What kind of action will get SW's attention?

[Rosewood]

This may be a question aimed more at people like the moderators and people with connections to Sesame Workshop, but I would also be open for any suggestions from people who are genuinely interested in possibly making some headway here in regards to possibly convincing SW that the old episodes are still important to us.

The question is this: If we, the people of the first generation, (along with others who wish to become aquainted with it) ever hope to see some of the early episodes (that have now been digitally remastered) again, what do we need to do to convince Sesame Workshop that this is an important subject that needs to be addressed? And what would be the best way to go about it?

In regards to what Fozzie said recently, If the people of SW really do read our posts here, than this is not something to be taken lightly. And in regards to that I would ask anyone responding to this thread to please do so in a respectfull and mature manner. This is a thread for anyone who wishes to get together and do a little "brainstorming", if you will. I am open for any serious, productive suggestions from anyone. However, little petty, snide, or immature comments of any kind will not be tollerated and will immediatly be refered to a moderator. This thread will now be open for discussion.

 

[BEAR]

Rose,

I am supportive in that you want to see more classic episodes available, but how do you want them to be shown? Do you want them to air complete episodes from the past, some more classic clips thrown in to the current shows, classic episodes released in a dvd set? How?

Also, remember that they include older clips in many of the Sesame Street DVD/home videos released. in A Celebration of Me, Grover there were a lot of great classic moments.

I would just love to see either classic episodes aired like they used to on Noggin or start releasing season sets on DVD (or atleast highlights from each season). I don't think they need to replace the new current show in any way. We still need the fresh stuff to keep with the times.

Just what is it exactly that you are going for?

 

[Rosewood]

Rose,

I am supportive in that you want to see more classic episodes available, but how do you want them to be shown? Do you want them to air complete episodes from the past, some more classic clips thrown in to the current shows, classic episodes released in a dvd set? How?

Also, remember that they include older clips in many of the Sesame Street DVD/home videos released. in A Celebration of Me, Grover there were a lot of great classic moments.

I would just love to see either classic episodes aired like they used to on Noggin or start releasing season sets on DVD (or atleast highlights from each season). I don't think they need to replace the new current show in any way. We still need the fresh stuff to keep with the times.

Just what is it exactly that you are going for?

I good description of what I am getting at would be basically what Noggin put out, but in digitally remastered form, and aired on public telivision. I wouldn't be asking them to change their format of the present SS or to even give up any air time of it; that would be to confusing for todays kids. All they would need to do is get an hour durring the basic "low time" of the day, when the kids usually aren't watching, and use it to play some of the old episodes. Not in any specific order or anything, and the episodes wouldn't even have to be "exactly" the way they were originally aired, (i.e.- exact same letter, number, and song inserts in the exact order they originally appeared in, ect.
unless they had to use it to fit the format of the old street scenes). I know they have re-vamped some of the new formats by showing a re-run of the begining story and then made the letter and number of the day different in order to be able to give it a "new" episode number.
As for the issue of using footage that they have used in video releases, that should not be a problem. Although they have claimed it a "legal" issue in the past, I don't see how they can use it to stand on when they show songs like "C is for cookie", "Put down the duckie", and "The Telephone Rock" in the new shows and in multiple videos as well.
If they wanted to go a different rout and release the old episodes in season packages for sale, like they have started to do with The Muppet Show, I would be just as happy. Either way would finally make the older episodes available to the public. And believe me, there are ALOT of people out here, (myself included!), who would be more than willing to pay good money for early episodes that have now been "touched up". (The reason I emphasize touched up is because the episodes that they released to noggin had not been worked on at all. It has been stated in past articles written on the subject that SW was just starting to get going on the digital enhansement of these episodes when Noggin agreed to start the "Unpaved" program, and in turn, had to give up a good portion of these episodes that were in line for restoration at the time.) I know they have also said that releasing episodes would possibly limit their legal right to use certain sketches in current episodes, but again, I don't think this is actually true due to the same reason I stated earlier. Does this help make more sense?

 

[BEAR]

Yeah, that does help. Thank you. I would love for them to bring back classic SS reruns (like Unpaved) only on a more accessable station. I can't get this new Sprout channel so that doesn't work for me. It would be even better if they could release season sets. They could be full episodes, or just the highlights and street stories (considering they reuse certain scenes mulitiple times in a season). I am sure it would earn a lot of money that SW could use to make even more Sesame greatness now! That would be the best way since they would be getting money from it to put back into the projects.

