Talk: Monsterpiece Theater

Anyone remember "Bye Bye Birdie" or "The Ticklish Patient"?

These must have been the rarest out of all the Monsterpeice Theater segments shown. My only source is the Unpaved book, pg. 69. I would have also asked for "Dr. No" and "Little Red Riding Cookie" but thank God for YouTube. Would any one of you remember these, or if someone who works for the video player website to please post these up. It's been almost 10 years since I've been on this quest, not to mention that I'm a die-hearted MT fan. I'd appreicate it if I'd get some more info about them. Thanks! Jonnytbird4789 16:28, December 28, 2009 (UTC)

more spoofs

The pop-up trivia on Sesame Street: 40 Years of Sunny Days alerts us to a few parodies we don't have covered here yet. Ring any bells for anyone? —Scott (talk) 02:58, November 12, 2009 (UTC)

No bells for me, hopefully for others. Given the inclusion of "Miami Mice," it is just possible that a few of the others were not actual done as Monsterpiece skits but Sesame Street Unpaved had also listed "M*A*T*H" (though I think they also mentioned "The Add'ems Family," which wasn't a Monsterpiece bit or really a spoof save in name) so this seems to reinforce its existence. I'm hoping "Madame Bovine" starred Gladys, though. -- Andrew Leal (talk) 03:03, November 12, 2009 (UTC)

The pop-up trivia isn't all that hot, and I get the impression that whoever put it together, didn't do so from the very best of materials. So yeah, it's possible that some of those titles weren't Monsterpiece Theatre sketches at all. —Scott (talk) 03:13, November 12, 2009 (UTC)

It looks to me like whoever wrote the pop-up facts just copied text from both Muppet Wiki and Sesame Street Unpaved. The pop-up facts aren't as frequent as the Muppet Morsels, and don't appear in every clip. --Minor muppetz 03:16, November 12, 2009 (UTC)

I don't think any of those are MT episodes. It looks like they got those names from a copy of Unpaved, as the list for those segments appear on the pages for MT. And I know that one version of "Madame Bovine" was actually the name of a script that Gladys wanted Flo Bear to help her with (she worked on the outside and wanted Flo to work on the inside). -- MuppetDude 14:19, November 12, 2009 (UTC)

1991 Monsterpiece Theatre intro

I just heard from various Youtube members that they recalled seeing the 1980s Monsterpiece Theater opening on sketches from the series shown in Season 23, in the 1991-1992 time period, and they claim that the "Library" intro started in 1992, not 1991. It'd make sense, since they switched taping studios, and they also added that calypso opening to Sesame Street (and the "Dancing City" closing), and they also replaced the Super Grover title card at this time. I am not changing the article about this until I get more proof about it. --Wile e2005 16:10, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

new sketches

Episode 4152 features what is basically an updated Monsterpiece Theater segment. Cookie Monster hosts what he calls an "American Monster Classic" featuring Grover in a spoof of A Streetcar Named Desire. Until there's evidence that there's more than one of these segments, I propose including it here. Thoughts? —Scott (talk) 22:06, 24 September 2007 (UTC)

I'm going to go ahead and add the one that has aired so far. If more of them show up, the most likely title for a new article might be "American Monster Classics." —Scott (talk) 04:57, 2 October 2007 (UTC)

It makes sense to me, so long as the text clarifies that it was under a different header, but yeah, otherwise it's almost the exact same format. -- Andrew Leal (talk) 04:58, 2 October 2007 (UTC)

redlinked EKAs

• Episode 2402 - Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves

Anything Goes

Is anyone familiar with this sketch? As is, it was included on a Plaza Sesamo home video. Was it dubbed from the original Sesame Street version? I know they're singing Cole Porter's "Anything Goes," but does anyone know what's going on in the sketch? —Scott (talk) 17:36, 22 May 2007 (UTC)

It's [dead link] this one. --MuppetVJ 17:42, 22 May 2007 (UTC)

Anything with the pre-existing major Sesame characters on Plaza Sesamo is always dubbed from the English version (the only times they use Sesame puppets in new footage is the minor utilities for background bits, like Stuckweed or, appropriately, Poco Loco). I have this, got it last summer, and had been waiting for an English version before adding anything. I mean, it was clear what was going on; "Nariz" is nose, and the song was about how happy they are, but I didn't know precisely how they changed the title in the English version. But just recently, someone uploaded the original (as G. pointed out; our edits overlapped) the title is "Anyone's Nose," and Louise Gold is the lead monster (unnamed). -- Andrew Leal (talk) 17:44, 22 May 2007 (UTC)

Thanks! I took French in high school, so the Youtube clip is a big help. —Scott (talk) 18:29, 22 May 2007 (UTC)

