| Sesame Street | |||||||
| There's a flood in Oscar's can | |||||||
| Air date | March 23, 1992 | ||||||
| Season | Season 23 (1991-1992) | ||||||
| Written by | Tony Geiss | ||||||
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| Picture | Segment | Description |
|---|---|---|
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COLD OPEN | The sounds of sloshing water are coming from inside Snuffy, who has been recruited by Oscar for an unspecified task. To explain why Snuffy is full of water, Oscar sets the scene back the day prior, where the pipe to his hot tub broke and his trash can begins to fill with water. He calls Grouch plumber Liddy of Casablanca Plumbers to come over and fix it. She tells him it might be a week or two before she gets to the job, until Oscar claims all the wasted water might lead to a mud shortage; she leaves immediately. In the present, Oscar says he'll resume his story... right after the opening song. |
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SCENE 1 | Oscar continues his story, where everyone helps dry off all of Oscar's soaked pets. He takes a head count and makes sure all eight pets are safe (save for the rhinos, who are at day care). All seem present and accounted for, but Fred the fish remains in the can to play in the water. Liddy is able to stop the leak, but won't be able to clear out the water until tomorrow. Oscar wonders where he and his pets will spend the night. |
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Film | Kids narrate a film about water in hoses, fountains, puddles, streams, bathtubs, rivers, oceans, and other places. (First: Episode 0135) |
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Cartoon | "The Room is Full of Chickens" |
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Muppets | Ernie sings "Quiet Time Song" while sitting under an apple tree, and is joined by a squirrel, a bird, a hornet's nest, a cat, and Gladys the Cow. (First: Episode 2091) |
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Cartoon | The detective sees a lever, and thinks about what might happen if he pulls the lever, being prepared for anything. (First: Episode 2613) |
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SCENE 2 | As Oscar's story continues, he and Lassie stay at Maria and Luis' apartment while the rest of the animals stay at Big Bird's nest (Lassie apparently tries to eat the nest, thus must stay with Oscar instead). The family presents Oscar with a healthful dinner, but he points out that a healthy Grouch meal mushes all the different foods together (plus some chocolate syrup, which he brings himself). While he digs into his entree, Lassie is fed some table napkins. Luis tries to comfort Maria with the notion that their guests will be gone tomorrow. |
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Muppets | Cookie Monster sings "Healthy Food." (First: Episode 2404) |
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Cartoon | Toothpaste March Artist: Ray Favata (First: Episode 1446) |
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Film | A boy who lives in the Congo (in Africa) narrates a film of the kinds of games he and his friends play. (First: Episode 2668) |
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Animation | School supplies make the letter E. (First: Episode 2880) |
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Song | "Sharing Swing with Kids Song" (First: Episode 0926) |
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Cartoon | Number creatures 15 (First: Episode 2693) |
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SCENE 3 | Big Bird has trouble getting the remainder of Oscar's pets (Slimey, Fluffy, Preposterous, Esme, Spot, and Jezabel) to be quiet and go to sleep. He proceeds to sing them "Let's Fall Asleep" (a spin on Cole Porter's "Let's Fall in Love"), which works in getting them all to sleep once the song ends. |
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Cartoon | A girl thinks she hears a monster doing a cha-cha outside her window, but it's only the wind and a cricket. Her snores frighten the real monster. Artist: Deanna Morse (First: Episode 2951) |
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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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Animation | Isadora's sneakers describe all the fun they've had this past year, as the seasons change. (First: Episode 2758) |
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Celebrity | Smokey Robinson performs “U Really Got a Hold on Me” with a clingy letter U. (First: Episode 2022) |
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Cartoon | A U train spells the words "unite," "U-turn," "underground," "up," and "universe." (First: Episode 0624) |
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SCENE 4 | Oscar can't sleep due to the pullout couch being much too comfortable. He tries counting skunks forwards and backwards, but to no avail. He wakes up Maria and Luis, who stuff the mattress with various odds and ends. Oscar goes down quickly after and starts loudly mumbling in his sleep. |
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Cartoon | 1-10, 10-1 count with stripes. (First: Episode 0926) |
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Muppets | Ernie and Bert: Lullaby and Goodnight — Ernie and Bert go off to sleep but Ernie starts to sing himself "Brahms' Lullaby." (First: Episode 0841) |
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Cartoon | U for uniform. (First: Episode 0702) |
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Muppets | Jimmy is upset about moving to a new house, but Hoots the Owl shows up and sings "Things Are Always Changing." (First: Episode 2937) |
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Film | Growing Numbers #15 |
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Cartoon | Little Red Riding Hood uses a map to get to Grandma's house. (First: Episode 2686) |
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SCENE 5 | The following morning, Liddy reports that her can-emptier is broken and won't be able to de-flood Oscar's can until next week. Everyone frets about continuing these living arrangements any longer and think of ways to empty the can. Travis proposes they drink it out with a straw, inspiring Big Bird to find just the someone who can accomplish such a task... Snuffy! Using his snuffle, he drinks up all the water (and Oscar's fish Fred by accident). Oscar concludes his story in the present, as Snuffy asks what Oscar wants him to do now; Oscar tells him to wait until after the following... |
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Song | Ornate E's go easing by to a song. (First: Episode 2937) |
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Muppets | Grover and Mr. Johnson: Speedy Pizza |
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Cartoon | Bruce the moose invites Toulouse LaGoose over for juice. (First: Episode 2498) |
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Film | Scenes of flowers set to harmonica music (First: Episode 2497) |
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Cartoon | The Great Inventor Series: Science Salutes the Men and Women Who Have Changed the Way We Live. Cartoon about the days when people tried drinking ice cream soda before straws were invented. Awful messes were made getting more of the refreshment on their clothes than in their bellies. Until one day an ice cream parlor janitor noticed that when people brought their leashed pet anteaters in to enjoy an ice cream soda, the floor was always sucked completely clean. Realizing that nature had solved the problem, the janitor invented artificial anteater noses that strapped on over people's mouths... which eventually evolved into the modern straw. Artist: Bruce Cayard (First: Episode 2595) |
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Film | "Box City Recycling Rap" Kids sing a rap song about recycling. They build a city out of boxes and cartons. (First: Episode 2851) |
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Cartoon | They'd play with me if I had... (First: Episode 0815) |
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SCENE 6 | Oscar informs Snuffy that when he emptied his can, he also drank up the water in his pool and wants him to put it back. Snuffy puts his snuffle into the can and starts blowing water in, as well as watering the plants and the sofa. Fred the fish announces the sponsors, floating in a nearby can. |
Notes[]
- Additional performers include Jim Martin (Lassie in scene 1), Jim Kroupa (Preposterous), Rick Lyon (Esme), Carmen Osbahr (Jezabel), and David Rudman (Fred and Lassie in scenes 2 and 4).
- The original script contained an additional street scene, unrelated to Oscar's storyline. Telly Monster is using a computer to write a message to the Triangle Lover's Club, and Savion demonstrates how he can dance and type at the same time. Telly wishes for Savion to dance and type his letter and reads a lengthy message that Savion can't possibly type as quickly as he can dance. "Must be dancer's block," says Telly.[1]
Sources[]
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