Sesame Street | |||||||
The "My Best Friend Game Show" | |||||||
Air date | January 22, 1987 | ||||||
Season | Season 18 (1986-1987) | ||||||
Written by | Nancy Sans | ||||||
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Picture | Segment | Description |
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SCENE 1 | Bob welcomes the viewer to Sesame Street, and says something exciting is happening today: Big Bird, Elmo, and Grundgetta are going to be contestants on TV's "My Best Friend Game Show." Bob is especially excited because Elmo asked him to be his best friend, which means he'll mention Bob on TV. | |
SCENE 1 cont'd |
He is about to head over to the yard to watch it on TV with everyone else, but Oscar stops him along the way, because he needs a favor: he needs someone to hold his Grouch TV antenna in a different position because he wants to make sure Grundgetta doesn't say anything nice about him on TV. Bob almost gets hit by a car while doing so, and Oscar decides he doesn't mind getting poor TV reception - he is a Grouch, after all. | |
Cartoon | A man uses his memory to tell a woman how to get to a red house. (First: Episode 2185) | |
Muppets | "Readers of the Open Range" (First: Episode 2141) | |
Cartoon | Don't mess with the Mighty M. Artist: Bruce Cayard (First: Episode 1578) | |
Film | Jack Rabbit (no voiceover) Music: Joe Raposo (First: Episode 0390) | |
Muppets | Three witches attempt their own individual spells, which don't work out to their liking. They decide to cooperate by bringing all of their ingredients together, thus making chicken soup. (First: Episode 0407) | |
Cartoon | A boy observes a mother bird feeding her babies, and remembers to run home to dinner. (First: Episode 1508) | |
SCENE 2 | Maria takes Big Bird, Elmo and Grundgetta over to the TV studio and they look around in awe at the setup, amazed to be in a world they're used to seeing in a small box. | |
SCENE 2 cont'd |
Elmo looks into a funny-looking thing, which turns out to be a TV camera. Charlie, the camera operator, shows them how the camera works, and what the sound man does as well. The impatient Grundgetta wonders when the show will start, and the director (whose duties are also explained) announces over the loudspeaker that it's just about to begin. "One minute to air. Places, everybody." | |
Song | Joe Raposo sings "Little Things". (First: Episode 0655) | |
Cartoon | Two kids find different uses for a cooking pot. (First: Episode 0795) | |
Film | Mad Painter #3 (First: Episode 0343) | |
Cartoon | A shepherd plays hide-and-seek with his sheep. Artist: Michael Sporn (First: Episode 2109) | |
SCENE 3 | Bob, Gordon, Susan, Snuffy, David, and some kids get excited as they turn the TV on in the yard, and the "My Best Friend Game Show" comes on. Sonny Friendly, the host, introduces the first contestant, Elmo, and tells the audience to stand by. Each of the adults waits in anticipation, revealing through their thoughts how honored they are that Elmo chose each of them to be his best friend, oblivious to the fact that he picked more than one person. | |
SCENE 3 cont'd |
The show comes back on the air, and Elmo proceeds to talk about his best friend, giving clues about what his best friend does: reads him stories (Susan), sings to him (Gordon), gives him good things to eat (David), and plays games with him (Bob). Who is it? Elmo's answer is all four of the aforementioned adults, and everyone else on Sesame Street! The adults clear up the confusion amongst themselves as the show goes to commercial. | |
Cartoon | A mouse takes a bite out of a good-smelling M. Artist: Cliff Roberts (First: Episode 0725) | |
Muppets | Sesame Street News Flash: The Tortoise and the Hare โ Kermit wins the race between tortoise and the hare. (First: Episode 0477) | |
Cartoon | The alphabet is presented in a chain reaction of events. (First: Episode 1113) | |
Cast | Maria as Chaplin notices a short thread on Luis' tuxedo, which becomes long as he pulls it, unraveling Luis's trousers! (First: Episode 1042) | |
Film | Building a log cabin (First: Episode 0602) | |
SCENE 4 | The show returns from commercial, and the next contestant, Big Bird, describes his best friend, Snuffy. He displays a blanket that they used when they went on a picnic in the park and got ice cream - Big Bird dropped his cone on the blanket, so Snuffy gave him his. He also brought a "few" notes which say why Snuffy is his best friend, but doesn't have enough time to read them all. The show goes to commercial again, and David decides to set up some lanterns and have a party in the yard. | |
Cartoon | H is for horseshoe. (First: Episode 0020) | |
Film | A variety of cat-shaped objects walk in front of the screen. (First: Episode 1802) | |
Muppets | Ernie sings "Quiet Time Song" while sitting under an apple tree, and is joined by a squirrel, a bird, a hornet's nest, a cat, and Gladys the Cow. (First: Episode 2091) | |
Cartoon | Counting eight figures (First: Episode 2253) | |
Song | Joe Raposo sings "Water Baby" over footage of seals and kids swimming. (First: Episode 2016) | |
SCENE 5 | The show comes back from commercial, and the last contestant, Grundgetta, goes into detail about her best friend, Oscar. She likes him because he's a Grouch like she is, and he would never be caught on a yucky show with a bunch of nice people. Sonny thinks it's the most unusual story he's ever heard and proclaims her the winner, which disappoints her. | |
SCENE 5 cont'd |
Meanwhile, Oscar is still struggling to get good TV reception with no success. He hears Sonny signing off and turns off the set, curious as to what Grundgetta could've said about him. | |
Cartoon | Luis counts three blackbirds, which lay three eggs. (First: Episode 2194) | |
Muppets | Cookie Monster and Ernie: Ernie tells the viewer to watch and listen for Cookie Monster, so he won't take the cookie which Ernie just got from Hooper's Store. Ernie encounters a machine that reads "Your Fortune Told. Insert One Cookie." Not realizing that Cookie Monster is inside the machine, he inserts the cookie. Some munching noises are heard, and a card comes out that says, "You will soon be kissed by a grateful Cookie Monster." (First: Episode 0756) | |
Cartoon | A boy gets lost, and encounters a man with a yo-yo, who tells him to remember everything he passed. Artist: Jeff Hale (First: Episode 0408) | |
Celebrity | The Count counts all the baskets Dr. J makes. (First: Episode 1759) | |
Film | Kids learn how to use a computer at a public school. (First: Episode 1853) | |
Cartoon | A man connects the dots to form a house to escape from the rain. Artist: Bill Davis (First: Episode 2218) | |
Muppets | Teacher Little Chrissy sings about how important it is to "Raise Your Hand." (First: Episode 1959) | |
Film | George the Farmer demonstrates fast and slow by going back and forth on a fence, and in a rocking chair. (First: Episode 0288) | |
Cartoon | Cat / fat / hat / sat / rat / bat / scat / splat / flat / pat Voice: Daws Butler (First: Episode 0770) | |
SCENE 6 | At night, while everyone else is at the party in the yard, Oscar tells Grundgetta she should be happy that she won because it brings out the grouchiest in her, which he likes. When she thinks of it that way, she is happy that she won and is glad to have a best friend like Oscar, whom she can argue with. They announce the sponsors, and bicker as he tries to get her to tell him what she said on the show. |
Note[]
- Elmo's full list of friends he mentions includes Susan, Bob, David, Gordon, Telly, Bert, Ernie, Cookie Monster, Forgetful Jones, Buster, Clementine, and the Honkers (each one).
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