Sesame St S6: Bert & Ernie

Posted on Oct 11, 2016 in Henson, Sesame Street, Shows, Television

“The Blackout”

Today, we once again reach a slew of Bert and Ernie sketches. As I’ve probably said at some point before, while I couldn’t possibly cover the entirety of Sesame Street on this blog, I try to do as much of Bert and Ernie as possible, since they were not only performed by Jim Henson and Frank Oz but the characters were very much based on Jim and Frank’s actual relationship, Jim being the more playful one and Frank often being a bit more of a fussbudget.

In a great many of the Bert and Ernie scenes, Ernie would playfully and intentionally drive Bert up a wall, often feigning innocence. In “The Blackout”, our first sketch today, however, Ernie does seem genuinely heartfelt, albeit thoughtless. Ernie wakes up in the middle of the

Sesame Street S6: Misc.

Posted on Oct 6, 2016 in Henson, Sesame Street, Shows, Television

For today’s post, we have a bunch of miscellaneous clips from Sesame Street‘s sixth season. The first 2 are more Sesame Street Fairy Tales, as told by people from the street and acted out by the Muppets, the first being “The King’s Picnic”:

So, a pretty simple Sesame Street set-up and pay-off: a king assembles all of the people in his kingdom to have a picnic and asks them all to come back and bring various sorts of food so they can have a great big feast. If one so chooses, one could read into this a rather dark story about a despotic ruler who, rather than sharing his wealth and food with the kingdom, demands his subjects provide him with sustenance. I mean, come on, King, this would be pretty rude behavior from a neighbor, let alone a reigning monarch.

Sesame St S6: Grover, Etc.

Posted on Oct 4, 2016 in Henson, Sesame Street, Shows, Television

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”:

Sesame St S6: News Flash

Posted on Jul 7, 2016 in Henson, Sesame Street, Shows, Television

“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

Sesame St S6: Highlights

Posted on Jul 5, 2016 in Henson, Sesame Street, Shows, Television

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