Sesame Street Season 44 Reviews, Part 5

Shane Keating - So, here we are, at the very end of the season. It’s been fun going over the show week by week, so let’s take a look the last six episodes of the season.

EPISODES

"Jack’s Big Jump" and "Three Cheers for Us" were both repeats from previous seasons, so there’s nothing new to say about them really.

"The Pogo Games" was another good Telly episode, with appearances by Baby Bear and Gina. The coach character didn’t do much for me, however, despite how well Tyler Bunch played him. They could’ve easily made the story about Telly losing pride during the game without him. Just his presence in the story felt off to me.

"The Wedding Planner" was quite humorous, as all the Elmo vs. Rocco episodes are. It even got quite touching at the end, especially the song Zoe and Elmo sang as they carried the rocks down the aisle. Leave it to the Muppets to make something so silly as two rocks getting married and make it an actually sweet moment. Also, Herry Monster made a cameo, so hooray! Bob was there as well, and I wish they gave him a line or two at least. He comes in only a couple times a season it appears and he doesn’t even get to speak; what a shame.

"Lights! Camera! Bert!" was the episode I was looking most forward too, after the Jerry Nelson tribute, and it did not disappoint. It brilliantly built upon one of the standard Ernie and Bert sketch premises and made it feel like an extended sketch, while also telling a story too. Steve and Eric’s chemistry is almost as good as Jim and Frank’s and they shine in this episode. Sadly, this is the last street story featuring Kevin as Elmo (actually doing Elmo in-studio). I am getting a tad tired of the whole “repeating the same song throughout the episode” system they’ve been employing lately (though Bert’s reprise at the end was catchy).

And then we have our season finale, "Every Plant There Ever Was." Some of the stories lately have kind-of situated themselves to one specific location of the street (this one, the garden) and it feels off in a way. Still, this episode was nice with an odd cast combination (Luis, Chris, Zoe and Stinky), a funny accountant joke and an “Oklahoma” reference that made me laugh. What an age we live in where Stinky gets two street stories about him in one season, especially when he’s more of a secondary character.

INSERTS

We got some more animated and film inserts, mostly letter and number ones (including a remake of the 1993 “Jump” song), but there was a particularly cute cartoon of a mouse growing a strawberry. As usual, there some more new Word of the Day scenes. The one with Forest Whitaker was a highlight, as it featured the Count surprisingly (performed by Matt Vogel). Since they usually sent Vogel to LA for these among the other Muppeteers, maybe the Count will appear in more next season. There was another new “Murray Has a Little Lamb” tune-in as well, visiting African Dance school. I like it more when the Murray bumpers have a plot to them and I hope they make more like these for future episodes.

There was a few new Muppet inserts as well, each feeling very “old-school.” One involved Abby showing Cookie Monster subtraction with cookies; you can pretty much infer where the bit goes from there. Another great bit had guest Tyler Perry teach Elmo about different kinds of math. It’s one of the last Kevin as Elmo bits we’ll be seeing, so it’s special in that regard. My favorite one involved Grover and Rosita talking about triangles and the sigh of Grover in triangle form is wonderful. I also love how they’ve been bringing back the classic brick wall for these bits; it’s been a staple of the show since the beginning.

My favorite bit from this section has to be Pentatonix’s Sesame Street number song medley. They made some really great song choices to classic favorites (“Five People in My Family”) to not as well known ones (“Three”). What’s also great is that half of the songs were pulled from the old “Numbers!” album and that all the songs (save for Pinball Number Count) were all written by Jeff Moss. It was just a great bit all around and the group has phenomenal singing chops.

So, that about does it for this season. It was very good overall, with great new stories, songs and a new cast member. Everything had a very classic feeling to it. I’ll see you soon to go over the season as a whole as we get ready for their announcements for the big 45th anniversary season during the summer. See you soon!

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

Sesame Street Season 44 Reviews, Part 4

Shane Keating - We’re back with a look at the new Sesame Street Season 44 episodes that have aired over the course of the last month or so! Let’s take a look at what was aired:

EPISODES
“Rosita’s Abuela”, another in the Hispanic-themed episodes this season, was very good. It’s great they’re doing more storylines with Rosita’s Mexican heritage instead of letting that piece of backstory go to waste.

“Baby Bear’s New Sitter” was a repeat storyline from season 39. It’s the only time we’ll see Gabi this seen, and quite possibly the last we’ll see of her on the show, so it has some significance in that respect.

