TSSR- Season 9 (1977-1978)

 

Hi, everyone! Welcome back to the Sesame Street Retrospective! Where we’re just trucking along from one awesome season to another. This time we’re tackling season 9.

I gotta say revisiting this era of the show has been a very wild and pleasing experience, and season 9 was no different. A lot of really fun stories and bits spawned in this era, and I can’t wait to talk about them, so let’s jump right into it.

Production History

Sixth verse, same as the first. The Children’s Television Workshop crew came back to their studio in Teletape to film episodes for the new season, and not a lot changed while doing so.

…But then, in the summer from July to August, the street gang headed off to the Hawaiian island of Kauai for another multi-episode story arc about them going to visit Buffy in her new home, which again, I will talk about in the next section.

But before that, really quickly, I’d like to say that season 9 debuted on November 28, 1977, and ended on May 26, 1978.

Overview

To be honest, Season 9 is more of the same from last season. Sure, the characters do different things, but there haven’t really been any shake-ups to the formula or how the show presents itself. Not that I’m complaining. There’s a reason this show lasted for as long as it has, and at this point, it’s because the laid-back atmosphere and genius story structure have made it very entertaining to watch.

This makes the fact that they’re teaching more elevated concepts like machine functions, personal/dental hygiene, and the environment all the better because the CTW is able to use their philosophy of making education fun for everyone to their advantage. A perfect example of this would be a new recurring muppet segment that debuted this season, and one of the most popular and well-known segments Sesame Street has ever produced. 

Monsterpiece Theater is based on the PBS anthology show Masterpiece Theater. Hosted by Cookie Monster under the persona “Allistair Cookie”, the segment focuses on spoofing many classic books, movies, and TV shows. This segment is a perfect demonstration of how Sesame Street is one of the greats when it comes to parody, as every sketch works as its own funny bit regardless of whether or not you know the source material. I guarantee that most kids watching this didn’t know what Upstairs Downstairs was. I know I sure didn’t. But that doesn’t matter because it’s funny watching Grover tiring himself out going up and down the stairs. Now that I think about it, most of these sketches are just the literal versions of the media they’re parodying, but even then that’s not really an issue, because Jim Henson, Frank Oz, and the rest of the crew carry each skit with their incredible performances.

But that’s not the only noteworthy thing that happened this season. No, our favorite TV neighbors took another field trip to a new place outside their humble New York street.

As I mentioned previously, the street gang, i.e. Big Bird, Maria, Bob, Olivia, Mr. Hooper, Oscar (This time on purpose), and Snuffy traveled to the 50th state of America to visit Buffy, Sheldon, and Cody. Now I think this goes without saying, but this trip arc is on a WAY grander scale than the last one.

The New Mexico trip was only 6 episodes long, this trip is double that length. When the gang went to New Mexico, all they had to do was drive a truck for a few hundred miles or so. For THIS trip, they actually have to earn enough money to buy plane tickets to fly to this state. 

And in New Mexico, all the cast did was just hang around Luis’ family’s ranch, help build some houses, and go to a Pueblo. In Hawaii, Big Bird and Snuffy try to track down a legendary Mount Snuffleupagus, Mr. Hooper surfs, Oscar drives a truck, and on their last day, everyone prepares a grand celebration for Cody’s birthday. Since the setting the characters are traveling to is farther and grander, the stories and shenanigans are elevated accordingly. I’ll explain what my thoughts on said stories and shenanigans are later, but now let’s discuss who did stuff this season.

Characters

While all of our mains are still here, season 9 definitely favored certain characters over others.

Starting with our two main muppets, Oscar definitely had the most notable storylines. He launches a rocket, he hosts a cooking show, he goes on a date, makes particularly good friends with a little kid, he takes up puppetry, and this is even the season where he officially starts his fan club known as the Grouchketeers, which will be a recurring bit in the series for quite some time.

That’s not to say Big Bird didn’t have his own fun adventures, because he did. Including, but not limited to following one-way road signs all over the city, pretending to be a movie star, and having to spend the day with a woodpecker.

