Old School DVDs and the number 2

[CherryPizza]

After finally finding a copy on the shelves in Australia, I am currently watching volume 2 of the Old School DVDs.

Yes, the discs are wonderful, and the purpose is clear. Yes, it's wonderful to see (mostly) intact episodes from years gone by. You've heard the praise from many people on this forum, and it will be echoed by me.

However, I must draw your attention to a vital issue that nobody has been brave enough to raise. I must expose the suspected conspiracy. Is Sesame Workshop trying to corner a niche market of those who have an unhealthy fetish for... the number two?

Why must just about every episode included be sponsored by the number two? How many times can I (and my fellow viewers) see the number 2 Baker sketch or the 'two little girls, two little dolls, two cats' song before appreciation turns into monotony or, even worse, being sucked in to the twisted number 2 cult?

Has Sesame Workshop been possessed by a group of loons who spend their nights around the campfire, reciting tales of Noah's Ark and praising its message about going through life two-by-two? Are we not meant to notice that 2 is the atomic number for helium, a substance which can make the most devoted Old School SS viewer sound like the New School attention hog that is Elmo? Are we meant to be sucked into series of dichotomies, where everything is either good or bad, and we see no shades of grey? Is it something much less sophisticated, trying to lure us away from intelligent humour to lowbrow toilet jokes about 'number twos'?

Or is it all just a big coincidence?

 

[minor muppetz]

I know that this issue has been brought up on the forums before.

Anyway, the two Old School sets include the first ten season premiere episodes, and the first 12 premieres were all sponsored by the number 2 (the first episode was sponsored by 2 and 3... But only one 3 segment appeared in that episode).

It seems like throughout the first 10-12 years the order of number sponsors were numerical while the order of letter sponsors were more random. The first season number sponsors were 2-10, and most of the first season had two number sponsors, while 10 sponsored all it's episodes without the help of other numbers. And for most of the season each week would be sponsored by the same letters and numbers (I think some episodes in the week would have less sponsors than others). Near the end of the season there would be shows in a row sponsored by different numbers, in numerical order (it seems like even the number 1 sponsored a few shows with 2 and 3). And apparrently the last ten shows of the first season were sponsored by one number each.

Then in season two each episode started beign sponsored by just one number, and they stopped having the same letters and numbers sponsor the whole week of episodes. And they expanded the sponsoring numbers to 12, while also teaching kids to count as high as 20 (though the first season had sketches that taught to count to 20).

At the time I'm sure that Sesame Workshop didn't think that the season premeires would ever be grouped together on a commercial release. Interestingly, the 40th anniversary box set has zero sketches about the number two (though it does have "Two Princes", which is about cooperation as opposed to counting). Could that have been done to make up with so much 2 on those 2 sets?