you say, Buffy's tenure on the show was a disappointedly short one. On that note, while this may have been the season that introduced us to Buffy, I believe you may agree that it was really the following season that gave her some of her most memorable moments on the show . . . I'm sure you know what I'm talking about, but we'll get more into that when you review Season 8.
Speaking of agreements, if you can believe it, for once, I actually have to disagree with you on a couple of your song choices. "A Postcard from Amy" is a charming little bit for the reasons you listed, that much I'll agree with, but the song overall, IMO, just doesn't really stand out as one of Sesame's Greatest Hits . . . sure, it's amusing to see how the cast increasingly distorts Amy's message to Grover, but otherwise, it's just not that memorable to me. On the flipside, yes, "I Want a Monster to Be My Friend" had some pretty questionable lyrics that could have easily been misinterpreted and/or taken out of context, that much I'll agree with, but the song overall, IMO, otherwise has so much going for it, from the catchy melody, to being another example of what a great set of pipes Marilyn Sokol had (which in and of itself makes it clear why Jim Henson decided to retain her for her vocal talents, even if she couldn't get the hang of puppetry). I mean we're obviously not going to agree on everything, but that's the point of having differences of opinions.
On the subject of questionable material, while Oscar burning himself to a crisp is hilarious, and definitely something you would expect from the Muppets (moreso from THE MUPPET SHOW side of the aisle), that's something that would never in a million years fly on SS today . . . I mean if Don Music was having a negative influence on kids banging their heads onto pianos, well, let's not imagine what kids would do if they ever came across a mud oven. Nevertheless, having the gang travel away from the street for the first time like this really laid the foundation of a fun tradition that would be enjoyed in other ensuing seasons, including Hawaii. Plus, it's not just seeing the characters react and respond to a new environment, but it also was just a good way to bring them out of their little bubble of Sesame Street, and bring them into other parts of the real world.
As long as we're making political comparisons, I would also like to point out that during the 2016 election, the MuppetMusings YouTube channel made an amusing satirical video, but instead of Cookie Monster as an opponent (sorta) of Big Bird's, it was Miss Piggy. My thinking then, as it is now, is that Big Bird would most likely be the Democratic frontrunner, while Piggy would definitely be the Republican: while Big Bird may not necessarily know what he's doing, and undoubtedly make mistakes, I could see him still wanting to do whatever he could to help others . . . Piggy on the other hand, she may put on such a facade to convince people she'd do the same, but she'd clearly only be in it for moi - not at all unlike Trump.
Continuing from my previous comment (which I had to split up, because Blogger said it was too long), it should also be worth noting that this is what saved Judy Collins's life: by that point in her life, alcohol had all but consumed her, and she was on the verge of suicide, but being able to perform alongside the Muppets, not to mention the fun and safe atmosphere set by Jon Stone and Jim Henson lowered a bucket into the well of her despair and raised her to the light of day, which gave her reasons for living again. That's just how powerful the magic of the Muppets really is.
One other thing I will add regarding the Wicked Witch of the West is that in some way, it doesn't even really make sense for her to even be on Sesame Street, when you consider that it was firmly established that Dorothy literally liquidated her, therefore she wouldn't even be alive anymore. But if anything, there was that nice appearance Margaret Hamilton made on Mister Rogers where she explained the make-believe that went into her playing the Wicked Witch of the West . . . something that Mister Rogers also originally wanted to discuss on his show with Caroll Spinney to show kids how he performed Big Bird, of which Caroll politely disagreed on the grounds that children are only innocent for so long, and why ruin that magic for them while they're still young enough to enjoy it? Michael Jackson may or may not have influenced that, considering Caroll offered to demonstrate to him how he performed Oscar from behind the trashcan during the taping of that other 1978 Christmas special that nobody likes or remembers, but Michael begged him not to, citing that he still believed in magic, and didn't want that to be ruined for him.