But his most notable roles in this season were alongside his furry best friend, Snuffy, who got a surplus of attention this time around, specifically on the Hawaii trip, where we actually get to learn a lot more about his species. Apparently, Snuffleupaguses are Hawaiian natives and the mountain BB and Snuff are looking for is called Mount Snuffleupagus. To be frank, I think it’s really nice to see them actually give lore to the character that most people think is imaginary. It ironically makes him feel more real.

The Count also got a huge amount of screen time in this particular season, and 90% of his appearances have to do with him annoying his neighbors. Like I said, when I went over season 6, The Count’s shtick rarely ever gets old, because he’s such a dynamic and well-meaning presence that you can’t help but crack a smile whenever he’s on screen.

When it comes to the humans, they all have their moments throughout the season, but the MVP has to be Buffy who continues to be the GOAT even though she’s in another state. She’s just such an incredibly warm and welcoming presence to watch, especially during the trip to Hawaii. More on that when we get to top 5s.

As for new characters, we actually have a neat selection of new faces this time around.

First off, there’s the Two-Headed Monster, who made their debut as a character from a book Olivia reads to the Count. The Two-Headed Monster is such a great concept. It’s a character with two separate parts that have to be operated by two people with both hands at the same time, so many concepts for bits can be spawned from that, and later down the road, Henson’s team takes full advantage of said concepts.

Next up is Gladys, a cow played by Richard Hunt, who previously went unnamed, but got one at the start of this season, and developed the persona of an overdramatic diva actress. Think Miss Piggy, except she’s a cow, and less violent, and you’ll have a pretty good idea of what she’s like.

There’s also Georgie, that little kid I mentioned previously whom Oscar makes friends with. She’s a little girl that Olivia is babysitting, and while she is very apprehensive about the experience at first, she instantly feels a lot better around our favorite green grouch, particularly after he defends her decision to just sit around with her blanket. It’s a really rare and adorable thing to see Oscar truly bond with a kid, and if this episode ever gets released on YouTube, I recommend you check it out.

And lastly, we have Bert’s nephew Brad who gave us this memorable sketch.

And this big muppet dog, whose name is Woof-Woof, and who I’ll talk about later in season 10 for reasons I don’t wanna spoil. With that out of the way, let’s move on to top 5s.

My Top 5s

My Top 5 Favorite Street Stories

#5: (Episode 1058) The One Where Mr. Hooper Rides A Motorcycle: It features Mr. Hooper, and later Willy and Mr. Macintosh riding motorcycles. If that isn’t worth a top 5 list, I don’t know what is. It also features a nice scene of Big Bird defending himself about knowing what’s imaginary and what’s not.

#4: (Episode 1060) The One Where Oscar Trash Reads Olivia: I just love the concept of “Trashology” and figuring out how someone’s day went by observing their garbage, as it showcases that Oscar is far more perceptive than most people would assume. I wish Oscar got to use this ability of his more often in the show.

#3: (Episode 1067) The One Where The Count Looks After Hooper’s Store For David: Another funny character looks after HS for the day episode, but whereas Cookie Monster had to eat everything else in Hooper’s to get his mind off of cookies, The Count initially doesn’t wanna sell anything out of fear of losing counting material, but after being told that he can just count everything he sells, he immediately becomes the best salesperson ever. Funny stuff.

#2: (Episode 1057) The One Where Big Bird and Snuffy Do David’s Dishes: I particularly like this one because it’s one of the rare times where the grown-ups, while still not believing Snuffy exists, don’t treat Big Bird as if their escapades/adventures don’t matter. David doesn’t chide Big Bird for making up some story about how his dishes got clean, he thanks Big Bird for his and Snuffy’s act of goodwill, and I really like that.

#1: (Episode 1056) The One That Starts The Season: Another great season opener. Between the opening musical number, Gladys’ first bit, and Oscar’s cooking show, this episode is definitely one of my all-time favorites.

