Sesame Street News Flash
Encyclopedia
Sesame Street
Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
. First aired in 1971, the series starred Kermit the Frog
Kermit the Frog
Kermit the Frog is puppeteer Jim Henson's most famous Muppet creation, first introduced in 1955. He is the protagonist of many Muppet projects, most notably as the host of The Muppet Show, and has appeared in various sketches on Sesame Street, in commercials and in public service announcements over...
as a trench coat
Trench coat
A trench coat or trenchcoat is a raincoat made of waterproof heavy-duty cotton drill or poplin, wool gabardine, or leather. It generally has a removable insulated lining; and it is usually knee-length.-History:...
-dressed roving reporter who interviews Muppet
The Muppets
The Muppets are a group of puppet characters created by Jim Henson starting in 1954–55. Although the term is often used to refer to any puppet that resembles the distinctive style of The Muppet Show, the term is both an informal name and legal trademark owned by the Walt Disney Company in reference...
versions of characters from fairy tales, Mother Goose
Mother Goose
The familiar figure of Mother Goose is an imaginary author of a collection of fairy tales and nursery rhymes which are often published as Mother Goose Rhymes. As a character, she appears in one "nursery rhyme". A Christmas pantomime called Mother Goose is often performed in the United Kingdom...
nursery rhymes and key moments in history.
Given the basic format of the segments, the "Sesame Street News Flash" series served several purposes, namely to act out simple stories and nursery rhymes with which the show's audience might be familiar, and to give children a basic understanding of history. Other skits were spoofs of popular culture (such as one which parodied the then-popular The Six Million Dollar Man
The Six Million Dollar Man
The Six Million Dollar Man is an American television series about a former astronaut with bionic implants working for the OSI...
), while others involved Kermit asking children simple vox populi
Vox populi
Vox populi , a Latin phrase that literally means voice of the people, is a term often used in broadcasting for interviews with members of the "general public".-Vox pop, the man on the street:...
, or "man on the street," style questions. With exception to the latter, the segments were often parodies and diverged from the traditional tellings.
Basic outline of a sketch
The "Sesame Street News Flash" segments were introduced with a bumper slide, featuring a black background with a cloud outline, stars and lightning; the words "NEWS FLASH" were inserted in the cloud outline and flashed as a special bulletin-type jingle — an urgent-sounding version of the Sesame StreetSesame Street
Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
theme (composed by Joe Raposo
Joe Raposo
Joseph Guilherme Raposo, OIH was a Portuguese-American composer, songwriter, pianist, television writer and lyricist, best known for his work on the children's television series Sesame Street, for which he wrote the theme song, as well as classic songs such as "Bein' Green" and "C is for Cookie"...
), with Morse code
Morse code
Morse code is a method of transmitting textual information as a series of on-off tones, lights, or clicks that can be directly understood by a skilled listener or observer without special equipment...
beeps — played. An announcer (voiced by Jerry Nelson
Jerry Nelson
Jerry Nelson is an American Muppet puppeteer, known for his wide range of characters, singing abilities, and his frequent partnership with Richard Hunt.-Early years:...
) then stated, "We take you now to Kermit the Frog with another fast-breaking news story!"
The scene then broke to Kermit, who was stationed nearby where his report was taking place; often, he would engage in banter with his crew before realizing he was on-camera, to add to the realism and spontaneity of his report. After introducing himself ("Hi-ho, this is Kermit the Frog of Sesame Street News...") before reporting where he is.
The reports began smoothly enough before something invariably went wrong, in most cases the work of the hapless Kermit. For instance:
- A spoof on Humpty DumptyHumpty DumptyHumpty Dumpty is a character in an English language nursery rhyme, probably originally a riddle and one of the best known in the English-speaking world. He is typically portrayed as an egg and has appeared or been referred to in a large number of works of literature and popular culture...
began in medias resIn medias resIn medias res or medias in res is a Latin phrase denoting the literary and artistic narrative technique wherein the relation of a story begins either at the mid-point or at the conclusion, rather than at the beginning In medias res or medias in res (into the middle of things) is a Latin phrase...
with "all the king's horses" and "all the kings men" finding the shattered Dumpty. Kermit follows the men's successful efforts to reconstruct Dumpty, then interviews the resurrected egg, finally after his statement "it's so nice to have you back", slaps Dumpty's back and shattering him again! The lead king's horse, naturally, blames Kermit.
- In a retelling of "RapunzelRapunzel"Rapunzel" is a German fairy tale in the collection assembled by the Brothers Grimm, and first published in 1812 as part of Children's and Household Tales. The Grimm Brothers' story is an adaptation of the fairy tale Persinette by Charlotte-Rose de Caumont de La Force originally published in 1698...
", the main character reveals that she is bald as she literally "lets down her hair." Other nursery rhyme and fairy tale retellings went similarly, such as CinderellaCinderella"Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper" is a folk tale embodying a myth-element of unjust oppression/triumphant reward. Thousands of variants are known throughout the world. The title character is a young woman living in unfortunate circumstances that are suddenly changed to remarkable fortune...
