Comic Con Street

San Diego Comic Con was held over the weekend, and as we noted in our News Updates, Sesame Street and The Jim Henson Company both held panels at the world's biggest fan convention. Updates on the Henson panel are still coming in, but the Sesame Street panels were a major success.

Our friends at Nerdist.com have a great recap of the main Sesame Street panel, which featured Eric Jacobson and Grover, Joey Mazzarino and Murray, David Rudman and Cookie Monster, and Carol-Lynn Parente (and hosted by Nerdist's own Chris Hardwick).

The first panel held for Sesame Street was a conversation with the Muppet performers and Muppets, hosted by the amazing Zachary Levi. Lucky for us non-Comic Con attendees, NerdHQ filmed the entire panel for us. It's half an hour long, and 100% delightful. I highly, highly recommend watching it. Joey Mazzarino and Murray steals the show.



Earlier that day, Sesame Street took to Vine to show off Bert's new cosplay costume. Is he Bertman? Batbert? The world may never know.



Then, Murray presented a special edition of "Word on the Street."



And finally, Cookie Monster found his favorite Comic Con costume.



Sesame Street also shared a lot on Instragram from the photo shoot available with Grover, Murray, and Cookie Monster later in the day. Check out some of the great photos below!



Chris Hardwick with his furry friends.



The Nerdist panel.



Zachary Levi with the gang.



Bertman scales the building.



Chris Hardwick with Grover.



Our friend Gina Selim with Bert!



We'll be back with more Comic Con coverage as it comes down the pipeline!





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

Ten Favorite Waiter Grover Segments

Michael Wermuth, Jr. - Today I'm going to write about my top ten favorite "Waiter Grover" segments. Hopefully your favorites will be on the menu -- err, I mean list. 

10.   Outdoor Restaurant 

Mr. Johnson goes to Charlie's outdoor restaurant on a very windy day, where the wind blows the customer's food away. Unfortunately, it doesn't blow the bill away (and apparently he has to pay even though he didn't get to eat his food).

9.   Picture Menu 

An early segment from before Mr. Johnson would be as grumpy as he would be known for.  Mr. Johnson orders a sandwich exactly like the one pictured on the menu, making Grover go back until it is exactly like the one pictured. And when it's finally as it should be, Mr. Johnson's lunch hour is over. Interestingly, he does not get mad that he missed lunch, and doesn't even get a to-go box. He just calmly gets up as if missing lunch wasn't a big deal. 

8.   Singing and Dancing Waiter

 Grover works at a Spanish restaurant, where he is required to sing and dance as he serves the food. However, whenever he sings and dances, he ends up spilling the food. One funny thing is when Mr. Johnson suggests he sit the food down before dancing, Grover sits the food onto the floor as opposed to the table. 

7.   Bawk-bawk Sandwich 

One of the few segments where Grover's restaurant customer is not Mr. Johnson, but the similar-looking Simon Soundman (who at one point implies that they are brothers). Simon asks for a chicken sandwich, but due to the way he talks, he makes the chicken sound instead of saying "Chicken sandwich," leading Grover to bring in different kidns of sandwiches, including an elephant sandwich (which is just a toy elephant), a guitar sandwich, and a telephone sandwich. The fact that the restaurant would actually serve guitar and telephone sandwiches is funny. 

6.   First, Next, and Last

Mr. Johnson orders coffee, soup, and pie, and wants them all in the same order. Grover keeps getting the order mixed up, until Mr. Johnson says he wants everything else before the pie, causing Grover to actually bring everything else on the menu to the table at once. Of course Grover could have just brought all of his customers orders at once and Johnson could have eaten in the order he wanted. 

5.   Waiter Memory

Mr. Johnson orders a cheeseburger and french fries, but instead of writing it down, Grover has his own method for remembering: Make a poem out of his customers orders. With the rhyme "Round and tasty on a bun/pickles, french fries/yum, yum, yum!" Grover brings his customer a grapefruit on bread. It is then time for the waiter's lunch break, and for some reason Grover gets the idea to order a hamburger and fries. 

