| Sesame Street | |||||||||
| Elmo does magic; a blackout happens | |||||||||
| Air date | April 25, 1986 | ||||||||
| Season | Season 17 (1985-1986) | ||||||||
| Written by | David Korr | ||||||||
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| Picture | Segment | Description |
|---|---|---|
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SCENE 1 | At dusk, Maria observes the many sounds coming from her neighbors: Gordon vacuuming, Bob listening to his records, and Luis using a drill inside the Fix-It Shop. Outside the shop she finds Elmo dressed as a magician with a giant flower pot. He intends to magically make his flower grow from a seed by counting to 10 and saying the magic words, despite Maria explaining how plants really grow. Once Elmo finishes counting (with Maria's help) and says the magic words, all the lights on the street suddenly go out. |
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SCENE 1 cont'd |
Maria naturally assumes a blackout has occurred, so she goes inside to call the electric company from the Fix-it Shop landline. Elmo believes his magic was responsible for the blackout, and sobs remorsefully into his flower pot. |
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Muppets | Ernie & Bert — Ernie says that he has "flying fingers," and tries to find ten different things that his fingers can do. (First: Episode 0617) |
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Film | Animals fight. Music: Joe Raposo (First: Episode 0567) |
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Cartoon | It's a whale Artist: Ishu Patel (First: Episode 1684) |
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SCENE 2 | Elmo believes that counting backwards from 10 might work to restore the power, but he can't remember how that's done. |
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Film | Counting the circus clowns. (First: Episode 0501) |
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Muppets | Sesame Street News Flash: The Invisible Man — Kermit meets the family of The Invisible Man. (First: Episode 1009) |
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Cartoon | A baby bird falls from a tree. A boy puts him back, and in return, the mother bird saves the boy from embarrassment. (First: Episode 0550) |
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SCENE 3 | Elmo now believes he can count backwards. He gets stuck on 7, and decides to go for some help. |
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Film | Mad Painter #7 (First: Episode 0314) |
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Cartoon | A real Indian boy tells two boys who are playing Cowboy and Indian that Indians don't say "ugh". The other kids tell him that they heard the expression on TV. (First: Episode 0771) |
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Muppets | Forgetful Jones, Clementine and Buster are in the dark because Forgetful forgot to turn something on. It's not the water, the electric fan, or the radio ... it's the light! (First: Episode 1690) |
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Cartoon | Tiger likes going to school. (First: Episode 0549) |
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SCENE 4 | Gordon, Luis, and Bob discuss how the sudden lack of electricity affected them. Elmo zips in and out asking if they can help him count, but is told they're too busy each time. Maria tells them all that she contacted the electric company and was told someone pulled the wrong switch or something; the power will return soon. |
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SCENE 4 cont'd |
Moments later, Don Music exhaustedly comes over asking if she can fix all his appliances which don't seem to be working. She informs him about the blackout and he's still distressed; although all his appliances will work soon, he has to trudge them all back home! |
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Cartoon | Seven owls Artist: Owe Gustafson (First: Episode 1562) |
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Film | A young baboon sits on the back of their parent as they cross the plain. Music: Joe Raposo (First: Episode 0299) |
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Cartoon | A boy builds a house out of blocks, and when the girl builds a Victorian house, the boy calls her a copycat. (First: Episode 0780) |
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Muppets | Teacher Little Chrissy sings about how important it is to "Raise Your Hand." (First: Episode 1959) |
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Cartoon | A man (voiced by Jack Dodson) describes places that begin with U and what you can do with the letter U. (First: Episode 0416) |
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Animation | The alphabet is presented using many materials and writing methods. |
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Muppets | Cookie Monster sounds out the word FOOD, then eats it. (First: Episode 0601) |
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Film | A boy makes fruit salad. (First: Episode 1195) |
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Cartoon | Y for Yak Artist: Jeff Hale (First: Episode 1184) |
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Celebrity | Yo-Yo Ma plays the first Menuett from Johann Sebastian Bach's Cello Suite No. 1 in G major, BWV 1007 in the yard. |
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Cartoon | Two kids find different uses for a cooking pot. (First: Episode 0795) |
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Song | Joe Raposo sings "Look a Little Closer." (tomato) (First: Episode 0147) |
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Muppets | Game Show: Mystery Mix-up Game (First: Episode 0834) |
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Cartoon | A dog learns about U. (First: Episode 0131) |
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Muppets | Bip Bippadotta and The Androoze Sisters sing "Everybody's Song." (First: Episode 2064) |
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Cartoon | The Typewriter: Y for Yo-Yo (First: Episode 0769) |
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SCENE 5 | Elmo asks the kids for help counting backwards from 10. Elmo gives it a try and says the magic words, but is disappointed when it doesn't restore the power. |
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SCENE 5 cont'd |
He tells his problem to Maria, who explains the real reason there is no electricity. Upset that his magic didn't do anything, Elmo exclaims, "Rats!" |
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Cartoon | A girl talks about preparing to play with her new sled. Artist: Jim Simon (First: Episode 0413) |
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Film | Kids play in the snow. Music: Joe Raposo (First: Episode 0292) |
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Cartoon | A girl uses her paint-by-the-numbers set to find an elephant in her picture. (First: Episode 0510) |
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Muppets | Ernie & Bert — Ernie notices that none of the lampposts are on, and the lights won't turn on. Bert says that there is a blackout, but has to repeat himself when Ernie suggests they watch TV, play a record, and listen to the radio. Ernie decides to call someone to see if anybody else knows about it. He calls Oscar the Grouch, who grouchily asks who's calling and threatens to "see to it that you don't sleep for a week." Ernie says "It's Bert" and hangs up. (First: Episode 0652) |
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Animation | Sand Y/y (First: Episode 0626) |
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Muppets | Old West: Sinister Sam announces that someone has bought the last box of crayons, and he wants to know why. It turns out that he just wants a crayon so he can learn how to write the letter Y. (First: Episode 1288) |
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Cartoon | A boy listens to his surroundings by the ocean, until his mom calls him for lunch. (First: Episode 2053) |
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SCENE 6 | Gladys the Cow regales the kids with the harrowing story of what happened to her during the blackout. Within seconds, the power is restored. The adults agree that the candlelight alone was pretty nice, and they disperse so they can turn their lights out for the night. Gladys, left with no one to listen to her yarn, begins telling her tale to Barkley (who isn't very amused). Elmo announces the sponsors, and Barkley is gone by the end of the credits (which he appears in). Elmo adds “Thank you, electric company!” as Gladys talks to herself. |
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