Posts by SirRobTheBrave
Sesame St S6: Grover, Etc.
Today, after a long, unplanned hiatus due to a number of unforeseen circumstances, I’m finally returning to my Sesame Street season 6 coverage with a bunch of classic clips from the 1974-75 year, the first group today revolving around everyone’s favorite fuzzy blue monster, Grover.
Before I go on, however, I’d just like to acknowledge the sad reality that ABC decided to not renew The Muppets. Given that and the fact that I’m already behind, I’ve decided to hold off on completing my reviews of that show, as having them up in a timely manner is unfortunately no longer relevant, no matter how excellent it ultimately became. Instead, I’ve decided to return to them in the future, once I arrive there in chronology after Muppets Tonight, at which point the time and distance might also make it more interesting to reflect on the show’s legacy a little further down the line.
And now, returning to the matter at hand: Grover! We begin with “Marshall Grover Rides Backwards”:
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Sesame St S6: News Flash
“Mirror, Mirror on the wall…”
I’ve mentioned before that Kermit’s News Flash sketches were quite possibly my all-time favorite Sesame Street segments, or at least very high up on the list, most likely because most of them blend two of my favorite things: Kermit and fairy tales, specifically those of the fractured variety. Well, as it so happens, Season 6 brought with it a slew of Sesame Street News Flashes, all of which I’m covering today, other than the “Jack Be Nimble” one which appeared in my last highlights post.
We begin with the fairy tales, starting with “Mirror, Mirror,” which just so happens to possibly be my favorite News Flash; it at least shares the top spot with the Rapunzel sketch and the one in which the Big Bad Wolf
Read MoreSesame St S6: Highlights
Little Jerry and the Monotones sing “Telephone Rock”.
Today, I begin my survey of highlights from Sesame Street Season 6, and, as per usual, I begin with the clips included on the Sesame Street: Old School Volume 2 DVD set.
The first one is a rockin’, bouncy number written by Christopher Cerf and Norman Styles, “Telephone Rock”, which has a retro sound that seems musically inspired by classic rock songs about calling the operator to put the narrator through to the person they love–the humorous twist here being that the operator is the one the singer wants to talk to)–as well as Elton John’s “Crocodile Rock,” which was itself an homage to early rock n’ roll. Sung by the Muppet rock group, Little Jerry and the Monotones, the basic purpose of the song seems to be simply introducing the concept of the telephone–although children watching today might be confused about why someone
Read MoreThe Muppets 1.11: “Swine Song”
“Swine Song”
Since I’ve unfortunately fallen a bit behind on reviewing The Muppets, I’m going to be playing catch-up in my next bunch of posts, reviewing the rest of the season one episode at a time. And here we go!
As anyone closely following The Muppets knows, there has been a bit of backstage drama surrounding the overall creative direction of this still-young series which ultimately led to one of the showrunners, Bob Kushell, leaving and being replaced by Kristin Newman, who has co-executived such beloved cult series as Galavant and Chuck, and who promised to help the show course-correct, keeping the new innovations that work while restoring some of the heart and zaniness that many long-time fans felt were missing from the early episodes.
Read MoreSesame Street Ep #666
The Count hangs out on Sesame Street.
The sixth season of Sesame Street debuted on November 4, 1974, with the ominously numbered episode 666 (which is available to watch on the Sesame Street: Old School Volume 2 DVD set). Despite that, as should surprise no one, nothing actually disastrous occurs, however I do wonder whether the hour’s framing device of the Count perching on the famous Sesame Street lamppost and counting all of the lights on Sesame Street going on in the early evening and off later at night was meant to be a sly little nod to it, due to the Count’s vampiric origins.
This is actually a very different way to start a Sesame Street season, which usually opens up on a bright, energetic scene that reintroduces and
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