This special series on Sesame Street 50 retired Muppets has been brought to you by the letters M for memories and N for nostalgia. Sesame Street is a production of the children’s television workshop.
Guy Smiley was called Sonny Friendly in the "Pick Your Pet" sketch from the early 1970s. When Tough Eddie came back to see Oscar The Grouch, it wasn't to apologize, as the narrator says. It was to ask Oscar if he could have a certain bicycle wheel that Oscar had. When Oscar offered to fetch a wrench so Eddie could unscrew the wheel, Eddie said it wouldn't be necessary and he just took the screw off with -- his bare hand! That shows how tough Eddie was. Simon Soundman actually did appear in one of the "Grover The Waiter" segments. In this skit, he tells Grover what he wants to eat with one of his sound effects, and Grover tries to figure out what he wants by bringing out "sandwiches" with things like a guitar, an elephant, and others, until Grover realizes Simon was making the sound of a chicken, which means that he wants a CHICKEN SANDWICH! However, Simon says he has changed his mind: "Instead, I would like a hot (makes the sound of a dog barking) with mustard and relish." A hot DOG! Get it?
I think the winner for that will be the legendary episode that was only ever aired once. That had the legendary Margaret Hamilton reprising her role as the Wicked Witch of the west from the Wizard of Oz. For some reason it was deemed too scary for kids. Which is heartbreaking. What few clips of it survive make it seem really endearing. And Margaret was clearly having great fun with the gang.
Great series of clips you assembled here. I was a “first gen” Sesame Street tot (early 1970s) so I really dug the inclusion of some of the old school muppets especially Frazzle and Sherlock Hemlock.
Same. It amazes me how many I still remember and remember fondly. I could be wrong, but did a certain number of "retired" Sesame Street Muppet's end up, in one form or another reused as background and supporting cast on The Muppet Show?
Agree everybody. No matter what it is, the first years of any program are usually the best. Sesame Street was at it's weirdest and most wonderful at that time. We are lucky to have been born when we were.
I was born in 1997 and the episodes from that age were just ok, but I was always most into the look and feel of the old 70s and 80s clips. We had some tapes like Learning about Letters and The Alphabet Game that includes clips from the old 70s episodes. I think I enjoyed Elmo more on merchandise than the show. There is just something about the older seasons that's very comforting and refreshing (if you know what I mean). I think seasons 2 and 3 are my favorite.
While watching this series it occurred to me that for everyone who watched Sesame Street as a child, it was only for a handful of years and then you moved on. So it's less than generational. It's almost like a graduating class. So many characters here I never knew about! Previous to and after. Thanks for this series! Keep up the good research and documenting.
So is it bad that Sesame Street wasn't my favorite as a kid (not even when I was in the target demographic) and hell, I remember more of Elmo's World than I do the other skits I watched?
It's actually REALLY hard to be nostalgic about Sesame Street when you don't remember TOO much about it. Seriously. I mean admittedly I remember more than I let on, I remember about a quarter to half of it, but still. I must have not watched as much as some of you. And as much as a LOT of people in general.
It's even more generational now. Pre Internet if you stayed at home--sick days--your primary entertainment was TV. Most daytime TV isn't that entertaining for kids so there is PBS. Yea it's not for your age bracket but definitely closer to your demographic than soap operas; unless there were game shows. Now with the internet, esp. smart phones. Once you past your interest there is no opportunity let alone reason to go back.
I was a first-generation Sesamite, being born in 1970. I followed it more or less continuously until not long after Jim Henson's passing, in 1990. I therefore suppose I'm rather more intimately familiar with the majority of retired Muppets than many others, and it was fascinating having them all back for a brief time, as ideal memories should be. Well done, and keep on going. P.S. I was dismayed that Aristotle the "blind Muppet" only made it to the runners-up slot...but you deserve much credit for including him regardless. 😎
I remember the turtle Muppet making an even earlier appearance, in the 70's, when Kermit, in a "Sesame Street News" segment of course, interviews him for his report on "The Tortoise and the Hare", and he tries Kermit's patience to say the least by being so slow that he takes a mini-eternity just to finish a single sentence.
Yeah, Ernie and Bert’s friendship is so tightly packed they’re like brothers, one can’t exist without the other and they’re ultimately inseparable, I wouldn’t find it all that hard to believe they would have known each other since infancy
What a wonderful trip through Seseme Street memories! The various muppets were always the draw for me; my grandmothers, (who lived with us and took care of me while my parents worked) always watched with me, and had their own favorites. ❤ Could you please do something like this for the human characters that lived on the Street, as well? There were so many who helped show us the good side and kindness of all different types of people.
SHERLOCK HEMLOCK!! Omg I remember loving that character as a kid! And his little reoccurring mystery segments. Sad to hear he isn’t on the show anymore... 😢
This was a great little series you’ve made. I’m really gonna miss this. I feel like you should do another series or a bonus. But this seems pretty good enough because for those who grew up in a different generation around Sesame Street, it’s fun that they learn about different characters who’ve appeared on the show other than just keeping touch with the modern Sesame Street today.
@@maryanderson2138 Two Oscar winning performers Rita Moreno and Morgan Freeman. Rita was the uptight film director and Morgan Freeman as Easy Reader, Vincent the Vampire, and the jive talking DJ with the big Afro hair do.
This series was so good and such a wonderful trip back through my childhood. I was a kid in the late 80s/early 90s and I remember so many of the characters fondly, and you’ve done such a beautiful job paying them tribute in a way I haven’t seen anyone do before. Thank you for this! Also, a quick personal shout out to Louis, Basil, and Dodi from Canadian Sesame Street. I still remember an old sketch I saw them do with a weird machine that could simulate the seasons, and it was teaching us Canadian kids the French words for each. The nostalgia is strong.