Honorable Mentions: Episode 1064, Episode 1068, Episode 1070, Episode 1087, Episode 1097, Episode 1098, Episode 1118, Episode 1146, Episode 1177 and Episode 1178

My Least Favorite Street Story: (Episode 1150) The One Where Neither Mumford nor Snuffy Believe Big Bird: The scenes with Maria, and Olivia’s song are nice, but they can’t make up for the always frustrating plot of no one believing Big Bird. Sorry to sound like a broken record, but watching Big Bird’s family constantly dismiss things he’s being 100% truthful about will never not be annoying to watch. I can’t believe I still have 6.5 more seasons worth of this to sit through.

Sesame Street Hawaii Episodes Ranked

#12: (Episode 1082) The One Where Big Bird Pre-Packs His Suitcase: This episode is kinda just there. It doesn’t really play that much into the grander story, it’s just Bob helping Big Bird decide what to bring. The opening scene with Big Bird looking after Hooper’s is pretty good though.

#11: (Episode 1079) The One With The Big Trip Game Show: Another one that’s kinda just there. I put it above the last one because it does try to tie into the main story with Big Bird wanting to win this game show to pay for a Hawaii ticket for Snuffy, but Snuffy ended up not going on the plane with them anyway, so it makes this episode feel kinda pointless. Also, the game show itself isn’t that exciting to watch play out. I do like each of the costumes that the cast ends up wearing though, and again, I like how they’re still supporting Big Bird’s idea, even though they still don’t believe in Snuff.

#10: (Episode 1077) The One Where Big Bird Invites Snuffy to Hawaii With Him: Another one that doesn’t really have that much effect on the overall story, but I do like BB and Snuff’s moments near the beginning and end, and how Big Bird wanted to do something to cheer his best bud up.

#9: (Episode 1096) The One Where The Gang Gets Back To The Street: A nice cap-off to the whole trip. Oscar steals the show with his disgusted reactions and his failed plan of giving his friends terrible souvenirs.

#8: (Episode 1092) The Second Day In Hawaii: Watching the characters adjust to their new surroundings is always a treat. From the two gentle giants starting their mountain quest to Oscar’s discontentment with Hawaii’s beauty to Maria, Bob, and Olivia just having real conversations with the Hawaiian inhabitants. These are entertaining characters that I love watching.

#7: (Episode 1091) The One Where The Gang Arrives: Big Bird and his friends have a solid arrival on this trip. Oscar once again steals the show with his shenanigans, the scene where Snuffy arrives via helicopter is so cool to watch, and I also like the story Keola tells everyone that sets Big Bird’s subplot in motion.

#6: (Episode 1090) The One Where The Gang Leaves: Watching this cast leave to go to their destination is just as fun as watching them at said destination, namely the two muppets accompanying them. Between Big Bird’s insistence on not leaving his best friend behind, and Oscar intentionally making things difficult, they really put the grown-ups through the wringer on this one, and it’s fantastic. (I especially love Oscar’s trip through airport security.) Though, I really wish we spent a little more time with Snuffy to find out how he acquired a helicopter to get him to Hawaii. In fact, I wrote my own little scene for how that event might have played out, which you can read, here.

#5: (Episode 1094) The One Where BB and Snuff Finally Find Mt. Snuffleupagus: As you can probably gather from the title, this is the episode where the two gentle giants reach the mountain they’ve been searching for. It’s a very satisfying end to this subplot (Barring the grown-ups’ usual disbelief). But the other biggest moment in this one comes from Mr. Hooper who proves he can surf like a legend. Very fun scene.

#4: (Episode 1089) The Day Before The Trip: Despite not coming along for the trip, The Count gets some much-needed limelight time in this prelude, where on this particularly rainy day, he’s having trouble counting because the random thunder and lightning strikes are messing him up, so Olivia offers him the simple solution of counting thunder and lightning strikes, and if you know the Count, you’ll know that situation can only end one way.

