Retrotalk : Television : Who watched Sesame Street ?

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Retrotank Member Since: April 2009 Contributions: 22 Gold Stars: 1 View User Posts	Who watched Sesame Street ? Posted: Mon Nov 02, 2009 12:01 pm Central Time How many people in this forum was a normal occasional Sesame Street viewer back in the 80s? I for one, was one of them up into my early 20's _________________ www.RetroTank.com
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Retromaniac Member Since: September 2005 Contributions: 7507 Gold Stars: 153 View User Posts	Re: Who watched Sesame Street ? Posted: Mon Nov 02, 2009 4:32 pm Central Time Who didn't? I was a regular viewer well into grade school even! I had many favorite skits, and was somehow able to distinguish them into different eras right from the start (e.g. the bizarre skits were 70s, the real-world skits were eighties, etc). There were a few really creepy skits (especially one with a dark toyshop with toys moving by themselves). After Elmo's World was added, it lost its charm. Sesame Street is a classic, but the changes it made were necessary. Those bizarre skits should never have been intended for kids. _________________ Oh Gloria, with hair like granite.
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Saucerian Member Since: August 2009 Contributions: 287 Gold Stars: 21 View User Posts	Re: Who watched Sesame Street ? Posted: Mon Nov 02, 2009 6:10 pm Central Time I miss Grover as the waiter at that restaurant. "I get that ding-a-ling every time I come in here..."
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Xerus Member Since: March 2006 Contributions: 3416 Gold Stars: 548 View User Posts	Re: Who watched Sesame Street ? Posted: Mon Nov 02, 2009 6:59 pm Central Time Sesame Street was the very first TV show I ever watched since I was a baby. Some scenes were pretty neat while other scenes were scary and gave me childhood nightmares. Still I'll always be a big fan of Sesame Street.
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Sith Penguin Member Since: March 2006 Contributions: 2048 Gold Stars: 224 View User Posts	Re: Who watched Sesame Street ? Posted: Mon Nov 02, 2009 10:25 pm Central Time Retromaniac wrote: Sesame Street is a classic, but the changes it made were necessary. Those bizarre skits should never have been intended for kids. view i dunno, i suppose it would vary by child. of the ones i've seen at least, i'd say they were quite fascinating and sparked the imagination. but then again i watched a lot of stuff i probably wasn't supposed to be watching at that age. _________________ can't talk now, the ninjas are watching me think. The new Halloween Special is up...enjoy! http://the-rl-story.bravehost.com/index.html
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mwsmedia Member Since: September 2009 Contributions: 214 Gold Stars: 4 View User Posts	Re: Who watched Sesame Street ? Posted: Tue Nov 03, 2009 1:42 pm Central Time Retrotank wrote: How many people in this forum was a normal occasional Sesame Street viewer back in the 80s? view In the seventies... heck yeah! While I was more of an Electric Company fan, I have very fond memories of watching Sesame Street... brilliant stuff. _________________ Matthew Wayne Selznick Chief Evangelist http://www.retroland.com
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Retromaniac Member Since: September 2005 Contributions: 7507 Gold Stars: 153 View User Posts	Re: Who watched Sesame Street ? Posted: Tue Nov 03, 2009 4:34 pm Central Time Of course, in the 80s, I was far too young to even watch TV :p. I watched it maybe 1990-93. Afterward, I watched it simply because I was partial to it. I didn't need to, being in middle school at the time, but I loved it anyway. Once they started updating it (the dancing skyscrapers and whatnot), I lost interest. _________________ Oh Gloria, with hair like granite.
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kendra Member Since: February 2008 Contributions: 3887 Gold Stars: 4688 View User Posts	Re: Who watched Sesame Street ? Posted: Tue Nov 03, 2009 10:34 pm Central Time I was a faithful viewer of Sesame Street,back in the 80's. I looked forward to seeing Big Bird,Kermit,Bert and Ernie,Snuffy (too long a name),etc. Those were the days.
