Big Bird

Does anyone think that Big Bird should be controled using the same technology as the gorgs where Matt is in the suit controlling the body, and Caroll is controling the haed movements and mouth by remote control.

Matt could do the physical stuff while caroll could provide the voice.

i think Big Bird and Oscar should "move on" when Carrol retires or passes

That's actually not that bad a solution. I think that the Jim Henson Creature Shop has reached a stage now, that their animatronics could articulate fluidly enough to properly reproduce Carroll's hand movements.

As for the second comment, no, please don't retire the characters when Carroll calls it quits. Just because "it just isn't the same", the characters are just too much a part of the show. There's only a few hundred episodes over the past 36 years where Big Bird or Oscar hasn't shown up, at least for a cameo.

Nick

I didn't mean retirement, I mean currently.