11 Favorite Count von Count Segments

11 Favorite Count von Count Segments

Michael Wermuth, Jr. - With Halloween coming up and everyone remembering Jerry Nelson, what better time to post a list of my favorite segments with Count von Count? Here are my picks for my Top 11. Why Top 11? Because I'm sure the Count would want a listing of his best moments to have more than just ten entries to count. Anyway, here's one, one wonderful list! Ah! Ah! Ah!

11. Beat the Time
When The Count appeared as a contestant on Guy Smiley's game show "Beat the Time," he was given 20 seconds to bring in two things that come from the sky. But being the Count, he spent that time COUNTING the seconds, but his trademark end-of-counting laugh brought in two things from the sky at the last second: thunder and lightning. Since bringing in two things from the sky is considered an impossible task, he was offered any prize that he wanted... and he chose another 20 seconds (he should have taken Guy Smiley's suggestion of one million dollars, since that's a higher number).

10. Counting Rings

In this segment, The Count hires Ernie to answer the telephone while he counts. He tells Ernie the job won't be easy, and sure enough, when the phone rings, the Count stops Ernie from answering the phone so he can count the rings. When Ernie is finally able to answer the phone, the caller has hung up. "I told you," says the Count, "It's not going to be easy!"

9. Little Miss Count-Along

Zoe joins the Count and a group of Anything Muppet doctors called "The Spin Doctors" for a parody of The Spin Doctor' hit "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong." I've never heard the original song, but this is a very fun tune. It's also a rare pairing of the Count and Zoe, proving that Count von Count worked well with practically every Muppet. Zoe seems to be having a fantastic time as well.

8. Count Up to Nine

I like the 1950s-style music quality of this song about counting to nine. The Count's vocals on this song are very great, as are the vocals of the bats. Jerry Nelson proved time and again why he was the Muppets' best singer, and this song is just another plain example. The Count's passion for counting to any number is great, but somehow his counting up to nine is pure magic.

7. The Count's Elevator Job
In this segment, The Count gets a job as an elevator operator, and his first customer is Kermit the Frog, who needs to go to the seventh floor. Of course, The Count would rather count all ten floors than stop at seven, but in the end he gets a solution: He'll count all ten floors while Kermit hops up the stairs. I wonder how long he kept his job (I bet he counted the days). Kermit is hysterical here, as always.

6. Squeal of Fortune

In this segment The Count is a contestant on Squeal of Fortune, competing against Prairie Dawn. The object of the game is to spin a wheel with a pig inside and guess how many times it will go around (and make the pig squeal). The Count ends up correctly guessing three, and after being offered many different prizes, he decides he wants the pig, and continues to spin and count the squeals.

5. Eight Beautiful Notes
Eight Beautiful Notes is such a beautiful song. The Count sings about playing and counting eight notes on an organ. It's quite a catchy tune. I especially like The Count's dialogue at the end: "It's twice as much fun as counting four notes! Or four times as much fun as counting two notes! Or eight times as much fun as counting one note!"

4. The Count Sleeps Over
A classic two-part sketch where the Count has to sleep over at Ernie and Bert's apartment. Bert lets the Count sleep in his bed while Bert sleeps on the couch, but since the Count isn't sleepy, Ernie tells him to count sheep. The Count does so, and in part two, The Count tells Bert he had a great night, but then reveals that he never slept. Of course his counting caused Ernie to not get any sleep, resulting in Ernie looking and counting like a zombie. It's very funny, though Ernie looks a little freaky after not getting any sleep.

3. Sesame Street News: Three Little Pigs
Kermit the Frog is supposed to interview the three little pigs, but The Count shows up to count them. His counting ends with the pigs not letting Kermit interview them, so Kermit goes to interview the residents of the next house, who end up being the seven dwarfs... whom the Count proceeds to interview.

2. Count and Cookie Monster Cooperate
After a cool introduction where they introduce themselves and say why they are called what they're called, the Count and Cookie Monster find a plate of cookies and argue over whether they should be eaten or counted, before cooperating: the Count counts them and then Cookie Monster eats them. It's a very funny sketch, and a good lesson in cooperation.

1. The Song of the Count
This is one of the Count's best-known songs (along with "The Batty Bat"). I like the glowing green lighting effects in this segment, the tune is quite catchy, and the Transylvanian music is fun to listen to. You can tell with this song that the Count really has fun counting and Jerry Nelson really had fun singing it.

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, muppetmindset@gmail.com