Sesame Street Firsts
Author: Stephen Gerding
May 9th, 2008
Man I love Sesame Street, and even though it first aired before I was born, I still remember some of these from the constant reruns. Some of them are a little foreign though - I do NOT remember ever seeing an orange Oscar the Grouch at all.
Bert and Ernie - Note the hand sticking out of Bert’s mid-section!
Oscar the Grouch - Orange just doesn’t suit the dude.
Big Bird’s debut - I loved him as a kid, but as an adult I find him annoying as hell. Looking at these, he’s always been kinda dumb, but my kid’s mind just didn’t notice.
Snuffleupagus - Man, those were some creeeeepy eyes!
Sam the Robot - I know this dude creeped some kids out, but I always dug Sam.
Roosevelt Franklin - This may or may not be the first Roosevelt Franklin skit, but it’s close enough for our purposes. A classic character, long forgotten by many resurrected on YouTube thanks to Noggin!
The Amazing Mumford - Another “maybe” but close enough - Mumford’s still around and kicking from time to time, leading to a two-part episode recently that had my daughter in tears when Big Bird was accidentally shrunk down to bug size by Muford’s back-asswards magic.
The Count meets Cookie Monster - I can’t find the first appearances of either of these guys, so this first meeting between them will have to do. Even today, Cookie Monster is the shit.
Kermit’s first lecture - This might be the first Cookie Monster, I’m not sure. It is the first time Kermit tells viewers about a letter, though, which would become a staple of the show for years.
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