| Sesame Street | |||||||||
| Maria falls victim to the Amazing Mumford's trick | |||||||||
| Air date | February 18, 1987 | ||||||||
| Season | Season 18 (1986-1987) | ||||||||
| Written by | Cathi Rosenberg-Turow | ||||||||
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| Picture | Segment | Description |
|---|---|---|
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Insert | Big Bird and Snuffy pretend to explore Sesame Street. They encounter some native Sesame Streetians speaking Sesamese and attempt to communicate with them and learn their customs. (First: Episode 2150) |
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Cartoon | Z For Zebra & Zoo (First: Episode 0281) |
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Film | Fireworks Alphabet (First: Episode 1104) |
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Cartoon | In the forest, a small tree feels insignificant, until a mother bird gives him a pep talk. (First: Episode 1872) cut from the Noggin version |
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Muppets | Three Honkers teach a newly-hatched baby Honker to honk. (First: Episode 1616) |
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Cartoon | The Ringmaster showcases eight skating penguins. (First: Episode 1291) |
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Muppets | Pageant: The Food We Eat Prairie Dawn plays the piano for a pageant about food. Elmo plays an asparagus. Herry Monster is stuck in a fish costume that's too tight. Leo the Party Monster portrays a potato, which as a bag of chips makes a typical party food. Telly, in the role of milk, carries a full glass of milk on his head and is concerned about spilling it. When he proudly announces that he managed to say his lines without making a mess, Herry tells him to take a bow... |
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Cartoon | A man chases a runaway "no." (First: Episode 0794) cut from the Noggin version |
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Muppets | Muppet & Kid Moment — Forgetful Jones asks Daniela to read his NO sign, which she does. (First: Episode 2031) |
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Cartoon | The Typewriter: W, Wall (First: Episode 0790) |
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Song | Joe Raposo sings "Families." (First: Episode 0454) cut from the Noggin version |
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Cartoon | Igor listens as Dr. Frankenstein names body parts in creating another Igor. Artist: Irra Verbitsky (First: Episode 1637) cut from the Noggin version |
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Muppets | An octopus sings "Octopus Blues." (First: Episode 2221) |
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Film | Kids compete in a speed skating competition (version two). Music: Joe Raposo (First: Episode 0414) |
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SCENE 1 | Maria stops by Hooper's Store to get a newspaper from teenage helper Jason (Alexis Cruz), running into Barkley along the way. At the Fix-it Shop, the Amazing Mumford reveals he will attempt a trick he's never tried before: he will make Barkley quack like a duck, and make a Muppet duck bark like a dog. After waving his wand and saying the magic words - "A la peanut butter sandwiches on quackers" - there's no change in Barkley's voice. However, Mumford accidentally makes Maria quack like crazy and the duck speak in Maria's voice! Mumford rushes to the library to come up with a remedy while the Maria-voiced duck leaves for a swim, leaving Maria deserted in her predicament. |
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Cartoon | Z In Space (First: Episode 0509) |
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Cast | Luis and Gordon play roommates. On a chilly night, Luis wants to keep the window CLOSED, but Gordon prefers having it OPEN. Gordon finally agrees to keep it shut, then smashes up the surrounding walls. (First: Episode 1220) |
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Film | A gym instructor helps children perform a variety of stretching and bending exercises. (First: Episode 1018) |
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Cartoon | 6 Apples Minus 3 = 3 (First: Episode 2257) |
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SCENE 2 | Bob stops by the Fix-it Shop having heard of what's happened, and sees how upset Maria is now that she speaks like a duck. He offers to help, but can't understand her at all. Luckily, Big Bird understands duck fluently and is able to translate when someone calls the shop on the phone. "Maria, welcome to the bird family!" he consolingly tells Maria, who collapses in frustration. |
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Film | Footage of various bird species including hens, flamingos, pigeons, owls, ostriches, cockatoos, and others. Music: (piano and whistling) Joe Raposo (First: Episode 0019) |
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Cartoon | Jazz #8 (First: Episode 0016) |
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Muppets | Ernie and Bert: Sandbox Game — Ernie gets Bert to engage in a word play game with him. (First: Episode 0019) |
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Film | Difficult Ways to Travel on the Bridge (with a car, a robot, and a duck) Artist: Al Jarnow (First: Episode 1446) |
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SCENE 3 | Things seem to be going well with Big Bird being able to translate Maria's quacks as Gina brings in a hair dryer. A customer who only speaks Spanish calls the shop, but Big Bird finds he is unable to communicate with the individual. He gets Jason (who speaks Spanish) from Hooper's to fill in for him. Between him, Jason, and Maria, Big Bird believes that now they can take on any customer no matter how they talk... until a Dinger shows up. |
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Cartoon | W For Wilbur (First: Episode 0366) |
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Muppets | Kermit and the word "taxi." (First: Episode 0312) |
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Film | Kids have a lost-dog poster made using an old-style printing press. (First: Episode 1222) |
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Cartoon | Hands Play Along With Each Other (First: Episode 1481) |
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SCENE 4 | Mumford returns from the library with the only book he could find for the time being - Interesting Discussions to Have with a Duck. He leaves to keep searching while Big Bird consults the book, coming across a chapter about rhyming. The book suggests finding rhymes for the word "back," and naturally Maria can only come up with one word: quack! |
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Film | The Mad Painter #8 (First: Episode 0326) |
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Muppets | Two-Headed Monster: PAT (First: Episode 1697) |
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Cartoon | "Have you seen my NO?" (First: Episode 0773) cut from the Noggin version |
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Muppets | Kermit and Lena Horne sing "Bein' Green" (First: Episode 0637) |
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Cartoon | Name That Food ("Will you eat it?") (First: Episode 1491) |
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SCENE 5 | Mumford has found the right book and learns he should say his magic words backwards to reverse the spell. He does so, and Maria finally speaks normally. Unfortunately, now Mumford and the duck find that their voices have switched! Bob announces the sponsors. |
Notes[]
- In later episodes, when Maria encounters Mumford, she tries to keep her distance from him, often citing his duck trick as the key reason for her not trusting him. One such example occurs in Episode 2341.
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