| Sesame Street | |||||||
| Elmo's Grouch experiment | |||||||
| Air date | February 16, 1989 | ||||||
| Season | Season 20 (1988-1989) | ||||||
| Written by | David Korr | ||||||
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| Picture | Segment | Description |
|---|---|---|
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SCENE 1 | Sherlock Hemlock is in the mood for a mystery. He listens and hears the sounds of a large animal sniffling, some wind, and a door slam. As he ponders the clues, Bob and Linda come by (unseen by Sherlock) and find Barkley has gotten loose and was temporarily stuck inside the garage. Once the situation is cleared, Sherlock takes a look around and concludes the noises were made by Bob. |
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Cartoon | Travis Travel demonstrates different methods of transportation. (First: Episode 1459) |
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Muppets | Bert sings "Doin' the Pigeon". (First: Episode 0536) |
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Cartoon | Picnic with P foods (carried away by ants) Artist: Cliff Roberts (First: Episode 0764) |
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Muppets | Grover the lumberjack thinks he is the first to arrive for supper, but he gets trampled by a gang of French-Canadian lumberjacks who get to the food table before he has a chance to get his snow boots off. By the time he finally gets them off, a grizzly bear grabs the last plate of food. (First: Episode 1343) |
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Film | A beekeeper extracts honey from honeycomb. (First: Episode 1117) |
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Cartoon | Nine penguins slide down a hill. (Maria voice-over added) Artist: Owe Gustafson (First: Episode 1532) |
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SCENE 2 | Big Bird and Telly Monster are recording how many words rhyme with the names of the street's residents. They confirm with Oscar that nothing rhymes with his name. Big Bird claims to have the most so far (coming up with eight words that rhyme). Bob comes by and names 11 rhymes for his own off the top of his head. Big Bird angrily relents that Bob is now the "name-rhyme champion of Sesame Street," and hands him the paper crown. |
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Cartoon | P Words (including parachute and plug) (First: Episode 0296) |
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Muppets | Sesame Street News Flash: Old King Cole — Old King Cole calls for his pipe, etc. (First: Episode 0922) |
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Film | Wheelchair races at the Special Olympics (First: Episode 0898) |
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SCENE 3 | Big Bird mopes at his nest area, disappointed that he's lost his crown, when Bob tells him about all the things that rhyme with the first part of his name. He gives Big Bird back the crown when a monster named Zore (Camille Bonora) enters. She starts listing the many, many rhymes for her name, and Big Bird nonchalantly gives her the crown and treats Bob to a soda. |
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Song | "Ookyook Song," a Joe Raposo song with the Alaskan words for all the things you need to put on when it's ukiuq (winter). (First: Episode 2360) |
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Cartoon | "L" for "Large" and "l" for "little" (First: Episode 1455) |
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Muppets | The Miss Muffet Play (First: Episode 0280) |
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Film | In stop-motion, a boy makes landscapes out of sand and water. (First: Episode 2039) |
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Cartoon | A man (Jim Thurman) is interrupted as he tries to recite the alphabet. Artist: Cliff Roberts (First: Episode 1499) |
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Muppets / Celebrity | Cab Calloway sings "Jumpin' Jive" when the Two-Headed Monster can't decide whether to jump or jive. (First: Episode 1575) |
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Cartoon | P for Pyramid (First: Episode 2061) |
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SCENE 4 | Maria plays with a kitten on the stoop while Elmo watches. Oscar comes out and tells them all to scram as usual. When he leaves, Elmo asks Maria why Oscar is always so rotten, and wonders if he would feel good being grouchy like him. He begins his experiment and finds he doesn't enjoy talking like a Grouch, but his experiment has more to go. |
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Cartoon | Luis (in voice-over) counts racehorses numbered 9 to 1 as they cross the finish line. (First: Episode 2110) |
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Muppets | The Count sings about "The First Day of School". (First: Episode 1736) |
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Film | A flower opens and closes. (First: Episode 0441) |
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SCENE 5 | Elmo has now sprawled out scraps of paper to see if he likes making a mess like a Grouch; he doesn't. He goes to find something else to do in a Grouch manner and politely asks Maria to help him clean his mess. Maria remarks, "Wouldn't it be nice if all Grouches really did act like Elmo?" |
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Cartoon | L for life, love, lizard, leap and lump Artist: Cliff Roberts (First: Episode 1833) |
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Muppets | Ernie and Bert: Bert Almost Shops for Dinner — Upon Bert's own instructions, Ernie won't open the door for him. (First: Episode 1787) |
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Cartoon | Rap #9 (First: Episode 2509) |
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SCENE 6 | Elmo has a makeshift, carboard trash can to reside in. He still doesn't enjoy being a Grouch, and Maria claims being a Grouch isn't so much in what one does, but how one feels. |
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Film | Chimps running around (piano music) (First: Episode 2493) |
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Cartoon | A man counts 40 stars at night. (First: Episode 2243) |
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SCENE 7 | Elmo tries to ask Oscar a question for his experiment, but Oscar naturally refuses. Elmo starts to feel very upset and realizes this is how Grouches feel. He doesn't like the negative feelings and concludes his experiment. He thanks Oscar for his help with a kiss, enraging the Grouch (who gets even angrier when Maria decides not to tell him what Elmo's been up to). Telly announces the sponsors. |
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