4.   Spaghetti 

Grover works at an Italian restaurant, where Mr. Johnson orders spaghetti. Unfortunately, Grover only brings out one piece, then two, then one again, before bringing in too much, spilling it on his customer. This segment is really funny, I like the set used for this restaurant, and all that spaghetti looks so tasty. 

3.   CH Sounds

It's Charlie's birthday, and in honor of his birthday, the restaurant only serves items that begin with the "CH" sound. Mr. Johnson ends up ordering a cheeseburger with chocolate ice cream, and this time Grover gets his order right and brought in right away, but before Mr. Johnson can enjoy his meal, the table gets taken away, as table does not begin with "CH." One neat thing about this segment is it's perhaps the only one where the outside of the restaurant is shown. 

2.   Rival Waiter 

Mr. Johnson actually gets a different waiter, Pino, but then Grover shows up and they argue over who is supposed to serve at Mr. Johnson's table. Mr. Johnson actually doesn't care who his waiter is, and they cooperate to bring in food, bringing in nearly everything until Mr. Johnson has them listen to what he wants. Unfortunately, the restaurant happens to be out of what he wants. He probably should have just picked some of the many food items that had been brought to the table. 

1.   Big Burger

One of the all-time classic waiter Grover segments, Mr. Johnson orders a hamburger, and he gets two choices: The little hamburger and the big hamburger. Since the little hamburger is too small, he chooses the big one, refusing to listen to Grover's warning about the big one. And a giant hamburger crashes through the door and onto the table. The giant hamburger makes this one the most hilarious of the waiter Grover segments.

Well, that's my list. Now if you excuse me, I have to go out to eat (hopefully no blue monsters will be serving me).

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

120 Awesome Muppet Songs, Part 3

Ryan Dosier - Our countdown of 120 Awesome Muppet Songs, presented in completely random order, continues today! Be sure to check out the first 30 songs on Part 1 and Part 2 before jumping in to the 15 we've got for you today. Remember, the song order was chosen by iTunes shuffling, which explains why there are three Fraggle Rock songs in a row (not that there's anything wrong with that). Tune up and get down!

31.   "Merry Christmas, Baby" from The Muppets: A Green and Red Christmas
Oh goodness I adore this little number. Bill Barretta and Pepe have never been in better voice than they are in this classic, rocking Christmas tune. Pepe is clearly in yuletide heaven as he sings with a backup chorus of girls. This song is so perfect and fitting for everyone's favorite King Prawn. It's a crying shame that Pepe doesn't get to sing more, because when he does, he absolutely kills it. Favorite lyrics: "Santa came down the chimney, half past three/With lots'a little presents for my babies and me!"

32.   "Fun is Here to Stay" from Fraggle Rock
Brace yourselves, we've got four songs from Fraggle Rock in Part 3. Blame the shuffling iTunes! Anyway, "Fun is Here to Stay" is both an exceptionally accurate title for the song and a magnificent motto for Fraggle Rock as a whole. Led by Boober's alter-ego Sidebottom as he manipulates Junior Gorg into thinking he's a Fraggle, the four other Fraggles join in as well. It's rollicking and joyful and uplifting and great. Favorite lyrics: "Fraggles come for fun from near and far/Fraggles know that fun is what they are!/No one could be dumb enough to say/Fun could come in any other way/Any Fraggle's brave enough to say--Fun is here to stay!"

33.   "Petals of the Rose" from Fraggle Rock
This song is so incredibly beautiful. With this song alone, Jerry Nelson shows unequivocally that he is the greatest singer the Muppets ever had. Gobo's heart-wrenching lyrics and the melodic ups and downs of his voice are just pure perfection. This is the song that made me cry the first time I listened to it after Jerry passed away last year. It's so fitting and it will break your heart every single time. I still tear up listening to it. I probably always will. Favorite lyrics: "Ain't it just the way it seems/We pull the petals off our dreams/Our hearts can say we're here to stay/But we always say goodbye/We always say goodbye..." 

