Ryan Dosier – Part three of our collection of 45 Favorite Sesame Street moments continues with more moments from more fans, cast, and crew from the greatest show on television!
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAv75mTimRc]
22. “This Frog” – chosen by Max Jessop (Muppet Mindset contributor)
I’ll be honest, it’s hard to choose a segment in particular – I may be a rabid fan, but I’m no Muppet Wiki. The spot I’ve been drawn to recently might have to be the song “This Frog” sung by Kermit. This Kermit spotlight song, to me, proves how Sesame can be poignant and emotional and do things not really educationally-geared. And, most of all, it shows how they make a really good songs!
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mh85R-S-dh8]
23. “Rubber Duckie” – chosen by Josh Green (Muppet Mindset contributor)
As a child, my favorite memory of Sesame Street was Ernie singing Rubber Duckie. Sesame Street is a timeless classic, so it delights me that it has lasted for 45 years. The show is incomparable, and has brought the world nothing but joy. If any show could last forever, it’d be Sesame Street. Because we need it.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghRbyuUixJM]
24. “The Very End of X” – chosen by Josh Hankemeier (Muppet Mindset contributor)
This song is very special to me because it was filmed on my first trip to the Sesame Street set! My wife and I watched this scene being performed from Hooper’s Store. That day was chock full of wonderful and funny moments: seeing Murray chatting with a visiting kid (aww), Leela’s looks of comical frustration to the camera when she kept messing up the word “multiplex” and meeting Abby Cadabby! The best memory I have of that day was during a break in filming. Caroll, wearing the Big Bird legs, sat down with my wife and I at Hooper’s and we reminisced about the old days of Sesame Street. When you get to hang out with Big Bird at Hooper’s Store, it doesn’t get any better than that!
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shbgRyColvE]
25. Kermit’s Mystery Box – chosen by Kenny Durkin (Muppet Mindset contributor; fan artist extraordinaire)
Sesame Street definitely has had a wealth of classic, funny bits in its 45-year run, and this is one of my all-time favorites. The Mystery Box with Kermit and Cookie Monster starts with Kermit challenging Cookie to guess what he has in the mystery box. Cookie refuses (“arrivederci frog”), and Kermit entices him with a cookie if he guesses the contents of the box using the clues that Kermit provides. Cookie Monster can’t resist such a reward, and begins to guess wildly and fails miserably even with Kermit’s simple clues. The more Cookie guesses wrong, the more hilariously frustrated Kermit gets until he explodes in a classic Kermit freak-out. It’s Kermit and Cookie (and Jim and Frank) at their comedic best.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PM6ya7wTb58]
26. “Monster in the Mirror” – chosen by Spencer Cohen (Muppet Mindset contributor)
I first saw Monster in the Mirror on my VHS copy of “Sesame Street Jam: A Musical Celebration” that I had when I was kid. Since, then I have always loved this song! It’s a fun, catchy musical number with astounding special effects and fantastic puppetry. I also love how Grover holds out those long notes!
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vC0uvUuXVh8]
27. Ernie answers the Count’s phone – chosen by Jack Mesco (Muppet Mindset contributor)
My favorite sesame moment is when Ernie gets hired by The Count to answer the phone for him while he looks for things to count. Then he ends up counting the telephone rings preventing Ernie from answering the phone. Why I like this scene is because it has two of my favorite Muppets Ernie and The Count. Also, I think this is one of the best Ernie and Count skits because it’s just flat-out funny. And they’re performed by the guys who inspire me to this day, Jerry Nelson and Jim Henson. I hope to see more skits like this in the near future.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jc20vMz0V7Q]
28. “Celebrity Lullaby with Ricky Gervais” – chosen by Dan Shick (Movie Mindset operator)
Ricky Gervais loves to annoy people. It’s not just a hobby, it’s a passion, and poor Elmo catches the heat of it this time around. All Elmo wants to do is hear some soothing lullaby music from a celebrity. Who does he get? Mr. Ricky Gervais, with his acoustic guitar and his screeching vocal chords. What starts of as soothing music quickly spirals into loud yelps from Gervais, causing Elmo to nearly lose his poor little furry mind. I love most everything that Gervais does, and seeing him interact with Elmo here is hilariously satisfying. Do I foresee a buddy road trip movie in their future? Fingers crossed.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bse5xDQOCYA?list=PLUSRfoOcUe4aza8rBxkzcRQQ4nNucDp1H]
29. “Sesame Disco” album – chosen by Chris Stulz (Muppet Stuff owner/operator; Muppet Mindset contributor)
One of my favorite Sesame Street memories is listening to the 1979 album Sesame Disco. The vinyl record had only eight songs and one was a reprise. So really only seven songs. But those seven songs, all written by Joe Raposo, transcend the disco era to create a joyous musical experience. Most of the album featured brand new songs with a few disco versions of classic Raposo Sesame hits sprinkled in.
