Welcome to Muppet Wiki!
| Sesame Street | |||||||
| Telly practices standing still | |||||||
| Air date | March 9, 1998 | ||||||
| Season | Season 29 (1997-1998) | ||||||
| Written by | Lou Berger | ||||||
| |||||||
| Picture | Segment | Description |
|---|---|---|
  |
SCENE 1 | Ruthie welcomes the viewer and finds Telly standing still. He explains he's practicing for when his mother wants him to stand still for pictures or being combed. He demonstrates some poses for her. Ruthie reveals when she was young, she was a standing-still prodigy, winning several contests all over the country and shows him some of her (sillier) poses. |
 |
Song | Leon Redbone sings "Have You Ever." (First: Episode 3274) |
 |
Cartoon | A juggling bear helps a little girl learn to juggle. (new music added) (First: Episode 1834) |
 |
Muppets | "African Alphabet Song" (First: Episode 2360) |
 |
Animation | African quilt pattern #2 (First: Episode 3134) |
 |
Film | A boy named Anthony and his parents are trapeze artists in a circus. (First: Episode 3679) |
 |
Animation | "Step right up and find my voice!" A girl plays a carnival game in which she pushes buttons to identify which sound each animal makes. |
 |
Muppets | Kingston Livingston III sings "A Cat Had a Birthday." (First: Episode 3331) |
 |
Cartoon | A group of kids' voices sing "Happy Birthday." While they're singing, a birthday cake with animated candles is shown. (First: Episode 3005) |
 |
SCENE 2 | Elmo finds Telly still standing still and wants him to play. Telly would like to, but still wants to stand still. Elmo comes up with an idea for them to cooperate and makes a new game where one of them stands still, while the other hops until Elmo yells "Change!" |
 |
Cartoon | An arrow doesn't know which way is up. (First: Episode 3681) |
 |
Song | "The Braid-y Bunch" (First: Episode 3357) |
 |
Cartoon | A report on homes around the world. (First: Episode 1711) |
 |
Muppets / Celebrity | The Count counts how many times Jock Soto and Lourdes Lopez spin around. Finally, they spin him around. (First: Episode 3638) |
 |
Film | What sound does a horse make? (First: Episode 3277) |
 |
Cartoon | D for Dance: Ladies on stage dance a can-can to the tune of "The Infernal Gallop" from Jacques Offenbach's Orpheus in the Underworld, the lyrics of which are all the letter D. (First: Episode 3499) |
 |
Film | Two girls sing "Dipsy Doodle D" while clapping each others' hands. (First: Episode 3305) |
 |
Animation | D / d candles (First: Episode 3085) |
 |
Cartoon | Three characters try to watch a baseball game over a fence, then cooperate by stacking their blocks. (First: Episode 0478) |
 |
Cast | "The Add-ems Family": Gordon, Susan, Carlo, Bob, Maria, Luis and Gabi star in a faux-sitcom about a family who loves to add. (First: Episode 3391) |
 |
Animation | Jerry Nelson sings "Two Pretty Flowers." (First: Episode 3151) |
  |
SCENE 3 | Oscar challenges Telly to stand still longer than a tin can he has. Telly knows better, fully aware that the can isn't alive and wouldn't move anyway. He goes through with it anyway, not wanting to be labeled a quitter. Much to Oscar's surprise, the can begins to wobble and Telly runs off, preaching his victory. Oscar doesn't understand, until he finds Slimey's sister, Sloppy, was under the can. |
 |
Song | "They're Not Alive" (First: Episode 3661) |
 |
Cartoon | A dinosaur tries to eat an apple on a tree. A group of kids keep telling him to "GO HIGHER!" (First: Episode 2908) |
 |
Film | A boy takes a bite out of an apple after it falls off a tree above him. The word APPLE is then shown. (First: Episode 3276) |
  |
Muppets | Baby Bear visits the Museum of Modern Art, where he observes Joan Miró's sculpture "Moonbird" in the garden. He then passes Big Bird, who laments, "Standing still is hard! How do statues do it?" (First: Episode 3609) |
 |
Cartoon | Edgar Turtle plays the banjo as some kids sing the "Bird Song." (First: Episode 2415) |
 |
Muppets | Muppet & Kid Moment — Samantha shows Grover how to play "Duck Duck Goose." (First: Episode 3561) |
 |
Film | "We have a nice school"... with ducks. (First: Episode 3144) |
 |
Cartoon | Consonant Sound Limerick: D—Dog (new music added) Artist: Jeff Hale (First: Episode 1149) |
  |
Muppets | In a Dragnet spoof, Darlene depends on Detective Dave to debunk the debacle of her "DOG" word, which is missing its first letter. (First: Episode 3499) |
 |
Animation | D / d (drums and drumsticks) (First: Episode 2188) |
 |
Muppets / Celebrity | Tim Robbins needs a place to stay, so he tries the Furry Arms Hotel, where the bed is a little too small for him, but the company of the lullaby-singing animals is "strangely relaxing." (First: Episode 3649) |
 |
Cartoon | A girl fantasizes what she could do without leaving her room if her nose, ears, legs, and arms got bigger. (First: Episode 3285) |
 |
Song | "Exploring in Your Closet" (First: Episode 3132) |
 |
Muppets | Ernie & Bert — Ernie plays house while Bert tries to guess who he's pretending to be. (First: Episode 3529) |
 |
Song | "I'm a Little Airplane," with film of kids pretending to be airplanes. (First: Episode 3266) |
 |
Cartoon | Number creatures #14 (First: Episode 2712) |
 |
Muppets | Worms in Space make the number 14. |
 |
Cartoon | "Fourteen Desert" Artist: Joey Ahlbum (First: Episode 3267) |
 |
Muppets | Baby Tooth and the Fuzzy Funk dance with Mark Morris. (First: Episode 3609) |
 |
Cartoon | "We Are Kids from Far and Wide": Rice harvesting in Sierra Leone (First: Episode 2774) |
   |
SCENE 4 | Ruthie begins to count to 20 so Telly can move and be earned a medal. As she starts, Oscar enters looking for Sloppy; he sees her crawling on Telly's body and questions him if it tickles. Once Ruthie reaches 20, Telly finally moves! He jumps up and down, screaming that there's a worm on him. Ruthie attempts to put the medal around his neck while Oscar announces the sponsors and Ruthie reports Slimey is still on his way to the moon. |
 |
COMING SOON | Coming Soon on Sesame Street: Telly, Rosita and Big Bird leave to consult Ruthie about her groceries, but Elmo tries to tell them he knows what they are. |
Notes[]
- This episode's plot line is a remake of Episode 2804.
- Scene 2 would later be used in international co-productions as a stand-alone Muppet sketch, including Sesamstrasse.
| Previous episode: | Next episode: |
| Episode 3735 | Episode 3737 |