34.   "Wemblin' Fool" from Fraggle Rock
(Please ignore the odd YouTube video.) Another one of Gobo's best songs also happens to be one of Wembley's best too. This is a personal favorite--maybe in my top ten Muppet songs--and it was one of Jim Henson's as well. Jerry Nelson and Steve Whitmire sang this song at Jim's public memorial. The song is bouncy and lively and fun as heck. Wembley's trademark grunts are fantastic, Gobo's scatting is great, and the entire song plays perfectly every time you listen to it. Favorite lyrics: "When we're wemblin' south/We stick our feet in our mouth/And we just wemble, wemble, wemble as we ride!"

35.   "Sing After Me" from Sesame Street
If there is a more hysterical Grover sketch out there, someone please let me know. My favorite blue monster's antics and banter with Madeline Kahn in this song are top notch. Frank Oz was truly at the apex of his powers here, even cracking up a seasoned pro like Kahn. But Madeline was no straight-woman, she gives it back to Grover just as much and just as hilariously. The lyrics are sort of nonsense, but the performance makes it a true classic. My favorite lyrics actually aren't lyrics, they're just a line spoken near the end by Grover, who says, "You've got to be putting me on!" after Madeline hits an amazing note.

36.   "It's Hard to Be Humble" from The Muppet Show
This may be the most random song choice in the entire list, but this song performed by Mac Davis and Link Hogthrob on The Muppet Show is another of my favorites. The duo sings about how difficult it is to remain humble when one is as handsome and perfect as they are. It's such a defining song for Link to sing and Jim handles it deftly. For the final chorus, a bunch of Muppets join in. It's fairly ironic for Lew Zealand to sing "I can't wait to look in the mirror, 'cause I get better lookin' each day," but I love it. Favorite lyrics: "To know me is to love me/I must be a hell of a man/Oh lord, it's hard to be humble/But we're doin' the best that we can."

37.   "Dance Myself to Sleep" from Sesame Street
One of the greatest Ernie and Bert songs ever. It defines their relationship perfectly. Bert is sound asleep, but Ernie fall asleep. What does he do? A soft-shoe tap dance around his bed while playing the bugle and enjoying the company of the Boogie Woogie Sheep. This wakes Bert up, and he is just completely baffled by the whole thing. Eventually he's taken out of the room by the sheep and left outside. It's funny, it's fun, and it allows Bert to ask the immortal question, "When did sheep get tap shoes?" Favorite lyrics: "Well I'm gettin' kinda drowsy so the moment has come/To grab my Rubber Duckie while the sheep take my chum/Time to shuffle off to dream-land, got a date to keep/I'll dance myself to sleep!"

38.   "New York State of Mind" from The Muppet Show
Right now I cannot come up with a Jerry Nelson/Floyd Pepper song that I enjoy more. I truly believe that this is far and away the best version of this song ever performed--and I adore this song. Floyd sings with such soul and such longing that it is incredibly difficult to match. I'll give a shout out to Rowlf's version from Old Brown Ears is Back, but Floyd is still king. Jerry owns this song completely when he performs it. Pure perfection. Favorite lyrics: "Come down to reality and it's fine with me 'cause I let it slide/Don't care if it's Chinatown or rounded riverside/I don't have any reasons, left them all behind/I'm in a New York state of mind."

39.   "Ode to Joy" from YouTube
The new-age Beaker classic that first brought attention back to the Muppets with their hugely popular viral videos. This 2008 piece of brilliance might be Beaker's best vocal work (but don't worry, "Feelings" is coming later on the list). His obvious dedication to performing properly is a really interesting aspect to Beaker's character. He longs to be a great singer but at the end of the day he's just a squeaky red head with awful luck... and we wouldn't have it any other way. Favorite lyrics: "Mee me mee me/Me mee me mee/Me me me me mee me me."

