Sesame Street, Special (TV 1988)

There's a special going on at Sesame Street. First, Gladys Knight and the Pips sing the theme song, then Phil Donahue interviews the residents; Alastaire Cookie tells us the tale of "The 39... See full summary »

Director:

Jon Stone

Writers:

Norman Stiles, Christopher Cerf,

Stars:

Linda Bove, Northern Calloway, Emilio Delgado

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Linda Bove	...	Linda
Northern Calloway	...	David
Emilio Delgado	...	Luis Rodriguez
Loretta Long	...	Susan
Sonia Manzano	...	Maria Figueroa Rodriguez
Bill McCutcheon	...	Uncle Wally
Bob McGrath	...	Bob Johnson
Roscoe Orman	...	Gordon
Alison Bartlett	...	Gina
Caroll Spinney	...	Big Bird / Oscar the Grouch / Bruno the Trashman (voice)
Frank Oz	...	Bert / Grover / Cookie Monster (voice)
Jerry Nelson	...	Pretty Great Performances Announcer / Mr. Johnson / Count Von Count / Additional Muppets (voice)
Richard Hunt	...	Placido Flamingo / Additional Muppets (voice)
Martin P. Robinson	...	Telly Monster (voice)
Kevin Clash	...	Elmo / Hoots the Owl / Additional Muppets (voice)

Storyline

There's a special going on at Sesame Street. First, Gladys Knight and the Pips sing the theme song, then Phil Donahue interviews the residents; Alastaire Cookie tells us the tale of "The 39 Stairs" with Grover. Bob sings the "Who Are the People in Your Neighborhood" song with Ralph Nader, Barbara Walters and Martina Navratilova; Hoots teaches Ernie about how if he wants to play a saxophone, he must put down his duckie; Kermit tries to get Oscar interested in public television; a classic Grover waiter sketch; James Taylor sings an interesting song and finally, some culture: an opera.

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Plot Keywords:

Interview | Saxophone | Sesame Street | The Muppets | Spoof | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Family | Fantasy | Mystery | Music

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Official Sites:

PBS / Children's Television Workshop / The Jim Henson Company

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 October 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

Put Down the Duckie: A Sesame Street Special

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$50,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Children's Television Workshop (CTW)

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When 'Ralph Nader' was asked to perform the "Sesame Street" staple "The People in Your Neighborhood", he refused to sing the lyric "the people that you meet each day" because it is grammatically incorrect. He insisted on singing "the people whom you meet each day". The producers agreed to this change but convinced him to sing the original lyric on the set.

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Goofs

During "The People In The Neighborhood" song, Bob accidentally calls Ralph Nader "Barbara" when he's ripping his sweater.

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Quotes

Bob: I understand you're the guy with the great memory right?
Ralph Nader: Great memory?
Bob: Yeah I understand you have total recall.
Ralph Nader: I'd like to recall that joke.

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Crazy Credits

During the credits, everyone who starred in the special sings "Put Down the Duckie". And, at the very end of the credits, Hoots comes to Ernie with a problem of his own and Ernie gives him very simple advice, "You gotta put down the saxophone if you wanna squeak your duckie". (A homage to "Put Down the Duckie": "Put down the duckie if you wanna play the saxophone")

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Connections

Spoofs Masterpiece (1971)
"Monsterpiece Theatre" intro and outro segments, with Sir Alistair Cooke pastiche.

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Soundtracks

"Jellyman Kelly"
Performed by James Taylor

User Reviews

A True Classic

I will have to agree with one of the reviewer's commentary on how Sesame Street isn't the same as it used to be. I have a two year old who has been watching Sesame Street and it follows a specific time format. Elmo has become so big that he now has his own time slot 40 minutes into the show. Although the skits are more educational (and that should be a good thing) I have to admit that after watching the entire "Put Down the Duckie" video, the skits are hilarious and subliminally educational. A good example of this is the "Grover, Singing and Dancing Waiter" skit. I loved the McLearer report skit where Cookie Monster is implicated on eating cookies that were not his (of course, he's got Kermit as his legal advocate so it only gets funnier). Perhaps the show "jumped the shark" when Kermit left and Elmo came on board?

Anyway, the old Sesame Street reminds me of the Muppet Show but with a more educational bent. If you can manage getting "Put Down the Duckie" by all means, I would recommend it whole heartedly.