And here's yet another comment I can make since the thought occured to me after reading this last night: I think there's a good reason why SS felt "more American" during this season, is because when you think about it, the mid-70s was a very big time for Americana, what with the Bicentennial in 1976 (which would have been just shortly after this season finished airing) - the whole country was really celebrating itself and its then-200-year history during that period, which I suppose we could say that it was a celebration that even Sesame Street was embracing during such a time.
Now I don’t think it needs to be said at this point, but Community is one of, if not the best sitcoms of all time. It’s also a show that doesn’t have that many episodes that fans actively dislike. Though, if you were to ask someone what their least favorite Community episode is, they’ll probably name something from the latter half of the show, usually from season 4. (So something like Intro to Felt Surrogacy, History 101, Conventions of Space & Time, etc.) Not my pick, though. No, MY least favorite episode comes from the worst season pre-Dan’s Departure: Season Three. So, which season three episode do I consider the worst, I hear you asking? I’ll tell you right now. The episode of Community that I consider the worst is… Competitive Ecology. …Okay, now that you got that out of your systems, allow me to elaborate. First off, I do get why people would like this episode, there are some good jokes, and a few iconic moments (What happened with Legos?, Offense Taken, etc.), I like P...
Hi everyone, and welcome back to Sesame Seeds, the series where we look at the progression of a Sesame Street character from humble beginnings to the present day. This is another episode I was really looking forward to, because it’s on my favorite human character, and one who doesn’t get nearly as talked about as much as she should: Gina Jefferson. Now, in the past, I’ve described Gina as the prettiest, most developed, most amazing cast member of Sesame Street, and all of that is still true to this day. But in this episode, like I usually do, I’m going to go into detail on why this is true. So Gina is played by the equally pretty and amazing Alison Bartlett, who like many of us, grew up watching Sesame Street as a kid. She shared my frustrations of Snuffy never being seen by the adults, and actually got to shake hands with Mr. Hooper during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade in 1973, or 74. She started acting when she was 12 on stage/broadway productions, but unlike the character she...
So for those of you who haven’t been paying attention all this time, Sesame Street is the biggest, longest running, most well known children’s television program to ever exist. Starting in 1969 and over the course of 52 years and counting, it’s gone to air over 4,000 episodes, 2 movies, 3 spinoff shows with another currently in the works and a ton of specials. 30 to be exact. And in this blog post we’re going to be reviewing and ranking every single one of them. Sesame Street specials are an interesting bunch, because they each came at different periods of the show, so you really never know what you’re gonna get when you watch one. One moment, you could view a story focused production with heartwarming moments, and the next, you could be watching a light hearted compilation of new content aimed at the younger audience. And because these specials came from such different times in the show, what you get is a collection of time capsules which each have something different to offer t...
This season of SS had something in common with two other very popular TV shows at the time: it was also during M*A*S*H's respective seventh season (which wouldn't come until three years later) that they began to break away from its same old sets that viewers had become accustomed to for so many years, to make the show look and feel more visually interesting; SANFORD AND SON's series finale (which would be the following year) likewise saw Fred attending night school in spite of his advanced age, since he never finished high school. I'm sure these are all coincidental, but I find it a unique coincidence that the shows would do very similar things in such short succession.
ReplyDeleteBuffy did indeed make for a good fit to the show and its diverse, multi-cultural cast of whites, blacks, Jews, and Hispanics; unfortunately, Native American culture is often overlooked in the media, but of course a show like SS aimed to rectify that, even if, like you say, Buffy's tenure on the show was a disappointedly short one. On that note, while this may have been the season that introduced us to Buffy, I believe you may agree that it was really the following season that gave her some of her most memorable moments on the show . . . I'm sure you know what I'm talking about, but we'll get more into that when you review Season 8.
