"Dot Bridge" refers to a series of animated shorts produced by Clark Gesner for the first season of Sesame Street, six of which were first seen in the premiere episode.[1]
In each short, a series of 30 dots appear on-screen, often with various complications impeding the process. The series was meant to teach children "pre-reading skills by training the eye to take in information from left to right, or as one reads on a page."[2]
The shorts were used as transitions between segments and continued to be shown irregularly on the show through the early 1990s. In many of its later airings, the colors were altered or changed depending on the episode.
The score for the segments was written by Joe Raposo and was among the first pieces of music recorded by the house band for the series in June 1969.[3]
The series was referenced orally in Episode 4199, where Raposo's theme for the segments was used in the score as Abby Cadabby's freckles magically come off her face.
Segments[]
| Picture | Segment | Description |
|---|---|---|
|
#1 (First: Episode 0001) |
All thirty dots appear uniformly.
variants: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 |
 |
#2 (First: Episode 0001) |
The last dot is late and travels through the others.
variants: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 |
 |
#3 (First: Episode 0001) |
The last dot shows up early.
variants: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
 |
#4 (First: Episode 0001) |
The third dot wants to be red.
variants: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 |
 |
#5 (First: Episode 0001) |
All the dots are red, but the last appears yellow. After a few seconds, it changes back to red.
variants: 1, 2 |
 |
#6 (First: Episode 0001) |
The third dot blows a raspberry.
variants: 1, 2, 3, 4 |
 |
#7 (First: Episode 0128) |
#7: The third dot doesn't appear, so the first two dots back up. Thirty dots very quickly roll out, but the third soon disappears. In response, the last dot moves its way around the others and blows a raspberry at the vacant third spot.
variants: 1, 2 |
 |
#8 (First: Episode 0295) |
The eighth dot can't stop coughing, so it leaves the group.
variants: 1 |
 |
#9 (First: Episode 0295) |
The eighth dot can't stop coughing, so the ninth dot leaves and returns with a smaller dot, who eagerly can't resist scatting along to the musical beats.
variants: 1 |
 |
#10 (First: Episode 0295) |
The eighth little dot manages to stay quiet, says it did okay this time, and gets a kiss from the ninth dot. |
 |
#11 (First: Episode 0296) |
A lone square appears, but doesn't allow any dots to appear, so the dots all gather in a tight group to form a square. However, the lone square doesn't fall for this trick. |
 |
#12 (First: Episode 0296) |
The square remains in the corner, forcing the dots to gather closely again. The third dot then changes color, but is put into place by its peers. |
 |
#13 (First: Episode 0299) |
A square crosses into the path of the dots causing them to huddle around it. |
 |
#14 (First: Episode 0297) |
The dots line up at the same time as some squares who ultimately dominate the board.
variants: 1 |
 |
#15 (First: Episode 0290) |
The dots and the squares meet in the middle and converse with one another resulting in the squares turning red. The dots remain yellow and join the squares in making a new rotating circular pattern. |
 |
#16 (First: Episode 0283) |
The dots kick aside a crumpled object.
variants: 1 |
Notes[]
- Some scripts (such as Episode 0001 and Episode 0040) where Dot Bridge #1 is repeated, count the second occurrence of #1 as #2, shifting the numbering of each subsequent segment up, labeling the "raspberry" segment as #7, when in fact it's the sixth.
See also[]
- A segment with forty dots that are counted, each one rising on a musical scale as their colors shift from red to orange.
Sources[]
- ↑ First Season Show Content document from CTW Archives
- ↑ Sesamestreet.org Episode Guide from 2009 (archive site link)
- ↑ Sesame Street: A Celebration - 40 Years of Life on the Street, page 218
