Baby Bear

BEAR 2

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Forgive me if this has been discussed already, but can we talk about Baby Bear? Does he still appear pretty regularly on the show? I feel like he doesn’t pop up quite as often anymore. Correct me if I’m wrong. He’s such a great character.
 

MuppetSpot

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Forgive me if this has been discussed already, but can we talk about Baby Bear? Does he still appear pretty regularly on the show? I feel like he doesn’t pop up quite as often anymore. Correct me if I’m wrong. He’s such a great character.
It seems as of late Baby Bear is getting less screentime, though they have been focusing more on the Two-Headed Monster.
 

D'Snowth

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Yeah, certain Muppet characters like Baby Bear and Telly to a lesser extent are being seen less and less these days. There was a big shakeup a couple of years ago with Sesame Workshop overhauling its staff - many of their new staff members having come from Viacom - and part of their agenda was to reduce the number of characters appearing on the show to what they called a "Core Six," as most other preschool shows tend to have a small number of main characters of just three or more. Said "Core Six" consists of Big Bird, Oscar, Elmo, Abby, Grover, and Cookie Monster: that doesn't guarantee that all of these characters will be seen on the show in every episode, but that they are the six characters who you are most likely to see in any given episode. Of course, that also doesn't mean that other characters have completely gotten the boot either: matter of fact, Count, Ernie and Bert, and Rosita still appear quite frequently as well, and other characters such as Baby Bear, Telly, Prairie Dawn, and Zoe are still around, they're just being seen less and less.

The human cast, meanwhile, has officially been pruned down to Alan, Chris, and the newest addition Nina. Sonia Manzano officially retired a few years ago, and all the others are no longer on the series proper, but are still involved with other Sesame projects outside of the show.

As for Baby Bear, I really like what David Rudman has been doing with the character since Season 30 onward: prior to that, I found Baby Bear to be a rather annoying character: always whining and complaining about Goldilocks, always having tantrums whenever Goldilocks would show up, it was almost like an obsession with him - not to mention, like Kevin Clash's early Elmo, early Baby Bear had that gritty voice that could be quite irritating. But since Season 30, Baby Bear has become quite an interesting and fun character: he and Telly make a good pair, both have their moments of childlike qualities that test their friendship, but Baby Bear usually also tends to be the voice of reason between the two. I also enjoy the occasional little one-liners that Baby Bear will zing, such as the time Telly accidentally hurt him and tries to distance themselves as much as he can to avoid doing it again, to which Baby Bear tells him he would like to go back to playing together in close proximity, "at least within the same zipcode."
 
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Pig'sSaysAdios

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Yeah, it is a shame Baby Bear is such an underrated character. In season 46, I think he only had one cameo and that was it. No one seems to even bring him up. Plus, I don't think i've ever seen him make guest appearances on talk shows like all the others (even newer characters like Murray, Abby, and Rudy) have.

I always thought it would be interesting if they teamed him up with Prairie Dawn, given their introverted tendencies, the fact that they're both somewhat precocious, their appreciation of art, and the fact that they're often more serious compared to their friends. There's also a lot of family related topics they have yet to explore that I think would be perfect for his family, given that's his whole shtick.
 

D'Snowth

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I also remember before Lulu became a character, they attempted to break down gender barriers by having him be a cheerleader along with Zoe and Rosita on occasion: complete with a uniform and pompoms and everything.

I've been thinking though, and I'm curious, but has Curly Bear been seen in recent years? I can't remember the last time I saw her on the show, but being amazed at how fast she was growing by walking and talking (albeit in baby sentences) in such a short amount of time . . . well, short for typical age-defying fictional characters (unlike Natasha).
 

Pig'sSaysAdios

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I also remember before Lulu became a character, they attempted to break down gender barriers by having him be a cheerleader along with Zoe and Rosita on occasion: complete with a uniform and pompoms and everything.

I've been thinking though, and I'm curious, but has Curly Bear been seen in recent years? I can't remember the last time I saw her on the show, but being amazed at how fast she was growing by walking and talking (albeit in baby sentences) in such a short amount of time . . . well, short for typical age-defying fictional characters (unlike Natasha).
The last time we saw Curly Bear was in season 44, right before Baby Bear was demoted.
 

D'Snowth

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I've seen very little of 39-45, so that explains it, heh.

What about Papa Bear and Mama Bear? Seems like I recall even before then, he actually made a switch from his favorite derby to a more contemporary fedora.
 

Pig'sSaysAdios

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I've seen very little of 39-45, so that explains it, heh.

What about Papa Bear and Mama Bear? Seems like I recall even before then, he actually made a switch from his favorite derby to a more contemporary fedora.
Well, in more recent years Papa Bear seemed to appear a lot more than Mama Bear, although I guess it's always been like that to a certain extent. I think the last time I remember seeing her might've been in 2009, but don't take my word on that. Papa Bear, on the other hand usually appeared once or twice per season through season 45.
 

LittleJerry92

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I'll be honest,

I was never a big fan of Baby Bear.... His voice is really straining for me with that speech impediment of his.
 
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