Sesame Street: 50 in 50 – Season 8

Published: February 21, 2019

Season 8 (November 29, 1976 – May 27, 1977)

I’m a fan of 8, and I’m here to state, that this article’s facts must equal 8!

Look, I’m not gonna lie – it’s tough to sum up an entire season of any television show, let alone one that had over a hundred episodes per season in its early years. My colleagues here at ToughPigs have done an amazing job so far, but I’ve found the focus you have to put on certain factors over others to be difficult. So I’m gonna break it up a little bit this week by doing it in what one might call a “listicle” format. While your mileage may vary, when I took a deep dive into what was included in season 8 of Sesame Street, these are the top 8 things that jumped out at me as important, funny, cute, cool, or just plain interesting to me.

Pinball

We here at ToughPigs love Muppets. That’s no surprise, I’m sure. But Muppets alone do not make up Sesame Street. There are the humans, of course. And there are songs and videos depicting real world events like making crayons or saxophones. And there are animations. Over the years, these colorful segments have added a lot to the format of Sesame Street, and have all had their own lasting importance. But few can argue that there are more recognizable animated segments on Sesame Street that have had the lasting power of The Pinball Number Count. Making its debut in season 8, The Pinball Number Count is a series of animated segments that follows a pinball as it goes through an extravagant pinball machine, while the Pointer Sisters sing a counting song. The lyrics count up to the number twelve, with each segment focusing on a different number. Not that you need reminding I’m sure, but check out this funky masterpiece and tell me that it hasn’t been rumbling around in your head since the first time you heard it.

Check out that beautiful animation, which really stands the test of time! I could’ve written a whole article just on this segment, but here are my favorite fun facts after researching it.

There is no number one. There are segments made for numbers 2 through 12, but none for number 1. If I had to guess, that’s because you can’t really count to number one – you can only state what it is. Does that make sense?
In 2003, as part of the show’s 35th anniversary, Sesame Workshop and electronica label Ninja Tune released a 12-inch vinyl record for the DJ market. The maxi-single included a new remix of “Pinball Number Count” by Strictly Kev of DJ Food combining all eleven sketches and all three versions of the solo section into one extended track. This reworked and remastered DJ Food edit was featured on the Songs from the Street: 35 Years of Music collection because, according to producer/composer Walt Kraemer, a clean master track of the original recording did not exist.
In 2010, Aniboom.com started a Sesame Street animation contest that included a category to remake the original classic. Digital artists from around the world did remakes, and a stop-motion remake of the segment done by an Italian animation studio, Florence Animation, was declared the winner and aired during Season 41.
Still. Slaps.

Olivia

Another item about which I could have written an entire article – Season 8 saw the debut of Gordon’s sister, Olivia, played to perfection by Alaina Reed. Olivia is sweet and caring, yet stands up for herself and doesn’t take “being a woman” as an excuse for others to help her do what she knows how to do. She is a talented photographer, a phenomenal singer, and can stand up to Oscar (or anyone else who tries to mess with her) with the best of them. In her official “Welcome to Sesame Street” episode, she rejects Oscar’s welcome as disingenuous because she’s heard how mean he can be. But from a week earlier, check out her first actual appearance for proof of her self-assuredness – Olivia loves her brother but shows him how she can take care of herself while singing “Little Sister is a Big Girl Now.”

I’ve always had a sweet spot for Olivia. Her song, “One Little Star” from Follow That Bird, was my lullaby growing up. I loved that song so much that my parents studied our VHS tape, pausing and rewinding as needed, and wrote down all of the lyrics so they could sing it to me every night. And the more I learn about her place in Sesame history, the more I love her.

