Sesame Street Season 46 Press Kit; HBO premiere set for Saturday January 16, 2016

[Daffyfan4ever]

So is any one else ready for the premiere, I'm mooching off a friend's HBO so how are you guys watching SST.

Well, it depends on if I can find them online or not. I may have to wait nine months until PBS airs them. We'll see.

Even ALVINNN!!! AND THE CHIPMUNKS did an episode where Dave drags the Chipmunks on a camping trip because he feels they're too addicted to their video games and cellphones . . . and they're absolutely miserable when they realize their cabin has no signal for their phones.

I think that one may be next in line for me to watch on my DVD if we're talking about the same episode, but that's a bit irrelevant. Lol.

 

[Oscarfan]

The fact that this article mentions that Sonia "moved out" and "younger Latina Nina moved in" seems to only add fuel to my speculation that Sonia's departure wasn't entirely her choice; the idea of replacing Maria with a younger Latina character (one that was described in this very article as a "living Dora the Explorer") sounds very much like a show business move that's been around for a long time: dumping older actors in favor of younger ones.

Considering how long certain cast members have been around, I doubt she was forced out. Sonia has said she was considering leaving for a good while and just happened to do it before season 46 started taping. She certainly had less to do each season, and it was her decision, not SW's.

The description of the new cast member seems based around the writer's own thoughts, not the actual intent of the producers.

 

[D'Snowth]

I am aware of all that, it just doesn't help that bringing in a "younger Latina to replace Maria" has happened in the timely manner of which it has.

 

[Drtooth]

And here's one that discusses the changes from a perspective within the organization, including how/why Joey Mazzarino left:

http://www.vulture.com/2016/01/what-does-hbo-mean-for-sesame-street.html

That article really pointed out what I feared to be the case. While old school fans were always whine...errr...concerned about the show being dumbed down, it seems like there's an air of that happening on purpose here, and all because of the former Nick and HIT guy. The fact someone involved with lesser and more patronizing kid's programming being a consultant doesn't sit right with me. Not at all. The thing that really sours me on the fact they're talking directly to the youngest of the audience again is they finally turned that corner that Elmo's World dug them into with the batch of engineering and science episodes that brought the older (5 year olds, relatively older) audiences back. Now they're going back into the 2-3 range again, it sounds like.

I am glad, however, there will be fewer celebrity segments - as I've said before, the oversaturation of celebrity guests in recent seasons felt like a contrived move of desperation on SST's part to try to stay relevant for both kids and adults, epsecially when even the street stories felt more like a day in the limelight for whatever celebrity guest they had.

Considering the reasons why, I'm mixed. There's no doubt that Sesame Street relying that much on parody and celebrity the past decade or so seems a little bit...well... desperate to stand out in the over-saturated market of preschool shows. Those were no doubt for older fans and parents watching, not to mention the press to keep Sesame a household name in the massive ocean of little kiddy entertainment. And the scary thing is, it's good now. Nick still holds onto the "sitting around answering their own questions" model, but Disney has some actual great programming that never feels patronizing. The Lion Guard is pretty good, and TLK fans might just get some enjoyment out of it. Back to the subject, the show's biggest concern was budget, and I've been saying the Word of the Day celebrity bits must've cost them an arm and a leg for both celeb costs and flying puppeteers out to California to perform with them. If there's one segment I felt needed to go, it was that one.

The parodies, however.... no let's be honest. They were NEVER for the kids. And we've had them since the 70's when they also weren't meant for the kids. They were for both the writers and performers to have some fun, and for the parents who were strongly encouraged to watch with their kids. I for one didn't get the Rebel L bit until I was older, mainly because my parents didn't listen to that kind of current music from the 80's. To be fair, there was stuff I did get because my parents listened to or watched some of it, but that's a long tangent. And the parodies were either shallow puns based on the titles or actually researched bits and always have been. The problem I do have with the parodies, however, was how important they were getting. The fact they basically had to advertise the heck out of them felt, like I said earlier, a bit desperate to stay relevant. They were listing "Girl Scouts" and the game of "Simon Says" as parodies when... well... that's ridiculous. To say the least, you can't really parody girl scouts, really (at least the way they did it). They said an episode was a parody of something when it wasn't as well. I liked it better when we didn't know when these jokes were coming up instead of impatiently waiting for them.

