Shalom Sesame



Shalom Sesame is a co-production between Sesame Street and its Israeli counterpart, Rechov Sumsum. The series was conceived as an attempt to bring Israeli life and Jewish culture to American audiences, and had a long gestation period. The brainchild of Lewis Bernstein, who had been instrumental in Rechov Sumsum, the series began with a 20 minute pilot, funded by a Revson Foundation grant. The pilot featured Mandy Patinkin and Mary Tyler Moore, and contrasting the different levels of awareness about the culture, as they explored the language and customs of Israel with Jewish and non-Jewish children. Later installments would feature location shooting dominating over studio skits, and more exploration of the physical geography of Israel as well as its social and linguistic map. The first and to date only adaptation of an international co-production for English-speaking audiences, the series was targeted at an older age group than either Rechov Sumsum or Sesame Street, approximately 6 to 12.

The series starred porcupine Kippi Ben Kippod, and Moishe Oofnik, the Israeli counterparts, respectively, to Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch, as well as Benz and Arik, the Hebrew versions of Bert and Ernie.

Both Hebrew and English were spoken on the program, and it was common to see American Muppet skits alternate between characters dubbed in Hebrew and speaking in the original English.

Initially, 26 episodes were planned in 1985, but only 5 full episodes were produced at that time. Although conceived for television, the initial episodes received video distributorship first, and made their TV debut in April 1988 in most markets. A second season of episodes was filmed in 1990 and debuted that year during Hanukkah, with video sales following. The series also aired on Israeli television, on EMTV, as Shalom Sumsum. Unlike the US version, there was no attempt at bilingualism. The Israeli puppeteers and performers re-looped their own dialogue in Hebrew, while the celebrity guests and other American performers were dubbed by local actors.

In 2008, 18 years after the second set of Shalom Sesame shows were produced, a new show is being produced to be released titled Oofnik’s World. Unlike the previous shows, this is a home video consisting of footage from the 2006 revival of Rechov Sumsum presented in its original Hebrew audio with optional English subtitles.

Violinist Itzhak Perlman was a frequent guest star. Other guest stars included American actors Sarah Jessica Parker, Jerry Stiller, Jeremy Miller, and Bonnie Franklin. Oscar the Grouch also guest-starred on the Israeli street.



1986 shows
The first season of Shalom Sesame shows were first released on video in 1986. These five shows included the following:
 * Show 1: The Land of Israel
 * Show 2: Tel Aviv
 * Show 3: Kibbutz
 * Show 4: The People of Israel
 * Show 5: Jerusalem

1990 shows
The second season of Shalom Sesame shows were produced in 1990. These six shows included the following:
 * Show 6: Chanukah
 * Show 7: Sing Around the Seasons
 * Show 8: Journey to Secret Places
 * Show 9: Aleph-Bet Telethon
 * Show 10: Passover
 * Show 11: Kids Sing Israel

2006 shows
The revival of Shalom Sesame show was produced in 2006. On 30 december 2008 the dvd was released called Meet Oofnik The Grouch: Moishe Oofnik is the cousin of Oscar the Grouch but lives in Israel. He is popular by the childeren. Also he has great lessons to teach them on independence and individuality. He always defends his right to be different, to like what other people hate and hate what other people like. Oofnik entertains and educates as he tries to get along with his fellow Israeli puppets Avigile, Brosh, Noah, and Mahboud. But also their human friends Gili, Tzachi, Irina, Gershon and Ibtisam.