Sesame Street Turns 40

Sesame Street Turns 40 this month! Look, if you're going to blog every day in November [and I am] and something big has a "birthday" during November [and it does] and if that something has been a big part of your life [and it has, what with it debuting when I was a kid and being a part of the lives of my children as they grew up {which they did}] then you had better blog about it!

[So I am.]

More educated people than I will write about what makes Sesame Street work at a cultural level. For me, at a personal level, what really drove its effectiveness was its humor and its characters. In particular, there are some characters that work so well together that they can always find a way to make me laugh while they are teaching me something.

The most clear example of this is the combination of Kermit and Grover.

Here's a classic:



Yes, you can see the punchline coming. But it's so well done! And, as is always the case, Kermit takes the Bud Abbott role, while Grover plays Lou Costello. Or maybe it's George and Gracie. Or perhaps Dick and Tommie. (When you think about it, don't you feel like Jim Henson and Frank Oz could have had one fantastic stand-up career together?)

For proof that they had fun doing these bits, watch "Light and Heavy." Henson can hardly keep from laughing, and Oz really sells the Grover character. Hey, what would have happened with this demonstration if Grover had not come along?





[And of course, Sesame Street, Henson and Oz are not beyond doing the same joke lesson multiple times. Ernie & Bert!]

There are plenty of other memorable parts of Sesame Street. The guy who paints numbers. The Count. I was never much of an Elmo fan (still true) but some younger kids clearly love him. And who wouldn't love Oscar, in a gotta-love-a-Grouch sort of way? And Cookie Monster? Are you kidding me?

But in the end, the best parts of Sesame Street, for me, are these comical lessons with Kermit and Grover. Cracks me up!