Alphabet Chat is a series of Sesame Street sketches hosted by Mr. Chatterly that attempts to intellectually discuss letters of the alphabet.
Only five sketches were made, with the first airing in 1975 and the last in 1994. Some of the sketches began with a TV set crew preparing everything, then starting a take under the theme song. The theme, composed by Sam Pottle, features Jerry Nelson and Richard Hunt singing a variant of "The Alphabet Song" based on Bach's Fugue No. 2 from The Well-Tempered Klavier.
Unfortunately, after filming begins various people and animals or crew members wander aimlessly on-set (much to the chagrin of Mr. Chatterly, who attempts to keep the lecture going). Eventually Mr. Chatterly becomes so frazzled that he cannot continue, and starts bawling.
Later episodes dropped the "behind the scenes" aspect of the segments and wrote them as actual, completed episodes with Muppet guests. This did not alter the content, however, as Mr. Chatterly still had to contend with bizarre, out-of-control lectures stemming from the topic letter.
Sketches[]
Picture | Letter / First Appearance | Description |
---|---|---|
L Episode 0762 |
Mr. Chatterly tries to recite a poem about the letter L but soon he gets frustrated. Cookie Monster makes a cameo at the beginning. Two different takes of the segment were used on the show. In one take, a woman comes in looking for her cat. In the other take, a girl comes in looking for her lamb. | |
O Episode 0837 |
Mr. Chatterly tries to give out a lecture about the letter O, but there are several things roaming around that don't begin with O like a rabbit walking with a cow. The Anything Muppet producers decide to cancel the show and take down the set. | |
R Episode 0876 |
Mr. Chatterly tries to give a lecture about the letter R. When he says the word "radiator", two movers place a heavy radiator on top of his foot! In pain, he continues by mentioning raspberries and raisins, which the emerging caterer does not have to offer on his cart ("Would you like a cheese sandwich?"). Then, Gladys the Cow arrives, claiming herself to be a rooster ("Cock-a-doodle-MOO!"). Finally, Guy Smiley rushes onto the set and quickly churns out a commercial for "Bow Wow Chow." Gladys begins to act like a dog, Mr. Chatterly loses his temper ("I should have stayed in radio! This is ridiculous! I'm going to go into a rage in a minute! I'm going to become rabid!!") and the scene ends in chaos. | |
B Episode 3123 |
Mr. Chatterly and Mr. Bull have a conversation about sporting goods that begin with B such as baseball, bowling and ballooning as the Fat Blue Anything Muppet stagehand gives Mr. Chatterly the sporting goods that are mentioned. | |
H Episode 3195 |
Mr. Chatterly, Harriet and Herbert Hare have a conversation about the letter H. The Hares discuss how they stopped unhealthy habits such as howling and hooting thanks to "Helping Hands for Hares." |