Sesame Street | |||||||||
The Pied Piper of 57th Street | |||||||||
Air date | December 28, 1993 | ||||||||
Season | Season 25 (1993-1994) | ||||||||
Written by | Sonia Manzano | ||||||||
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Picture | Segment | Description |
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COLD OPEN | Big Bird is excited because Ruthie is allowing him to look for something to play with in her store. He looks around, and notices today's sponsors, but then he sees a pipe. He tries playing it, and out of the pipe comes some pretty music (a variation of "When the Saints Go Marching In"). He marches off, playing the pipe. Just then, Ruthie comes into the store, looking for Big Bird, wondering what he chose to play with ... | |
SCENE 1 | Gina is having a hard time dealing with some loud, furry customers at Hooper's Store. She tells them to say to her, one at a time, what they want for lunch. They all say they want salad, but once she goes to get it, Big Bird shows her the music he can play with his pipe, and she starts dancing merrily. She follows Big Bird away as she dances, forgetting about the hungry monsters. | |
Song | Joe Raposo sings "There's a Bird On Me." (First: Episode 0416) | |
Cartoon | B for Beard (poem by Edward Lear) (new music added) Artist: Jeff Hale (First: Episode 1147) | |
Muppets | Alphabet Chat: Mr. Chatterly and Mr. Bull have a conversation about sporting goods that begin with B such as baseball, bowling and ballooning as the staff gives Mr. Chatterly some things that begin with B, like balls and balloons. (First: Episode 3123) | |
Cartoon | Letter B/b (bouncing circles) (First: Episode 2222) | |
SCENE 2 | At the Fix-It Shop, Luis shows Zoe how to do addition, with three hammers. One hammer plus one equals two, and two plus one equals three. Just then, Luis hears some pipe music, and goes outside to investigate. | |
SCENE 2 cont'd |
Big Bird stops playing the pipe, and Luis asks what's going on. Gina stops dancing merrily and comes to her senses, not sure of what's going on herself. She remembers she was at Hooper's, and Big Bird adds that he started playing the pipe, and starts playing it again. Luis and Gina tell him to keep playing as they follow him and dance merrily. Meanwhile, Zoe has learned how to count the three hammers, but wonders where Luis went. | |
Cartoon | A boy does an addition problem in his head: 2 + 1 = 3. (First: Episode 0516) cut from the Noggin version | |
Film | A girls' jump-rope team trains for a contest. They end up winning second place. (First: Episode 2510) | |
Animation | A girl plays in, on and under a sculpture. (First: Episode 2898) | |
Muppets | The Hispanic community of Anything Muppets sings "It Sure is Hot!" (First: Episode 2601) | |
Cartoon | Two itchy gorillas agree to scratch each other's backs. (First: Episode 1456) cut from the Noggin version | |
SCENE 3 | Back at Hooper's, the monsters are still waiting for their salad. Savion comes in, and learns that Gina left earlier. They all cooperate again, and say one at a time that they want salad. Savion gives each of them a bowl of salad. Suddenly, he hears that pretty music, and spots Gina outside. He follows her and joins the line behind Big Bird as he plays his pipe. The monsters are oblivious to the pipe music as they eat their salads. | |
Cartoon | A woman serves milk to her cat. Several other cats join him, including a lion. Artist: Bruce Cayard (First: Episode 1017) cut from the Noggin version | |
Muppets / Celebrity | The Count teams up with Kid 'n Play for a rap song about how they argued whether they should rap or count. (First: Episode 2797) | |
Cartoon | A red scribble demonstrates out and in. Artist: Fred Garbers (First: Episode 3128) | |
Film | A boy who lives in Alaska narrates a film of himself going ice-fishing with his grandfather and sister. (First: Episode 2375) | |
Cartoon | A horse falls apart into a jigsaw puzzle. (First: Episode 0784) cut from the Noggin version | |
SCENE 4 | Maria encounters Zoe still counting the three hammers, wondering where Luis went. Sure enough, Maria hears the music and begins to dance merrily, following her ears to Big Bird's entourage. | |