Speaking of agreements, if you can believe it, for once, I actually have to disagree with you on a couple of your song choices. "A Postcard from Amy" is a charming little bit for the reasons you listed, that much I'll agree with, but the song overall, IMO, just doesn't really stand out as one of Sesame's Greatest Hits . . . sure, it's amusing to see how the cast increasingly distorts Amy's message to Grover, but otherwise, it's just not that memorable to me. On the flipside, yes, "I Want a Monster to Be My Friend" had some pretty questionable lyrics that could have easily been misinterpreted and/or taken out of context, that much I'll agree with, but the song overall, IMO, otherwise has so much going for it, from the catchy melody, to being another example of what a great set of pipes Marilyn Sokol had (which in and of itself makes it clear why Jim Henson decided to retain her for her vocal talents, even if she couldn't get the hang of puppetry). I mean we're obviously not going to agree on everything, but that's the point of having differences of opinions.
On the subject of questionable material, while Oscar burning himself to a crisp is hilarious, and definitely something you would expect from the Muppets (moreso from THE MUPPET SHOW side of the aisle), that's something that would never in a million years fly on SS today . . . I mean if Don Music was having a negative influence on kids banging their heads onto pianos, well, let's not imagine what kids would do if they ever came across a mud oven. Nevertheless, having the gang travel away from the street for the first time like this really laid the foundation of a fun tradition that would be enjoyed in other ensuing seasons, including Hawaii. Plus, it's not just seeing the characters react and respond to a new environment, but it also was just a good way to bring them out of their little bubble of Sesame Street, and bring them into other parts of the real world.
As long as we're making political comparisons, I would also like to point out that during the 2016 election, the MuppetMusings YouTube channel made an amusing satirical video, but instead of Cookie Monster as an opponent (sorta) of Big Bird's, it was Miss Piggy. My thinking then, as it is now, is that Big Bird would most likely be the Democratic frontrunner, while Piggy would definitely be the Republican: while Big Bird may not necessarily know what he's doing, and undoubtedly make mistakes, I could see him still wanting to do whatever he could to help others . . . Piggy on the other hand, she may put on such a facade to convince people she'd do the same, but she'd clearly only be in it for moi - not at all unlike Trump.
Continuing from my previous comment (which I had to split up, because Blogger said it was too long), it should also be worth noting that this is what saved Judy Collins's life: by that point in her life, alcohol had all but consumed her, and she was on the verge of suicide, but being able to perform alongside the Muppets, not to mention the fun and safe atmosphere set by Jon Stone and Jim Henson lowered a bucket into the well of her despair and raised her to the light of day, which gave her reasons for living again. That's just how powerful the magic of the Muppets really is.
ReplyDeleteOne other thing I will add regarding the Wicked Witch of the West is that in some way, it doesn't even really make sense for her to even be on Sesame Street, when you consider that it was firmly established that Dorothy literally liquidated her, therefore she wouldn't even be alive anymore. But if anything, there was that nice appearance Margaret Hamilton made on Mister Rogers where she explained the make-believe that went into her playing the Wicked Witch of the West . . . something that Mister Rogers also originally wanted to discuss on his show with Caroll Spinney to show kids how he performed Big Bird, of which Caroll politely disagreed on the grounds that children are only innocent for so long, and why ruin that magic for them while they're still young enough to enjoy it? Michael Jackson may or may not have influenced that, considering Caroll offered to demonstrate to him how he performed Oscar from behind the trashcan during the taping of that other 1978 Christmas special that nobody likes or remembers, but Michael begged him not to, citing that he still believed in magic, and didn't want that to be ruined for him.
And here's yet another comment I can make since the thought occured to me after reading this last night: I think there's a good reason why SS felt "more American" during this season, is because when you think about it, the mid-70s was a very big time for Americana, what with the Bicentennial in 1976 (which would have been just shortly after this season finished airing) - the whole country was really celebrating itself and its then-200-year history during that period, which I suppose we could say that it was a celebration that even Sesame Street was embracing during such a time.
ReplyDelete