40.   "One Small Voice" from Sesame Street
One of the most beautiful and touching songs written for Sesame Street. It has been performed a handful of times over the years, but my favorite is from Elmopalooza sung by Kenny Loggins, joined in by the kids and, more importantly, Big Bird. The lyrics are indescribably great, singing the importance of both music itself and knowing you can do anything. The music video for the song (which you can see above) makes my spirit soar every time I watch it. I dare you not to feel totally moved when Big Bird says, "Alex, you did great!" and Alex replies, so honestly, "Thanks Big Bird, I had fun!" Favorite lyrics: "No tune is too simple/No voice can be wrong/Music can come from any heart/And anyone's voice can lead the song."

41.   "Imagination" from Sesame Street
Another classic Bert and Ernie song. This beautiful tune is all about finding comfort and happiness by retreating into your own imagination and I think that's a wonderful notion. What I think makes this song truly special is that it is Bert, not Ernie, who first sings of the power of an imagination. One would think Ernie would be in touch with his imagination already, but I love that it is Bert who puts him in touch with it by singing him this song. Also... "I like big balloons!" is a line that is delivered perfectly. Favorite lyrics: "Here in the middle of imagination/Right in the middle of my mind/I close my eyes and the night isn't dark/And the things that I lose, I find."

42.   "Together Again" from The Muppets Take Manhattan
I wish that I could whistle well, if only so I could whistle the opening to this lovely tune. It's fun and pretty free-wheeling. I love the colorful vests the Muppets wear in the movie when they sing this. But mostly, this song works as a perfect reminder of the fact that the Muppets will always get back together. This is easily proven by my favorite lyrics: "I just can't imagine that you've ever been gone/It's not starting over, it's just going on./Together again, now we're here and there's no need remembering when."

43.   "Convincing John" from Fraggle Rock
It's strange to think that Convincing John was only on Fraggle Rock three times. The amount of energy and fun that Jim Henson poured into the character makes it seem like he was there constantly. John was never better than when he sang his titular song. It's fast, it's lively, it's erratic, and it's just plain awesome. Jim performed this song incredibly well and I can't imagine what a strain it must've put on his voice to sing it. And what would the song be without the Fragglettes providing back-up? I absolutely love it. Favorite lyrics: "C'mon listen to me Fraggles/With your Fraggle mouths a'waggle/You can chew a Doozer tower till you're blue/But there's a mighty day a'comin'/When the food'll hit your tummy/And you'll know that what I'm tellin' you is true!"

44.   "What's the Name of That Song?" from Sesame Street
How am I supposed to talk about this song? It just says "What's the Name of That Song?" If we don't even know the name of that song, how am I supposed to know which song to talk about?! It's confusion like this that makes this song so delightfully wicked and incredibly fun. In fact, the entire 35th anniversary DVD special What's the Name of That Song? is based around this confusion. My favorite version of this Sesame classic is probably from Bert & Ernie Sing-Along with the whole cast, but I also love the more recent version that Bert and Ernie sing. Favorite lyrics: "I've heard it said with words and music, a fella can't go wrong/So la de da de dum, la de da de dum... What's the name of that song?"

45.   "Just a Dream Away" from Fraggle Rock 
This is one of the few songs on this list that is sung by a one-shot character. In this case, it's the Mudbunny, who appears to Wembley in an episode of Fraggle Rock. Performed by Richard Hunt, this creature had a very interesting life cycle that played out in the episode. Before all that, however, the Mudbunny sings this gorgeous, much too short song. Richard Hunt's voice has never sounded better than it does here. He sings with such mystery and even some omnipotence. It's gorgeous. Favorite lyrics: "Once I wasn't here and then I suddenly appeared/And now I seem to be at home in earth and air/Just like water flowing, I know where I'm going/Look beneath your boots and I'll be there."

Well that's it for today, Muppet fans! Check back next week, same time, same place, for 15 more tunes on our countdown of 120 Awesome Muppet Songs!