I simply loved this series! It brought back so many fond memories of my childhood those many years ago. Thanks so much for taking the time to do this series properly, and for sharing them with us. Much love from Canada.
Dang, I remember being TERRIFIED of Sam. I can't remember where I'd seen the older episodes, but I remember being particularly rattled by him each time he appeared. I'm assuming they were reruns or VHS tapes. Meanwhile, all these years later, I'm unfazed by (and actually adore the design of) Nobody. Fear's a weird thing. Loved this series!
Man I loved this series so much. Firstly your commentary was awesome! Concise, educational, and entertaining, all in perfect balance. I also loved the little drawings you included to help illustrate a point, like Bert getting struck by the count's lightning. This was also just an amazing look back on Sesame Street history. I fondly remembered a lot of these guys like Benny, Alice, Frazzle, and Elizabeth, but it was also cool learning about Muppets I'd never seen or heard of like Farley, Deena, Dexter, and Prof. Hastings. This was a great series and I'd love to see something similar at some point.
This is the best series i've seen in quite awhile, you give so much detail on the muppets, you basically made me wanna go watch them again, thank you so much for these.
This was an amazing video series, the fact that you actually spent a few minutes on each character and didn’t just make it a slideshow with maybe one fact about each one makes me so happy. Glad to see what you’ll do next, keep up the good work!
Heh, I knew Vincent Twice would make it on your list! I remember him from when I was little, especially that time he was the culprit of the mystery! I also like how you pointed how they directly took the "Mysterious Theater" intro from Edward Gorey's 1980s intro to "Mystery!" Sherlock Helmock's bumbling and taking the credit for a case he didn't actually solve reminds me of Inspector Gadget. Thanks for crediting me with providing that footage from Episode 4206!
Your Sesame Street videos bring me so many good nostalgic feels! I recently watched a video tour of the newish (2014) set. At first I was upset that they made changes, but then realized changes and evolution is necessary as the world and the times change & evolve.
I was born in 1969, the year Sesame Street debuted, so by the time Ruby appeared, I'd aged out of the show. But I do remember one morning when I was in high school and took a sick day, turning on Sesame Street out of curiosity and seeing Ruby performing a "scientific experiment" by standing out in the rain to see how wet she would get. I was thrilled! A girl monster on Sesame Street! True, there had been a few girl Muppets when I'd first watched the show, but from what I could remember, none of them had been monsters. I loved the sight of Ruby's fuzzy face! A darn shame she didn't last. Little girls today at least have Zoe and Rosita, but there should have been room for Ruby as well.
0:11 - Roxie Marie 1:11 - Ruby 2:46 - SAM the Robot 5:51 - Shelley the Turtle 7:24 - Sherlock Hemlock 8:51 - Simon Soundman 10:13 - Sonny Friendly 12:23 - Tough Eddie 13:40 - Vincent Twice 15:05 - Zostic
You met your goal with me sir.. Thanks for everything. Such fitting words to end this series. Thank you for putting this out there. Can't wait to see what's next.
SAM the robot was may all-time favorite!* I remember Sherlock Hemlock - he was great! And Tough Eddie - he was tough! I remember the original "Fat Blue" making animal noises, but I don't remember the character actually named Simon Soundman. And I don't know any of the rest of these, either. I remember a Sesame Street News Flash with Kermit, where he interviews the Tortoise and the Hare, but I don't know if that was the same as Shelly the Turtle (who seems to be actually a tortoise, not a turtle, technically speaking). Guy Smiley is an all-time classic. And i remember Barkley the dog, and I remember when he was originally named "Woof Woof" the dog, but they changed it by vote, on the show, because, let's face it: Woof Woof is a stupid name. Bip Bippadotta was often simply called "Manna Manna" even though that wasn't officially his name. IIRC, le left Sesame Street to entertain adults on The Muppet Show, where he also sang Manna Manna, with the "Snooths". I remember that Limbo/Face/Nobody, but I don't think he even counts as a character - he's more of a special effect. He recites various educational information, such as counting to ten, but he doesn't appear in any actual sketches, and never has any dialog with any other characters. Thank you so much for this series! I've greatly enjoyed it! *I'm not 100% certain, but I believe there have been more Muppets with the name Sam than with any other single name. There was the original Sam, of Sam & Friends, then there was the Super Automatic Machine, and Sam the Bald Eagle from the Muppet Show. There was also Sinister Sam in at least one SS sketch set in the old west. I'm sure there were probably other minor and one-shot characters also named Sam.
Yes, Sinister Sam appeared in a number of Sesame Street sketches set during the old West. If I recall correctly, it was one of the last original SS characters that Jim Henson preformed that was not part of the show from the first few seasons.
Thank god I missed out on SAM Machine, cause he would have scared the piss out of me. Yeah when I was a lot younger I'd had a fear of robots, still kinda do but it isn't as bad cause thanks to Star Wars R2-D2 and C-3PO helped get over a good chunk of that fear.
I loved Sherlock Hemlock and Don Music especially as a kid. Thanks for making these videos. They've brought back some really good memories. (And, yes, my brother and I used to smack our heads into the piano...)
The longtime "Sesame Street" nerd in me thanks you so darn much for doing this retrospective, Colin. Though I find it's too bad that Monty wasn't even a runner-up. He's up there with Benny as one of my favorite underrated "Sesame" Muppets, particularly from the '90s, thanks to his eccentricity, and Marty Robinson clearly having a great time performing this walking "Monty Python" reference of a character. Anybody else here remembers Monty?
I can remember at least 19 of the retired muppets and was watching them back in the 1970's, 1980's and early 1990's. Sesame street helped me learn a lot of essential information quickly and there're many scenes from that I'll never forget. And I can also imitate the voices of some of the original muppets.