Buffy and Cody

While Buffy Sainte-Marie made her debut as the character Buffy in Season 7, Season 8 saw two very important moments for her character. The first was the birth of her son Dakota, or Cody as everyone called him. In a touching episode, Big Bird gets jealous when everyone pays more attention to the new baby than his own drawings (done by the amazing Caroll Spinney), and Buffy comforts him with her signature song, Different People, Different Ways. It’s a beautiful lesson on jealousy and welcoming new babies, something I’m sure new big brothers or sisters could learn a lot from.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0Y15LZwsKc

The second defining moment, and one Anthony alluded to last week, was the depiction of Buffy breastfeeding Cody on the show. In this one-minute segment, Buffy shows the world that breastfeeding is natural and wonderful, and the idea was so important that Sesame Street even updated it later after Maria had Gabriella. Mothers even started a petition in 2011 to bring back the segment and spread the word more about how important and natural breastfeeding is. It was a significant step forward in my next topic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-L-Fg7lWgQ

Feminism

According to Muppet Wiki, Season 8’s goal was to focus on female roles. Producer Dulcy Singer said, “the changes are being made in response to criticism of not enough women in the cast and showing women in stereotyped roles.” So they made a conscious effort to highlight females and female empowerment on the show. Olivia was introduced and was shown to be a strong, independent woman; Buffy took on a larger role, and contributed some very empowering moments; and Susan, Linda, and Maria were featured more as a part of this effort. While you can definitely argue that the puppeteers could do with more female representation both now and then (Fran Brill spent this season uncredited), this season did take some big strides.

Linda and Bob

Speaking of Linda (who at this point was uncredited as well, and a “recurring guest”), Season 8 saw some notes in her developing love story with Bob. Speaking for myself, the saga of Linda and Bob is one that I always wish had been more defined and fleshed out to a satisfying conclusion. There is so much unrequited tension, it drives me bonkers that they never ended up together. Just look at how incredibly cute they are together in this episode where Bob realizes that Linda can’t hear the song he’s writing, so he incorporates sign language into the song itself. Amazing!

Big Bird

Big Bird has some big moments this season as well. He learns to cope with new baby Cody, draws some amazing pictures, writes a lullaby, feuds with Poco Loco, and switches beds with David. Spoiler Alert: He’s my pick for MVM this season, and just looking through the episode descriptions, you can see why.

Paul Simon

Solely for this clip:

Look at that! What children’s show nowadays would just have a song about two boys breaking the law, played with its original lyrics? Well, original with a young girl adding in her own lyrics to create what I call the “Everybody Dance Remix.”

1,000

This is also the season where Sesame Street reached a true milestone – Episode 1,000! In a season that features Mr. Hooper celebrating his store’s 25^th anniversary; Buffy, her husband Sheldon, and their baby Cody leaving Sesame Street for a reservation on Hawaii; Mr. Hooper selling his store (Does the transaction go through?? How does he get it back?? I need to see this episode!); Bob learning sign language; and Oscar taking guitar lessons until he sounds just horrible enough to upset everyone, there were some great scripts to choose from to use as their milestone 1,000^th episode.

So how did they celebrate? By having that utterly classic episode we all know and love – Bob finds a puppy. And then gets a little sad when he finds its owners. And then he thinks he sees another puppy. And … that’s it.

… Well, I’m sure episode 2,000 will be much more exciting.

Notable Character Debut: Olivia, as stated above. She’s just the best.

Notable Character Departure: Buffy and her family, although they would fly back to Sesame Street from time to time up until Season 12.

MVM (Most Valuable Muppet): Big Bird really shines his bright yellow feathers this season.

MVH (Most Valuable Human): Olivia, coming out of the gate strong. One season in and she’s got some amazing moments, and amazing songs.

MVE (Most Valuable Episode): For anniversary sake, Episode 1,000 feels significant, even if the content was subpar.

Classic Segment Debut: I’ve got 12 reasons ready to go why it’s The Pinball Number Count.”

Curriculum Focus: Although I couldn’t find the exact curriculum focus, Dulcy Singer’s quote makes me want to say that this season’s focus was on Feminism. And that’s pretty darn cool!

Musical Highlight: “Different People, Different Ways.” Watch that clip again and tell me it’s not a perfect encapsulation of love of all kinds.

Best Celebrity Moment: Gotta be that Paul Simon clip above. (Oh hey, when you write the whole article listicle-style, this part becomes very repetitive!

One More Thing: Starting with this season, the closing signs take place in outdoor locations. In addition, this season and continuing through season 32, the episode number is displayed on-screen during the beginning of the theme song. I don’t know if either of those things are interesting, per se, but they are milestones in their own geeky way.