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10 Awesome Moments From Sesame Street

Dodai — Tue, 26 May 2009 16:00:00 EDT

This year marks the 40th anniversary of Sesame Street. As Newsweek's Lisa Guernsey reports, although the children's show changed the world — intentionally showcasing children of different races living and playing together, and teaching kids about numbers and letters before they hit kindergarten — it's now number 15 in ratings.

But while SpongeBob and Dora may rank higher, has any other show done so much for kids than Sesame Street? According to Guernsey, "Independent research found that children who regularly watch Sesame Street gained more than nonviewers on tests of letter and number recognition, vocabulary and early math skills. One study, in 2001, revealed that the show's positive effects on reading and achievement lasted through high school."

Plus, unlike some other offerings in 1969, the show tapped into the social activism of the era. "From the start," writes Guernsey, "Sesame targeted lower-income, urban kids-the ones who lived on streets with garbage cans sitting in front of their rowhouse apartments." And there were other moments — like when Snuffleupagus taught us how to communicate with the deaf — which showed that the program attempted to include to all kinds of people.

Singing, cultural diversity and huggable puppets: What's not to love? (How many of these albums did you have?) Next: Some favorite moments from Sesame Street!

"Me And My Llama." It's probably best not to wonder why a little girl is walking a llama through the streets of Manhattan and instead think of this as a way to teach kids that the dentist isn't scary. Question: Does that llama also see an orthodontist?

"Ladybug Picnic" It's not just a counting song: It mentions knock-knock jokes! And when they roast marshmallows, it seems like the most fun thing in the world.

"School Pageant: Flower" Prairie Dawn plays piano in this hilariously crappy school play, where monsters are bad actors who forget their lines.

"Pinball 12" The voices you hear are the Pointer Sisters. Enough said.

"Ernie Can't Sleep" Since Ernie has insomnia, he clearly has to keep Bert awake as well.

"I Love Trash" Did you know that Oscar used to be ORANGE?

"Somebody Come And Play" Mommy! We have to hurry and visit the zoo! All the animals are so sad and lonely without us!!!

"C Is for Cookie" A classic. Simple and to the point.

"Near And Far" Grover — voiced by Frank Oz, who later played a cop in the Eddie Murphy/Dan Akroyd flick Trading Places, explains "near" and "far" here, but was also amazing in his segments with John-John.

"Fairy Alphabet" Some really gorgeous illustration/animation; super '70s tune!

Other awesome moments: The Alligator King; the Typewriter Guy; Rubber Ducky; It's Not Easy Being Green and the Yip Yip Aliens… What have I missed? [Ed note: This. ]

‘Sesame Street' [Newsweek]

NPH Sweeps The Clouds Away As The Shoe Fairy On 'Sesame Street'

Mark Graham — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 21:00:00 EDT

· Ever since Neil Patrick Harris ~~warned~~ told the world back in February that he would be appearing as The Shoe Fairy on an episode of Sesame Street, we have been waiting for the mystical unicorn rider to appear on our local PBS affiliate. Fortunately for all of us, our long wait is now over. And while we are slightly sad to report that this clip does not have him uttering the line "I am the greatest fairy in all the land" (that bon mot must've landed on the cutting room floor), we have better news to share. Prepare yourselves for ... a musical number! [Sesame Street]
· While we were excited to introduce you to young Levi Alves McConaughey earlier today, a closer look at the photos shows that America's youngest stoner is already developing some rippling abs! [Best Week Ever]
· In the upcoming remake of Friday The 13th, Jason Voorhees has a mullet. This does not bode well. [Friday The 13th Blog]
· Is the bloom off Joss Whedon's rose? We'll always love and revere him for BtVS, but after getting feedback from the suits at Fox about the pilot episode he shot for Dollhouse, he's going back to the drawing board to rescript and reshoot the whole damn thing. [Vulture]
· Thankfully, this season's TCA press tour has come to a close. THR's James Hibberd put together an easy-to-digest recap, which features this refreshingly honest description from the EP of the new Crash television series about how his show will differ from its Academy Award winning source material: "I didn't want the series to feel somber. Or didactic. Or heavy handed. This is a fun show. The show is not bleak. Or depressing." We're sure Paul Haggis would agree. [The Live Feed]

Neil Patrick Harris Is The Greatest Fairy In All The Land

Molly Friedman — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 17:31:38 EST

It's tough out there for Neil Patrick Harris. First, the evil geniuses behind Harold & Kumar force him to film scenes atop a sparkly unicorn. Now, those nefarious producers at PBS have cast him on Sesame Street as a character called The Shoe Fairy. After telling Conan's audience that he "loves puppets!" and misunderstanding their muffled laughs, Harris goes on to give us a sample of what those sneaky writers put in his script:

I had to say lines like, 'I am the greatest fairy in all the land!'"

Concerned with the level of snickering that lines like this might induce, NPH was able to convince the showrunners to change his character's title from Shoe Fairy to Fairy Shoeperson. Phew. Still, we are forced to ask why NPH was cast as a character and not as himself. After all, Anderson Cooper was able to pop out of a garbage can in his CNN garb and interview muppets named Walter Cranky, while Melissa Etheridge simply stood around and crowed the All-Star Alphabet when she came on the show. Here's hoping that NPH's work as a tweaked out unicorn rider in Harold and Kumar 2 finally establishes him as a star worthy of an "As Himself" credit the next time he appears on Sesame Street.

Late Night With Conan O'Brien [NBC.com]