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Tom1956 Member Since: December 2005 Contributions: 1343 Gold Stars: 34 View User Posts	Re: Who watched Sesame Street ? Posted: Wed Nov 04, 2009 7:41 am Central Time I was a teenager when Sesame Street premiered, but I still used to watch it occasionally with my younger sibs, and in the '80s I would still watch it when I was home sick from work. I always admired the humor and pop culture references that would fly right over the heads of its target audience, but resonate with their parents. "Monsterpiece Theatre with Alistair Cookie" would mean nothing to the kids, but they would enjoy it because it had Muppets in it. Parents and other older viewers would get the reference, though. I happened to catch the episode where Mr. Snuffleupagus was finally revealed to the other residents of Sesame Street who thought he was Big Bird's imaginary friend (it was supposed to reassure the little ones that grownups should believe what they tell them, no matter how outlandish, an important lesson in an age of increasing child abuse). Phil Donahue was a guest on that show, and when he launched into a scene that parodied his talk show style, complete with the pointing microphone, hopefully kids had not been exposed to the sometimes lurid content of his show. We older viewers got the joke, though, especially when someone -- Maria, I think -- pointed out to him that he didn't need a microphone to talk to people on the street. (He later reprised this bit on the pledge drive "Sesame Street Special: Put Down the Duckie", much of which had humor to draw grownups in.) Much of the current show is intended more for the target audience with less for adults. In this way, it approaches the feel of "Barney" or "Teletubbies", in that it can fascinate the kids, while boring the grownups. _________________ "Life moves pretty fast. You don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." -- Ferris Bueller "A word to the wise ain't necessary -- it's the stupid ones that need the advice" -- Dr. W.H. Cosby, Jr.
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Allie Fox Member Since: June 2006 Contributions: 3056 Gold Stars: 273 View User Posts	Re: Who watched Sesame Street ? Posted: Wed Nov 04, 2009 12:40 pm Central Time Tom1956 wrote: Much of the current show is intended more for the target audience with less for adults. In this way, it approaches the feel of "Barney" or "Teletubbies", in that it can fascinate the kids, while boring the grownups. view Very good point. I watched SS regularly until about 1978. Recently I tried to watch it with my four year old and found it very formulaic like many of the toddler oriented shows of Disney and Nickelodeon. There also seemed to be too much emphasis on Elmo and Zoe rather than the gang as a group. I don't have to like it but it's evident. . . The Times They Are A'Changin'!!! _________________ People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring. - Rogers Hornsby
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mwsmedia Member Since: September 2009 Contributions: 214 Gold Stars: 4 View User Posts	Re: Who watched Sesame Street ? Posted: Wed Nov 04, 2009 2:09 pm Central Time We're honoring the fortieth anniversary of "Sesame Street" on the home page of Retroland.com -- spread the word, and leave comments if you like! Happy Anniversary, Sesame Street! Best, _________________ Matthew Wayne Selznick Chief Evangelist http://www.retroland.com
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edehl Member Since: April 2006 Contributions: 1725 Gold Stars: 385 View User Posts	Re: Who watched Sesame Street ? Posted: Fri Nov 06, 2009 9:17 pm Central Time Sesame Street? I'm not sure if I've ever heard of that show......
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nosralak Member Since: December 2005 Contributions: 2591 View User Posts	Re: Who watched Sesame Street ? Posted: Sat Nov 07, 2009 5:40 pm Central Time Is PBS going to have a special this year? I remember when they had a 30th or 35th anniversary special and it was "all about Elmo". There was a subplot when he wanted to run away or something and the Street denizens were all, "Oh, please don't leave, Elmo! What would we do without you? How will we survive?" Yeah. He's soooo essential. (BTW, has anyone seen Google's homepage honoring the show's 40th the past few weeks? Very cool.)
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freakyfemme Member Since: August 2007 Contributions: 516 Gold Stars: 7 View User Posts	Re: Who watched Sesame Street ? Posted: Sat Nov 07, 2009 7:17 pm Central Time I watched Sesame Street regularly until I was seven or eight years old, and it was a GREAT show. I never liked Sesame Park, or Sesame Park Snippets, or Elmo's World, or any of the newer spin-offs, I only ever liked the original Canadian version, and sometimes the American version as well. I don't know why they ever changed the format, I mean, watching Sesame Street was the first lesson I remember in sitting still and paying attention to something from start to finish, because it was presented in a manner that kids can follow. Yes, it was an hour long, but instead of one long storyline, or a main plot and a subplot, there'd be one simple storyline broken up into parts, interspersed with educational content that reinforced the letter and number of the day, and also taught things like sharing, co-operation, persistence, recycling, good hygiene, celebrating diversity, French or Spanish vocabulary, simple math, you name it. So, in my opinion, cutting the whole show down to a fifteen minute "snippet" completely defeated its purpose.
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