Animation | Sand W/w (First: Episode 0641) | |
Film | Alphaquest: W (First: Episode 2712) | |
Muppets | Ernie sings "The Honker-Duckie-Dinger Jamboree." (First: Episode 1920) | |
Cartoon | Dr. Nancy Einstein learns about ice cubes. Artist: Bruce Cayard (First: Episode 2582) cut from the Noggin version | |
Film | Two kids help an old man (Taro Yashima) get his dragon kite in the air. (First: Episode 0444) cut from the Noggin version | |
Cartoon | "Pirate Plan" Artist: Michael Sporn (First: Episode 2236) | |
SCENE 5 | Big Bird leads his merry entourage past Finders Keepers, where Ruthie realizes what he chose to play with: the Pied Piper's pipe! She puts on her earmuffs, so she won't be affected by the pipe music, and rushes over to tell Big Bird to stop playing the pipe - he's got the grownups dancing on the playground wall! Her method works - Big Bird stops playing, and the grownups stop dancing and become frightened when they realize how high they are. | |
SCENE 5 cont'd |
Ruthie explains that Big Bird had chosen the Pied Piper's pipe to play, which is why they were dancing merrily. She doesn't mean the Pied Piper of Hamelin, but the Pied Piper of 57th Street. The adults go back to work, and Big Bird follows Ruthie into Finders Keepers to hear the story ... | |
Cartoon | Light and heavy (bird falls on man) (First: Episode 0785) cut from the Noggin version | |
Song | Joe Raposo sings "Water Baby" over footage of seals and kids swimming. (First: Episode 2016) | |
Cartoon | The Bellhop has to make 12 wake-up calls. (First: Episode 2529) | |
Muppets | Sesame Street Movie Classics presents: "High 12" In a parody of High Noon, Clementine doesn't want Forgetful Jones to meet Sinister Sam, the meanest man in the west, at the traintracks at noon, especially since it's their wedding day. But both Forgetful Jones and a horse (in song, referencing "Do Not Forsake Me" from High Noon) convince her that "a man's got to do what a man's got to do". Sinister Sam shows up and, in a threatening manner, informs Forgetful Jones that he's got something to say to him ... "I think it was mighty nice of you to remember to meet my train!" They all hit the saloon for lemonade, leaving Clementine dejected. (First: Episode 2614) | |
Cartoon | "Ladybugs' Picnic" (First: Episode 0416) | |
SCENE 6 | Ruthie reads Big Bird the story of The Pied Piper of 57th Street. In the story, a family (portrayed by Maria, Luis, Gina and Savion) goes out for a picnic, when it starts to rain. Just then, the main character (played by Ruthie) comes along, and has a solution: she'll play her follow-me pipe, and the rain will follow her out of the park, in exchange for the family's cookie supply. Her plan works, but the boy and the girl forget about their deal and eat all the cookies. Thus, the Piper uses her dancing pipe to make the grownups dance uncontrollably, making them unable to play soccer with the kids. The girl offers the Piper a chicken sandwich instead, and she stops piping and accepts it. | |
Cartoon | A story of a cat who hated rain, wished for it to stop, and witnessed the disastrous effects of no rain. Artist: ArtistMike (First: Episode 2724) | |
Film | A girl narrates a segment about a Korean festival she attended with her two friends. | |
Muppets | Monsterpiece Theater: Guys and Dolls — Herry Monster sings about his love for dolls. (First: Episode 2591) | |
Cartoon | A boy acts out his feelings as animals. ("There's a zoo in me!") (First: Episode 0783) | |
SCENE 7 | Ruthie looks for something else for Big Bird to play with. She finds the harmonica which belonged to the main character in The Handsome Harmonica Player of Harlem, but Big Bird prefers that Ruthie read him the story instead. Maria announces the sponsors. |
Notes[]
- Stephanie D'Abruzzo makes her debut in this episode, performing the tan monster. Other monster performers include Martin P. Robinson (purple), David Rudman (periwinkle), and Camille Bonora (blue).
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