This show is one of the foundations for our generation. Any coparision to this show is almost instantly recognisable. If I was to mention say, puddleton lane, william's wish welligtons, or Super Ted there is only a small chance that the person I was talking to would understand my reference. We've all been there. However it is unthinkable with Sesame Street. No matter who you talk to under the age of thirty, they will have at least one fond memory of this show.
Thinking about it in retrospect gives you a million Parental Bonus es. The opera singer Placido Flamingo. The crime solving sheep Colambo. The host of Monsterpiece theatre Vincent Twice Vincent Twice. Bizzare little cultural references that range from the subtle, to the sublime to just the silly. However the characters everyone remembers are the ones who were just hilarious in their own right. The sketches with Gover trying to serve poor Mr Johnson in the resteraut were just as snappy and left of field as any comedy routine devised for an adult audience. Kermit the Frog's reports for Sesame Street News had me in stitches when rewatched over youtube (Here's one with Rapunzel). And while I was always a little scared of Oscar the Grouch who was probably the closest thing the show got to a villian, I was fansinated by the fact he lived in a trash can. He had an elephant down there! How did it fit? I don't buy any of that Elmo in Grouchland crap, I'm sticking with the whole Oscar's a Time Lord chestnut. Apparently everyone else is.
While people may gush over things like Avenue Q, and how subversive it is to the whole wholsome Seaseme Street concept, I just think these mustn't have watched the show in a very long time. While it was always fun, friendly and eager to help kids learn, it's not one of those unfortunate shows that should only be remembered through a Nostalgia Filter. Yes, it was for kids but the reason it's a stable of children's TV was A) it was never syrupy sweet and B) it was never dumbed down. Why bother subverting a subversive show?
Anywho that's Sesame Street. The holy grail of Nostalgia fans.
Series Nostalgia for ALL
This show is one of the foundations for our generation. Any coparision to this show is almost instantly recognisable. If I was to mention say, puddleton lane, william's wish welligtons, or Super Ted there is only a small chance that the person I was talking to would understand my reference. We've all been there. However it is unthinkable with Sesame Street. No matter who you talk to under the age of thirty, they will have at least one fond memory of this show.
Thinking about it in retrospect gives you a million Parental Bonus es. The opera singer Placido Flamingo. The crime solving sheep Colambo. The host of Monsterpiece theatre Vincent Twice Vincent Twice. Bizzare little cultural references that range from the subtle, to the sublime to just the silly. However the characters everyone remembers are the ones who were just hilarious in their own right. The sketches with Gover trying to serve poor Mr Johnson in the resteraut were just as snappy and left of field as any comedy routine devised for an adult audience. Kermit the Frog's reports for Sesame Street News had me in stitches when rewatched over youtube (Here's one with Rapunzel
). And while I was always a little scared of Oscar the Grouch who was probably the closest thing the show got to a villian, I was fansinated by the fact he lived in a trash can. He had an elephant down there! How did it fit? I don't buy any of that Elmo in Grouchland crap, I'm sticking with the whole Oscar's a Time Lord chestnut. Apparently everyone else is.
While people may gush over things like Avenue Q, and how subversive it is to the whole wholsome Seaseme Street concept, I just think these mustn't have watched the show in a very long time. While it was always fun, friendly and eager to help kids learn, it's not one of those unfortunate shows that should only be remembered through a Nostalgia Filter. Yes, it was for kids but the reason it's a stable of children's TV was A) it was never syrupy sweet and B) it was never dumbed down. Why bother subverting a subversive show?
Anywho that's Sesame Street. The holy grail of Nostalgia fans.