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Sesame Street Season 54
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Sam and Friends BookWe do have a lot of posts about the changes in SS that people hated. But we never have anything on more positive changes. There has to be some things that changed that others have liked, so this would be the place to discuss them. As far as I go, here are my favorites in no particular order.
Big Bird becomes a child - I have to admit, I don't find a big goofy version of Big Bird that endearing. he didn't seem to be the same kind of character. I think Carol really struck something by making the character more child like. He becomes more sympathetic, and much deeper a character. With characters that seem younger than him (i.e. Elmo) he seems like their bigger brother.
Snuffy's discovery While a lot of people like the original "imaginary Snuffy" years, I prefer the Snuffy out and about years myself. 2 reasons why: Firstly, as I've said before, I think big Bird is a sympathetic character. While the gag works on the same principle Road runner cartoons and episodes of I dream of Jeannie, Wile E. and Dr. Bellows were detestable in their own right, and they deserved that sort of abuse. The Bird is too sensitive a soul for that to work for me. And secondly, I like to see characters interact with as many other characters as possible. This allowed Snuffy to interact with the adults much more. Plus, I will add, I didn't like the ugly Snuffy they developed for his first season. pretty creepy looking.
Martin P. Robinson I'm lumping this into one group. As I mentioned Snuffy, that's one of the things I liked best. Where as Jerry Nelson's Snuffy was Eeorish (depressing), I felt Martin really changed the character to be more fun loving, especially with his friend Big Bird. This also applies to Telly Monster. While Brian did a good job with him, I think the character really popped with Martin's help. While still a worrier, he was now able to overly express other emotions, be he extremely happy, very angry, or just totally depressed. Plus, I do like his voice better anyway.
Journey to Ernie vs 2.0 While I can't say I was happy to see it go, I can't say I was disappointed either. After a dreadful first year, they came back, and made this segment almost enjoyable. I mean, they even got the classic 2 Headed Monster in on the act. Much better than it's first incarnation, and later segments were actually pretty fun to watch (Especially the B museum featurng Bob). I want to add, the segment that replaced it is also gone. Another great change.
overall character redesigns Well, up to the 90's anyway. Ernie and Bert were pretty ugly as characters to begin with, as well as various Anything Muppets. Orange Oscar doesn't do anything for me, and Big Bird without a feathery head looks like he's sick or something. I think most of the characters achived their perfect looks by 1989, and certain newer characters achived their looks years after their debut (Baby bear especially).
Big Bird becomes a child - I have to admit, I don't find a big goofy version of Big Bird that endearing. he didn't seem to be the same kind of character. I think Carol really struck something by making the character more child like. He becomes more sympathetic, and much deeper a character. With characters that seem younger than him (i.e. Elmo) he seems like their bigger brother.
Snuffy's discovery While a lot of people like the original "imaginary Snuffy" years, I prefer the Snuffy out and about years myself. 2 reasons why: Firstly, as I've said before, I think big Bird is a sympathetic character. While the gag works on the same principle Road runner cartoons and episodes of I dream of Jeannie, Wile E. and Dr. Bellows were detestable in their own right, and they deserved that sort of abuse. The Bird is too sensitive a soul for that to work for me. And secondly, I like to see characters interact with as many other characters as possible. This allowed Snuffy to interact with the adults much more. Plus, I will add, I didn't like the ugly Snuffy they developed for his first season. pretty creepy looking.
Martin P. Robinson I'm lumping this into one group. As I mentioned Snuffy, that's one of the things I liked best. Where as Jerry Nelson's Snuffy was Eeorish (depressing), I felt Martin really changed the character to be more fun loving, especially with his friend Big Bird. This also applies to Telly Monster. While Brian did a good job with him, I think the character really popped with Martin's help. While still a worrier, he was now able to overly express other emotions, be he extremely happy, very angry, or just totally depressed. Plus, I do like his voice better anyway.
Journey to Ernie vs 2.0 While I can't say I was happy to see it go, I can't say I was disappointed either. After a dreadful first year, they came back, and made this segment almost enjoyable. I mean, they even got the classic 2 Headed Monster in on the act. Much better than it's first incarnation, and later segments were actually pretty fun to watch (Especially the B museum featurng Bob). I want to add, the segment that replaced it is also gone. Another great change.
overall character redesigns Well, up to the 90's anyway. Ernie and Bert were pretty ugly as characters to begin with, as well as various Anything Muppets. Orange Oscar doesn't do anything for me, and Big Bird without a feathery head looks like he's sick or something. I think most of the characters achived their perfect looks by 1989, and certain newer characters achived their looks years after their debut (Baby bear especially).
, I personally thought it was a great idea, and really helped Sesame St. get back on it's feet after the time of depression it was going through( the death's Henson and Hunt). There was also a new line of supporting charcthers I should say( I don't think they were ever intended to steal the spotlight of much of the beloved classic muppets like Grover, Count, Herry, etc.). There were also new settings on the street, like the Furry Arms Hotel or The Park(my favorite location), which gave the writers many creative storylines to come up with. In the end, I loved AtC and was sad to see it go.
