Sesame Street | |
Premiere | November 9, 1970 (0131) |
Finale | May 28, 1971 (0275) |
Episodes | 145 |
Sesame Street Season 2 aired from November 9, 1970, to May 28, 1971.
Characters[]
Much of the original cast and Muppets established in the first season are present during the second season, though some would go through changes. The main cast of Bob, Gordon, Susan, and Mr. Hooper remain the human hosts on the Street, and are now joined by Tom and Miguel (the show's first Latino character). David joins the cast later in the season, and food vendors Mr. Macintosh and Willy helped make the street more realistic and livelier. The comedy duo Buddy and Jim is replaced by Larry and Phyllis, whose segments focused on the importance of cooperation. Several other human characters are seen less frequently but in hosting roles for a few episodes, such as Lillian (Episode 0240), Pete (Episode 0270), and Maria (Episode 0256).
Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch return as the two major Muppet characters on the Street, and both have been redesigned. Big Bird loses the dopey "hick" aspect of his character from the first year and begins to act more like a child rather than a slow-witted adult. Oscar still retains his grouchiness, but his fur has been changed from short orange shag to longer green fur.
After a summer puppeteer workshop, performers Fran Brill and Jerry Nelson join the Muppets, frequently performing various other characters that appeared during the street segments. Four of the more popular Muppets used in inserts -- Ernie, Bert, Cookie Monster, and Grover -- all return for the second season. Kermit the Frog, however, is dropped from the cast (though he would still appear in segments from the first year), and in his place are new Muppet characters such as the burly Herry Monster, Herbert Birdsfoot (who, like Kermit, would conduct lectures, often in the company of Grover), Sherlock Hemlock (a detective who often arrives at unusual deductions or small clues), sound imitator Simon Soundman, and children Farley, Marty, and Prairie Dawn. Muppets from the first season that had been used in previous productions, including The Ed Sullivan Show (such as Beautiful Day Monster and the Snerfs), no longer appear.
Segments[]
For a full list, see Season 2 segments.
The "magazine format" of inserts continued to be used, and several new recurring film, cartoon, and studio series appear for the first time. These include the Larry and Phyllis segments, the Today's Secret Drawing animations (narrated by Laugh-In's Gary Owens), and George the Farmer, who presented relational concepts. Two recurring animated segments dealt with the more abstract concept of the mind: I Thought a Thought and I've Got a Mind. A series of narrated inserts in which Muppet hands are the only characters were introduced and used to teach problem solving skills, matching items that go together, and counting. The segments of cast members with live animals on set, which was very frequent the previous year, is eventually phased out by the end of this season.
Curriculum[]
New topics were added to the curriculum that were established for the first season, while some of the original topics were expanded. The second season focused on:
- numbers from one to twenty
- sight words (including street signs) and letter blending, as sometimes demonstrated by The Word Family Song. Among the words that were featured include "stop," "exit," and "bus stop," as well as words used in everyday conversation such as "the" and "is."
- simple addition and subtraction
- multiple classification (such as the song by the same name in Episode 0168)
- regrouping items, demonstrating that they will still retain the same number no matter the position they're placed
- property identification
- the mind and its uses: remembering, thinking, hoping, and imagining
- conflict resolution[1]
In addition to these topics, the show sometimes focused on Latino-American culture with Spanish sight words and phrases, such as "pare," "calle," and "ven aqui."[2]
Episodes[]
Episodes 0131 - 0275 (145 episodes)
- Episode 0131 -- Season 2 premiere; Oscar's grandmother visits
- Episode 0132 -- Gordon shows the number 4, sizes, and money
- Episode 0133 -- Big Bird finds Bob's J.
- Episode 0134 -- Leon Bibb sings about trains
- Episode 0135 -- Big Bird wants to say "adios"
- Episode 0136 -- Oscar has a cold
- Episode 0137 -- Oscar gets angry
- Episode 0138 -- Who owns the garage?
- Episode 0139 -- Big Bird's "next" poem
- Episode 0140 -- Pete Seeger visits Sesame Street
- Episode 0141
- Episode 0142 -- Oscar tries being different
- Episode 0143 -- Picking up papers
- Episode 0144 -- Big Bird loses his R; Oscar gets angry
- Episode 0145 -- Gordon doesn't open Susan's package
- Episode 0146 -- Whose ribbon?
