If you had a North American upbringing between the 70s and 90s, you know the rest of the lyrics to the opening of Sesame Street, celebrating its 39th season this year.
I got to watching a clip of Feist singing her 1,2,3,4 song rejigged to teach kids how much fun it is to count to 4, which led me to the 39th season highlights reel (distributed as part of a media package). And suddenly, I was 6 again, parked in front of the ol' Radiation King, singing along with Captain Vegetable.
More than two decades after I was deemed too old to watch the show (okay, so I still stop on PBS whenever I see an Ernie and Bert skit) I continue to be amazed by writers' abilities to transform trends, popular culture, movies and TV shows into child-friendly lessons pushing a wholesome educational curriculum all while keeping adults stimulated.
Take the highlight reel's brief clip of the SS version of 30 Rock, 30 Rocks, starring Liz Lemon, aptly portrayed by a frazzled Muppet of a lemon who sounds exactly like Tina Fey, shouting "The rocks are late! I need 30 rocks for the rock sketch..." (Blame the child in me--I snorted out loud.) Or the classic Indiana Jones references as acted by Telly, or the hilariously lampooned Pre-School Musical, a not-too-gentle jab at Disney's candy-coated tween/teen tripe phenom.
On top of that, I'm always impressed by the number of celebrities who will recite the alphabet, sing a song, count, and interact with waist-high foam and felt characters with hands shoved up their...backs.
There's something to be said about one's fame once you land a spot on Sesame Street. Forget about stars on the Walk of Fame--if you make it to the Street, you're made.
Especially squeeful this season: cameos by Neil Patrick Harris (who seems to be singing a song in a white coat and tails plus fairy wings--I'm sure the writers added those in for the parents' enjoyment); David Beckham, Jack Black, Kim Catrall, Sandra Oh, Dirty Jobs' Mike Rowe (climbing out of Oscar the Grouch's trash can, no less) and more.
Thirty-nine and still going strong. Someone needs to tell me how to get to Sesame Street.
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