“Grandparent’s Celebration” was entertaining and clearly based on the “Twins Day” episode from season 41. I really liked Baby Bear’s grandfather, constantly confused about modern technology as any senior citizen. And I’ve really started to appreciate the little “Odd Couple” relationship they’ve been giving Alan and Chris, which seems only natural as they’re the most used adult characters currently. The opening song was catchy as well, but I say that about most of the songs these days, which is a good sign.

“The Princess Story” was alright, not spectacular by any means. It’s nice to see Zoe some more, and the whole girl group as a whole. It was your typical “characters make up a story” plot we’ve seen before. I did get a chuckle at the prince declaring himself “overly gallant.”

“Judy and the Beast” wasn’t too great if you ask me, a tad heavy on songs, some better than others (that lobster one is definitely on the bottom) and a storyline they’ve done to death lately. It’s also weird that they had Leslie do the Judy character in the same story as Abby. No other female performers were available that day?

Finally, we have “Baby Bear Hates Wee Tee Ball,” which they’re airing out of order. I thought it was a very nice story and a great message with it. Abby and Cookie’s appearances didn’t seem to add much, but they were nice to see (Cookie was funny as the norm). Again, the songs were also very good too. I love how Bill Sherman is using his music director duties and his Broadway experience to give the songs a very 42nd Street-sound to them. They’re really getting better and better each season.

INSERTS
We got the final new “Elmo the Musical” of the season - “Mountain Climber the Musical” - and it was very good. The songs were great as usual (I love the “You’re the Top” spoof that closes the segment) and it starts out with a typically terrible Muppet joke (Elmo tries imagining a mountain, and instead makes a molehill. Get it?). A recent CBS Morning Report feature showed they’re taping more segments for the next season (with Ryan Dillon as Elmo), so I’m looking forward to more great songs and segments.

The last two new “Cookie’s Crumby Pictures” segments of the season aired: “Lord of the Crumbs” and “Life of Whoopie Pie.” They were both very funny and I liked how Cookie was the “tiger” in the Life of Pi spoof, instead of the title character as I had assumed. There’s some more of these on the way for season 45 in the fall (as well as some much-needed new Super Grover 2.0 sketches), so there’s something else to look forward to. Among the new Word of the Day pieces, my favorite had to be the “unique” talk with Usher and Bert, who was hysterically dull as usual.

We got a decent number of cartoon/film segments, including a version of “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star,” a catchy song about counting kangaroos, and (one I really enjoyed) a cute song about the importance of water.

There were also a few very classic-feeling sketches. One involving Cookie trying to play checkers with Abby, while avoiding eating the pieces, which was almost like a Cookie/Prairie Dawn sketch. Man, I miss her. Another one was a Grover bit about force. Not only was it clever, but it also had the return of Frazzle! And it was clear they intended to use him, as the other monsters in the segment were designed to resemble him as well. Finally, there was a bit about the letter H starring Cookie and Oscar. We’re seeing a lot of Cookie this season for sure, but it’s great they’re using Oscar in more sketches this season. Hopefully, that trend continues with others like Big Bird or Ernie and Bert, who’ve been pretty MIA for most of this season (except for a storyline they’ll star in later in February).

So, that was that chunk. Catch you later this month when we’ll be going over the next ones, which will include some more sport-themed episodes thanks to the Olymipics. See you next time on the street!

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

Sesame Street Season 44 Reviews, Part 3

Shane Keating - Hello folks, and Happy (belated) Thanksgiving! The latest batch of Sesame Street episodes we’ll go over today isn’t too big, but since the next new episode won’t be airing until next week, I’d rather not wait. So, let’s dive into these three episodes.

STREET STORIES
“Gotcha!”: A not-very long street story, but pretty good. Oscar and Big Bird were in it, so that’s awesome. Mando was there too, which is great. I’m hoping there’s at least one more scene he’s in this season I haven’t heard about yet. And Tom Bergeron was quite funny as Johnny Gotcha.

“Big Bird’s Nest Sale”: A repeated storyline from season 39. Oh well, it’s still nice to see a street story starring Big Bird and Snuffy, as well as heavy amounts of the Count. There were a few edits made when compared to its original airing, however.

“The Wild Brunch”: A storyline starring only Snuffy! What an age we live in! There were funny moments, especially when the tiger was *this* close to eating the monkey. It’s kind of a shame they didn’t have a song for Audra McDonald (the zookeeper) to sing, what with that being her big skill and all.

