Sesame Street Season 42, Episode Recap: Week 3

Sesame Street Season 42

Episode Recap: Week 3

by Shane Keating

EPISODE 4264 – GOODBYE PACIFIER

Baby Bear is having a hard time getting Curly Bear to give up her binky. Elmo tells the tale of how hard it was for him to give up his own pacifier.

I liked this one, especially because Elmo was actually useful and his attempts to lose his binky were extremely funny. However, I'm sure some people weren't so keen on the idea that Leela, Chris and Abby helped Elmo give up his binky, for continuity reasons.

New Segments and Other Highlights:

• Liev Schreiber, Naomi Watts, and Elmo show "exchange."
• Murray and Ovejita skip science today and instead present the letter and number of the day.
• Animation: The story of Wacky Wild Waldo. I'm glad they used a 4:3 segment, especially one that hasn't been since it's 2006 debut.
• Leslie Feist's "1234" spoof appears again.
• Reused Super Grover 2.0. When are we getting some Bert and Ernie's Great Adventures?
• Cartoon: A child gives up their pacifier. I'm enjoying seeing more "random" film and cartoon inserts this year.

EPISODE 4265 – THE GOOD BIRDS CLUB

Big Bird has gotten an invitation to join the Good Birds Club. The leader, a mean pigeon, makes fun of him and denies him access to the club. Big Bird uses Abby's magic to change himself to fit their standards, but Abby and Elmo think he's fine the way he is. By the end, Big Bird learns that he doesn't need to be in the club to be a good bird and starts a "Happy to Be Me" club with his friends.

I can't think of anything negative to say about this story. Everything was so great. The message, the characters, they all just gelled. I think this may be the best performance from Abby I've ever seen. This one should go down in the Sesame history books.

New Segments and Other Highlights:

• Mila Kunis talks about the word "include," while Elmo wants to join the dancing sheep.
• Cartoon: A creature learns how to deal with bullies. I like the style of this one.
• Murray and Ovejita present the letter I, the number 9 and play a game of "Murray's Cubbies." I like the yak puppet they had in the letter segment.
• Cartoon: A song about the letter Y. It's cute visually, but a bit frantic for my tastes.
• Abby's Flying Fairy School: The fairies learn how to make music form Morty the Musical Muse.
• Cartoon: A pigeon sings about count pigeons on a wire. It reminds me of those "Blowin' in the Wind" cartoon spoofs from the 90's.
• Finally, a "Bert and Ernie's Great Adventures" segment! It's a re-used one, but I'm glad they're using them still.
• Cartoon: Traction Jackson sings "Me and My Chair" (re-used bit from season 35).

EPISODE 4267 – THE BIG BAD WOLF HUFFS AND PUFFS SLIMEY

Tired of chasing the Three Little Pigs, the Big Bad Wolf decides to huff and puff Slimey instead, making him land in Snuffy's lunch. Alan teaches him to talk with an adult when someone is bothering him and they all confront the Wolf about his huffing and puffing problem.

A second bullying episode this week and it's also really good. Tyler Bunch's thespian Wolf is great, though I wish they'd keep him with a consistent performer (Jerry Nelson did his voice in the season premiere).

New Segments and Other Highlights:

• Mark Ruffalo and Murray demonstrate the word "empathy." I like it better when the these bits explain a word that wasn't already explained-to-death in the street story.
• Murray and Ovejita skip science again and present the letter and number, plus other things. The letter bits are kind of getting repetitive to me.
• Animation: The Plain White T's parody of "Hey There Delilah," "I'm the Letter T" re-airs.
• Elmo and the Harlem Globetrotters show the number 3.
• Re-used Bert and Ernie's Great Adventures where the duo travel to Scotland and meet the Loch Ness Monster.
• "Change the World," the sequel to the popular "I Love My Hair" song from last year. I love it and I can't wait to see what they do next with this character.

EPISODE 4268 – BABY BEAR'S DOLL

While playing with Telly, Baby Bear tries to hide the fact that the baby doll he has actually belongs to him.  When his secret slips, he runs off. Gordon explains to him that dolls aren't just for girls. Baby Bear returns to find Telly's enjoying playing with the doll himself.

Another good episode, as most Telly/Baby Bear episodes are. A lot of the dialogue felt ad-libbed at times to me, which only goes to prove how well these two play off each other. I'm glad we've gotten this break from science-related stories to lessons Sesame Street is best at teaching.

New Segments and Other Highlights:

• Seth Rogen and Elmo show the word "embarrassed." Very funny bit.
• More Murray/Ovejita intros. Murray's game if "What's Missing" features him nose-less!
• Cartoon: A kangaroo looks for his mother using the letter K. Another segment that hasn't been seen since it's 2006 debut, so I'm glad to see it again.
• Elvis Costello, Cookie Monster, and Elmo sing "(Monster Went and) Ate My Red Two," a spoof of his song "(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes." I dig it, but Elmo really seems to be just "there."
• One of the new Super Grover 2.0's from earlier this season gets repeated. I knew this would happen, folks!
• A new version of the classic "Somebody Come and Play." This time, it's done by the kid chorus of P.S. 22 while they play with big red balls. It feels more like a music video than the previous incarnations of the song, but I like it.

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, ryguy102390@gmail.com