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

Weekly Muppet Wednesdays: Mr. Johnson

MR. JOHNSON

Performed by...
Jerry Nelson

First (known) appearance...
Sesame Street Season 3: Episode 0276 (1972)

Most recent appearance...
Sesame Street Season 43: Episode 4302 (2012)

Best known role...
Grover's constant and constantly perturbed customer at Charlie's Restaurant and elsewhere

Also known as...
Fat Blue; The Customer; The Food Lover

WHO IS MR. JOHNSON?
Mr. Johnson is best known for his role as Grover's disgruntled customer. His favorite restaurant is Charlie's Restaurant, and he continues to return there even though his service always leaves him angry, exhausted, or confused. Over the years, Mr. Johnson has tried to order many different dishes, and always Grover somehow messes that order up. Whether it's alphabet soup without various letters, a gigantic hamburger, the tomato surprise, or various foods delivered (to the floor) by Grover the Singing and Dancing Waiter, poor old Mr. Johnson rarely gets the dish he wants, the way he wants, in a calm, normal manner.

For many years, Mr. Johnson was only bothered by Grover when he went out to eat. But in the mid-1980s, Mr. Johnson started finding himself in Grover's company at his home, in the park, on an airplane, in stores, at the gym, in a taxi, at the movies, at a baseball game, on Broadway, and, most recently, at the coffee shop. Grover's constant pestering of Mr. Johnson both in and out of the restaurant reached a hilarious apex in the 2006 sketch, "Outrageous Makeover: Home Addition," in which Grover parodies Ty Penington with an obnoxious megaphone and hysterical renovations of Mr. Johnson's home. In the end, he subtracts all the doors in the house and the duo are seemingly stuck together forever.

It seems that everywhere Mr. Johnson goes, Grover is there to provide him "service"--even (or especially) when he doesn't ask for it. Yet Mr. Johnson still showed up for the gala honoring Grover at the Flyer's Club in the DVD special A Celebration of Me, Grover... where Grover was again his waiter, even though the ceremony was honoring him. As Grover said, "A monster has to make a living!" Mr. Johnson also appeared in The Sesame Street Special, Elmo Saves Christmas, CinderElmo, and The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland.

The list of services and dishes Grover has attempted to provide Mr. Johnson is extremely long. At the restaurant we've seen chicken soup, bacon and eggs, a time when Charlie's ran out of food, the Special of the Day (the number 9), a fly in the soup, corn on toast, an outdoor cafe, a parody of Much Ado About Nothing, spaghetti, milk (shaken, not stirred), a Russian restaurant, rhyming day, and plenty more. While out of the restaurant, Grover has provided singing telegrams (once with Elmo), speedy pizza, flight attendant services, wigs, paintings, workout instructions, popcorn, photos, protection from fly balls, hot dogs, the letter V, and a very interactive performance of Spider-Monster: The Musical.

Although Mr. Johnson can never seem to get rid of Grover, he does keep going back to Charlie's Restaurant. Perhaps it's the only restaurant on Sesame Street, perhaps the food is really that good (if it ever gets to your table), or perhaps Mr. Johnson really does enjoy Grover. We may never know... but we will certainly love to watch.

WHY DOES SESAME STREET NEED MR. JOHNSON? 
Mr. Johnson provides Grover with the perfect straight man in his ridiculous exploits. It is also interesting to note that Mr. Johnson is often the sole receiver of Grover's services anytime Grover is working one of his odd jobs. Without Mr. Johnson, Grover would probably have no one to provide service to and would thus be unemployed.

But beyond that, Mr. Johnson is just a truly funny, fun character. He is often just as funny as Grover in their sketches, with a much more dry humor and hilarious laments wondering why he keeps coming back to the same restaurant. In recent years, it was often exclusively the Grover/Mr. Johnson sketches that Frank Oz returned to perform in alongside Jerry Nelson. These two legends performing these two wonderful characters is yet another reason why Mr. Johnson is needed.