My Spanish is limited (Dad never taught me, and I only retained a certain amount from classes), but if you're unsure on anything let me know. I can usually pick up enough to follow, or at least recognize the words (if I've forgotten the meaning) to Babelfish it. Though my strong suit, oddly, is conjugation over vocabulary. -- Andrew Leal (talk) 20:41, 22 May 2007 (UTC)

Monster Officers

I recently caught a clip on the V CAST service with Grover and Herry dressed as what looked like police officers; although they could have been bus drivers or security guards. It was hard to tell given the tiny screen, and the fact that the dialogue was in Spanish. Yes, it was grouped in the Plaza Sesamo category, but obviously dubbed from the original US version. Anyway, my info is too vague to add to the page, but I thought it might jog someone's memory. —Scott (talk) 18:54, 21 March 2007 (UTC)

That's ABCD Blue; Grover and Herry receive a call about a group of people who don't know the alphabet. The duo rush over, and in song they teach it to them. -- MuppetDude 18:58, 21 March 2007 (UTC)

Oh yeah, now that you mention it, the sketch was titled "ABCD Azul." And I didn't know what Azul meant, and didn't think to BabelFish it. —Scott (talk) 19:06, 21 March 2007 (UTC)

Segment without a Title Card

In this article, it says that one early segment did not have a title card, but it does not say which one it is. Can somebody who knows edit the text to say which segment it is that did not have a title card (I have a feeling that it's "Me, Claudius", but I do not know for sure). --Minor muppetz 05:22, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Yes, it is "Me, Claudius." It DOES have the opening theme, however. --Wile e2005 14:40, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

1982 title card

The 1982 title card used for "Monsterpiece Theater" until about 1993. I know that because I saw it when I was little. -- 71.33.82.30 16:50, October 18, 2006

I first remember seeing the second title sequence when I was in the first or second grade. That would have been sometime between 1990 and 1992. Either you are mistaking, or the original card was actually used after the second opening was produced, or perhaps you saw a rerun from a few years back which included the original title card. I know that there are quite a few seasons that reran episodes from a few seasons back, and they were renumbered. Maybe that's what the confusion is all about. --Minor muppetz 21:56, 18 October 2006 (UTC)

WAIT A SECOND! "The Taming of the Shoe," which was first shown in Season 23, had the Union Jack opening! And the person who claimed that said they first used the "Library" intro in Season 24, 1992. That would make sense, with the different studio and the Calypso opening.

I'm guessing it was 1992 when Sesame Street moved to Kaufman Astoria Studios after Reeves Entertainment went BANKRUPT. -- 216.224.121.143 16:59, October 18, 2006

Wait! There's a 1992 "Monsterpiece Theater" skit that used the Union Jack title card! It was the "400 Blows" segment. But it is true that the 1991 opening was used before that skit was made on other Monsterpiece Theaters from that era. So it was probably an editing mistake. --Wile e2005 14:50, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

1978 Monsterpiece test pilot

Hey, I found out on Youtube that someone had a 1978 episode with a Monsterpiece Theater sketch in it! It was "Upstairs, Downstairs." It looks VERY different, with an announcer at the beginning, the "Upstairs Downstairs" title appearing before Grover's act, and slowly zooming back into the Union Jack in the title card at the end. The theme song is exactly the same though. I think this might have been a test pilot for the Monsterpiece series, and then in 1982 the skits took off and became a series! Does anyone else agree with me on this?

[removed]

--Wile e2005 02:56, 7 October 2006 (UTC)

No. That youtube clip is obviously from Episode 2558.--MuppetVJ 07:11, 7 October 2006 (UTC)

Did Allistar Cookie also host this from a different room? I recall seeing a clip from a "Monsterpiece Theater" introduction in Sesame Street: 20 and Still Counting. This clip was in a different room than usual, and I don't ever recall seeing the Monsterpiece Theater sketch that this clip was from on the show, and I also don't ever remember seeing the "Upstairs, Downstairs" sketch. --Minor muppetz 14:38, 7 October 2006 (UTC)

Ah. Well, maybe the skit was first used in 1982, because it DOES appear different from the other Monsterpiece segments of the decade. --Wile e2005 14:14, 7 October 2006 (UTC)

I would also like to point out that the "Chariots of Fur" sketch also ended with a shot of the title card. --Minor muppetz 14:39, 7 October 2006 (UTC)

Right. Except it was a quick shot of the logo and then it faded out. On THIS one, it's longer and it slowly zooms back into the Union Jack. The others just faded to the title card and faded out. I am guessing maybe, since the Cookie Monster puppet here looks like the late-70s early-80s version, that this skit was produced back in 1982, but was never aired until 1989 (as I said, it could've been a test pilot for the Monsterpiece series. --Wile e2005 21:06, 7 October 2006 (UTC)

