![[100+] Sesame Street Wallpapers | Wallpapers.com](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!-jeh!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4b598e5d-e030-4c73-9104-8ae67d919018_900x912.jpeg "[100+] Sesame Street Wallpapers | Wallpapers.com")
Yesterday, the winners for the 41st annual TCA Awards were announced, which seem like a fine set. I need to play catch-up on The Pitt, but I loved the first third of the season and am fine with seeing it and Noah Wyle win- anything that reminds me of the frequency and the balls of classic ER deserves roses- while I’m equally happy to see Bridget Everett win for Outstanding Achievement in Comedy for her brilliant work on Somebody, Somewhere, which I’ve written about earlier on this blog. A surprise, as this year seemed poised to be about Hacks vs The Studio (the latter of which took home the major comedy award), although nothing here competes with my favorite show of the season- Nathan Fielder’s increasingly ludicrous and consistently engaging The Rehearsal.
For the blog’s sake, however, one deserving series took home two major awards- the first name in children’s entertainment, Sesame Street, won its fourth Outstanding Achievement in Children’s Programming award, as well as finally took home this blog’s primary purpose, the Heritage Award, celebrating important programming from over the years.
Here’s my take- over 55 years and well over 4000 episodes of programming, Sesame Street may be the greatest use of television as a good in the history of the medium and an indispensable part of its history. The series has a rich history that deserves to be researched and archived, and its impact on youth education and self-esteem cannot be overstated.
I also don’t intend to cover it.
For one, there are exactly 4731 episodes of Sesame Street, and counting. The series has been on the air well before I was born, was on for me to grow up and out of it, and remained a staple for generations of children well after me. For another, while there can be interesting things to talk about with children’s programming- I’d consider finding a way to cover, say, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? or Rocky and His Friends, I don’t see much use in covering a series whose primary goal is to teach children how to count, what primary colors are, and why sharing is good.
Granted, I’m not remotely condemning Sesame Street in any sense, the fact is that the Sesame Workshop were doing a public service, as preschool wasn’t available nationwide at the time, they were offering free education to children who were unable to receive it yet, trying their best to make sure no child would be left behind. Even today, the franchise’s commitment to education and empathy is as relevant as ever.
The fact is, while I was initially expecting something more fitting for the blog to win, like Breaking Bad or Lost, Sesame Street’s long-awaited induction makes sense, as PBS has recently had its funding cut. Even in a high-speed internet world, the station has remained as vital as ever, still offering robust programming for children and adults on both television and for streaming. The attempted de-platforming of PBS remains another attempt in Trump’s America to keep the public stupid and willing to bend to his every whim (to be fair, we can’t entirely blame the president on this one, Republicans have been trying to cut back funding on PBS for decades). Nominating their most recognizable franchise is a message from the Television Critics Association, that we will not stand for this. America needs PBS, and Masterpiece, and Sesame Street. President Trump will not live forever, but Big Bird will.
Anyway, while I don’t intend to cover Sesame Street, I am not above its continuous luster. Jim Henson and the Muppet crew put a lot of work and heart into their work on the series, which has remained over the years. Even if you haven’t seen the show in decades, even if it wasn’t a part of your childhood, you probably have a favorite character. Many admire Cookie Monster’s sweet tooth and frantic energy, or Oscar the Grouch’s pessimistic, if accepting, living situation, or the Count’s delightfully goofy macabre sensibilities. Even more recent favorites like Abby Cadabby or Julia continue to speak to many.
This year, I won’t add another series to the ever-growing list of OTH entries, which is fine by me, as I have a lot of catching up to do. This hasn’t been an easy past couple of years, and I’ve had little time and even less energy to regularly keep up with the blog, but I hope to return to the review beat soon. I miss The Sopranos; The West Wing to a lesser extent, but the sooner I finish it, the sooner we’ll get to more exciting series like The Wire and ER (although I don’t love the prospect of reviewing all 15 seasons…).
I also am considering moving the blog over again, this time to Ghost. Seeing many of the blogs I keep up with doing the same, as Substack continues to remain indifferent to the hate speech their service allows, feels right. I’m slightly anxious, as this isn’t my first time switching, and when I left Letterdrop, I wasn’t able to bring those articles back with me, allowing for a good year and change’s Simpsons and Buffy reviews to remain missing. I don’t believe that site is still active nor are those old reviews able to be pulled up, and I worry about the same happening again. When I make my next regular blog post, I’ll make a final decision, and hopefully you, my followers, will be able to join me with the transition. Until then, I hope you’re doing well and keeping yourself stimulated and active despite these trying times.
Three Albums I’ve Been Listening To:
Type O Negative- Bloody Kisses
The Beatles- Abbey Road
Sonic Youth- Goo
Currently Reading:
The Prisoner by Marcel Proust