INSERTS
So, of the two new Word of the Day sketches, I liked the one with Cobie Smulders more, mainly because of Grover’s classic and funny misinterpretations (thinking “courteous” was a curtsy, corsage, cretaceous...).

The Internet was abuzz over the new Cookie’s Crumby Pictures segment: The Hungry Games: Catching Fur. It was great putting Cookie in drag again, the “Peeta/Pita” joke was classic Muppet humor.

Some new song segments debuted: “The Sesame Street Alphabet,” a catchy song with virtually the entire cast, which was great because we got some Ernie and Bert, who’ve barely appeared this season. Mando debuted his new version of “I Love My Hair,” which was also nice (Ishmael Cruz Cordova, who plays Mando, actually wrote the Spanish lyrics for his audition). Cookie Monster’s “Me Want It” also aired, which I wasn’t expecting (I assumed it was an online original, like “Share it Maybe”).

My favorite segment from this batch of episodes (and of the overall season) has to be “Good Things Come to Those Who Wait.” Not only does it have another new appearance by Guy Smiley, but it’s one of the catchiest songs in the season so far. Cookie Monster is really perfect for teaching these lessons on patience, memory, etc.

So, that does it for this batch of episodes. Keep an eye out on the next few episodes and I’ll be back soon to go over them with you. Until then, peace!

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

Sesame Street Season 44 Reviews, Part 2

Shane Keating - Hello, and welcome back Sesame fans! It’s time to go over the several, latest episodes from Sesame Street’s 44th, including a very special episode...

STREET STORIES

The first “new” episode since my last review was actually a repeat of the season 39 episode, “The Help-O-Bots.” Just the story is reused, the rest of the show is different material. It’s still an entertaining storyline, and gave birth to that awesome Rico the Robot puppet.

Next comes “Still Life with Cookie.” Cookie had a lot of great lines in the episode and it was nice to have Big Bird in it, as it seems he’s not too present this season (even if his appearance in this episode was quite brief). The story seemed like a combination of “Don’t Eat the Pictures” and the song, “If Moon Was Cookie” (the ending portion especially).

“Mi Amiguita Rosita” was a sweet story, another in the season’s Hispanic Heritage sub-curriculum. Rosita’s heritage hasn’t really been touched upon as of late, so this was a great story to teach kids to be proud of who they are and what’s made them the way they are. We got Mando again, who’s proved he’s a great addition already, and several main Muppets. And I’ll admit, I did not see the “Hamazon” joke coming (I totally knew one was coming with the pig delivery man. There had to be one.).

“Leela’s Cell Phone Addiction” was a very funny story, and another example of the show staying current without the use of celebrities or TV/film parodies. Oscar appeared for a good portion of it, and he was perfectly nasty as ever, as well as funny (“There’s nothing more annoying than texting!”). It also had two rather funny characters: Detective Ramone Bone, a dog who finds rhymes instead of the actual object, and Leela’s cell phone-turned-chicken, who’s silly concept became all the more funnier when it vibrated like an actual phone.

“Firefly Show” was another repeated storyline from season 39, but it’s still a quality street story full of great Telly and Baby Bear antics (Telly: “I just had an idea.” Baby Bear: “Hey! I can tell by the cartoonish lightbulb above your head!”).

Finally, we have “Count Tribute,” aka the long-awaited tribute episode to the late Jerry Nelson. And man, it was beautiful. When Telly said, “[The Count]’s taught millions of people how to count! His counting’s made millions of people...happy!,” you knew they meant Jerry, 100%. Plus the line we can all see the meaning behind: “It’s less important to have prizes to count than it is to have friends to count who care about you when you’re not there.” (Followed by a perfect moment of silence). Although only two of his characters appeared in the story (The Count and Two-Headed Monster), it was nice that they put Jerry’s image on the Noble Prize logo. And what was even more beautiful was that Jerry himself voiced the Count during his brief appearance at the end. All in all, a perfect episode and a fitting tribute to one of the best Muppeteers they ever had. One final note, I found it hysterical the world’s second greatest counter was a hand-held calculator in Beijing.

INSERTS

In celebrity-related segments, we got some great ones outside of the usual Word on the Street segments. “ABCs Are Moving You” by Usher was a great, funky number and Romeo Santo’s “Quiero Ser” was a nice number too (both featuring Ryan Dillon as Elmo). J.R. Martinez appeared in a nice short bit with Elmo that talked about his injury in a classic, matter-of-fact way (think back to the other disability-type segments they’ve done). In terms of the Word on the Street segments, Kunal Nayar and Hank Azaria’s were great; Kunal’s for some classic Grover comedy and Hank because, well, he’s funny all on his own. Give him some Sesame characters to impersonate and you’ve struck gold.

