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Sesame Street: 20 Years and Still Counting

Save off the regular price! Order "Sesame Street: 20 Years and Still Counting" on DVD.

Phillip Chapman (July 7, 2010) - From "Song of the Cloud Forest" in April to "Dog City: The Movie" in June, Lionsgate continues to release sought-after favorites one after another.

Arriving on DVD for the first time this Tuesday July 13, is one of the all-time most beloved Sesame Street retrospectives ever produced, "Sesame Street: 20 and Still Counting".

Originally broadcast on April 7, 1989, this one-hour special is a delight and was the most in-depth look at Sesame Street's history at the time. The special is hosted by Bill Cosby, at the height of his illustrious career. Bill has made numerous appearances on Sesame Street and starred in the first season of The Electric Company. He blends wonderfully into the Sesame Street world and was the perfect choice to host.

OVERALL PRESENTATION

The main menu on the DVD features a generic upbeat tune against a brightly colored background. Stills of different Muppets pop in and out of frame while video clips from the actual special are seen in the upper right-hand corner. There are three options: play, scenes and subtitles (English and Spanish).

As is common with specials of that era, the show is split between four main segments. Each segment concludes nicely with a newly performed Sesame Street song. The runtime of the special as presented here is 47 minutes, 19 seconds. "Sesame Street: 20 and Still Counting" was dedicated to Joe Raposo, the musical director of Sesame Street who passed away several months before the special aired.

SHOW OPEN
Jim Henson and Kermit
Bill Cosby and Kermit
Song: The Kids sing the "Sesame Street Theme"

SEGMENT #1
Ernie and Bert: Sesame Street on TV
Cast Interviews: Bob McGrath, Loretta Long and Roscoe Orman
Kermit and Grover: Frog on the Street
Kermit meets Sharla and Fannie as adults
Bill Cosby meets Big Bird
Song: Big Bird sings "What A Bird"

SEGMENT #2
The Count Counts Commercial Breaks
Bill Cosby and the Monsters
Adults remember Sesame Street
Animations and Films: Making it Count
Music and Parodies: Keeping it Current
Bill Cosby meets Elmo
Expanding Curriculum: Science Corner
Ernie and Bert at Oscar's Can
Song: Ray Charles sings "Bein' Green"

SEGMENT #3
The Count Counts Commercial Breaks
Ernie and Bert at the Fix-It-Shop
Herry meets Jon Jon as an adult
Jim Henson interviews Joan Ganz Cooney
"Rubbie Duckie" around the World
Sesame's International Co-productions
Bill Cosby meets Placido Flamingo
Song: Placido Domingo sing "Look Through the Window" with Placido Flamingo

SEGMENT #4
The Count Counts Commercial Breaks
Luis and Maria's Wedding
Maria's Pregnant
Gordon and Susan Adopt Miles
Mr. Hooper dies
Bill Cosby meets Cookie Monster
Kermit, Don Music and Grover: Question of the Day
Song: The Cast sings "Sing"

The special appears uncut as was originally broadcast with the exception of the 40 second credit roll over the "Sesame Street Theme" at the end of the special. Surprisingly, there is also no "Jim Henson Home Entertainment" logo at the end of the special as well. There are also no Lionsgate trailers for other DVD's as has been the case with their previous releases.

It's a minor quibble, but the edits between the show's commercial breaks aren't always clean. For example, halfway through the special you can still faintly hear the background music trail from some of the shows slate bumpers advertising sponsors "Clorox" and "OshKosh B'gosh" from the original broadcast. It's just a millisecond of audio but it's a mistake nonetheless.

PACKAGING

The DVD is enclosed in Kermit green packaging, a very nice touch. The cover also reads, "guest starring Kermit the Frog."

Like with "Dog City: The Movie" released on DVD last month, Disney deserves high praise for allowing Kermit's scenes to remain uncut on this special. Hopefully, we'll see even more of this in the future.

CONCLUDING THOUGHTS

We are delighted that the "Sesame Street: 20 and Still Counting" special is now on DVD. It's a must-have. This is one of the three best Sesame Street retrospectives ever produced. (Our other favorites are the A&E Biography on Sesame Street and the 1999 TVLand special, "Sesame Street Unpaved".)

Lionsgate continues to deliver. Pre-order their next release, "Henson's Place: The Man Behind The Muppets" the wonderful 1984 documentary behind the Muppet Show, Muppet movies, Fraggle Rock and so much more. Then in September, Lionsgate will release "Fraggle Rock: Scared Silly" featuring three episodes plus unreleased bonus features. Help ensure that Lionsgate continues to release Henson treasures on DVD by ordering these titles today.

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