Sesame Street | |
Premiere | August 11, 2008 (4161) |
Finale | November 7, 2008 (4186) |
Episodes | 26 |
Sesame Street Season 39 premiered on August 11, 2008.
Season Overview
The curriculum for Season 39 focussed on math literacy "designed to help children put their mathematical thinking into words and talk about how they solve problems." Math literacy is featured in many scenes (including Episode 4161, Episode 4163, Episode 4166, and Episode 4168).[1]
The show also got a brand new set this season, with a littler size and more inner-city details, such as parking meters and newspaper dispensers. Major additions to the set include the Fix-It-Shop being replaced by the Sesame Street laundromat, and the place in the arbor where Gina did her veterinarian practice was changed to a car garage once again. The set also got a larger garden in the arbor and the staircase and extra door that was previously been there had been removed. Also, Hooper's Store had gotten re-done as well, with a different wall color, refrigeration, and big signs indicating the products underneath them (Groceries, Newspapers, Cold Food & Drinks). Also, the awning now has stripes.
Season 39 welcomed a new human character to the cast, Leela, who runs a laundromat next to Hooper's Store.[2] Two new segments were added to the season, Murray Has a Little Lamb and Bert and Ernie's Great Adventures. Returning this season were The Word of the Day and What's the Word on the Street with 26 new words. Muppets sometimes helped the guest(s) present the word. Also, Elmo's World returned for the tenth season as a regular Sesame Street segment with two new segments: Drums and Eyes.[3]
Parodies
Parodies included "30 Rocks" (based on 30 Rock) "Pre-School Musical" (High School Musical) and "Are You Smarter Than an Egg Layer" (Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?).[4] Other Parodies included "Plain White T's" (based on Plain White T's), "Feist 1234" (based on 1, 2, 3, 4) and "Dirtiest Jobs with Mike Rowe" (based on Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe).[3]
Episodes
Episodes 4161 - 4186 (26 episodes)[3]
- Episode 4161 - The Golden Triangle of Destiny
- Episode 4162 - Telly's New Shoes
- Episode 4163 - Sock Chaos at the Laundromat
- Episode 4164 - Leela's Sesame Street Video
- Episode 4165 - Firefly Show
- Episode 4166 - Max the Magician
- Episode 4167 - Annual Triangle Toss
- Episode 4168 - Elmo & Zoe's Hat Contest
- Episode 4169 - Telly the Tiebreaker
- Episode 4170 - Curly Bear Chases Birthday Cake
- Episode 4171 - Big Bird and Snuffy Talent Show
- Episode 4172 - Number 6 Games
- Episode 4173 - Abby Thinks Oscar is a Prince
- Episode 4174 - Big Bird's Nest Sale
- Episode 4175 - Slimey Adopts a Pet Bug
- Episode 4176 - Elmo Steps In for Super Grover
- Episode 4177 - Abby's First Sleepover
- Episode 4178 - Three Cheers for Us
- Episode 4179 - Sesame Street Bird Games
- Episode 4180 - Elmo Wants to Be Like Gordon
- Episode 4181 - Elmo and Leela Look for a Mine-Itis Cure
- Episode 4182 - Hurry Up You're Running Out of Time
- Episode 4183 - Maria the Cowgirl
- Episode 4184 - The Cookie Touch
- Episode 4185 - The Help-O-Bots
- Episode 4186 - Baby Bear's New Baby Sitter
Notes
- The season was filmed at the Kaufman Astoria Studios, and the 40th season is booked for the same location.[5]
- This season was the first to be shot in high-definition.[6] As a result, while on wide-screen TV's the scenes were in the regular widescreen, stock footage from all previous seasons were shrunken into a small full screen format.
- This is the final season to show clips featuring characters performed by Jim Henson.
- This is the last season to air the show's epsides on Antholog Television.