Amongst some new films and animations, including a fantastically animated P-food segment, we got the second and final spoof segment of the season (excluding Crumby Pictures): “Homelamb,” which was filled with more sheep-puns than Homeland jokes, so I got a big kick out it. A big surprise was a new game show sketch with Cookie Monster and good ol’ Guy Smiley, which so was reminiscent of the classic game show sketches, if it weren’t in HD, you probably would’ve thought it was old.

We got a new Elmo the Musical (“Repair Monster the Musical”), and I think it may be one of my favorite ones so far. I love the more show-tune numbers they include and this segment was full of them. And it introduced the Great Halfini, who was a masterwork of puppetry design. Also an unexpected new “format” segment was a new Cookie’s Crumby Pictures: “Les Mousserables,” which wasn’t scheduled to air for weeks. It was really entertaining (I can’t get the “Do You Hear the People Sing” spoof out of my head), though I wished there was a “Master of the House” spoof (my favorite song from that musical).

My favorite bit from this portion of episodes was Big Bird’s “That’s Cooperation” song. A totally-classic feeling bit that gave Big Bird some much-needed screen time and a gem of a song to be added to his catalog. The character-based songs and sketches this season are some of the best in years and I hope there’s more to come.

So that covers October in terms of episodes, including what will go down as one of the best in recent memory. Stay tuned when I return soon to cover the next new episodes. See you next time on the street!

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

Sesame Street Season 44 Reviews, Part 1

Shane Keating - Sesame Street’s groundbreaking 44th season is finally here it is! As one of the site’s resident Sesame experts and fanatics, here’s what I thought on the first week of shows.

STREET STORIES

The season premiere, “Telly Gets Jealous,” was absolutely lovely. Telly and Baby Bear do usually have the best storylines of the season and this did not disappoint. Telly’s freak-out at Baby Bear was a wonderful piece of Muppeteer acting. The story also featured one of the last pieces Jerry Nelson recorded before his passing. I think the “self-regulation” episodes will be better than the STEM ones, as these are based around the characters and their emotions; that’s where good plots come from.

“Don’t Get Pushy” wasn’t as good as the first episode, but entertaining nonetheless. We got a nice appearance by Gordon, and song neat songs by The Safety Chickens, including a “Safety Dance” spoof. Why wasn’t this mentioned in the spoof section of the press kit?

Next we have “The Flower Show.” We kinda saw another side to the character Stinky the Stinkweed, especially when he was clearly bothered by the neighboring, show-offy plant who could grow better than him. This episode also had some neat songs. I kind of wish the songs were more than a minute long, but I suppose they need to keep them short to allow for more story, and more songs if necessary. Oh, and Susan made her annual appearance in this episode, albeit mostly in the background.

“Latino Festival” introduced us to Mando and they did it rather matter of factly; there was no street tour or reintroduction to the characters, they just threw him as if he’s always been there. I liked the lesson of the episode too, trying to keep kids from stereotyping Latinos while celebrating what they have in common.

The last show of the week was “Simon Says,” featuring Peter Dinklage as Simon. I really liked Peter, as well as Joey Mazzarino as his brother who has been living in Simon's shadow for all their lives. The song (“Whatever Simon Says”) was great too. There was also plenty of great Telly freak outs to boot.

INSERTS

So, the biggest new insert to talk about is “Cookie’s Crumby Pictures.” They’re almost like a re-imagining of Monsterpiece Theater, except more catered to Cookie’s character (having everything pertaining to snacks and food). The segments themselves are very funny, with great backgrounds and character designs, as well as the traditional Muppety puns (Ladyfinger from “The Spy Who Loved Cookies” kills me.). It’s a shame we’ll have to wait until late November before another new one is added to the rotation.

We got one new “Elmo the Musical,” one of five new episodes appearing this season. It used virtually the Workshop’s entire stock of bird puppets. It’s too bad that the mini-show segments only focus on one character; this would’ve been the perfect segment for a Big Bird appearance.

