Sesame Street Week - Day 5

I'd like to say that I was caught up in many of the kid fads of the late 1990's. I was there for Rugrats, Pokemon, Kenan and Kel, VeggieTales, the works. But with all of their successes came decline in popularity. Rugrats began to lose steam after the movie came out, we finally realized how ridiculous Pokemon was, Kenan and Kel grew up and began to embark on post-show careers, VeggieTales' production company went bankrupt. Why do I mention all these declines that made these shows go in 5 years or less? Because Sesame Street has managed to go strong for 40 years with no problems. The show has made to face competition from other children's TV and gimmicks have had to help the show, but it still manages to come out on top.

Even when I watched Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network and the Odyssey Network (yeah? Remember Odyssey?) more and more frequently, Sesame Street was still my favorite show. I always made a point of watching it before school and, when I couldn't watch it in the morning, made sure to watch it afterschool. Big Bird and the gang helped me get through the boredom of August after a July of day camp during the summer in my elementary years. Christmas just wasn't complete without at least one viewing each of Christmas Eve on Sesame Street and Elmo Saves Christmas. Of all the audio cassettes I had as a kid, the Sesame Street albums were the ones I listened to the most (then again, all my others were book-on-tape or soundtrack for The Lion King). The half-hour Sesame Street videos I had a kid got just as many plays in the family VCR as Aladdin and The Lion King did. I was just as excited for The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland to come out as I was Pokemon: The First Movie or Toy Story 2.

There's something about the show, especially that nostalgia I have for it, that I adore. Maybe it's that more welcoming feel the street has over the school Barney hangs out in or the city Arthur lives in. On Sesame Street, fantasy and reality seem to hit a fine line. The characters' colors were vibrant and more appealing than one purple dinosaur and Arthur's humor was less slapstick and more subtle, sort of a Simpsons for the kiddie set. It's lasted as long as it has for a reason: Kids and adults both love it. It's a show for adults without being too adult, it's a show for kids without being to kiddie. It doesn't make parents want to leave the room pulling their hair out and I think that's part of the reason I never stopped watching it. Even 40 years later, the humor, the imagination, the music, the Muppets and the fun has never left the show even with the format change or a disappointed season premiere I ranted about yesterday, someday some 3-year old now is going to look back on this stuff with the same nostalgia I look at the Around the Corner with or what a now-middle schooler looks at Elmo's World with or what a 70's-80's child looks at the Old School era as. It's a different show for everybody, that's why it lasted. Happy 40th Sesame Street and thanks for the memories you've given me. Here's to 40 more.