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

Muppetology 101: Intro to Muppet Monster Cryptozoology, Pt. 2

Ryan Dosier - Welcome back to class, class! No quiz again this week, because my cousin's hamster took the papers... he didn't eat them, but instead started his own Muppetology course next door. Don't fall for it. He isn't licensed! ...And obviously I am, if anyone asks. Anyway, let's continue our lecture on Muppet Monster Cryptozoology, this week focusing on the magnificent monsters of Sesame Street!

• GROVER 
• Performed by FRANK OZ (1969-present) and ERIC JACOBSON (1998-present)
• Grover is one of Sesame Street's numerous furry blue monsters. He debuted in the first season of Sesame Street and has been a consistently popular presence ever since. Grover is best known for the countless professions he has worked in over the years, most notably as a waiter and his superhero alter-ego, Super Grover. As far as monsters go, Grover is about as far away from scary as one can get. He is a self-proclaimed cute, adorable little monster and has no interest in scaring anyone. In fact, he scared himself at the prospect of a monster in the classic book, The Monster at the End of This Book. He even sang the song "I Whistle a Happy Tune" with Cookie Monster when they were afraid of the woods. Grover can currently be seen nearly everyday on Sesame Street in his recurring segment "Super Grover 2.0."

• COOKIE MONSTER 
• Performed by FRANK OZ (1969-present) and DAVID RUDMAN (2001-present)
• Yet another of the furry blue monsters of Sesame Street, Cookie Monster is one of the most popular characters on the show, and one of the most popular and beloved television characters of all time. Cookie Monster, of course, ravenously devours cookies (and most everything else) anytime that he gets the opportunity. Of all the Sesame Street monsters, Cookie Monster has the most monster-like speech saying "me" instead of "I," as in "Me want cookies!" Again, however, Cookie Monster does not exhibit many scary traits. Yes, his penchant for eating anything and everything makes him rather over the top, he is never purposefully scary. Just hold on to your hat if it's near a plate of cookies. Cookie Monster recently made a big splash with his parody video of the song "Call Me Maybe" and can be seen in numerous episodes of Sesame Street Season 43.

• ELMO 
• Primarily performed by KEVIN CLASH (1985-present) 
• Perhaps the most popular children's television character of the past decade, Elmo is the giggling, ticklish, imaginative furry red monster on Sesame Street--as if anyone doesn't know that already. Elmo is the least scary Muppet monster, right alongside Grover, and would never dream of trying to scare someone. Elmo himself has been scared many times, however. At age three-and-a-half, Elmo is one of the youngest denizens of Sesame Street and has gotten scared many times, especially when he had a close call with a fire in Hooper's Store. Mostly, though, Elmo is just happy and carefree. He inhabited "Elmo's World" on the show for many years until the segment was replaced in Season 43 by the entertaining new segment "Elmo: The Musical." Elmo can be seen consistently on every episode of Sesame Street.

• TELLY MONSTER 
• Primarily performed by MARTIN P. ROBINSON (1984-present)
• Telly Monster is one of the main characters on modern day Sesame Street and appears in numerous street stories every season. Telly is best friends with Baby Bear but loves to play with everyone else on Sesame Street too. Telly used to be highly neurotic and worried all the time, but has since mellowed out. In his first appearance, Telly had spinning eyes and antennae sticking out of his head, making it the only time Telly was legitimately scary. Since then, Telly has been the one getting scared, not doing the scaring. In his worrying state, Telly would scare incredibly easily, and sometimes that still shows through even though he has matured quite a bit over the years. Telly can be seen in most episodes of Sesame Street Season 43.

• ROSITA 
• Performed by CARMEN OSBAHR
• Another member of Sesame Street's furry blue monster family, Rosita is a smart, Spanish speaking female monster who loves to play her guitar and sing. She first appeared on Sesame Street in 1991 in Season 23. For quite awhile, Rosita appeared with wings, explaining her full name Rosita la Monstrua de las Cuevas, which translates to Rosita the Monster of the Caves, implying that she was conceived as fruit bat of some sort. Rosita lost her wings in Season 35. Although her full name sounds frightening, Rosita is anything but, as she is one of the sweetest characters on Sesame Street. Rosita remains a popular main character on Sesame Street to this day and can be seen in numerous Season 43 episodes.