How do you know that it was produced in the late-1970s/ early 1980s but never aired untill 1989? There are a lot of episodes that don't have pages yet, or don't have detailed pages, even 1980s ones. Even if it wasn't broadcast in the year it was produced, I don't see why it would have to be shown for the first time in 1989. Heck, it could have been made in 1981 but not shown untill 1987. I see that somebody added a note in the section on this sketch that it was made in 1982 but not broadcast untill 1989. As there are no sources listed and no proof, I am going to delete this bit of information. I think it was the first "Monsterpeice Theater" sketch, but I don't know if I am right. --Minor muppetz 14:22, 9 October 2006 (UTC)

I mean, it is similar to when a pilot for a TV show is produced, but it isn't even shown until later in the series. And by the way, the Cookie Monster puppet used in it looks like the 1971-1982 version with the large pupils. That sort of gives a hint. Also, other Monsterpiece skits from this decade don't begin with an announcer like the "Upstairs, Downstairs" one does. Plus, I think this skit might have actually been taped in 1981 or 1982. --Wile e2005 11:51, 10 October 2006 (UTC)

Danny, I want to remind you that we should only add information to the wiki when we can back the information up with real sources. Guesses don't belong on the wiki, even when they're good guesses. The best way to uncover when a sketch was first used is to summarize as many episodes as we can for the episode pages. -- Danny (talk) 11:58, 10 October 2006 (UTC)

All right, that'll do.--Wile e2005 17:57, 12 October 2006 (UTC)

I just remembered: I have "Upstairs, Downstairs" on a non-Noggin 1982 episode which I don't watch very often ('cause the quality kinda sucks). So there you go.--MuppetVJ 18:08, 12 October 2006 (UTC)

That helps, actually. I was pretty darn sure that the "Upstairs Downstairs" skit was older than 1989. But until we create a page about that 1982 episode in our database, we'll say that its earliest-KNOWN appearance is Episode 2558. --Wile e2005 04:51, 17 October 2006 (PDT)

I agree that it was a pilot because according to the Alistair Cookie collectable toy, it debuted in 1978 with Upstairs, Downstaris. And as you can tell the Cookie Monster muppet looked older than Me, Claudius. Hope that helps. -- (jonnytbird4789 7:28, 21 October 2007 (UTC)

Actually, for the 1978 date for this sketch, he's right. You can probably tell because of the bird portrait that Alistair Cookie has. It's the exact same one that Gordon and Susan had from Christmas Eve on Sesame Street. So, obviously, UPSTAIRS, DOWNSTAIRS IS FROM !978! Have I made myself clear?

13 December 2010 6:20, 14brunov

Just because they reused a prop from a 1978 special doesn't mean the sketch was from that year. It's not like props and set pieces and such instantly wear out or get sold right after being used. But according to one of the answers in this quiz, "Me, Claudias" was the first segment, and that's known to be from the 1979-1980 season. --Minor muppetz 17:33, March 9, 2012 (UTC)

Title cards

Does anyone know when they started using the green title card? It looks like it's a replacement for the older, longer montage of books that would lead up to Cookie's intro, but I figure someone knows for sure. — Scott (talk) 04:02, 21 September 2006 (UTC)

They started using that card in Season 27. --MuppetVJ 04:05, 21 September 2006 (UTC)

Nevermind, I'm dumb. It's explained right in the intro for the article. — Scott (talk) 04:04, 21 September 2006 (UTC)

Yeah, it's also the only title card not spoofing an actual Masterpiece Theater opening. I need to work on that article, actually. -- Andrew Leal (talk) 04:07, 21 September 2006 (UTC)

Inside Outside Story

I may be wrong, but I think the two Anything Muppets starring in this sketch were performed by Jerry Nelson & Louise Gold, weren't they? -- User:Emma 16:01, September 6, 2006

Yes, that's correct. --MuppetVJ 04:05, 21 September 2006 (UTC)

Dates

Is there a source on the dates for these? They've been changed a couple times now. -- Scott Scarecroe 01:41, 9 March 2006 (UTC)

I think we ought to have episode numbers rather than dates, like we do on Ernie and Bert Sketches. My preference would be to take the dates off, and wait until we can figure out episode numbers. -- Danny Toughpigs 01:56, 9 March 2006 (UTC)

Does this mean we should also take the dates off the E&B page(s)? --MuppetVJ 04:05, 21 September 2006 (UTC)

ABCD Blue?

Was there a Monsterpiece Theatre episode called ABCD Blue?