Ty Sargent I can remember quite a few of the Sesame Street characters, and they include both the muppets and the human characters too. The living characters I can’t forget include ; Bob, Gordon, Susan, Maria, Louis, Mr Hooper , David and Linda. Linda was deaf too. The muppets I can’t forget include Ernie, Bert, Cookie Monster, Grover, Hairy, Elmo, Oscar the grouch, Guy Smiley, Kermit the frog, Simon Soundsman, Harvey Kneeslapper, (who was one of the craziest muppets), Sam the robot, Sinister Sam, (the bad cowboy), Forgetful Joe, Don Music, Sherlock Hemlock, plus several more. The voices I can imitate from Sesame Street include those of Ernie, Bert, Cookies Monster, Grover, Elmo, Kermit the frog, and from the muppet show Miss piggy and the Swedish cook. Plus I can also imitate many animated character and living movie character voices too. Hasta la vista baby.
Sherlock Hemlock! Simon Soundman! Sonny Friendly! Vincent Twice Vincent Twice! Barkley, Guy Smiley... I can't believe how nostalgic and fun this has been. Thank you so much.
Wow, that yellow Whitman Sherlock Hemlock book was the first book I ever bought for myself! I even remember how I had saved up the money slowly in pennies (50 cents? 99 cents? ). Wow, thanks for the time trip. It was like I was right back in the 70's again.
Super cool to hear about Sam the robot appearing in a Marvel comic with Spider-Man and Moon dragon! I love obscure facts like that! This has been a fantastic series!
The Sherlock Hemlock segment being underscored by the Great Mouse Detective theme was a cute touch. Two awesome detectives from my childhood for the price of one! Overall, this has been an awesome series. I'd love to see you continue your look back at Sesame Street and Muppets in general in the future. Thanks for this!
@@ZakWolf Sherlock Hemlock was indeed a bumbling character who succeeded via dumb luck or obvious suggestions from others. Similar in some ways to Inspector Gadget stumbling onto solving a case while Penny and Brain actually did all the work. Given this was Sesame Street, it makes sense that the character would flub through an obvious scenario. It's more meant for the kids watching to figure things out than for the character to do so. ;)
Some of the muppets I did remember. It was one of those shows playing when I was little(it was already five when I was born), and my poor dad wasn't able to watch the news if my nephew wanted to watch.
I loved this series! I wish Beautiful Day Monster and Frazzle would return. Maybe something similar like retired cartoon characters? (e.g Gandy Goose, Andy Panda, Kiko The Kangaroo)
This certainly was a nice nostalgic trip for me, an 80s-mid 90s sesame street kid. I'd even forgotten some of them completely while remembering a few of them that weren't around for long. Great job on this 5 part miniseries.
@@laurenkostich7792 I actually liked those books better than the show because they had stuff like how to bake cookies, and how to speak spanish and sign language.
THANK YOU for bringing up "Don't Eat the Pictures," specifically the clip you used. I remember watching it as a kid, but only the last few scenes with Sahu and Big Bird stayed in my memory. I actually became interested in Egyptian mythology as a teenager, and I vaguely remembered that scene... but I couldn't find evidence of it being real. For years I brushed it off as some weird dream I must've had... but having seen it again, I can confidently say this was the show I watched that stayed in my mind for so long. =D It was amazing to finally see it again!!
This special series of Sesame Street's Fifty Retired Muppets has been brought to you today by the letter M, for Muppets, and by the number 50. Sesame Street is a production of The Children's Television Workshop.
I actually enjoyed all of these vids and yes I can remember mostly all of these puppets. Course I was a child of the 70's so thank you. You gave me some great nostalgia
I didn’t know who Ruby Monster was before this video! Since I’ve discovered her appearances online, she’s become one of my favorite Sesame Street characters! It’s a shame that Ruby disappeared, because she was unique and wasn’t like other monsters I saw on the show! She was creative, curious, loving, and a great role model for girls out there! I’ve been writing about my own character inspired by Ruby, a cute little monster named Shaina!
There was a little girl Muppet who started as a toddler fascinated by Oscar's grouchiness and wanted to be just like him. Another skit saw her preschool/ daycare age being afraid of going to a daycare windering what she would do if she had to use the bathroom there & her zipper got stuck. Her mother assured her that a teacher would help her. Then in another encounter with Oscar, Oscar taught her 3 Grouch words: "Grouch, yucky, rotten" Two of my favourites i remember from the 90s were a little girl Muppet named Emily Elizabeth & her pet kitten muppet Little Murray Sparkles, a cute Calico. Telly and Elmo (or Baby Bear) helped Emily Elizabeth choose his name.
Wow! Sesame Street is only 5 years older than me, which is why some of these deep dives have allowed me to remember some really deep cut Muppet memories. Thank you. 🙏🏼😍
Thabk you so much for making this series!! I learned a lot of fun trivia 😂 i always loved sesame street as a kid (and even more now honestly) but I never thought I watched it that much. But im surprised how many of these bits and characters I remember 😂
I remember tough Eddie. Never knew he was named. Remember those skits with the bricks on Oscar's garbage can and the beach. He just kind of 'evolved' into a single-appearance delivery man, who then transcended into Biff of Biff and Sully, where the unnamed deliveryman had to deliver the letters for Herbert Birdsfoot to make words (wet, met, set, I dunno) and the deliveryman was fussing about his partner Charlie, "watchin' from the van. He's laughin' " and finally yellin' at the unseen Charlie "QUIT LAUGHIN', CHARLIE!' Had to be the master himself, Frank Oz, doing the deliveryman's voice. These characters clearly morphed into Biff and Sully.