 

[Rosewood]

Heres another possibility......

My husband came up with another idea that could possibly save them more $. Have you ever watched "The Tonight Show" and noticed how, sometimes as often as once a month, Jay Leno will simply up and take a week long vacation and simply show re-runs for an entire week? What if SW did the same thing, say once a month, and for a week or so simply ran re-runs of old SS (using a different name to avoid confusion. Say like "Sesame Memories" for example?) instead of the re-runs of the present day programs. Or, if they didn't want it to last that long, mabey they could swing a deal with PBS and do an all-day SS marathon of older shows? I know they have done things like this with shows like "Dragon Tails" and "Mya and Miguell" in the past.Why not SS???????

 

[mikebennidict]

they can just show the older episodes once in a while. and if kids get confused, so what. I mean it's not tramatic and at least they wouldn't be doing it every day and the parents can try to explain to them the best way they can think of and if they don't understand certain things, than they can tell them, you'll understand when you're a little older. ijt may even be nice for them to learn what SS was like years ago especially if their parents watched these older shows.

 

[minor muppetz]

Maybe PBS could air reruns during a late night time slot. I don't know if PBS normally runs 24 hours a day or, if not, when PBS goes off the air, but maybe at an 11 p.m. or midnight showing of really old episodes. Maybe there could be a cycle of 100 episodes shown every three months and then PBS could change the episodes that get rerun. For example, during a premier night of these reruns, The first episode could be shown, and after every hundred episodes are rerun, this one could be repeated again, but after three months, once the 100 episodes of the cycle is done, the first episode wouldn't be shown for awhile. Maybe it could be shown after a few cycles or during the next year.

The first rerun cycle could focus mostly on monumental episodes. Basically, introductions (most season premiers, first appearances of certain characters) and major changes (Snuffy no longer being imaginary, Hooper's Store getting rebuilt). Perhaps for each cycle (at least afterwards) there could be one multi-part storyline.

 

[Censored]

Maybe PBS could air reruns during a late night time slot. I don't know if PBS normally runs 24 hours a day or, if not, when PBS goes off the air, but maybe at an 11 p.m. or midnight showing of really old episodes. Maybe there could be a cycle of 100 episodes shown every three months and then PBS could change the episodes that get rerun. For example, during a premier night of these reruns, The first episode could be shown, and after every hundred episodes are rerun, this one could be repeated again, but after three months, once the 100 episodes of the cycle is done, the first episode wouldn't be shown for awhile. Maybe it could be shown after a few cycles or during the next year.

The first rerun cycle could focus mostly on monumental episodes. Basically, introductions (most season premiers, first appearances of certain characters) and major changes (Snuffy no longer being imaginary, Hooper's Store getting rebuilt). Perhaps for each cycle (at least afterwards) there could be one multi-part storyline.

The trouble with a "late night" slot is that nostalgic adults may not be able to share their memories with their own children. Sesame Street from the 70's and 80's is still good for children, even if adults like it too.

 

[Rosewood]

The many avenues of PBS

I don't know what its like in other states, but where I live in Utah, we receive 2 PBS - based channels: channel 7, which is the actual PBS representative, and also channel 11 (KBYU) which is a privately owned channel that bases the majority of its programs in the footsteps of PBS by showing the exact same programs most of the day. And on top of that, the company we (my husband and I) get our T.V. through (called USDTV) provides us with 2 different versions of PBS (7) - (one for kids shows, and one for more adult programs like Nature and National Geographic), and the same goes for channel 11. But, with all this company does offer, It still doesn't provide anything like Noggin or Sprout, which is maddening! It does show me, however, that PBS (or actually the programs it broadcasts, like SS) has many different avenues that they could use to broadcast some old SS re-runs. It seems to me that the people we are really going to have to convince here are the people of Sesame Workshop who are now the sole owners of all of these digitally enhansed episodes. I write them about this subject on a regular basis, but, other than a one time generic response, I have got no feed back what so ever on this. That is why I have hoped to get some advise from people like Phil Chapman or Fozzie or mabey some members that have some connections to find out what we need to do to start getting our requests noticed.

 

[Ilikemuppets]

I know they have sprout out and everything, but maybe they could do for childrens shows what they did for sitcoms. They could have a like T.V. land sort of channel for nostalgic educational programming. the only problem with T.V. Land is they don't show what they used to, and I would be concerned for the same fate of that channel.