Classic Sesame Street: Big Bird's R Sightings

From Episode 123: Big Bird wants to practice writing the letter R, but doesn't remember how--until a friendly lower-case r drops from the sky to help. After copying the r and watching it do tricks, Big Bird wants to show the adults his new friend. Unfortunately, the letter is gone by the time they arrive; the adults fuss over Big Bird's health, worrying that he might have hallucinated.

The same scenario repeats itself when the lower-case r returns with its "big brother", the capital version: Big Bird copies both letters, calls for the adults, but gets written off as crazy. Shortly afterwards, the R's reappear to prove that Big Bird was telling the truth--and the adults apologize.


NOTES:

1. I've included a classic "speech balloon" cartoon as an Easter egg (heh heh) between the first and second half.

2. Considering this sketch, I wonder why the adults could believe Big Bird when he saw the R's in Season 1....but refused to accept Snuffy as real until 1900+ episodes after his debut! :-(

3. Sesame Workshop has digital copies of the complete episode (and several others) available through iTunes--

http://itunes.apple.com/us/tv-season/sesame-street-classics-vol.-1/id44252814...

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Sesame Street
• classic
• vintage
• retro
• TV
• kids
• children's
• 70s
• 1970s
• Season 1
• Muppets
• Big Bird
• Gordon
• Mr. Hooper
• alphabet
• letters
• letter R
• capital
• upper case
• lower case
• small
• writing
• PBS
• CTW

[stevenscottoddballz]

Oh, BROTHER! Big Bird has a friend, & he disappeared before his friends showed up, & they don't believe him - was this the precursor to Mr. Snuffleupagus?

[ISNorden]

@stevenscottoddballz : Great minds think alike; some writer at CTW must have remembered this sketch and turned Big Bird's near-miss with the R's into a running gag for encounters with Snuffy.

[DogDays124]

OH I remember Gordon! I didn't know he was on the show that long.

[ISNorden]

@DogDays124: Gordon was on the show even before Episode 1, if you count the test episodes that ran on the East Coast in 1969. Four actors (counting the one in the test shows) have played Gordon since 1969.

[DogDays124]

@MIKECNW I don't know. I haven't seen any of the old episodes. I only remember up to 2002.

[DogDays124]

@MIKECNW I don't know. I haven't seen any of the old episodes. I only remember up to 2002.

[MIKECNW]

@DogDays124 How come you thought he wasn't?

[MIKECNW]

Would of been funny if the R's started to chase Mr. Hooper and Gordon.

Funny that the lower case r was introduced before the big R.

Last I totally forgot about the r cartoon in between.

[WillWatchAnything]

it's intresting to see the development of Big Bird during the first season into the character we know and love. By this time has was a far cry away from the almost freakish looking creature from the earlier epiosdes.

[antsamthompson9]

Very cool.