You should do a follow up on retired characters who made special appearances on the 50th anniversary special. And it was awesome how they appeared out of nowhere as if they never left SS
One you did not mention was a monster named Crystal. She made a few scattered appearances in the mid 80s (1984-85), and she was somewhat of a wisecracker, rebellious type teenage monster, who always challenged people in her projects by saying "Wanna make something of it?" I have an audio clip of her, but I've never found any video clips of hers.
These are soooooo good and incredibly helpful. I think you'll appreciate a couple Sesame and muppets deep dive facing series we'll have on our Geeky Jr and SpeekyGeeky channels very soon
A couple others I’d like to mention: * The Oinker Sisters: Appeared regularly from seasons 18-39, but then vanished off the face of the earth without even a cameo or the puppets being reused. Appeared often in the direct to video stuff. * Uncle Jack: Only ever appeared once but is notable as being one of the very few canonically deceased Muppets. Implicitly was in the U.S. military, too. * Murray Monster: A special case because it’s less that he hasn’t appeared in 15 years and more that he’s been officially stated as retired by Sesame Workshop, his puppet recycled as a utility player in international versions. * Bug: Again, another one-off, but his sole appearance was in a feature film. His puppet was reused as “Bill” in the short-lived project Panwapa. I think all the feature film-exclusive characters could be one entry, really, covering both movies. (Of course this wouldn’t include human villains). Panwapa could be a video in & of itself, even.
That Electric Company Spider-Man comic is also where the infamous Thanoscopter, "oops I dropped the cosmic cube", and Thanos being arrested by police comes from
This special series on Sesame Street 50 retired Muppets has been brought to you by the letters M for memories and N for nostalgia.
Sesame Street is a production of the children’s television workshop.
Very good pop culture reference.
Or M for Muppet
And the number 50
And now we're crying...
Funny Funny!!!
And to quote Maria (Sonia Manzano)--ADIOS!!!
Sherlock Hemlock!! THAT brought back some old memories!
Still remember his first appearance where he made a crazy deduction that actually turned out to be correct. (it involved a birthday party)
Remember when he found missing Bert at the beach? Ernie had accidentally buried Bert while digging a hole!
Actually, Sherlock's first appearance had him helping Ernie figure out what happened to half of his chicken salad sandwich.
Guy Smiley was called Sonny Friendly in the "Pick Your Pet" sketch from the early 1970s.
When Tough Eddie came back to see Oscar The Grouch, it wasn't to apologize, as the narrator says. It was to ask Oscar if he could have a certain bicycle wheel that Oscar had. When Oscar offered to fetch a wrench so Eddie could unscrew the wheel, Eddie said it wouldn't be necessary and he just took the screw off with -- his bare hand! That shows how tough Eddie was.
Simon Soundman actually did appear in one of the "Grover The Waiter" segments. In this skit, he tells Grover what he wants to eat with one of his sound effects, and Grover tries to figure out what he wants by bringing out "sandwiches" with things like a guitar, an elephant, and others, until Grover realizes Simon was making the sound of a chicken, which means that he wants a CHICKEN SANDWICH! However, Simon says he has changed his mind:
"Instead, I would like a hot (makes the sound of a dog barking) with mustard and relish."
A hot DOG! Get it?
I would like to see a 31 scariest Sesame Streets moments video for halloween.
Ditto!
He should include Im Sad Because Im Happy
I'll second that.
I think the winner for that will be the legendary episode that was only ever aired once. That had the legendary Margaret Hamilton reprising her role as the Wicked Witch of the west from the Wizard of Oz. For some reason it was deemed too scary for kids. Which is heartbreaking. What few clips of it survive make it seem really endearing. And Margaret was clearly having great fun with the gang.
The X 👽
Great series of clips you assembled here. I was a “first gen” Sesame Street tot (early 1970s) so I really dug the inclusion of some of the old school muppets especially Frazzle and Sherlock Hemlock.
I was 1st gen too. I still love muppets
Same. It amazes me how many I still remember and remember fondly. I could be wrong, but did a certain number of "retired" Sesame Street Muppet's end up, in one form or another reused as background and supporting cast on The Muppet Show?
Agree everybody. No matter what it is, the first years of any program are usually the best. Sesame Street was at it's weirdest and most wonderful at that time.
We are lucky to have been born when we were.
Only Beautiful Day Monster and Butch the Tiger.
I was born in 1997 and the episodes from that age were just ok, but I was always most into the look and feel of the old 70s and 80s clips. We had some tapes like Learning about Letters and The Alphabet Game that includes clips from the old 70s episodes. I think I enjoyed Elmo more on merchandise than the show. There is just something about the older seasons that's very comforting and refreshing (if you know what I mean). I think seasons 2 and 3 are my favorite.
While watching this series it occurred to me that for everyone who watched Sesame Street as a child, it was only for a handful of years and then you moved on. So it's less than generational. It's almost like a graduating class.
So many characters here I never knew about! Previous to and after.
Thanks for this series! Keep up the good research and documenting.
So is it bad that Sesame Street wasn't my favorite as a kid (not even when I was in the target demographic) and hell, I remember more of Elmo's World than I do the other skits I watched?
It's actually REALLY hard to be nostalgic about Sesame Street when you don't remember TOO much about it. Seriously. I mean admittedly I remember more than I let on, I remember about a quarter to half of it, but still. I must have not watched as much as some of you. And as much as a LOT of people in general.
It's even more generational now. Pre Internet if you stayed at home--sick days--your primary entertainment was TV. Most daytime TV isn't that entertaining for kids so there is PBS. Yea it's not for your age bracket but definitely closer to your demographic than soap operas; unless there were game shows. Now with the internet, esp. smart phones. Once you past your interest there is no opportunity let alone reason to go back.
