Sesame Street, Old School Style

admin — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 13:47:38 +0000

My 2 year old son LOVES Sesame Street! The more I watch it, the more I see small glimpses of MY childhood staring back at me from the television. It’s in the little cartoons that they show; it’s in the old segments they still edit in; it’s in Maria and Mr. Hooper’s store and Snuffleupagus. Of course, by now, they’ve added more characters and the segments are computerized…but it amazes me everytime I see old pieces that were such a part of my childhood and made such an impression that I remember it 20(or so) years later. Just the other day I saw the old segment where they show how Crayons are made. There’s no talking, just images of big, industrial machines, happy factory workers(circa 1982) and music. Today they just showed the old bit with Kermit helping Don Music compose “Mary Had a Little Lamb.” Remember? Doesn’t it take you back? I can’t remember a lot from 3-2-1 Contact or The Electric Company(both of which I spent just as much time and energy watching), but I still remember Sesame Street. I just searched it on Wikipedia and here are some interesting facts:

-One of the longest running television shows in US history
-As of 2007, has aired 4, 151 episodes (38 seasons)
-The original has been aired in 120 countries and more than 30 international versions have been produced
-Has recieved 109 Emmy Awards, more than any other television series
-Estimated 75 million Americans have watched it as children
-Many educators criticized the show when it first debuted because it emphazised “cognitive” learning rather than play and activities like other shows at the time. It was also believed it would worsen children’s attention spans

Take THAT Dora and Yo Gabba Gabba!!!

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Sesame Street, Old School Style