- Episode 0147 -- Gordon explains parts
- Episode 0148 -- Gordon makes a window box
- Episode 0149 -- Explaining money
- Episode 0150 -- Big Bird helps Susan prepare for a party
- Episode 0151 -- Oscar's poem-writing machine
- Episode 0152 -- Big Bird dusts chairs
- Episode 0153
- Episode 0154 -- Oscar's Odds and Ends Store
- Episode 0155
- Episode 0156
- Episode 0157 -- Gordon paints a chest
- Episode 0158 -- Oscar puts up a "Wet Paint" sign
- Episode 0159 -- Building a box
- Episode 0160 -- Mr. Hooper's birthday
- Episode 0161 -- Gordon tries to cure Oscar's hiccups
- Episode 0162 -- Oscar puts up stop signs around Sesame Street
- Episode 0163 -- Susan gets a pair of pet kittens
- Episode 0164 -- Miguel has Big Bird and some kids guess what the Spanish word "silla" means
- Episode 0165 -- Big Bird plans his day
- Episode 0166 -- Big Bird learns the Spanish word for "door"
- Episode 0167 -- Mr. Hooper asks Big Bird to pile some empty boxes; Rainy day
- Episode 0168 -- Gordon and Susan argue over a lamp
- Episode 0169 -- Gordon goes over his shopping list
- Episode 0170
- Episode 0171 -- Bob plays a remembering game with Gordon, Big Bird, and the kids
- Episode 0172 -- African drummers visit
- Episode 0173
- Episode 0174
- Episode 0175 -- Pete Seeger and Brother Kirk visit
- Episode 0176
- Episode 0177
- Episode 0178
- Episode 0179 -- Big Bird spells "LOVE"
- Episode 0180 -- Miguel and Big Bird make a sign
- Episode 0181
- Episode 0182
- Episode 0183
- Episode 0184
- Episode 0185 -- Big Bird's club
- Episode 0186
- Episode 0187
- Episode 0188
- Episode 0189
- Episode 0190
- Episode 0191 -- Mr. Finster and his family stay in Big Bird's nest
- Episode 0192
- Episode 0193
- Episode 0194 -- Big Bird and Susan listen to sounds around Sesame Street
- Episode 0195
- Episode 0196 -- Molly Scott visits
- Episode 0197 -- Love is on Sesame Street
- Episode 0198 -- Big Bird opens Hooper's Store
- Episode 0199 -- Big Bird builds a seesaw
- Episode 0200
- Episode 0201
- Episode 0202 -- Oscar's new pet worm Slimey
- Episode 0203 -- Another visit from Pete Seeger
- Episode 0204 -- Oscar's lid gets stuck
- Episode 0205
- Episode 0206
- Episode 0207
- Episode 0208
- Episode 0209
- Episode 0210
- Episode 0211 -- Big Bird learns how to play baseball
- Episode 0212
- Episode 0213
- Episode 0214
- Episode 0215 -- Michael Cooney visits / Big Bird’s backwards day
- Episode 0216
- Episode 0217 -- Polly Watson is lost
- Episode 0218 -- Mr. Hooper's missing doughnuts
- Episode 0219 -- Oscar's record player; Big Bird's shopping list
- Episode 0220 -- Music day on Sesame Street
- Episode 0221
- Episode 0222 -- National Clean Up Your Nest Week
- Episode 0223
- Episode 0224
- Episode 0225 -- Cleaning up on Sesame Street
- Episode 0226
- Episode 0227 -- Cookie Monster watches Hooper's Store
- Episode 0228 -- A visit from Listen My Brother
- Episode 0229 -- Grover the doorman.
- Episode 0230 -- Oscar takes a vacation
- Episode 0231 -- Mr. Hooper helps Big Bird to write poetry
- Episode 0232
- Episode 0233 -- A woman buys food for her pet monster at Hooper's Store
- Episode 0234 -- Gordon and Big Bird help Maria find her lost parakeet
- Episode 0235 -- Bob and the Kids make a soapbox racer for Big Bird
- Episode 0236
- Episode 0237
- Episode 0238
- Episode 0239 -- Oscar has a wall built around his trash can
- Episode 0240
- Episode 0241
- Episode 0242
- Episode 0243 -- The Little Theatre of the Deaf visits
- Episode 0244 -- Bob meets the Mudman / David sings "My Name"
- Episode 0245
- Episode 0246 -- Big Bird fools Tom with a disguise
- Episode 0247 -- Another visit from Pete Seeger
- Episode 0248
- Episode 0249 -- Oscar runs for Head of Council
- Episode 0250 -- The new trashcan
- Episode 0251 -- Big Bird tries to be like Gordon
- Episode 0252
- Episode 0253
- Episode 0254
- Episode 0255 -- Big Bird starts a newspaper
- Episode 0256 -- Sanitation Strike.