I was a first-generation Sesamite, being born in 1970. I followed it more or less continuously until not long after Jim Henson's passing, in 1990. I therefore suppose I'm rather more intimately familiar with the majority of retired Muppets than many others, and it was fascinating having them all back for a brief time, as ideal memories should be. Well done, and keep on going.
P.S. I was dismayed that Aristotle the "blind Muppet" only made it to the runners-up slot...but you deserve much credit for including him regardless. 😎
I remember the turtle Muppet making an even earlier appearance, in the 70's, when Kermit, in a "Sesame Street News" segment of course, interviews him for his report on "The Tortoise and the Hare", and he tries Kermit's patience to say the least by being so slow that he takes a mini-eternity just to finish a single sentence.
That wasn't him.
I remembered SAM, but I had forgotten how much his voice resembled a Dalek's...
Sam The Machine appeared in a Spiderman comic book?
SERIOUSLY?
Machines are perfect, perfect, perfect. Now you shall all be exterminated: exterminate, exterminate exterminate.
@@michaelpalmieri7335 HEY Thanos had a helicopter in that series
I saw him in a book and I was intrigued for awhile, happy he was on here! Wish there where more Sam clips online
He also fell in love with Gordon's Volkswagon
Yeah, Ernie and Bert’s friendship is so tightly packed they’re like brothers, one can’t exist without the other and they’re ultimately inseparable, I wouldn’t find it all that hard to believe they would have known each other since infancy
"Encouraging prejudice in children? Now that's evil." But unfortunately common.
What a wonderful trip through Seseme Street memories! The various muppets were always the draw for me; my grandmothers, (who lived with us and took care of me while my parents worked) always watched with me, and had their own favorites. ❤
Could you please do something like this for the human characters that lived on the Street, as well? There were so many who helped show us the good side and kindness of all different types of people.
SHERLOCK HEMLOCK!! Omg I remember loving that character as a kid! And his little reoccurring mystery segments. Sad to hear he isn’t on the show anymore... 😢
This was a great little series you’ve made. I’m really gonna miss this. I feel like you should do another series or a bonus. But this seems pretty good enough because for those who grew up in a different generation around Sesame Street, it’s fun that they learn about different characters who’ve appeared on the show other than just keeping touch with the modern Sesame Street today.
World of Puppets I love your chicken 'id' and I will miss the series too.
sydneysnana63 thanks
I think a new interesting series would be to see where some of the locations went, like the Furry Arms hotel
The Electric Company.
HEY YOU GUUUYYYS!!!
The Electric Company was my absolute favorite children's show! :D
@@maryanderson2138 Two Oscar winning performers Rita Moreno and Morgan Freeman. Rita was the uptight film director and Morgan Freeman as Easy Reader, Vincent the Vampire, and the jive talking DJ with the big Afro hair do.
"'The Electric Company' gets it power from The Children's Television Workshop"
I loved that show. I was seeing it in the 80s in re-runs. I really enjoyed the one they did years later too even if it had to be a little more modern.
Movin out in a new wayyy !!!
This series was so good and such a wonderful trip back through my childhood. I was a kid in the late 80s/early 90s and I remember so many of the characters fondly, and you’ve done such a beautiful job paying them tribute in a way I haven’t seen anyone do before. Thank you for this!
Also, a quick personal shout out to Louis, Basil, and Dodi from Canadian Sesame Street. I still remember an old sketch I saw them do with a weird machine that could simulate the seasons, and it was teaching us Canadian kids the French words for each. The nostalgia is strong.
"Oh yes, I'll bring her some pumpernickel." sounds weirdly adult.
I simply loved this series! It brought back so many fond memories of my childhood those many years ago. Thanks so much for taking the time to do this series properly, and for sharing them with us. Much love from Canada.
Sherlock Hemlock. I remember him from Search and Learn Adventures. I loved that game from my childhood.
Dang, I remember being TERRIFIED of Sam. I can't remember where I'd seen the older episodes, but I remember being particularly rattled by him each time he appeared. I'm assuming they were reruns or VHS tapes. Meanwhile, all these years later, I'm unfazed by (and actually adore the design of) Nobody. Fear's a weird thing.
Loved this series!
Sam creeps me out too (even as an adult), he's just so big, and something about that mouth is unnerving.
@@SammyJ_Studios i remember Sam from some book, but not TV
I was afraid of Sam the Robot too. His voice was terrifying.
Sam is terrifying. I thought I was the only one who thought that.
@@flowertrue I think Sam is the root cause of my misophonia!
R.I.P. Caroll Spinney (1933-2019) I'm a man and I was bawling on the couch for a minute after I read about it. I'm not kidding.
Muppets have become my new obsession. Very cool video
Mine too.
But the memories remain by those who remember it.
Man I loved this series so much. Firstly your commentary was awesome! Concise, educational, and entertaining, all in perfect balance. I also loved the little drawings you included to help illustrate a point, like Bert getting struck by the count's lightning. This was also just an amazing look back on Sesame Street history. I fondly remembered a lot of these guys like Benny, Alice, Frazzle, and Elizabeth, but it was also cool learning about Muppets I'd never seen or heard of like Farley, Deena, Dexter, and Prof. Hastings. This was a great series and I'd love to see something similar at some point.
Glad to see Part 5. I think Vincent Twice would be my favorite from this set. Great series overall as well.
This is the best series i've seen in quite awhile, you give so much detail on the muppets, you basically made me wanna go watch them again, thank you so much for these.
This was an amazing video series, the fact that you actually spent a few minutes on each character and didn’t just make it a slideshow with maybe one fact about each one makes me so happy. Glad to see what you’ll do next, keep up the good work!