Cast
Muppet Characters[3]
- Cookie Monster, Grover, Elmo, Slimey, Grundgetta, Oscar the Grouch, Big Bird, Mr. Snuffleupagus, Ernie, Bert, Zoe, Abby Cadabby, Papa Bear, Mama Bear, Baby Bear, Telly, the Count, Rosita, Guy Smiley, Curly Bear, Horatio the Elephant, Mr. Johnson, Murray Monster, Ovejita, Prairie Dawn
Other Characters[3]
- Caroll Spinney, Pam Arciero, Heather Asch, Jennifer Barnhart, Fran Brill, Lisa Buckley, Tyler Bunch, Leslie Carrara-Rudolph, Kevin Clash, Stephanie D'Abruzzo, Eric Jacobson, Tim Lagasse, Peter Linz, Lara MacLean, Noel MacNeal, Jim Martin, Joey Mazzarino, Paul McGinnis, Tracy Mick, Jerry Nelson, Carmen Osbahr, Frank Oz, Annie Peterle, Martin P. Robinson, David Rudman, David Stephens, John Tartaglia, Matt Vogel, Steve Whitmire, and Bryant Young
- Alison Bartlett O'Reilly, Desiree Casado, Emilio Delgado, Olamide Faison, Bill Irwin, Christopher Lawrence Knowings, Loretta Long, Sonia Manzano, Bob McGrath, Alan Muraoka, Roscoe Orman, Nitya Vidyasagar
- Jessica Alba, Will Arnett, David Beckham, Jack Black, Kim Cattrall, Lorena and Lorna Feijoo, Leslie Feist, Gilbert Gottfried,[7] Neil Patrick Harris, Jonah Hill, Randy Jackson, Heidi Klum, LL Cool J, Jenny McCarthy, Megan Mullally, Sandra Oh, Mike Rowe, Molly Shannon,[7] Jason Taylor, Tilly and the Wall,[8] Patrick Warburton, Brian Williams, Chandra Wilson
Crew
- Executive Producer: Carol-Lynn Parente
- Coordinating Producer: April Chadderdon
- Line Producer: Stephanie Longardo
- Senior Producer: Tim Carter
- Producers: Melissa Dino, Benjamin Lehmann, Ronda Music
- Directors: Kevin Clash, Ken Diego, Jim Martin, Ted May, Joey Mazzarino, Scott Preston, Lisa Simon, Matt Vogel, Nadine Zylstra
- Associate Directors: Frank Campagna, Tim Carter, Emily Cohen, Ken Diego, Benjamin Lehmann, Alan Muraoka, Dylan Hopkins
- Head Writers: Lou Berger, Belinda Ward
- Head Writer Elmo's World: Judy Freudberg
- Writers: Molly Boylan, Annie Evans, Christine Ferraro, Judy Freudberg, Tony Geiss, Emily Perl Kingsley, Joey Mazzarino, Luis Santeiro, John Weidman
- Co-Exectutive Producer Elmo's World: Kevin Clash
- Production Designer: Victor DiNapoli
- Puppets, Costumes, Props: Heather Asch, Jason Weber, Rollie Krewson, Connie Peterson, Polly Smith, Michelle Hickey, Andrea Detwiler, Anney McKilligan, Chelsea Carter, Tom Newby, Marc Borders, Taylor Harrison, Loryn Brantz
- Music Director: Mike Renzi
- Director of Music Operations: Danny Epstein
- Associate Music Director: Judith Clurman
- Composers: Chris Cerf, Tony Geiss, Stephen Lawrence, Jeff Moss, John Pizzarelli, Sam Pottle, Mark Radice, Joe Raposo, Mike Renzi, Earl Rose, Russell Velazquez
- Lighting Designer: Dan Kelley
- Celebrity Talent Booker: Bella Harkins
- Talent Coordinator: Carrie Haugh
- Child Talent Assistant: Elizabeth Fernandez
- Costume Designers: Bill Kellard, Terry Roberson
- Art Director: Bob Phillips
- Assistant Art Director: Bradley Schmidt
- Art Direction Graphics: Pete Ortiz, Mike Pantuso
- Sound Effects Editor/Re-Recording Mixer: Dick Maitland, C.A.S.
- Technical Director: Tom Guadarrama
- Cameras: Frank Biondo, Jerry Cancel, Shaun Harkins
- Vice President of Education and Research: Rosemarie T. Truglio, Ph.D.
- Special Thanks To: Celefex, Creative Bubble, Magnetic Dreams, Hyperactive Pictures
- Taped at Kaufman Astoria Studios in New York
Sources
- ↑ UPI.com "Sesame Street to begin its 39th season" June 20, 2008
- ↑ India West. Meet Leela, Sesame Street’s newest cast member March 22, 2008.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Season 39 Press Kit
- ↑ Boston.com "Brought to you by the letter L" June 19, 2008
- ↑ Markee Magazine. Kaufman Astoria’s Neighborhood Studios. July 2007.
- ↑ Sesame Street Converts to High-Definition Production with Sony Cameras and Swithcers. April 13, 2008
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 UPI.com "Black, Harris plan trip to Sesame Street" July 29, 2008
- ↑ Nadia Pflaum, "West 18th Street Fashion Show Update: Peggy Noland", The Pitch (Kansas City) June 13, 2008.
External links
Template:Season-nav