Posts by SirRobTheBrave
Sesame Street Ep #796
Susan and Gordon don’t see Snuffy.
The seventh season of Sesame Street debuted on PBS on December 1st, 1975–fairly late, given it usually started up in September or October–with episode #796, which I watched for today’s post (and is available on the Sesame Street: Old School Volume 2 DVD set). And while I can’t really judge the entire season based on the premiere alone, it would seem that not much has changed in Sesame Street‘s evolution from last year to this one. There is still very little connective tissue holding the episode together, and, in some ways, I found it the least interesting one to watch thus far, but I might just be growing a bit impatient with watching full episodes of this by this point. There’s some great individual stuff here, but, as an hour of television, it doesn’t hold up well.
Read MoreSNL: “The Land of Gorch” #1-6
“The Land of Gorch”
Although the major networks had still chosen to pass on The Muppet Show, Jim Henson and the Muppets did get a big TV break in 1975, when Lorne Michaels hired them to appear as regulars on his then-brand-new late-night sketch comedy show, then called Saturday Night, later to be known as Saturday Night Live. In fact, the Muppets appeared on the very first episode and weekly thereafter for the first months of the show (the first season of SNL is up on Hulu and Amazon, or you could watch it on DVD).
Rather than highlighting any of the known characters up to that point, however, these sketches–collectively known as The Land of Gorch–were an entirely new creation, with a cast of fantastical alien creatures living in
Read MoreThe Muppet Show Pitch Reel
Leo pitches “The Muppet Show”!
And now, after viewing the two failed ABC pilots, we come to Jim Henson’s next attempt to finally bring The Muppet Show to primetime, one which ultimately proved successful but not directly or immediately.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. To tell a long story as succinctly as possible, Jim hired David Lazer–an IBM exec who worked with him on the short films he and the Muppets made for that company and who was extremely enthusiastic about Jim and his talents–as a new producer. Lazer was a much slicker, savvier Hollywood type than the Henson people were generally used to but he knew how to sell things in the entertainment industry. Meanwhile, Jim made an appearance on CBS’ Cher show (unfortunately, I wasn’t able to locate any clips to watch), which also had a major impact. Cher and her producer, George Schlatter–the
Read MoreJulie: My Favorite Things
Julie and Kermit share a duet.
Back when I watched and reviewed Julie Andrews’ first special with the Muppets, Julie on Sesame Street, I explained the circumstances surrounding how these shows came to be produced for ABC, so instead of going over that again, I kindly direct anyone who might not remember (and that’s completely understandable; it’s been quite a long time!) back to that post.
For now, what’s important to know is that, despite frustration at ABC yet again not picking up The Muppet Show to series, Jim Henson and Co. collaborated with Julie on a second special, again produced by ATV and shot at Elstree Studios in London, where The Muppet Show would eventually find a home. This one was called Julie: My Favorite Things,
Read MoreElectric and Carson, Again
Grover and Vi on “The Electric Company”
Today, I’m looking at two brief Muppet guest appearances from 1975. In the first, which aired March 10, 1975, Grover visits The Electric Company (the fourth and finale Sesame Street character to appear on that show), or rather, like Big Bird did in his appearance, wanders away from home, gets lost, and winds up on this show accidentally.
The scene opens with Crank, who we previously saw singing a song with Oscar the Grouch, and who doesn’t seem nearly as bad-tempered as his name and description of himself would suggest (This guy has nothing on Oscar. He even seems genuinely concerned for Grover. Amateur.), taking a seat at Vi’s Diner and chatting with the eponymous
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