• ZOE 
• Performed by FRAN BRILL
• Zoe, who debuted in Season 25 in 1994, was conceived and developed to match Elmo in both appearance and popularity. It succeeded, as Zoe continues to delight children on Sesame Street to this day nearly 20 years later. Zoe has gone through many phases on the show, loving her Zoemobile, her bracelets, her tutu, her dancing, and her pet rock Rocco. Zoe is always seen wearing her pink ballet tutu these days and is usually seen with her friends Elmo, Rosita, and Abby Cadabby. Zoe has a delightful laugh that sets her apart from the other characters and a favorite of Muppet fans and children alike.

• HERRY MONSTER 
• Performed by JERRY NELSON
• Herry Monster is a classic Sesame Street character who debuted in Season 2 of the show and became a favorite character of the audience as well as his performer Jerry Nelson. Herry is perhaps best known for counting to 20 with John John early in the show's run and for being a part of a sort of trio with Cookie Monster and Grover. Herry is larger than most and much stronger as well. It seems that he is always accidentally breaking something, but he always feels terrible about it. Herry loves to play with his doll, Hercules, and remained popular on Sesame Street into the 1990s and early 2000s. He has since been phased into the background, but not before starring in his own recurring segment "Monster Day Care," performing alongside Garth Brooks and Maya Angelou, and becoming best friends with both Prairie Dawn and Rosita.

• MURRAY MONSTER 
• Performed by JOEY MAZZARRINO
• Murray is the newest monster on this list, appearing first in Season 36 in 2005. Since then, Murray has grown into one of the most-used characters on Sesame Street, appearing daily in "tune-in" segments throughout the run of the episodes since Season 40 as well as introducing the daily "Word on the Street." Murray is also the first main character performed by veteran Sesame Street performer and writer Joey Mazzarrino. Murray is often seen with his Spanish-speaking little lamb friend Ovejita, and the two of them had their own segment called "Murray Has a Little Lamb." Currently, Murray and Ovejita co-host the interstitial moments in every episode of the show. Murray can be seen in every episode of Sesame Street Season 43.

• FRAZZLE 
• Performed by JERRY NELSON
• Frazzle is the only Sesame Street monster who could be considered legitimately scary. His appearance is frightening, with his large white teeth and angry eyes, and he speaks entirely in growls. However, Frazzle is really lovable and just wants to be loved back, he can't help it if he accidentally scares people. Frazzle has been around since Season 4 of Sesame Street and has performed now-classic songs like "Fuzzy and Blue (and Orange)" and "Frazzle," the latter performed with his band The Frazzletones. Frazzle rarely appears on the show these days, and if he does it's only in the background, but he has a consistent presence in Sesame Street books to this day.

Well, that's all the material I have for class today. I hope you learned something. No scat, cats! Don't make me bring in the monsters to scare you away.

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

News Update: September 27, 2012

NEWS UPDATE: September 27, 2012

Cookie Monster and Grover stopped by the offices of Entertainment Weekly this week to promote Sesame Street's 43rd Season. While they were there, they were convinced to perform a medley of songs celebrating the best of summer 2012, including The Hunger Games, Doctor Who, and The Avengers. As musicals. With Cookie Monster and Grover. Watch and love!

Elmo stopped by The Look on the HelloStyleChannel on YouTube to show off his latest fashion, as seen in the new segment "Elmo: The Musical." The video is ridiculously cute and Elmo is always funny (especially when he talks about Game of Thrones and not having nuclear war codes), so enjoy!



As we mentioned awhile back, The Muppet Christmas Carol is coming to Blu-ray on November 6th and the release is packed with bonus features. One of these features is a new one called "Muppets Christmas Carol Sing-Along" and the two preview videos below, featuring The Swedish Chef, chickens, and a bunch of rats, appear to be from that feature. Enjoy!





