| Sesame Street | |||||||
| Just Say No | |||||||
| Air date | March 19, 1990 | ||||||
| Season | Season 21 (1989-1990) | ||||||
| Written by | Jon Stone | ||||||
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| Picture | Segment | Description |
|---|---|---|
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SCENE 1 | Snuffy tries tapping his feet in time to some dance music as instructed by his Snufflegarden teacher Miss Eckles, but he can't seem to get the rhythm. Elmo observes and employs a trick he's learned from Barkley. He hops into Snuffy's back and starts scratching him, making a couple of Snuffy's feet tap right in time with the music. Elmo decides to join Snuffy back to Snufflegarden, exclaiming how much he loves helping others. |
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Animation | G/g musical notes (Gordon voiceover) (First: Episode 2233) |
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Cast | Maria as Chaplin falls in love with a painting (Linda) at the art museum. (First: Episode 2033) |
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Cartoon | I've got some (hair), I've got more, but I've got the most. (First: Episode 0542) |
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Song | Olivia sings "The Riddle." (First: Episode 1721) |
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SCENE 2 | Elmo now wants to help out Maria at the Fix-It Shop, but she is preoccupied with a broken VCR. She sees how sad Elmo has become and suggests he help himself by practicing the alphabet and counting to 10 in Spanish (with a little help from herself). |
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SCENE 2 cont'd | Over at his workshop, Biff struggles to hammer a nail without Sully (who's at a pancake breakfast at the firehouse). Elmo appears and offers to help. Biff gives him some small change to get him a cup of java from Hooper's Store. |
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Cartoon | The Bellhop has to make 12 wake-up calls. (First: Episode 2529) |
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Muppets / Celebrity | Cab Calloway sings "Hi De Ho Man." (First: Episode 1540) |
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Film | Orangutans playing (piano music) (First: Episode 2486) |
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SCENE 3 | On his way to Hooper's, Elmo runs into Smelly Tavales, a word salesman. He gives Elmo a first-time, pro-bono word - "NO," and encourages Elmo to say it all the time. "Take my word for it, kid, it'll change your whole life," he says. Elmo begins repeating the word as he continues his trek. |
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Film | Colored sand forms the letter B and a buffalo. (First: Episode 2427) |
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Song | Joe Raposo sings "What Babies Are Called" (First: Episode 0096) |
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Muppets | Mysterious Theater: Sign of the Circle — Sherlock Hemlock tries to find a shape matching a circle before the clock strikes five... and it turns out to be the round clock face. |
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Cartoon | "Five Baby Oysters" (First: Episode 2257) |
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SCENE 4 | Elmo comes back to Biff, who holds a drawer steady while the glue dries. Elmo answers all his questions with "NO," irritating Biff and forcing him to scratch his itchy nose on the wood. Elmo finds this funny and goes to see if something similar will happen with Maria. |
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SCENE 4 cont'd | Elmo returns to the Fix-It Shop. Maria tries to refresh his memory on Spanish numbers while he keeps saying "NO." She doesn't seem to be doing anything silly, so he darts off. |
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Animation | Three stripes form a jazz trio. (First: Episode 2410) |
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Film | Some clowns, more clowns (First: Episode 0563) |
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Muppets | Every time Ernie tries to recite a poem about the number 12, it switches itself around to the number 21 (and vice versa). (First: Episode 2329) |
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Cartoon | A photographer tries to look for some animals quietly, but they all end up secretly following him. (First: Episode 0799) |
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Song | A girl invites the listener to "Swing Up High." (First: Episode 0408) |
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SCENE 5 | Elmo tries his word out with Gordon, who invites Elmo to the movies with him and Miles, followed by milkshakes and mini-golf. As much as Elmo loves all of those things, he has no choice but to respond "NO" and realizes the word may not be as fun as he thought. |
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Cartoon | G For Giggle (voice of Allen Swift) (First: Episode 0357) |
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Muppets | "I'm Going to Get My Hair Cut" (First: Episode 1822) |
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Film | Kids with special needs do gymnastics at the Mamaroneck Co-Op Camp. (First: Episode 0953) |
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Cartoon | A mouse tries looking for his pet, describing to his friend what they did yesterday. (First: Episode 0764) |
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SCENE 6 | On another city block, Maria and Gordon run into each other. They realize Elmo has been saying "no" a lot and acting strange and decide to see what the problem may be. |
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Film | Alphaquest: B |
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Song | "Four Seasons" (First: Episode 0276) |
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Muppets | Guy Smiley hosts a dinner for all things that begin with the sound SH. Guests include a shirt, a shrieking shovel, a shepherd, and a shark. (First: Episode 2564) |
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Cartoon | Things that are same and different. (First: Episode 0300) |
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SCENE 7 | Maria and Gordon confront Elmo about his behavior today. Elmo tearfully tells them about his day, including his encounter with Smelly Tavales. He doesn't feel good about using the word, especially seeing how he's upset people and even missed playing mini-golf (his favorite game). As Maria comforts Elmo, he vows to be the old helpful Elmo again, and Gordon promises him that they'll go play mini-golf tomorrow. Maria then tells Elmo (and the viewer) that if he ever meets a stranger offering something, he should say "no" and get away quickly. Elmo understands and sees the word "NO" has some good use after all. |
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Cartoon | B is for bear, bicycle, bump, branch and bee. (First: Episode 0008) |
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Muppets | Sesame Street News Flash: Waiting in Line — Kermit finds himself first and last in line at a sports stadium. (First: Episode 1327) |
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Song | Joe Raposo sings "There's a Bird On Me." (First: Episode 0416) |
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SCENE 8 | Smelly tries handing out more words to some other kids when Maria and Gordon now confront him. He opens his coat to show them some of the words he's been selling (unseen to the viewer, but implied to be very bad words). Maria sends Elmo to get Biff's coffee while they continue dealing with Smelly. The salesman asserts it's a free country and he has every right to be selling his wares around Sesame Street. Gordon agrees it's a free country and whispers some actions he'll take with Smelly using those freedoms. They then force him to hand over all his words before he leaves, grumbling. They dispose of the words in the trash, as Elmo announces the sponsors ("Good riddance, Mr. Smelly!"). |
Notes[]
- This episode uses the selling of words as a correlation for drug use.
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