Episode 0965

Sesame Street
Mrs. Sharp helps out at Hooper's Store
Air date	January 21, 1977
Season	Season 8 (1976-1977)
Written by	Judy Freudberg
Directed by Robert Myhrum Production September 14, 1976 Sponsors A, I, 8

Picture	Segment	Description
	SCENE 1	Mr. Hooper struggles to fill orders in Hooper's Store. He explains to Maria that David called out sick, so he's hired someone from a temp agency to help out for the day. He continues to rush around when a woman comes in and tries to get his attention. He asks her to wait her turn as he continues; the woman patiently continuing to intercede. Finally he slows down long enough for her to introduce herself: her name is Mrs. Sharp and she was sent by the temp agency in response to Mr. Hooper's request for help.
	Muppets	Ernie & Bert — Bert tells Ernie that if he can clean the messy apartment in fifteen seconds or less, he will give Ernie his dessert, ice cream and cookies. (First: Episode 0033)
	Cartoon	Jazz #8 (First: Episode 0016)
	Film	Mad Painter #8 (First: Episode 0326)
	Cartoon	A boy looks for the telephone as it rings. (First: Episode 0684)
	Muppets	Super Grover: Grover Kent sees a lost little girl in trouble and tries to find a phone booth to change in, the same one she wants to use to call home. (First: Episode 0647)
	SCENE 2	As Mrs. Sharp asks Mr. Hooper to show her where everything in the store is, a delivery man (played by Jerry Nelson making a cameo) leaves a bag of bird seed outside the front door. Mrs. Sharp believes she can handle carrying a bag of birdseed, until she realizes it's the one hundred pound bag that Mr. Hooper orders every week for Big Bird. She scoffs at the idea of a bird so large, until Big Bird appears behind her and introduces himself. Mrs. Sharp is taken over nearly speechless at his size.
	Cartoon	I thought a thought ... about circles. (shown in English, then Spanish) Artist: Cliff Roberts (First: Episode 0247) Spanish: (First: Episode 0434)
	Muppets	Muppet & Kid Moment — Kermit and Joey count to 20. (First: Episode 0436)
	Cartoon	A girl tries on big, bigger, and the biggest shoes. (First: Episode 0252)
	Muppets	Old West: Sinister Sam is looking for the biggest man in the saloon. The frightened customers point him towards Big Barney, who's cowering under the table. When Sam discovers that Barney is the biggest man there, he gives him a hat: "This ol' hat here don't fit me. I thought maybe you could use it, huh? I'll see you, fellers." Sinister Sam leaves the baffled customers behind. "Now, that's a nice gesture," one says. "He's a little weird, but he's okay after all, isn't he?" (First: Episode 0281)
	Film	This is the desert. Music: Joe Raposo (First: Episode 0514)
	Cartoon	A small frog is jealous of how big an ox is, so he expands himself into a very large, round frog. He becomes so self-important and big he ends up exploding. Artist: Etienne Delessert (First: Episode 0660)
	Muppets	Three monsters (Billy, Fenwick, and Pamela) demonstrate big, bigger, and biggest. (First: Episode 0474)
	Cartoon	The Typewriter: A for airplane (First: Episode 0770)
	SCENE 3	Mrs. Sharp shows Mr. Hooper how to operate a take-a-number machine. He sees that the store is in good hands, so he goes out to the yard to study. The Count walks into the store and immediately becomes enamoured with the machine. His lightning and thunder prompts Mrs. Sharp to alert Mr. Hooper of his arrival, but he tells her not to worry; he's a regular customer. When she hears the machine ringing, she assumes she has a lot of customers, but upon her return, she finds The Count flipping through numbers on the machine and counting the tickets it produces.
	Film	James narrates a film of his life on a pueblo in New Mexico. (First: Episode 0153)
	Cartoon	Kids count dinosaurs, octopuses, and paper dolls. (First: Episode 0926)
	Muppets	A long-haired hippie sings "Adding" to Cookie Monster. (First: Episode 0243)
	Cartoon	Find the camouflaged parrot. Voice: Paul Dooley (First: Episode 0516)
	Muppets	Sesame Street News Flash: Sleeping Beauty: Frog Kiss — Prince Charming turns Sleeping Beauty into a frog. (First: Episode 0453)
	Cartoon	I for iron (First: Episode 0314)
	Muppets	Grover sings "I Stand Up Straight and Tall" while using some fast cutting camera trickery. (First: Episode 0916)
	Cartoon	A Gary Owens-voiced man attempts to discuss the letter I, but is jeered by an offscreen voice. The man uses him as an example of the word "impolite". (First: Episode 0032)
	Cast	Maria, Luis, Gordon, and three kids all have umbrellas with different patterns, which a voiceover (Jerry Nelson) uses to put them into different groups. (First: Episode 0821)
	Cartoon	Speech Balloon: I for Island. (First: Episode 0314)
	Film	A farmer takes care of baby calves. (First: Episode 0784)
	SCENE 4	Mrs. Sharp has finished preparing an enormous amount of spaghetti, only to learn from Big Bird that it's not for him but for his best friend. After he describes Mr. Snuffleupagus to Mrs. Sharp, she retreats to the yard again to consult Mr. Hooper, who is still studying. Mr. Hooper explains how Snuffy is just Big Bird's "imaginary" friend and they can make sure the spaghetti doesn't go to waste. All the while, Snuffy arrives at the store and gets stuck in the door (leaving some fur behind) so he leans in the window to enjoy the enormous bowl of spaghetti Mrs. Sharp has prepared. He finishes up and leaves with his musical theme just as Mrs. Sharp returns to find an empty bowl left on the counter. When she remembers Big Bird doesn't eat spaghetti, notices the fur stuck in the doorway, and recalls hearing a musical sound, she questions herself, "Mr. Snuffleupagus?"
	Muppets	Ernie & Bert — Ernie gets Bert to participate in a rhyme game, but ends the game just as Bert is starting to enjoy it. (First: Episode 0798)
	Cartoon	"I in the Sky" (First: Episode 0368)
	Cast	The Alphabet Dancers: Lowercase letter I. (First: Episode 0462)
	Cartoon	Hats (First: Episode 0773)
	Song	Bob sings "The People in Your Neighborhood" with the TV Repairman (Jim Henson) and Clock Maker (Jerry Nelson).
	Cartoon	A man displays the capital and lowercase A, and explains what an alligator is. (First: Episode 0006)
	Muppets	Anything Muppet kids and upside-down 8 (First: Episode 0282)
	SCENE 5	Mrs. Sharp returns from making a delivery and prepares to clean up to finish out the day, but Mr. Hooper, Big Bird, Maria, and the kids have surprised her with a party as thanks for helping out today. She admits to being amused by the strange characters she's met on Sesame Street, but agrees that she'd like to come back sometime. Big Bird is relieved because Snuffy loved her spaghetti. When Maria points out that Snuffy isn't real, Mrs. Sharp contests that somebody ate that huge bowl of spaghetti. Via voice-over, Snuffy comments that it was delicious and announces the sponsors. The credits follow.
	CLOSING SIGNS	Kermit and a girl hold the Sesame Street sign, while Maria holds the Children's Television Workshop sign.

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