Episode 2096

From Muppet Wiki

Sesame Street
Plot	The adults on Sesame Street finally meet Mr. Snuffleupagus.
Air date	November 18, 1985
Season	Season 17 (1985-1986)
Sponsors	J, S, 6
Syndication	Sesame Street Unpaved
DVD

Ever since Mr. Snuffleupagus made his first appearance in Episode 0276, the adults had thought that Mr. Snuffleupagus was just an imaginary friend of Big Bird's. Big Bird would often try to arrange for them to see Mr. Snuffleupagus, face-to-face, but Snuffy would always be gone by time they finally chose to look at him. After years of not seeing him and many near-misses, the adults finally got to see Mr. Snuffleupagus for the first time in this episode and finally believe he is real.

In an interview on a Canadian telethon that was hosted by Bob McGrath, Snuffy's performer, Martin P. Robinson, revealed that Snuffy was finally introduced to the main human cast mainly due to a string of high profile and sometimes graphic stories of pedophila and sexual abuse of children on shows such as 60 Minutes and 20/20. The writers felt that by having the adults refuse to believe Big Bird despite the fact that he was telling the truth, they were scaring children into thinking that their parents would not believe them if they had been sexually abused and that they'd just be better off remaining silent. On the same telethon, during Robinson's explanation, Loretta Long uttered the words "Bronx daycare," a reference to a news event on New York TV station WNBC-TV in which there were reports of alleged sexual abuse at a Bronx daycare center. This was seen in the documentary Sesame Street Unpaved.

Segments

Picture	Segment	Description
	SCENE 1	Big Bird tells Snuffy about his plan to show the adults that he exists.
	Cartoon	A boy acts out his feelings as animals. ("There's a zoo in me!") (EKA: Episode 0796)
	Muppets	Cookie Monster spells the word FOOD, then eats it. (EKA: Episode 0723)
	Song	Joe Raposo sings "Dressed Up". (EKA: Episode 1576)
	Cartoon	"Name That Food" game show Artist: Elwood Smith
	SCENE 2	Big Bird calls the adults but Snuffy has gone to tell his mommy about Big Bird's plan.
	SCENE 2 cont'd	Phil Donahue interviews the adults about whether Snuffy exists.
	Animation	A car drives through blocks. (EKA: Episode 1446)
	Muppets	Muppet & Kid: Grover asks Maya to help him follow an arrow. The arrow changes direction until Grover falls down, exhausted.
	Song	Joe Raposo sings "Peanut Butter". (EKA: Episode 0720)
	Muppets	Sesame Street News Flash: Kermit asks the Three Little Pigs how they feel after the Big Bad Wolf has blown their houses down.
	Cartoon	"Pinball Number Count" #6 Artist: Jeff Hale
	Muppets / Celebrity	Edith Ann (Lily Tomlin) tells Herry about feeling proud. (EKA: Episode 1316)
	Song	"Me and My Chair" (EKA: Episode 1706)
	Film	Footage of a city neighborhood; includes shots of a sno-cone vendor. Singer: "¡Linda paloma!" (EKA: Episode 1094)
	Muppets	The Count sings "The Batty Bat".
	Film	A film insert of kittens playing.
	Film	A film insert about washing elephants at the Bronx Zoo. The song "Splish Splash" is used in part of the segment.
	Cartoon	Counting animals.
	Muppets	Two-Headed Monster finds a pencil with a broken point, and demonstrates the fun you can have with it.
	Film	Children on a playground form the letters of the alphabet.
	Cartoon	S - Snake: A snake charmer irritates the snake. (First: Episode 0063)
	SCENE 3	Big Bird asks Elmo to hang on to Snuffy's snuffle while he gets the adults. Snuffy tries to wander away but Elmo hangs on even when Snuffy swings his snuffle around. The adults arrive-and get their first look at Mr. Snuffleupagus. Big Bird returns to his nest and rejoices at the sight of the adults finally seeing Snuffy. He says, "At last! Oh, joy joy! I told you there was a Snuffleupagus and at last, you've seen him and you gotta believe it, right? I told you all along that there was a Snuffleupagus, my best pal. He's not imaginary but you never believed me!" Gordon reminds him that Maria and Linda and he believed him but Big Bird reminds the others that they never did. Susan says he has a right to be angry because they didn't believe him after all this time. Big Bird admits it was very hard for him. Susan apologizes "from the bottom of her heart" for never actually believing him about Snuffy. Bob tells Big Bird that from that day on whenever he tells them something, they'll believe him.
	Cartoon	A girl inflates a balloon in the shape of an S.
	Muppets	Ernie and Bert sing "Dance Myself to Sleep". (EKA: Episode 1707)
	Cartoon	Two balls follow an arrow down a hole.
	SCENE 4	The adults introduce themselves to Snuffy. Phil Donahue gives him a hug.

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