Thank you! I'm digging your avatar.
Colin LooksBack thanks lol
Heh, I knew Vincent Twice would make it on your list! I remember him from when I was little, especially that time he was the culprit of the mystery! I also like how you pointed how they directly took the "Mysterious Theater" intro from Edward Gorey's 1980s intro to "Mystery!"
Sherlock Helmock's bumbling and taking the credit for a case he didn't actually solve reminds me of Inspector Gadget.
Thanks for crediting me with providing that footage from Episode 4206!
Your Sesame Street videos bring me so many good nostalgic feels! I recently watched a video tour of the newish (2014) set. At first I was upset that they made changes, but then realized changes and evolution is necessary as the world and the times change & evolve.
As someone who doesn't really remember half the skits I watched as a kid, it doesn't do too much to me. I wasn't too upset about it.
An amazing conclusion to a wonderful series that I won't be forgetting any time soon!
Ruby kinda looks like the Muppet who sang Cereal Girl!!
I was born in 1969, the year Sesame Street debuted, so by the time Ruby appeared, I'd aged out of the show. But I do remember one morning when I was in high school and took a sick day, turning on Sesame Street out of curiosity and seeing Ruby performing a "scientific experiment" by standing out in the rain to see how wet she would get. I was thrilled! A girl monster on Sesame Street! True, there had been a few girl Muppets when I'd first watched the show, but from what I could remember, none of them had been monsters. I loved the sight of Ruby's fuzzy face! A darn shame she didn't last. Little girls today at least have Zoe and Rosita, but there should have been room for Ruby as well.
70's Street was the best. Sam the Robot! That brought back such early forgotten memories!😀 Your 5 part series was very well done, thank you!
0:11 - Roxie Marie
1:11 - Ruby
2:46 - SAM the Robot
5:51 - Shelley the Turtle
7:24 - Sherlock Hemlock
8:51 - Simon Soundman
10:13 - Sonny Friendly
12:23 - Tough Eddie
13:40 - Vincent Twice
15:05 - Zostic
16:48 Runners-up and disqualified characters (Barkley, Guy Smiley, Amazing Mumford, Kermit)
Simon Soundman was an awesome character!
You met your goal with me sir.. Thanks for everything. Such fitting words to end this series. Thank you for putting this out there. Can't wait to see what's next.
SAM the robot was may all-time favorite!* I remember Sherlock Hemlock - he was great! And Tough Eddie - he was tough! I remember the original "Fat Blue" making animal noises, but I don't remember the character actually named Simon Soundman. And I don't know any of the rest of these, either. I remember a Sesame Street News Flash with Kermit, where he interviews the Tortoise and the Hare, but I don't know if that was the same as Shelly the Turtle (who seems to be actually a tortoise, not a turtle, technically speaking).
Guy Smiley is an all-time classic. And i remember Barkley the dog, and I remember when he was originally named "Woof Woof" the dog, but they changed it by vote, on the show, because, let's face it: Woof Woof is a stupid name. Bip Bippadotta was often simply called "Manna Manna" even though that wasn't officially his name. IIRC, le left Sesame Street to entertain adults on The Muppet Show, where he also sang Manna Manna, with the "Snooths". I remember that Limbo/Face/Nobody, but I don't think he even counts as a character - he's more of a special effect. He recites various educational information, such as counting to ten, but he doesn't appear in any actual sketches, and never has any dialog with any other characters.
Thank you so much for this series! I've greatly enjoyed it!
*I'm not 100% certain, but I believe there have been more Muppets with the name Sam than with any other single name. There was the original Sam, of Sam & Friends, then there was the Super Automatic Machine, and Sam the Bald Eagle from the Muppet Show. There was also Sinister Sam in at least one SS sketch set in the old west. I'm sure there were probably other minor and one-shot characters also named Sam.
Yes, Sinister Sam appeared in a number of Sesame Street sketches set during the old West. If I recall correctly, it was one of the last original SS characters that Jim Henson preformed that was not part of the show from the first few seasons.
Thank god I missed out on SAM Machine, cause he would have scared the piss out of me. Yeah when I was a lot younger I'd had a fear of robots, still kinda do but it isn't as bad cause thanks to Star Wars R2-D2 and C-3PO helped get over a good chunk of that fear.
Simon soundman and Shelley the turtle were my favorite growing up (Along with a few other Muppets)
I loved Sherlock Hemlock and Don Music especially as a kid. Thanks for making these videos. They've brought back some really good memories. (And, yes, my brother and I used to smack our heads into the piano...)
This was a wonderful series, thank you!
I remember Roosevelt Franklin. He was the jive talking muppet.
Sherlock Hemlock, Ruby, Roxie Marie!! That brought back several memories! I never SAM the Robot on the show.
You played the theme of "Great Mouse Detective" during the Sherlock Hemlock part. I approve. :)
Glad someone else noticed too!
Great list Colin! Watched and enjoyed them all. My compliments for a very enjoyable series.
Sherlock Hemlock singing X marks the spot is one of my favorite moments of him.
The longtime "Sesame Street" nerd in me thanks you so darn much for doing this retrospective, Colin. Though I find it's too bad that Monty wasn't even a runner-up. He's up there with Benny as one of my favorite underrated "Sesame" Muppets, particularly from the '90s, thanks to his eccentricity, and Marty Robinson clearly having a great time performing this walking "Monty Python" reference of a character. Anybody else here remembers Monty?
Others that would have been nice to see as runner-ups include The Oinker Sisters, Bug, and the Monster Clubhouse.
Thank you for revisiting the innocent memories of childhood
18:43 Kermit the Frog shouldn’t count because Disney acquired The Muppets.
