Sesame Street started their 41st season earlier this week, which is approximately 40?Ǭæ seasons more than Aliens in the Family. Yep, we’re still joking about that!
Even though we’re officially way too old to be watching Sesame Street without the requisite niece or nephew, we checked out the first episode of the new season to make sure everything is staying up to par. And how did the episode fare? Read some of these words I wrote:
Chris Knowings wins the award for being the most awesome Sesame Street human in the episode. Okay, so he’s the only human, but he still rocks the house. Even when the bright red and blue wiggling dolls are demanding the spotlight, Chris keeps it interesting with his exaggerated faces, quirky dancing, and overall awesomeness. And even though I’m totally jealous of his job, I’m glad he’s the guy who gets to hang out with Elmo every day.
Kyra Sedgwick plays “Camouflage Carla”, the leader of a cult called “The Camouflage Club”. She hazes Elmo, Rosita, and Chris in order to initiate them into her secret organization by singing a kicky song, fading into the scenery, and forcing them to go on a twisted scavenger hunt. But really, Sedgwick carries her own weight, and works out as a fun guest star for the premiere episode.
One of the camouflaged animals the trio finds are two ladybugs, infesting Elmo’s fur. But on first glance, that ain’t what it looks like. Go on, take a close look. Yep, Elmo’s got nipples. What would Katy Perry say???
Amy Poehler provides our Word of the Day moment, talking about the word “challenge”. Click here to see her try and lift a cow, rub her belly, and out-cute Elmo. Oh, and she makes me wish that she could be in every episode. Thankfully there are two extra clips of her hanging out with Big Red on YouTube. Check ’em out here and here!
The Murray interstitials are still alive and kicking, and they’ve been relegated to the fast-forward button on my remote. They’re just so blindingly straight-forward. The lack of humor, the emotionless reactions from the kids, and the nauseating predictability all add up to nothing I want to bother with every day. And if a Muppet fanatic like myself doesn’t want to watch, then I wouldn’t expect most parents to want to watch, and there goes half of Sesame Street’s viewers. Hey, at least my remote is getting some exercise!
Oprah Winfrey donated her more-famous-than-you voice to “The O Network“, a parody of Oprah’s almost canceled show. I was looking forward to two things in this sketch: Oprah shouting people’s (or primates and fruit) names, and for someone to jump on the chair ala a coked-out Tom Cruise. Both of these things happened, but in a total lackluster kind of way. Oprah gave the most wooden performance of her career, and we were treated to a full second of the orangutan standing on his chair. In the end, the entire sketch reeked of “missed opportunity”.
Abby’s Flying Fairy School is back, and I have the same complains I had a year ago. It’s a cute sketch, but just a little too long and a lot too repetitive. In this particular episode, I’m left questioning the educational value, as the fairies magically conjure an ATM to transform a tooth into a coin. Why we’re not teaching this stuff in school is beyond me.
The highlight of Abby’s Flying Fairy School, however, was a super-special cameo appearance by Leslie Carrara-Rudolph! Yep, that’s her underneath the fat suit, gray wig, and leotard. Heck, it wasn’t just the highlight of the episode, it was the highlight of my entire week.
This episode marked the debut of Super Grover 2.0, Grover Kent’s latest alter ego. In the sketch, SG2 tries to help some penguins speed the global warming process and move a glacier. On the one hand, the sketch works really well: it’s got penguins, it’s funny, it’s got Grover, and did I mention the penguins? The only downside is that I couldn’t help but compare it to the old Super Grover bits, which, let’s be honest, had Frank Oz. Of course, that’s not a fair comparison, so I’m gonna go ahead and declare Super Grover 2.0 a winner. Congrats, SG2!
The Closer got its own parody with… The Closer. In this sketch, The Closer closes things that need closing. I’ve never seen the actual show, but I’d imagine that it’s exactly like this. And hey, more Kyra Sedgwick! That lady’s all over this episode! First in a bit about her clothing, and now in a bit about closing. Case closed.
Oh, and then there’s another Elmo’s World. It’s Elmo, he’s thinking about something, his fish has an overactive imagination, the weird neighbor guy has trouble putting on his pants. You know what it’s all about.
All in all, the episode was good. Not great, not spectacular, and definitely not worthy of a season premiere. But good. I have high hopes for future episodes, though I do wish that we started things off with more of a bang. But hey, maybe all that excitement I expected was just camouflaged in the background. Yeah, that’s probably it.
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by Joe Hennes – Joe@ToughPigs.com