There were the usual new Celebrity Word of the Day segments, including the first appearance of Ryan Dillon's Elmo on the show. He’s doing a fantastic job. Other celeb appearances include a great segment with Dave Matthews and Grover, “I Need a Word,” which was so poignant and well-done. There was also some new cartoons, films and a new Two-Headed Monster sketch; I don’t like Chris as the narrator that much (they don’t need one), but I can deal with it. There was also a great new sketch about the number 0 with Oscar and the Count, performed by Matt Vogel, who totally gets the character. We also got our first spoof segment, “Sons of Poetry,” which was quite entertaining even though I don’t watch “Sons of Anarchy.

“Murray Has a Little Lamb” came back surprisingly, re-envisioned through the tune-in segments. This wasn’t a bad idea actually and with Murray struggling with the task each school presents, it gives the segments a pseudo-story, which is a great step forward in making those scenes more than just introducing the next segment.

My favorite segment by far this week is “Rhymes for Mando.” Ismael’s singing voice is awesome and the song is insanely catchy. And it was composed by Lin-Manuel Miranda, who I really like, so that’s a plus.

So, that’s how the first week went for me. The schedule seems to be that there’s a new episode each Thursday, so rather than just write up something for each one, I’ll wait until the end of the month to cover them. So, see you in October with some more new Sesame episodes!

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

The Great Muppet Survey - Shane Keating

Answers from Shane Keating

1.   Who are your three favorite characters from The Muppet Show, Muppets Tonight, The Jim Henson Hour, the Muppet movies, etc. and why?
Obviously Kermit, because he's Kermit. Gonzo's a good second choice for the great comedy he brings, and Pepe the third for the same reason.

2.   Who are your three favorite characters from Sesame Street and why?
Oscar was my favorite from the start; I suppose I was fascinated with his trash can (and my bucket list includes getting my picture in it). He’s then followed by Grover and Cookie Monster, who provide literally the best dialogue the show has to offer.

3.   Who are your three favorite characters from Fraggle Rock and why?
Boober's the top, because he too gets all the best lines in the show. After that would probably be Wembley and the World’s Oldest Fraggle, who are also the funnier characters when they’re given the spotlight. I case you didn’t notice, all my favorite characters from anything are the funniest ones.

4.   What is your favorite television program starring any of Jim Henson's creations (e.g. The Muppet Show, Sesame Street, Fraggle Rock, Dinosaurs, etc.) and why?
Sesame Street has a special place in my heart, as it’s the first Muppet thing I ever watched. And since it’s still going, there’s always something to look forward to each fall.

5.   What is your favorite Muppet movie and why?
I go on record saying The Muppet Movie is the best of all of them, but my personal favorite is The Great Muppet Caper. I’ll admit, it gets pretty slow in the middle (don’t really care for “Piggy’s Fantasy”), but the rest is pure Muppety fun and genius; it’s also got the best jokes.

6.   What is your favorite Muppet/Sesame/Fraggle song and why?
I’ll pick one of each of those categories. “Hey a Movie!” is such a great opener, full of great jokes, witty lyrics, fantastic choreography.... “and Me!” Sesame’s goes to “Honk Around the Clock”, which gave birth to my love of 50’s-style music. And “Dixie Wailin’” wins my favorite Fraggle song, as it was one of the catchier and more memorable songs from when I got one of my first tastes of Fraggle Rock from the Fraggle Songs video.

7.   If you could have dinner with any Muppet performer who would you choose and why?
I would say Richard Hunt, because I’ll have died of laughter by the end of the night.

8.   If you could tell Jim Henson one thing, what would it be?
“Gimme a job!” comes to mind.

9.   If the President called you and asked to discuss Muppet projects, what would you tell him was the "Greatest Muppet Moment of All Time"?
“Rainbow Connection” deserves that distinction, either the opening or the finale portion of The Muppet Movie.

10.   What's the name of that song?
“How Could You Believe Me When I Said I Loved You When You Know I’ve Been a Liar All My Life”

11.   If a judge ruled that Grover had to be your personal assistant for a month, what jobs would you have him do?
Near/Far demonstrator; he clearly knows how to do that and I’ll just keep him occupied by saying I don’t understand each time.

12.   In your opinion, what is the worst Muppet production ever made?
It’s way too easy to mention the likes of The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz or the Studio DC specials, so I’ll go with A Special Sesame Street Christmas, which really doesn’t deserve to call itself a single word in that title (not even “A”).

13.   Who is one celebrity you would love to see cameo in the next Muppet movie?
I recently got into Community, so maybe someone from there. Since Donald Glover (my favorite!) already was in the newest one, I guess Alison Brie would be next line.