Friend of Jim Henson Company puppets and spinning-chair sitter, Cee Lo Green, is going to have a very Muppety Christmas this year with the release of his new holiday album Cee Lo's Magic Moment, scheduled for release on October 30th (this Tuesday). As our friends at ToughPigs.com reported, the Muppets will sing the song "All I Need is Love" "on his Christmas album, the subsequent music video, and even on his live show at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas on October 10th." Appearing on the song would have been plenty, but all of this extra stuff? AWESOME. I for one cannot wait for the music video! Look out for the album to drop on Tuesday, when we can finally listen to this Muppety/Cee Lo collaboration!

Finally, and most importantly, on October 27th, The Jim Henson Legacy and The Museum of the Moving Image are hosting "A Tribute to Jerry Nelson" at the Museum in New York City at 2:00pm. The tribute is scheduled to include Bill Barretta, Fran Brill, and Dave Goelz as well as "other special guests" all in person at the show. I (Ryan Dosier) am planning to be in attendance at the event, and if you can make it out, I would highly recommend it. My friends at the Legacy have told me that it will be truly special. For more information, visit the website for the Museum of the Moving Image.






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

The Five Hardest Working Muppets

Ryan Dosier - In honor of Labor Day, today we're discussing five of the hardest working Muppets who definitely deserve to put up their feet and take the day off.

5.)   Beauregard

As the janitor for the Muppet Theater, there is perhaps no one who deals with stranger messes than Beauregard. Bo is constantly working, though he never seems to mind it, and one can only imagine what he finds during his shift. Think of the messes Animal, Gonzo, Crazy Harry, Swedish Chef, and Bunsen must make! Beauregard has so much to do that he was still cleaning up after the other Muppets when Scooter found him in a closet of the theater in The Muppets! Poor old Bo never seems to take a break, and on Labor Day he needs to swap a good sweep for a good sleep.

4.)   Scooter
Another of the hardest working Muppets on The Muppet Show, Scooter ranks just above Beauregard only because he is given far more responsibility. Not only is he charged with prepping the guest stars before each show, but he has to keep Kermit's schedule as well--a job for three go-fers! But Scooter always works without hesitation or complaint. His dedication to the show and the Muppets, especially when he's not onstage performing, is truly admirable and worthy of a 24-hour sabbatical today.

3.)   Grover

Is there any monster in the world who holds more responsibility than our furry pal Grover? (Maybe Donald Trump.) Listing Grover's past work experience would take up more space than I can imagine (apparently Muppet Wiki exceeds my imagination). It's staggering to think about what a work-week in the life of Grover must be like. From Charlie's Restaurant to Super Grover duties to countless other professions, Grover must run himself ragged trying to perform aptly in all of these professions. Grover deserves infinite Labor Days off... but I'm sure he'd get antsy without a customer to befuddle.

2.)   Doozers
These little guys just managed to inch out Grover on this list because there are so many of them working so consistently. Every Doozer works from dawn to dusk every day building towers that they know will be eaten by the Fraggles. Even with the daunting knowledge, the Doozers never halt their progress. A Doozer's work is truly never done. Even when construction has to cease due to Fraggles refusal to eat their towers, Doozers find another working outlet in knitting! Doozers are the epitome of strong work ethic (almost to a fault). I doubt Doozers observe Labor Day, but we can only hope they find some time to relax.

1.)   Kermit the Frog
Yes, the only Muppet who could ever out-work a Doozer is Kermit the Frog. Obvious one thinks of Kermit's unending amount of duties and obligations on The Muppet Show--from flustered host to unmatched performer--but Kermit's work doesn't end there. He may have retired from his gig as a reporter for Sesame Street News, but Kermit still makes consistent appearances on television programs all around the world, makes movies, TV specials, albums, appears on scores of merchandise, and, as he revealed in some press interview for The Muppets, even burns the DVDs of his projects! Give the frog a break! Anyone who watches him go from flustered to freak-out on The Muppet Show understands how badly he needs it.

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