With all new recordings of “What Makes Music?”, “Me Lost Me Cookie at the Disco”, “The Happiest Street in the World”, “Sing”, “Disco Frog”, “Doin’ the Trash”, and “Bein’ Green”, it’s no wonder it was nominated for a Grammy Award! Though it lost to The Muppet Movie Soundtrack, I’d hold it up as a benchmark to any classic album – Muppet or otherwise. Just looking at the track list makes me hear the songs in my head. I love it! Yeah yeah yeah!
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYkS7J9xaXY]
30. Ernie’s Bert Sculpture – chosen by James Carroll (Muppet Mindset contributor; fan artist extraordinaire)
The strongest part of the Muppets in the early days was the chemistry between Jim and Frank. Nowhere is that more evident than with Bert and Ernie. Much has been said about their friendship over the years, but their special connection truly transcends any adequate definition. That’s why this segment is my personal favorite. Only a great friend would sculpt a bust of you. And an even greater friend would allow their nose to be plucked for the sake of art and accuracy. There’ve been a lot of nose snatching shenanigans on the program, yet this particular one demonstrates the spirit of friendship that made Sesame Street such a magical place for me as a kid. It’s also one of the funniest moments in television history.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auqyJ1FisSY]
31. “Fuzzy and Blue” – chosen by Joe Hennes (ToughPigs.com owner/operator)
When I first joined the online Muppet fan community, the first thing I did was ask if anyone had a video of “Fuzzy and Blue” they could send me. Nobody really knew how to help me because this was in the early days of the internet, so once YouTube became a thing, it was the very first thing I searched for. It’s such a simple song with great character moments, a super catchy tune, and clever lyrics (“Fuzzy and blue, all over / Fuzzy and blue, like Grover”). I’m not quite sure why Grover, Herry, Cookie Monster, and Frazzle are putting on a vaudeville show, nor do I know what the educational value of the song is (Are we teaching colors? Friendship and inclusion? The proper use of a straw hat and cane?), but “Fuzzy and Blue” remains one of my favorite Sesame Street moments. Boy, this recap makes me hungry for blanket…
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzHvVoUGTOM]
32. Christopher Reeve visits Sesame Street – chosen by Lara Frazier (MuppetMayhem Tumblr owner/operator)
When Ryan asked me to contribute, I went down a classic Sesame Street rabbit hole on youtube, attempting to come up with something I loved that wouldn’t have been picked twelves times already. A certain clip from an episode from 1997 of Christopher Reeve showing Zoe and Big Bird his wheelchair. My father was never a huge Christopher Reeve fan, but after Reeve’s spinal cord injury, Dad kept up with the news on the actor and especially the development of Reeve’s charity foundation. My father died recently, strangely enough, ten years and one week after Christopher Reeve. Growing up I never really saw my father as being disabled. When people would regard my dad as mentally disabled or attempt to avoid him entirely, it was obvious it was because he was quadriplegic. They didn’t know he was a talented artist, musician, and beloved teacher. Children never had the same avoidance or judgmental ignorance that adults had and were usually curious, as Zoe in the clip is, or just out right accepting. While the episode aired when I was 12 and I don’t remember seeing it as a kid, this moment is especially important to me as Sesame Street excels in highlighting diversity.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yOyymuF1UU?list=PLrXVSTW0tlA0qo0N_uQlqjdY6rkZa7DUM&w=560&h=315]
33. Sesame Street Goes to Hawaii – chosen by Paul McGinnis (Sesame Street puppeteer)
I loved Sesame Street’s trip to Hawaii. So many great moments! Oscar going through the metal detector, Big Bird talking to the pilot about how planes work, the wonderfully dry humor of the flight attendant (very funny actor, whoever she was), Snuffy being flown to Hawaii hanging from the bottom of a helicopter, the campfire in front of the teepee, Big Bird and Snuffy searching for Mount Snuffleupagus (I remember wanting to find it myself when I went on a family trip to Hawaii), Mr. Hooper surfing, Snuffy hiding in the overhead compartment for the trip home, and the best way to end the trip – the Sesame Street theme song being sung in Hawaiian!
