| Sesame Street | |||||||
| Oscar forms trashcan towers and singing groups | |||||||
| Air date | May 23, 1978 | ||||||
| Season | Season 9 (1977-1978) | ||||||
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| Picture | Segment | Description |
|---|---|---|
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SCENE 1 | Olivia and David discover Oscar is building a new high-rise apartment complex for Grouches - Grouch Towers, a stack of various trash cans centered around his own. He handles calls from potential tenants when Olivia points out that unless he's gotten permission from the city to build this structure, it'll have to be torn down. Oscar is delighted by this revelation: "I was hopin' you'd say that!" He signals his crew to knock everything down before heading back inside his can for safety. Olivia and David run for cover as the extra cans immediately tumble down onto Sesame Street... which Oscar reveals was his plan all along for a big mess! |
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Cartoon | "Magic Pig" Artist: Vince Collins (First: Episode 0772) |
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Muppets | The Twiddlebugs try to figure out how to get to the zoo. They notice it's too far to walk, swim, or fly. Then they notice their Twiddle-car. (First: Episode 0603) |
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Cartoon | Speech Balloon: W for water (First: Episode 0062) |
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Song | Joe Raposo sings "Feet (One Foot, Two Foot)." (First: Episode 0347) |
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Cartoon | "Wanda the Witch" Animation by Tee Collins (First: Episode 0001) |
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Celebrity | Carol Burnett: "Wow, Wanda the Witch is weird." (First: Episode 0001) |
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Cartoon | W for Wilhelmina (First: Episode 0512) |
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Celebrity | José Feliciano sings "Arroz con Leche." (First: Episode 0763) |
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Cartoon | Gloria talks about 'W' (First: Episode 0806) |
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Muppets / Cast | Grover: Here and There with Maria and David — Grover discovers that "there" can refer to anyplace that you are not, no matter how far away you may be. (First: Episode 0885) |
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Film | Fireworks Alphabet (First: Episode 1104) |
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Muppets | Kermit Lecture: W Part 1 — Kermit talks about the letter W, but Cookie Monster keeps eating pieces off of it. (First: Episode 0001) |
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Cartoon | W for witch Artist: Jeff Hale |
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Muppets | Kermit Lecture: W Part 2 — The W starts to walk as Kermit talks about it. (First: Episode 0001) |
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Film | Stop-motion: in a park, a garbage man puts litter in a trash can. (Part 1) (First: Episode 0491) |
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Animation | Counting six red balls (First: Episode 0278) |
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Film | Stop-motion: in a park, a man reads a newspaper, then shamelessly drops it on the ground. A little girl finds this disgusting, and puts the newspaper in the trash bin. (Part 2) (First: Episode 0491) |
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Film | David (in voiceover) finds a circle in an overhead view. (First: Episode 0481) |
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Cartoon | A female head is drawn as its voice-over lists its parts, ending with earrings that "do nothing" ... (First: Episode 0787) |
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SCENE 2 | Bob and the kids happen upon Oscar rehearsing with his new acapella singing group: the Trashmen, comprised of him and two fellow Grouches (Bob Payne and Peter Friedman). Oscar invites the group to hear their performance of "Three of These Things," using their surrounding cans for the game. The kids correctly guess that the three cans containing Grouches belong, and the empty trash can is the one that doesn't. The Grouches bid them farewell with a song - "Shave and a haircut... get lost!" |
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Cartoon | Magical Herman's number trick (First: Episode 0773) |
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Celebrity | The Fonz walks out of the "Guys" room and points to the "W" flag, reminding him of a W word he forgot before leaving the bathroom... |
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Muppets | Herbert Birdsfoot and the "ET" family, part 1: WET. (First: Episode 0473) |
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Cartoon | The Typewriter: W, Wall (First: Episode 0790) |
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Muppets | Herbert Birdsfoot and the "ET" family, part 2: SET. (First: Episode 0473) |
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Cartoon | A circle becomes a clock, balloon, sun, etc. (First: Episode 0358) |
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Muppets | Herbert Birdsfoot and the "ET" family, part 3: MET. (First: Episode 0473) |
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Cartoon | The 3 Numero Brothers show addition and subtraction. |
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SCENE 3 | The Trashmen prepare for their next ditty, but none of them can sing the tenor part. Bob passes by reading his newspaper and gets recruited to join the group, now billing themselves as the Filthy Four. Bob squeezes himself into his own personal can and is given a wig that helps him blend in with the other Grouches. The quartet proceeds to sing "A Grouch in a Rusty Can." Bob ends up really getting into it, and at the song's end Olivia comes by, choosing not to question Bob's odd position. |
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Film | "Six Song (Song of Six)" (First: Episode 0011) |
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Muppets | Sesame Street News Flash: Aladdin and His Lamp — Kermit helps Aladdin bring light to the Genie's lamp. (First: Episode 0927) |
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Cartoon | A magician tries to make six circles disappear. (First: Episode 0783) |
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Celebrity | Peggy Fleming makes a number 6 on the ice. (First: Episode 0234) |
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Cartoon | Julius demonstrates "here" and "there", then ends up being "in pain." Artist: Cliff Roberts (First: Episode 0418) |
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Film | A boy narrates a film about how cheese is made. (First: Episode 1124) |
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Cartoon | Sally the Spider skates with different combinations of her legs. (First: Episode 0625) |
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Film | Kids count ten buses as they drive by. Music: Joe Raposo (First: Episode 0406) |
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SCENE 4 | Oscar is down in the dumps today (and not the good kind) as he tells Olivia that he gets the feeling everyone hates him. Olivia doesn't understand, believing Grouches prefer being disliked. Oscar replies that while he enjoys being disliked, being hated is a step too far. Olivia consoles him and admits that even if he can be difficult sometimes, she and others on the street really love him. "Now I feel worse than ever!" responds Oscar. |
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Cartoon | This is a big letter V poem (First: Episode 0507) |
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Muppets | Muppet & Kid Moment — Kermit and Trey talk about how to get from one place to another. (First: Episode 0548) |
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Cartoon | Violet climbs a vine with V words. (First: Episode 0389) |
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Film | Ten hats on a hatrack (First: Episode 0439) |
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Cartoon | Speech Balloon: V for Violin A musician plays a violin, which instantly breaks. (First: Episode 0052) |
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Film | Prairie dog Music: Joe Raposo (First: Episode 0283) |
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Cartoon | Two cowboy rattlesnakes discuss the difference between here and there, while trying to avoid a sneezing rabbit. Artist: Bud Luckey (First: Episode 0796) |
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Cartoon | I've got a mind: squares make a box. Artist: Cliff Roberts (First: Episode 0191) |
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SCENE 5 | David and Olivia find the cans for Grouch Towers piled up again, and want to know what Oscar is doing with them this time. Oscar refuses to tell what they're for, and has David and Olivia make guesses. After jokingly referring to the cans as the "World Trash Center," The Leaning Tower of Trash," and the restaurant-themed "Top of the Can," Oscar finally reveals that it's called... "A pile of trash cans!" He marvels at the beauty as Bob announces the sponsors. |
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CLOSING SIGNS | Maria holds the Sesame Street sign, and Ernie and Bert hold the Children's Television Workshop sign. |
Notes[]
- While describing one of the homes to a potential tenant in scene 1, Oscar comments that "it's so wet in there, when the sun shines in, there's a rainbow in the corner." He described his own home the same way after it became flooded in Episode 0653.
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