's fairy godmother accidentally poofing a fancy gown onto Kermit, or a whole band showing up at Old King ColeOld King Cole"Old King Cole" is an English nursery rhyme. The historical identity of King Cole has been much debated and several candidates have been advanced as possibilities...
's castle instead of just his "fiddlers three." One segment combined "This Little PiggyThis Little Piggy"This Little Piggy" or "This little pig" is an English language nursery rhyme and fingerplay. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 19297.-Lyrics:The most common modern version is:-Origins:...
" and "The Three Little Pigs, " where after five pigs say their signature lines, the Big Bad Wolf — agitated at Kermit's constant asking him questions — makes good on a threat to "blow the frog down."
- In re-telling the legend of George Washington chopping down the cherry tree, Kermit interviews a young George just as he is about to chop down trees in a large cherry orchard. Kermit subtracts one from a running total (starting with 1,776) until one of the trees falls on top of him.
- In The Six Million Dollar Man parody, Kermit interviews Professor Nucleus Von Fission, who has invented a robot entitled "The Six-Dollar Man" (a makeshift robot made of everyday items, the cost of which adds up to $6.00). The robot comes to life and immediately goes crazy, destroying Von Fission's laboratory. ("Well, what do you expect for six dollars?")
- One segment, a spoof of human interest news items, turned out to be an elaborate prank on Kermit; he was covering a story about someone standing out in the snow for a long time, based on a call from some person. He remained out in the snow attempting to find that person but to no avail, until finally, Harvey Kneeslapper showed up and revealed he was the one who called Sesame Street News about the person standing in the snow for a long time...and that person he'd been referring to was Kermit himself!!
Other segments were more serious. For example, one skit featured Kermit interviewing monsters at a daycare center about what they wanted to be when they grew up, while another featured Telly Monster
Telly Monster
Telly Monster, known usually as just Telly, is an eternally worrying, fuchsia monster Muppet on Sesame Street. He is puppeteered by Martin P. Robinson....
and his sister being asked what they do on a rainy day. Another skit explored parential separation and divorce, featuring a young bird whose parents live in different trees; the song "They Live in Different Places, But They Both Love Me" was used to reinforce the moral.
Each report concluded with Kermit saying, "This is Kermit the Frog returning you to your regularly scheduled program."
Longevity
There were many News Flash skits produced between 1972 and 1994. After Jim HensonJim Henson
James Maury "Jim" Henson was an American puppeteer best known as the creator of The Muppets. As a puppeteer, Henson performed in various television programs, such as Sesame Street and The Muppet Show, films such as The Muppet Movie and The Great Muppet Caper, and created advanced puppets for...
's death, the skits were unofficially canceled, but older Sesame Street News segments were still rerun on the show. On a few occasions, a new Sesame Street News segment would be made relating to the episode, with Steve Whitmire
Steve Whitmire
Steven Whitmire is an American puppeteer who works for The Jim Henson Company, Sesame Workshop and Disney's The Muppets Studio. He has been the performer of two signature Muppets - Kermit the Frog and Sesame Street's Ernie - since the death of their creator and original performer, Jim Henson, in...
performing Kermit.
By 1998, the sketches became increasingly rare on the show. In 2001, when Sesame Workshop
Sesame Workshop
Sesame Workshop, formerly known as the Children's Television Workshop , is a Worldwide American non-profit organization behind the production of several educational children's programs that have run on public broadcasting around the world...
bought the rights to the Sesame Street
Sesame Street
Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
Muppets, since Kermit the Frog
Kermit the Frog
Kermit the Frog is puppeteer Jim Henson's most famous Muppet creation, first introduced in 1955. He is the protagonist of many Muppet projects, most notably as the host of The Muppet Show, and has appeared in various sketches on Sesame Street, in commercials and in public service announcements over...
was made before Sesame Street was created, and was the main character of The Muppets
The Muppets
The Muppets are a group of puppet characters created by Jim Henson starting in 1954–55. Although the term is often used to refer to any puppet that resembles the distinctive style of The Muppet Show, the term is both an informal name and legal trademark owned by the Walt Disney Company in reference...
including The Muppet Show
The Muppet Show
The Muppet Show is a British television programme produced by American puppeteer Jim Henson and featuring Muppets. After two pilot episodes were produced in 1974 and 1975, the show premiered on 5 September 1976 and five series were produced until 15 March 1981, lasting 120 episodes...
, The Muppet Movie
The Muppet Movie
The Muppet Movie is the first of a series of live-action musical feature films starring Jim Henson's Muppets. Released in 1979, the film was produced by Henson Associates, Children's Television Workshop and ITC Entertainment....
and other non Sesame Street related productions made by Jim Henson Productions. Sesame Workshop did not buy the rights to Kermit the Frog for future use, so the News Flash sketches were dropped from the show altogether. In 2004, non Sesame Street Kermit material, and The Muppets produced material and were bought by Disney, as well as their future use.
External links
- Muppet Wiki's "Sesame Street News Flash" guide