Oh... and by the way, I just found this on YT. The first clip we're seeing of the HBO run. Enjoy.

 

[Pig'sSaysAdios]

That article really pointed out what I feared to be the case. While old school fans were always whine...errr...concerned about the show being dumbed down, it seems like there's an air of that happening on purpose here, and all because of the former Nick and HIT guy. The fact someone involved with lesser and more patronizing kid's programming being a consultant doesn't sit right with me. Not at all. The thing that really sours me on the fact they're talking directly to the youngest of the audience again is they finally turned that corner that Elmo's World dug them into with the batch of engineering and science episodes that brought the older (5 year olds, relatively older) audiences back. Now they're going back into the 2-3 range again, it sounds like.



Considering the reasons why, I'm mixed. There's no doubt that Sesame Street relying that much on parody and celebrity the past decade or so seems a little bit...well... desperate to stand out in the over-saturated market of preschool shows. Those were no doubt for older fans and parents watching, not to mention the press to keep Sesame a household name in the massive ocean of little kiddy entertainment. And the scary thing is, it's good now. Nick still holds onto the "sitting around answering their own questions" model, but Disney has some actual great programming that never feels patronizing. The Lion Guard is pretty good, and TLK fans might just get some enjoyment out of it. Back to the subject, the show's biggest concern was budget, and I've been saying the Word of the Day celebrity bits must've cost them an arm and a leg for both celeb costs and flying puppeteers out to California to perform with them. If there's one segment I felt needed to go, it was that one.

The parodies, however.... no let's be honest. They were NEVER for the kids. And we've had them since the 70's when they also weren't meant for the kids. They were for both the writers and performers to have some fun, and for the parents who were strongly encouraged to watch with their kids. I for one didn't get the Rebel L bit until I was older, mainly because my parents didn't listen to that kind of current music from the 80's. To be fair, there was stuff I did get because my parents listened to or watched some of it, but that's a long tangent. And the parodies were either shallow puns based on the titles or actually researched bits and always have been. The problem I do have with the parodies, however, was how important they were getting. The fact they basically had to advertise the heck out of them felt, like I said earlier, a bit desperate to stay relevant. They were listing "Girl Scouts" and the game of "Simon Says" as parodies when... well... that's ridiculous. To say the least, you can't really parody girl scouts, really (at least the way they did it). They said an episode was a parody of something when it wasn't as well. I liked it better when we didn't know when these jokes were coming up instead of impatiently waiting for them.

Oh... and by the way, I just found this on YT. The first clip we're seeing of the HBO run. Enjoy.

Aaww,well DANG IT! I had a feeling they were gonna dumb down the show.

 

[Oscarfan]

Found some pics of their OITNB spoof:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BAdOdDax9cL/

Hey, it's Prairie!

 

[antsamthompson9]

I'm telling you: Kevin needs to come back. If he takes back his job as senior creative adviser, everything will go back to the way it was and we'll all be happy. All the cases for him were thrown out and dismissed, so his name must be cleared by now.

 

[D'Snowth]

The thing of it is, if Kevin came back, that doesn't automatically mean everything will go back to the way they were - he may have clout, but I'm sure his word wouldn't be the exact final say (that apparently was the case with Joey). Likewise, the cases may have been dismissed or thrown out, but this is still a blemish that has discredited him,.

 

[MuppetSpot]

I think Prairie Dawn is out of retirement.

 

[Oscarfan]

I'm telling you: Kevin needs to come back. If he takes back his job as senior creative adviser, everything will go back to the way it was and we'll all be happy. All the cases for him were thrown out and dismissed, so his name must be cleared by now.

There's no evidence that none of these changes wouldn't have been made regardless of Kevin's presence. I honestly can't say this is good or bad. It's just change. Things change. That happens. I'll probably still enjoy the final product. But let's not kid ourselves. This show isn't for adults or Muppet fans; it's primarily for kids, has been, always will be. If the show doesn't please/entertain kids, it's not doing its job.