Yeah, but that was back when The Muppets weren't owned by Disney.
@@mikewarns Oh.
Speaking of Sherlock Hemlock, I saw him as a background cameo in an episode of Furchester Hotel.
Wahoo! Finally! Thank you so much for showing Sunny Friendly.
I can remember at least 19 of the retired muppets and was watching them back in the 1970's, 1980's and early 1990's. Sesame street helped me learn a lot of essential information quickly and there're many scenes from that I'll never forget. And I can also imitate the voices of some of the original muppets.
Who can you remember? Who can you imitate?
Ty Sargent I can remember quite a few of the Sesame Street characters, and they include both the muppets and the human characters too. The living characters I can’t forget include ; Bob, Gordon, Susan, Maria, Louis, Mr Hooper , David and Linda. Linda was deaf too. The muppets I can’t forget include Ernie, Bert, Cookie Monster, Grover, Hairy, Elmo, Oscar the grouch, Guy Smiley, Kermit the frog, Simon Soundsman, Harvey Kneeslapper, (who was one of the craziest muppets), Sam the robot, Sinister Sam, (the bad cowboy), Forgetful Joe, Don Music, Sherlock Hemlock, plus several more. The voices I can imitate from Sesame Street include those of Ernie, Bert, Cookies Monster, Grover, Elmo, Kermit the frog, and from the muppet show Miss piggy and the Swedish cook. Plus I can also imitate many animated character and living movie character voices too. Hasta la vista baby.
Herry, not Hairy, Forgetful Jones, not Joe, and the Swedish Chef, not Cook.
This one makes me sad :( I grew up with some of them.
Sherlock Hemlock! Simon Soundman! Sonny Friendly! Vincent Twice Vincent Twice! Barkley, Guy Smiley... I can't believe how nostalgic and fun this has been. Thank you so much.
You did a fantastic job!! Thank you.
Wow, that yellow Whitman Sherlock Hemlock book was the first book I ever bought for myself! I even remember how I had saved up the money slowly in pennies (50 cents? 99 cents? ). Wow, thanks for the time trip. It was like I was right back in the 70's again.
Super cool to hear about Sam the robot appearing in a Marvel comic with Spider-Man and Moon dragon! I love obscure facts like that! This has been a fantastic series!
I followed this series all the way through, and I enjoyed it tremendously. Great job, my friend!
Was really hoping to see Telly baby bear and Zoe but I loved this and enjoyed learning and remembering all of these characters!
Zoe and Telly aren't retired. Dunno about Baby Bear, though.
The bear's still around.
I would really love to see the human cast of Sesame Street through the years
Gramps D. Lion I was hoping to look for that next. Oh well. There's always Google to see "where are they now".
The Sherlock Hemlock segment being underscored by the Great Mouse Detective theme was a cute touch. Two awesome detectives from my childhood for the price of one! Overall, this has been an awesome series. I'd love to see you continue your look back at Sesame Street and Muppets in general in the future. Thanks for this!
Oh yes, though I think Basil of Baker Street was WAY smarter than Sherlock Helmock, who'd "solve" his cases by dumb luck or thanks to his dog Watson.
@@ZakWolf Sherlock Hemlock was indeed a bumbling character who succeeded via dumb luck or obvious suggestions from others. Similar in some ways to Inspector Gadget stumbling onto solving a case while Penny and Brain actually did all the work. Given this was Sesame Street, it makes sense that the character would flub through an obvious scenario. It's more meant for the kids watching to figure things out than for the character to do so. ;)
@@neocelestia Oh yes, Sherlock Hemlock IS pretty similar to Inspector Gadget!
This is really good Sesame Street series, Keep up the good work!
As for Mr. Johnson, he was in some life insurance commercial.
Farmers Insurance.
Sherlock Hemlock was pretty fun. I wouldn’t mind seeing him return.
Yeah, I think Matt Vogel might be able to pull off a good Sherlock Hemlock!
Some of the muppets I did remember. It was one of those shows playing when I was little(it was already five when I was born), and my poor dad wasn't able to watch the news if my nephew wanted to watch.
well this was fun to see all the retired Muppets on Sesame street.
i loved it.
Wow, Ruby is so adorable!
Although that last character & sketch you mentioned? Reminded me of a spinoff they made, SONS OF POETRY. Loved that one.
I loved this series! I wish Beautiful Day Monster and Frazzle would return. Maybe something similar like retired cartoon characters? (e.g Gandy Goose, Andy Panda, Kiko The Kangaroo)
That would be awesome if they ever bring back Frazzle then he would be preformed by Matt Vogel.
Thanks for this series -- I really enjoyed it... I hope you can do more in the future about Sesame Street's history....
i just noticed Sonny Friendly changed puppet design! did anyone else see that? :o
I did lol
Thank you for your series! I really enjoyed seeing old characters and learning about ones I never knew about.
This certainly was a nice nostalgic trip for me, an 80s-mid 90s sesame street kid. I'd even forgotten some of them completely while remembering a few of them that weren't around for long. Great job on this 5 part miniseries.
So that's who that weird robot was in the inside cover of the "Sesame Street Treasury" books.
I loved those books!
@@laurenkostich7792 I actually liked those books better than the show because they had stuff like how to bake cookies, and how to speak spanish and sign language.
THANK YOU for bringing up "Don't Eat the Pictures," specifically the clip you used.
I remember watching it as a kid, but only the last few scenes with Sahu and Big Bird stayed in my memory.
I actually became interested in Egyptian mythology as a teenager, and I vaguely remembered that scene... but I couldn't find evidence of it being real.
For years I brushed it off as some weird dream I must've had... but having seen it again, I can confidently say this was the show I watched that stayed in my mind for so long. =D It was amazing to finally see it again!!