#3: (Episode 1093) The Third Day In Hawaii: The screen time is pretty evenly split between the cast for this one, with each of them getting at least one special thing to do. Some highlights include Oscar pretending to drive a broken-down truck, Bob learning some sign language to pass on to Linda, an adorable scene of Buffy and Cody playing in the water, BB and Snuff accidentally finding Mount Hole-in-the-Mountain, Bob and Mr. Hooper learning the hula, and a very heartwarming scene between Big Bird and Buffy where they realize they haven’t had the chance to spend that much time together. They’re one of my favorite duos in the show.

#2: (Episode 1095) The One With Cody’s Birthday And The Flight Back Home: A perfect way to end the Hawaii trip, the way everything comes together and all of the activities going on are such a delight to see, especially the scene where everyone’s giving Cody gifts. (Though I would have preferred it if Big Bird delivered Snuffy’s shell to Cody alongside his lei and said it was from him, which Buffy would believe since that’s what friends do. Instead of Snuffy just mysteriously putting it with the other gifts.) I also really love the heart-to-heart Maria and Buffy have near the end of the episode, as well as the reassurance Buffy gives BB that maybe she’ll see Snuffy next time she’s on Sesame Street. Did I mention that Buffy’s one of the best?

#1: (Episode 1076) The One Where The Gang Raises Ticket Money: Why is it that so far the episodes that start the story are always the best ones? I think it has to do with how they handle the characters. Watching them all come together to raise money for this trip, with each character getting something to do, and the street itself looking so busy with tons of stuff going on, it just makes the whole thing so entertaining to see unfold from start to finish.

My Top 5 Favorite Songs

#5: Sing After Me: Not only is this song fun and catchy enough on its own, but watching Grover and the highly-attractive Madeline Kahn play off of each other is such a treat to watch.

#4: I Got A Song: It’s not every day you see E&B pitch in to help a celebrity sing a song, and this just might be the best one.

#3: It Feels Good When You Sing A Song: Great message, great music, great performances by Nothern Calloway and Alaina Reed, this song’s got everything.

#2: Big Brass Band: Another very fun and catchy song that manages to utilize all of the human cast members in a meaningful way.

#1: Gimme Five and Count Up To Nine: Between the variety of smooth, soulful, stylings about the number five and a doo-wop ballad about the number nine, I couldn’t pick which one of these nifty number tunes I liked better, so I decided to let them share the top spot. (Though, I do wish Mr. Hooper could’ve been part of the former number, so the quartet could be a proper quintet.)

Honorable Mentions: Sound it Out, The Opposite Of What I Do, I’m Gonna Be A Country Girl Again, Listen To The Wind, Walk Proud, We’re A Family, and I’m Going Somewhere

My Least Favorite Song: Can Do: Once again, not a bad song, just the least good out of the ones I was able to listen to.

My Top 5 Favorite Segments

#5: Thelma Thumb: I mainly like this one for how unique its art style is. More specifically the backgrounds. This is some great animation.

#4: ASL Alphabet: A very trippy way to learn how letters are said in sign language.

#3: Billy Jo Jive: This series of segments has a very Fat Albert vibe to it, what with it being about a group of kid characters helping out their wacky cast of neighbors.

#2: He, She & It: A cute cartoon about a thing explaining how stuff works to two imaginative kids.

#1: Small b and Small d: This segment is number one, mainly because of the song. It is SUCH a bop.

Honorable Mentions: Sign Sounds

My Least Favorite Segment: I don’t have one.

Conclusion

I’m beginning to notice a pattern here: Every season starting with 6 has outclassed the previous one with how good it is. Season 9 gives us new experiences and raised stakes while keeping the show itself more or less the same. No way in 1969 could the show have flown all the way to Hawaii and done stuff there for 2 months, but as time continues to grow and evolve, so does the show, and as I said, it’ll only get better as we continue.

Well, that should do it for another installment of the Sesame Street Retrospective. I can’t believe I’m already at Season Ten. I have a feeling that one will be especially juicy. I’ll try to get to that one ASAP. In the meantime, thank you so much for reading, and I’ll see you next time. Bye!!

(NOTE: The second picture of this blog post was edited to better fit this season. Original picture by Tony Whitaker can be seen here.)