14.   If you could take a picture with any Muppet, who would you choose and how would you pose?
Oscar, and I’d be in his trash can and he’d be next to it, unamused by my presence. Either that, or both of us frowning at the camera.

15.   What is your favorite piece of Muppet merchandise that you own? (Feel free to include a picture!)
A couple of years ago for Christmas, I got a doll of Oscar with a NYC Sanitation hat. It’s the cutest thing and I keep it on my bookshelf. I also have those Kermit Adidas, which aren’t as comfortable as you’d imagine.

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

Sesame Street Season 44 Preview

Shane Keating - Sesame Street's 44th season is starting next month and Sesame Workshop has just published their seasonal press kit online, as well as a dozen preview clips. I've perused it all and here's what's worth looking forward to when the season hits your TV screen in September.

THE NEW NEIGHBOR
It's was widely announced last summer that Sesame Workshop was holding open auditions for a new, Hispanic cast member. But just who that cast member would be was held a mystery until a couple of months ago. Ismael Cruz Cordova as Armando looks like a fine addition to the cast. From what I've seen of him, he's got a great voice and lots of energy, but from what's presented in the press kit, it doesn't sound like he's in too much; just a small number of street stories and a couple of musical numbers, including the wonderful "Rhymes for Mando" and a Spanish remake of "I Love My Hair" (which Cordova actually wrote as part of his audition). Hopefully, he'll get more time to shine next season; he's earned it.

COOKIE'S CRUMBY PICTURES
So far in the "block format," most of the more popular and recognizable characters have gotten their own segments: Grover, Elmo, Abby, Ernie and Bert. And now, Cookie Monster's got his own. He's been due for his own segment and it looks very promising. Cookie's one of the funniest characters on the show, and the parody format should have comedy firing at all cylinders. The "Biscotti Kid" segment shared online is really funny and very well done, production-wise. I'm expecting great things from the other editions. The only downside to this could be that the jokes won't be as funny when the different editions get repeated throughout the season, but that's to be expected with so few of the segments being produced. The press kit claims there's seven segments debuting this season, though it mentions one segment ("When Sally Met Cookie") that's not mentioned anywhere else.

THE FAMOUS-TYPE PEOPLES
As per the norm for the show, there's gonna be tons of celebrity appearances this season. I'm actually looking forward to the Word of the Day segments this year, as it appears Eric Jacobson was present during the shoots and brought ol' Grover and Bert with him, so I'm hoping those will be the funniest of the bunch. We're also going get an extended taste at Ryan Dillion's Elmo in several of them, so we'll see how he works with the celebrities compared to Kevin. I'm mainly excited for Hank Azaria (big Simpsons fan here) and Pentatonix's "Number Medley," which includes the classic Pinball Number Count song. Oh, and Anna Kendrick, just so I can gawk at how pretty she is.

THE SPOOFS
Also per the norm of the show, we’re getting some more parody material this season, mostly provided by Cookie's new segment. The press kit mentions only two real segments that spoof TV shows (Homeland becomes "Homelamb" and Sons of Anarchy becomes "Sons of Poetry"). The Sons of Poetry segment is great, working well for those of us (like me) who've never watched the original series. The rest of the spoofs listed in the kit are sorta stretching it when it comes to calling them "spoofs," such as claiming an episode featuring a "Simon Says" competition is parodying the kids' game of the same name. A new Cookie song, "Good Things Come to Those Who Wait,"( claimed to spoof the Mischel marshmallow tests, which is moreso referencing it than spoofing it) is my favorite clip so far.

JERRY NELSON
Jerry's passing last August caused Sesame to lose one of their oldest performers and it's truly a shame. But, Sesame Street isn't going to let his passing go unmentioned. A special episode is going to pay tribute to him, where the Count will receive a "Nobel Prize for Counting" and the whole street celebrates. The episode sounds very promising (even if the Count doesn't seem to show up physically until the end), but hopefully it will feature some cameos from some other Jerry characters (Herry has been confirmed to show up in the episode). Plus, as confirmed by Tyler Bunch on his Twitter, last season won't be the last one with his involvement (season 44 started taping about a month after Jerry's passing). The season premiere, "Telly Gets Jealous," has an appearance by The Count, voiced by Jerry. So, even though he’s passed on, his legacy will live on.

So, that's what I'm looking forward to this season. Read the full press kit here and tune in to the new season on your PBS station September 16!

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