| Sesame Street | |||||||
| Big Bird listens | |||||||
| Air date | April 6, 1988 | ||||||
| Season | Season 19 (1987-1988) | ||||||
| Written by | John Weidman | ||||||
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| Picture | Segment | Description |
|---|---|---|
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SCENE 1 | Big Bird finds Professor D. Rabbit sitting by himself, just listening to his surroundings. The professor offers to teach Big Bird how to be a super listener like himself, and Big Bird gives it a try. They hear something squeaking, then someone singing. It turns out to be Mr. Macintosh, who wheels his squeaky cart of fresh produce by and stops to give the professor a carrot. "Some people listen for the ice cream man; I listen for the carrot man!" the professor exclaims as Big Bird listens to him crunching loudly on his carrot. |
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Song | "Paying Attention Song" (Charlie Tyson) (First: Episode 0934) |
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Muppets | Sesame Street News Flash: First Day of School in History — Kermit observes a school from prehistoric times. (First: Episode 1953) |
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Cartoon | An ostrich is born on a football field, and learns that he can't fly. He saves the game by scoring the winning touchdown. (First: Episode 1870) |
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Film | Old Time Movies: Anne Meara observes wondering if the dashing hero will go over or under. (First: Episode 0517) |
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Muppets | The Count sings "That's What Counts" about the ten things most important to him. (First: Episode 1954) |
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Film | Animal camouflage with kid voiceovers. Music: Joe Raposo (First: Episode 0366) |
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SCENE 2 | Bob encounters Big Bird and the Birdketeers sitting on the steps of 123 Sesame Street, listening for all the sounds they can hear. They hear a trumpet, a balloon popping, an alarm clock, and the crunching of a carrot. Bob discovers that the professor was making all those sounds nearby to help Big Bird and the kids improve their skills, and rewards the kids with some carrots for being good listeners. |
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Cartoon | A heart that says "I love you" is drawn. (First: Episode 1971) |
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Muppets | Ernie sings "Do What I Do" with Sandy the Snake in an effort to explain how actions can express emotions. However, Sandy finds it difficult to do what Ernie does, since snakes don't have limbs. (First: Episode 1277) |
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Cartoon | A postal worker tells the viewer what the post office is good for. Artist: Cliff Roberts (First: Episode 0783) |
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Film | The Mad Painter #10 (First: Episode 0328) |
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Cartoon | Different uses of a triangle (Spanish version) (First: Episode 1753) |
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SCENE 3 | Oscar tries to play a prank on a passerby with a "PULL" sign on a string; Oscar figures that they will read the sign and do what it says, which will cause a box of shredded newspaper to fall on them. Telly is the unsuspecting victim; however, Telly has difficulty reading the sign and the trick backfires on Oscar when he demonstrates it for him. |
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Cartoon | A man saws a letter E through the wall. (First: Episode 0370) |
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Muppets | "The Dirtiest Town in the West" (First: Episode 1461) |
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Cartoon | 11 gumballs minus 4 equals 7. (First: Episode 2268) |
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Film | College students volunteer at the San Francisco Children's Zoo, which has such animals as ferrets, opossums, and chinchillas. Music: Joe Raposo (First: Episode 2227) |
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Cartoon | A salesman offers a passerby the letter N for next to nothing. Artist: Cliff Roberts (First: Episode 1804) |
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Muppets | Two-Headed Monster: HONK (First: Episode 1653) |
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Cartoon | A man appears out of a yo-yo string and narrates two poems about over, under, around, and through: one about a fish swimming around the wreck of the good ship Mary Lou, and another about a worm who eats through the center of an apple. Artist: Jeff Hale (First: Episode 1389) |
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Insert | Oscar reads a love "trash poem" to Maria. (First: Episode 2140) |
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Cartoon | A female head is drawn as its voice-over lists its parts, ending with earrings that "do nothing" ... and promptly wiggle around. Artist: James Rizzi (First: Episode 0787) |
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Muppets | Ernie and Bert: Someone to Watch Over Me — Ernie enjoys watching Bert read a book, but Ernie's staring at him is driving Bert bananas. (First: Episode 1741) |
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Cartoon | Kids see animals in their alphabet soup. Artist: Michael Sporn (First: Episode 1976) |
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Muppets | Anything Muppets (including Farley) shout "E!" (First: Episode 0408) |
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Cartoon | Two kids argue over a cat and a dog, who chase each other around the fence. (First: Episode 1210) |
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Muppets | Harry Belafonte and The Count sing "Coconut Counting Man." (First: Episode 1692) |
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Cartoon | A rabbit crosses the STREET, and almost gets run over. Artist: Cathryn Aison (First: Episode 0778) |
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SCENE 4 | Bob finds Elmo looking up the Sesame Street lamppost. Elmo explains that he's been reading all the signs he sees so he can become a good reader, and Bob gives him a clue about the sign he's currently trying to read: there are two words in the sign, the first one being "Sesame." Elmo makes some wild guesses about the second word ("Noodle! Pizza! Doorknob!"), but then Bob points it out to him. Elmo climbs up the lamppost, says that he really likes the sign, and asks Bob to help him down. |
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Animation | Lollipop and feathers - what goes where? (First: Episode 0772) |
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Muppets | Camp Wannagohoma: Grover tries to show the campers what is alive in the forest, but they keep correcting him. (First: Episode 1791) |
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Cartoon | Pinball #10 Artist: Jeff Hale (First: Episode 0990) |
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Film | "Listen ..." to various sounds, including the ocean, a heart beating, a clock ticking, a horse galloping, crickets chirping, a passing train, and others. (First: Episode 0951) |
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SCENE 5 | Big Bird and Professor Rabbit continue their listening, and the professor suddenly says he's starting to hear music... which turns out to be the closing theme song. He explains why he's such a good listener: "I close my eyes, concentrate, and I have ears the size of hockey sticks!" Bob announces the sponsors. |
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