The Martians

The Martians, sometimes called "the Yip-Yips", are interplanetary visitors, presumed to be from the planet Mars, who are terrified by things like clocks, telephones and computers on Sesame Street. They rarely come face-to-face with other characters on the show.

In their skits, these creatures, with squid-like tentacles, large eyes, and antennae, materialize into a room and converse with each other in their native tongue: "Yip-yip-yip-yip... Uh-huh. Uh-huh," done in monotone voices. They often come across common objects and, curious as to their names and functions, the Martians will consult a book presumably containing information about things on Earth. In one skit, for example, the Martians call a computer a television and a typewriter before deciding what it actually is.

Multiple performers have taken on the characters, including Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, Martin P. Robinson, Kevin Clash, David Rudman, Julianne Buescher, John Tartaglia, Eric Jacobson,Matt Vogel and Leslie Carrara-Rudolph.

The first puppets were originally chenille hats, adapted by Caroly Wilcox.

Cameos

 * Journey to Ernie
 * Martians appear briefly in the segment for "Outerspace."


 * Guy Smiley Takes His Audience to Lunch
 * Cameo appearance as audience members when Guy Smiley takes his entire studio audience to lunch.


 * Adventure
 * Cameo appearance when En Vogue travels on a rocket ship to another planet.


 * Old MacDonald Cantata
 * Cameo appearance with Honkers, a Dinger, and Fluffy performing the song Old MacDonald.


 * Sesame Street Jam: A Musical Celebration
 * Big Bird is looking for some 'la-la-ers' throughout the show. At one point, he brings in two Martians saying he's found his la-la-ers, but they disappear.


 * Elmopalooza
 * While Grover is driving the Sesame Street adults to the theatre, he picks the Martians and some penguins up as passengers. Also in Shawn Colvin's version of I Don't Want to Live on the Moon, a blue Martian appears at the end of the song.


 * "I'm Talkin' Love"
 * In the end of the song, a Martian appears to his friend Trisha Yearwood.


 * "Tall Tale" (Kids' Favorite Country Songs version)
 * An animated Martian appears in the background among a group of aliens in Noel Cowherd's verse.


 * Sesamestreet.org
 * An orange Martian floats outside of Telly's spaceship in the introduction of the "Space Day" playlist.


 * Spaghetti Space Chase
 * The Martians appear as animatronics riding a flying saucer in outer space as they notice all the spaghetti around them.

The characters were referenced in the 2010 "Ask Elmo" program on YouTube.

Street scenes

 * Episode 2234 -- The Martians cause trouble for Big Bird.
 * Episode 2258 -- The Martians observe Luis's new computer at the Fix-It Shop.
 * Episode 3039 -- The Martians discover words and letters all over Sesame Street.
 * Episode 3387 -- The Martians observe Biff's 40th birthday party from atop the fence.
 * Episode 3681 -- The Martians repair Bob's lamp while Maria's out.

Elmo the Musical

 * Pizza the Musical

Songs

 * "Hi Friend"
 * Bob makes friends with the Martians, and they all sing together.


 * "Get Along"
 * A song with Kermit, a cow, the Martians, Twiddlebugs, and greasers.


 * "Brush Boogie"
 * Nonspeaking cameo in the song Brush Boogie, sitting on a wall brushing their nonexistent teeth.


 * "Martian Family (Yip Yip Song)"
 * A song with two Martians and their baby.


 * "My Outer Space Friend"
 * A song by Telly with the Martians.


 * "Adding, Adding, Adding"
 * Bert is trying to read his book when Ernie starts singing a song about addition. As Ernie sings, he's joined by Cookie Monster and Grover, some cows, an elephant, and a Martian. At the end of the song, Ernie leaves Bert with a room full of singing monsters and animals.


 * "Music of the Street" (Episode 4081)
 * Big Bird, Miles, and Gabi are trying to illustrate to Rosita that everyone has a different way of communicate that makes them sound unique. The Martians appeared with the White Rabbit, a turtle, The Count, a Cowboy with a Drawl, Oscar the Grouch, Alfred Duck, Opera Singer, a Honker, and a Dinger to show how they speak.


 * "Bert, oh Bert" (Sesamstrasse)
 * A music video with Eurovision winner Lena, Ernie, and Bert.

Merchandising
Around the time of the 35th Anniversary of the program, licensees finally started to notice and recall the characters. In the latter half of 2003, retail outlet Hot Topic led the way with the first-known official Yip Yip merchandising, a "vintage"-looking t-shirt with two Martians (pictured).

This was followed in the fall of 2004 with Gund bean-bag toys (pictured).

In 2008, a second t-shirt was made by Mighty Fine featuring the same artwork as the Hot Topic shirt, but retaining the two puppets' original colors. More t-shirts eventually followed.

Light switch plates and other merchandising were released featuring a vintage art style created for many of the characters in conjunction with the anniversary celebration.

The 2006 Sesame Street calendar features the Yip Yips for the month of November, and they make an appearance on the front cover scene.

Two Martians appeared in "Out of This World", a Sesame Street Live touring show that launched in 2003, and featured in the song "The Yup Yup Boogie." They also make appearances in the CD-ROM game, Get Set to Learn!, during Zoe's "What Size is Your Prize?" game and the CD-ROM Elmo's Reading Basics. They also star in an online game at Pbskids.org, Earth Exploration, where they observe nature with their talking guidebook.

In 2011, the Martians were featured on iYip, a soundboard iPhone app in which the Martians recite random phrases and statements. (Martin P. Robinson and Matt Vogel provided the Martians' voices for the app.)

Book appearances

 * Grover's Guide to Good Manners (1992)
 * Slimey in Space (1998)
 * The Monsters on the Bus (2001)
 * The Counting Carnival (2003)
 * Elmo Good Night Stories (2006)