- Episode 0257
- Episode 0258 -- Farley gets his tonsils out
- Episode 0259
- Episode 0260 -- Oscar bakes cookies
- Episode 0261 -- Oscar sets up his own postal service
- Episode 0262 -- Sesame Street holds a Pet Show
- Episode 0263 -- Mr. Hooper gives Oscar some letters
- Episode 0264 -- Oscar buys a container and makes a can opener
- Episode 0265 -- An ice cream machine is installed on Sesame Street
- Episode 0266 -- Big Bird and Marty help Susan in the kitchen
- Episode 0267 -- Bob and Gordon remember their pets
- Episode 0268 -- Big Bird cleans the street; Mr. Hooper makes Oscar a sundae
- Episode 0269 -- Gordon buys flowers for Susan
- Episode 0270 -- Big Bird builds a rocket
- Episode 0271 -- Big Bird reads a "Don't Touch" sign
- Episode 0272 -- Oscar goes fishing
- Episode 0273 -- Listening to sounds on the street; Big Bird tries to get attention
- Episode 0274 -- Theodore Bikel visits Sesame Street
- Episode 0275
Notes[]
- This is the first season to have a certain closing credit sequence on Friday episodes, rather than having the action continue while the credits rolled. (This season's credit crawl featured several still shots of children's paintings.)
- Except for Episode 0135, this is the first season to have the letter and number sponsors announced before the credits on Friday episodes.
- This is the only season produced with 145 episodes.
- A majority of street scenes from this season aired (dubbed) for German co-production Sesamstrasse's first 247 episodes from 1973 through 1975.
Cast[]
- Cast
- Matt Robinson, Loretta Long, Will Lee, Bob McGrath, Jaime Sánchez, Alan Arkin, Barbara Dana, Larry Block, Northern Calloway, Carla Pinza, Vinnette Carroll
- Puppets by Jim Henson's Muppets
- Caroll Spinney, Frank Oz, Fran Brill, Jerry Nelson
- Human Characters
- Gordon, Susan, Mr. Hooper, Bob, Miguel, Larry and Phyllis, Tom, David, Willy, Maria, Lillian
- Muppet Characters
- Anything Muppets, Bert, Betty Lou, Big Bird, Cookie Monster, Ernie, Farley, Granny Fanny Nesselrode, Granny Grouch, Grover, Guy Smiley, Herbert Birdsfoot, Herry Monster, Lefty the Salesman, Lefty's Boss, Little Bird, Little Jerry and the Monotones, Marty, Oscar the Grouch, Prairie Dawn, Professor Hastings, Roosevelt Franklin, Roosevelt Franklin's Mother, Sherlock Hemlock, Simon Soundman, Slimey, Tony, The Twiddlebugs, Yorick (Episode 0145)
- Guest Stars
- Jess Adkins, Leon Bibb, Theodore Bikel, Cast of Bonanza, Dave Broadfoot, Carol Burnett, Tim Conway, Michael Cooney, Bill Cosby, Reuben Figueroa, Peggy Fleming, Walt Frazier, Arte Johnson, Listen, My Brother, Cleavon Little, Little Theatre of the Deaf, Christopher Lofton, Jim Nabors, Pete Seeger, Superman, Flip Wilson
Credits[]
- Executive Producer: David D. Connell
- Producer: Jon Stone
- Studio Producer: Lutrelle Horne
- Directors: Robert Myhrum, David Roth, Joost Van Rees, Bob Schwarz
- Writers: Jeffrey Moss, and Jerry Juhl, Emily Perl Kaplin, Bob Oskner, Ray Sipherd, Dan Wilcox
- Muppet Costume Designer: Caroly Wilcox
- Film Producer: Shyrlee Dallard
- Film Consultant: Edith Zornow
- Associate Producers: Dulcy Singer, Joan Lufrano, Danny Benson
- Director of Operations: Ronald L. Weaver
- Production Supervisor: Lynn Klugman
- Assistants to the Producer: Emily Squires, Mary Bauer
- Production Assistants: Lisa Simon, Bill E. Smith, Jimmy Baylor
- Music Director: Joe Raposo
- Music Coordinator: Danny Epstein
- Special Songs: Jeffrey Moss, Joe Raposo
- Supervising Film Editor: Dorothy Tod
- Film Editor: M.M. Murphy
- Artists: Elaine Selig, Peggy Owens Skillen
- Art Director: Alan J. Compton
- Costume Designer: Mostoller
- Production Stage Manager: Chet O'Brien
- Stage Manager: Terry Benson
- Property Coordinator: Nat Mongioi
- Unit Manager: Tony Marshall
- Director of Research: Edward L. Palmer, Ph.D.
- Chairman, Board of Advisors: Gerald S. Lesser, Ph.D.
- Associate Director: Joost Van Rees
- Technical Director: Bob Alexander
- Lighting Director: George Riesenberger
- Audio: Mike Shoskes
- Video: Bob Squittieri
- Sound Effects: Richard Maitland
- Hair Stylist: Mickey Lawrence
- Make-Up: Phyllis Grens
- Videotape Editors: Joe O'Dowd, John Hutchison, Vincent Sims, Jack Langan
- Recorded by Teletape at Second Stage
Sources[]
- ↑ Truglio and Fisch. G is for Growing. p. 31
- ↑ Sesame Street Magazine Parents' Guide, 1970.
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Season 1 (1969-1970) | Season 3 (1971-1972) |