Talk:Telly Monster

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Contents 1 performer again 2 Performer Box 3 Telly's Town 4 debut 5 As The Television Monster 6 Telly being retarded 7 NPOV

performer again

Austin just added Bob Payne to the performer box with an unknown date. Is there a source for Payne as Telly's performer? —Scott (talk) 16:06, 24 March 2008 (UTC)

It's based on this post he made on MC. --MuppetVJ 17:12, 24 March 2008 (UTC)

I trust that. I know Austin's been in touch with those folks. Since we don't have any details about when Payne performed the character, I'll add a casting history section to the article too fall in line with our policy that the performer box is only used for main performers. —Scott (talk) 18:02, 24 March 2008 (UTC)

Wow, you guys are good. Yes, I had been speaking with Marty Robinson this week. He pointed that out and I just thought I'd add it here. If you like, I can ask him when Payne performed him so we can add it here officially. Austinmuppet 23:14, 24 March 2008 (UTC)

That would be great! —Scott (talk) 02:44, 25 March 2008 (UTC)

Performer Box

User:Wile e2005 just removed Brian Muehl from the performer box, citing Elmo as the sole justification. While I think an argument could be made, I don't think that's reason enough on its own, and it bears discussing first. Our general rule of thumb is to use single performers if one performer primarily shaped the character, and either prior or subsequent portrayals by other puppeteers have been brief (one year or less, one or two one-shots, etc.). Elmo fits that category, since prior to Kevin Clash he went through multiple performers, and early on had no clear identity. In the case of Telly, Muehl was the first puppeteer to play the role, sole performer for five years, and also played the part in specials like Don't Eat the Pictures and Big Bird in China. On the other hand, Martin P. Robinson has now played the role for over 23 years. So, thoughts? Dual performer box as is, or just Robinson, and a casting history note for Muehl? -- Andrew Leal (talk) 00:22, 22 August 2007 (UTC)

As much as Telly has been Robinson's character for so long, Muehl did originate the character and perform him as a main character for a good chunk of time as you pointed out. Telly's performer history isn't varied like Elmo's and the box should remain with dual credit. —Scott (talk) 00:50, 22 August 2007 (UTC)

Right. Plus, Telly was established as a fairly major character from the beginning (whereas even when Elmo became Elmo, prior to Clash, we've had difficulty finding very many major appearances or plots involving him), and as the article notes, Robinson's portrayal initially matched Muehl's. He's expanded since then, but it's not quite on the same level as Kevin Clash, who by just about all accounts pretty much defined Elmo as we know him today. -- Andrew Leal (talk) 01:00, 22 August 2007 (UTC)

Telly's Town

This logo found on YouTube (dead link) precedes this clip (dead link) of Fur Jam. Was this a recurring segment? —Scott (talk) 17:38, 3 May 2007 (UTC)

According to the description on that clip, it was a one-time "Wayne's World" spoof, and that seems to tally with the message board chatter and the like. According to episode numbers added by less then reliable contributors, it's allegedly in Episode 3632 -- Andrew Leal (talk) 17:43, 3 May 2007 (UTC)

Damn, I missed it. Which link says there was only one made? —Scott (talk) 17:51, 3 May 2007 (UTC)

The text you got the logo from: "One Sesame Street show did a 'Wayne's World' spoof called "Telly's Town", with Telly monster and Big Bird doing Wayne and Garth on the street between clips. Big Bird even played some drums! "Wayne" appears as a tuba deliveryman... I think this is mid 90's, they had a LOT of great guest stars then!" So it was just used to frame those street scenes, not to imply a recurring element (as often happened, like one episode which had a "Good Morning, Sesame" format). -- Andrew Leal (talk) 17:57, 3 May 2007 (UTC)

I suppose that does make it unlikely, although not impossible. I had hopes of a whole series of Big Bird and Telly hangin' out saying "excellent" with that Wayne and Garth twang. —Scott (talk) 18:14, 3 May 2007 (UTC)

That, and the fact that both clips you link to were uploaded by the same user, so presumably, same episode. -- Andrew Leal (talk) 18:15, 3 May 2007 (UTC)

debut

I have read that Telly first appeared on the show in 1979. Though it doesn't say that here (except for in the performer box), I would like to know if there is an official source. I have read about him debuting in 1979 at a few websites that don't cite sources. The booklet that came with Songs from the Street incorrectly says that he and Elmo debuted in 1984, but we all know that's wrong (they were both in the 1981 book The Sesame Street Circus of Opposites), but I haven't seen any official sources from Sesame Workshop that list his debut. --Minor muppetz 21:18, 8 March 2007 (UTC)

Yeah, it was 1979 -- I have the following that we found at the CTW archives. This is a script for episode 1257, Telly's debut, which was filmed in January 1979. The memos that go with it indicate that this isn't necessarily the episode as it was broadcast, and we shouldn't use this as the basis for an episode guide for that episode. But it does provide insights into Telly's debut. You can click on the images for a readable version... -- Danny (talk) 22:44, 8 March 2007 (UTC)

That scipt is cool. It's great to see how an average Sesame Street script is written, as well as how inserts are put in a script. I guess the numbers in parenthesis next to the sketch "titles" (if the titles should be considered official) are meant to be the first appearances of those skits. --Minor muppetz 22:01, 12 March 2007 (UTC)

As The Television Monster

We certainly need a picture of Telly as the Television Monster. What I'd like to know is if anyone has checked issues of Sesame Street Magazine from that time for an illustration at least. -- Hilleyb 16:56, 5 March 2007 (UTC)

Yeah, it seems rare to fidn such pictures. Sesame Street Unpaved even mentions his origins but doens't bother to show a picture. --Minor muppetz 21:18, 8 March 2007 (UTC)

Telly being retarded

Although it may only be a rumor, might it not be better to have rumors placed on the main page of applicable characters? I think it might make for a more interesting read. --Draw a Triangle 23:27, 2 May 2006 (UTC)

Well, having it on the page is actually a way of spreading the rumor. Personally, I've never heard anybody say that about Telly. If you have a written source for the information, then it might be more appropriate for the page. -- Danny (talk) 03:29, 3 May 2006 (UTC)

Nothing comes up under "telly monster retarded sesame" on Google. -- Zanimum 19:53, 28 July 2006 (UTC)

Yeah, this is a dead issue. Mirella turned out to be a very unreliable contributor. -- Danny (talk) 22:56, 28 July 2006 (UTC)

Just realising how old this was, and remembering her edits to the Yip Yip page. -- Zanimum 14:23, 31 July 2006 (UTC)

NPOV

I removed the following passage because it seemed too subjective. Also, if I recall, Telly's relationship with Oscar spanned both Muppeteers' custodianship of the character.

"During the years that Brian Muehl performed Telly, he was somewhat subservient to Oscar, and didn't have a whole lot of dimension, until Marty Robinson took over the role."

Of course, it might be a good idea to mention how Telly thought of himself as oscar's best friend, even though Oscar didn't feel the same way about Telly. --Minor muppetz 20:31, 14 March 2006 (UTC)