There's lots of buzz around the 40th anniversary of "Sesame Street." And as a member of the first generation of viewers of that groundbreaking show, I feel compelled to chime in.
Here, then, is a very subjective collection of 12 moments where the Muppets proved themselves as wonderfully fun, moving, and/or original as anything ever created by mankind. (Adapted from a chapter in "Kid Culture" (Cider Mill Press), which I co-wrote with my former Indy Men's Magazine collaborator Todd Tobias.
Feel free to chime in with moments you think I've missed.
1. Kermit the Frog singing "It's Not Easy Being Green." ("Sesame Street")
2. Ernie singing "Dancing Myself to Sleep" and driving his roommate Bert crazy in the process. ("Sesame Street")
3. Johnny Cash singing "Dirty Ol' Egg Suckin' Dog" with an offended Rowlf the Dog on piano. ("The Muppet Show")
4. Kermit on the bicycle. ("The Muppet Movie")
5. Ernie and Shawn Colvin singing "I Don't Want to Live on the Moon." ("Elmopalooza")
6. Bert presiding over the meeting of the National Association of W Lovers. ("Sesame Street")
7. The "Don't Forget to Watch the Movie" pre-movie short. (Lowe's Theaters)
8. The alien creatures doing the nonsensical "manamana song." ("The Muppet Show")
9. Beaker singing "Feelings"--although the laugh track is annoying. ("The Muppet Show")
10. Every page of "Grover and the Everything in the Whole Wide World Museum."
11. Ernie jamming to "Put Down the Duckie." ("Sesame Street")
12. The moment when Statler and Waldorf join in with John Denver and the Muppets on "Home on the Range." ("The Muppet Show)
Care to add your own favorites?
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Then there's the whole original Muppet Show episode in which Alice Cooper guest starred, trying to get Kermit to sign a contract with the Devil -- no way you could get away with that on "family" television these days. Especially now that the Muppets have been bought by Disney. (Sigh.)
Here's my moment: For a long time, viewers never knew if Mr. Snuffleupagus was real, or just Big Bird's imaginary friend. Big Bird was the only one who ever saw him--no adults ever did. This storyline absolutely enthralled me, since I had two imaginary friends of my own (Lakamasina and Papaty). Finally, after years of "is he or isn't he?" Snuffy was revealed in an episode in fall of '85. I still remember Big Bird's "I told you so." I was seven, I was relieved, and I stopped watching Sesame Street soon after.
Kermit: [navigating in the Studebaker] Bear left.
Fozzie: Right, frog.
(at a very fancy restaurant)
Fozzy: If you put enough sugar in this champagne, it tastes just like ginger ale!
The saddest song EVER is "Saying Goodbye" from Muppets Take Manhattan. I watched it right after graduating from college and cried a lot.
Sesame Street classic:
Rubber ducky, you're the one!
Also no list is complete without mentioning The Rainbow Connection from The Muppet Movie.
1) Most recently "Law and Order: Special Letters Unit"
2)Ernie's original "Rubber Duckie".
3)Big Bird's Song "ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ" (He thought it was a word and pronounced it so.)
4)"These Are The People In My Neighborhood" with Bob.
5)and of course with you Lou... "It's Not Easy Being Green"
Rubber Ducky
Sunny Days (theme Song to Sesame Street)
I grew up watching the show and still think it holds up today, 20 years later. It was even mentioned on Scrubs in Season 8 (My ABC's episode).