Glad i helped you remember! Its one of my personal faves as well.
RW:Harry monster's doll is named Little Hercules and Harry himself is a strong monster on Sesame Street.😁
This special series of Sesame Street's Fifty Retired Muppets has been brought to you today by the letter M, for Muppets, and by the number 50. Sesame Street is a production of The Children's Television Workshop.
This is a thing I watch over and over for real I love Muppets
I actually enjoyed all of these vids and yes I can remember mostly all of these puppets. Course I was a child of the 70's so thank you. You gave me some great nostalgia
Colin, you are a genuine and wholesome human being. Your unabashed passion for the muppets has warmed my cold and jaded heart. Stay golden!
What a kind thing to say! Thank you, I really appreciate that! Happy New Year!
@@ColinLooksBack Are you happy that many of the retired Muppets on your list cameoed in the 50th Anniversary Celebration special?
I didn’t know who Ruby Monster was before this video! Since I’ve discovered her appearances online, she’s become one of my favorite Sesame Street characters! It’s a shame that Ruby disappeared, because she was unique and wasn’t like other monsters I saw on the show! She was creative, curious, loving, and a great role model for girls out there! I’ve been writing about my own character inspired by Ruby, a cute little monster named Shaina!
There was a little girl Muppet who started as a toddler fascinated by Oscar's grouchiness and wanted to be just like him. Another skit saw her preschool/ daycare age being afraid of going to a daycare windering what she would do if she had to use the bathroom there & her zipper got stuck. Her mother assured her that a teacher would help her. Then in another encounter with Oscar, Oscar taught her 3 Grouch words: "Grouch, yucky, rotten"
Two of my favourites i remember from the 90s were a little girl Muppet named Emily Elizabeth & her pet kitten muppet Little Murray Sparkles, a cute Calico. Telly and Elmo (or Baby Bear) helped Emily Elizabeth choose his name.
Great job!
I used to love the bits with Sherlock Hemlock and Vincent Twice!
Thank you for the fun memory trip!
i really adored this series and i can’t wait to see more videos from you in the future! also i share the same birthday as sesame street. (:
Wow! Sesame Street is only 5 years older than me, which is why some of these deep dives have allowed me to remember some really deep cut Muppet memories. Thank you. 🙏🏼😍
Thabk you so much for making this series!! I learned a lot of fun trivia 😂 i always loved sesame street as a kid (and even more now honestly) but I never thought I watched it that much. But im surprised how many of these bits and characters I remember 😂
I remember tough Eddie. Never knew he was named. Remember those skits with the bricks on Oscar's garbage can and the beach. He just kind of 'evolved' into a single-appearance delivery man, who then transcended into Biff of Biff and Sully, where the unnamed deliveryman had to deliver the letters for Herbert Birdsfoot to make words (wet, met, set, I dunno) and the deliveryman was fussing about his partner Charlie, "watchin' from the van. He's laughin' " and finally yellin' at the unseen Charlie "QUIT LAUGHIN', CHARLIE!'
Had to be the master himself, Frank Oz, doing the deliveryman's voice. These characters clearly morphed into Biff and Sully.
I was going to mention Hoots the Owl but then I remembered that he appeared sometime around the early 2000s.
He is also going to be in the 50th anniversary special once again teaching Ernie how to put down the duckie
Some of these really makes me wish that I grew up with this show.
The soundtrack to Valley of the dolls!!! Love it. I have it on vinyl, I could listen to The Gillian Girl for hours
Wow, someone actually recognized it! I'm surprised. :)
Colin LooksBack I must've seen Valley of the Dolls a hundred times and it's soundtrack is one of my favorite albums ever!
Omg Simon Soundman! Too bad that puppet retired.
I'm glad he at least MENTIONED Limbo.
what a fun flashback series :) so many I remember from my time watching in the late 70s and all through 80s
Hooray! I loved Sam!
You should do a follow up on retired characters who made special appearances on the 50th anniversary special. And it was awesome how they appeared out of nowhere as if they never left SS
Loved the A to Z video!! Thanks for having me remember what great tv as a kid was like. Kudos sir!!!
One you did not mention was a monster named Crystal. She made a few scattered appearances in the mid 80s (1984-85), and she was somewhat of a wisecracker, rebellious type teenage monster, who always challenged people in her projects by saying "Wanna make something of it?" I have an audio clip of her, but I've never found any video clips of hers.
This was one of my favorite series on RUclips
Great videos, I have enjoyed seeing many characters i Ioved as a kid growing up in the mid 80's - 90's
These are soooooo good and incredibly helpful. I think you'll appreciate a couple Sesame and muppets deep dive facing series we'll have on our Geeky Jr and SpeekyGeeky channels very soon
A couple others I’d like to mention:
* The Oinker Sisters: Appeared regularly from seasons 18-39, but then vanished off the face of the earth without even a cameo or the puppets being reused. Appeared often in the direct to video stuff.
* Uncle Jack: Only ever appeared once but is notable as being one of the very few canonically deceased Muppets. Implicitly was in the U.S. military, too.
* Murray Monster: A special case because it’s less that he hasn’t appeared in 15 years and more that he’s been officially stated as retired by Sesame Workshop, his puppet recycled as a utility player in international versions.
* Bug: Again, another one-off, but his sole appearance was in a feature film. His puppet was reused as “Bill” in the short-lived project Panwapa. I think all the feature film-exclusive characters could be one entry, really, covering both movies. (Of course this wouldn’t include human villains). Panwapa could be a video in & of itself, even.
That Electric Company Spider-Man comic is also where the infamous Thanoscopter, "oops I dropped the cosmic cube", and Thanos being arrested by police comes from