Today is the 50th anniversary of Sesame Street! HBO, where it airs primarily now (and has for several years), put together a video in which an interviewer asks the Sesame Street Muppets about their favorite memories. It’s quite cute and clever:
Couple of things I noticed about it:
- Elmo does not appear in this video at all. And granted, I’m a grumpy Gen X-er who doesn’t have much use for Elmo in the first place, but I find that I didn’t miss him in the slightest or even notice his absence at first.
- There are only three characters in this video still performed by their original puppeteers: Abby, Rudy, and Rosita. That’s just an observation, not a value judgment of any kind.
- Whatever my mixed feelings may be about Peter Linz playing Ernie, I have to say that whoever’s writing Bert and Ernie’s banter nowadays is spot-on. Absolutely brilliant and perfect.
- High definition hasn’t done Big Bird any favors in one important respect. The monofilament that connects his arms used to be all but invisible, but now it’s plain as day. It’s a shame, because it makes Big Bird seem slightly less magical as a result.
- However, I love that they revisited the idea of Big Bird being an artist.
- At first it seemed too easy to have Abby’s favorite Sesame Street memory be the day she moved there, but the payoff was worth it.
- Oscar’s interactions with Slimey have always been one of my favorite things about Sesame Street.
- I don’t watch Sesame Street regularly, so I haven’t seen much with Rudy, but from what I have seen of him, I like him very much.
- I love that some of the Muppets are wearing microphones during their interviews. That’s one of my favorite Muppet gags ever.
I would like to be able to do more Sesame anniversary stuff, but I’ve been too busy lately, and I’m particularly busy now. If you’re reading this, then it means that I am at GalaxyCon Minneapolis to see Steve again at this very moment. I didn’t mention it before because (a) November weather is a crapshoot, which introduces an element of uncertainty, and (b) I try not to get too specific about my real-life movements because that may not be safe.
Anyway, I don’t anticipate spending the whole day at Steve’s table this time because I’ll be bringing someone else with me to the convention. Nevertheless, I will report on my pertinent experiences sometime after I get back.
Frog of La Mancha 
Firstly, Happy Anniversary to Sesame Street. I got the chance to watch this more when my children were little, and often enjoyed this show immensely. I do not hold the level of opinions about it, which you share with a fervor, but I do enjoy your posts. I know you are having a wonderful time at the convention. If you get the chance, tell Steve I said hello and share with him my thanks for creating Weldon, whom I think is most unique in character.
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Anne, I have to confess that I wrote this post several days ago and scheduled it so that it would post automatically while I was gone. So I’m afraid I didn’t see your reply until I got back today, so I could not pass along your message. Sorry.
But you’re right that I did have a wonderful time at the convention, and I will tell you all about it as soon as I get the chance.
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Never apologize for multitasking and being efficient. I’ll have to remember that you do this, and will look forward to your post about the convention.
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