Episode 3082

Sesame Street
Monty and the snake / Snuffy's dog
Air date	February 23, 1993
Season	Season 24 (1992-1993)
Written by	Tony Geiss
Production October 15, 1992 Sponsors A, D, 15

Picture	Segment	Description
	SCENE 1	Monty cuts the episode's underscore short to declare that this is the beginning, pointing to his Napoleon-style hat with the word printed on it. After a cutaway of Muppet trumpeters playing a fanfare and confetti falling from above, a long snake with a Cockney accent, who addresses Monty with high-ranking nicknames (to Monty's chagrin), asks what "beginning" means. Monty elaborates by pointing out the beginning of the snake, who clarifies that he's a python. He continues to describe the end of the python, as well as the very ticklish middle.
	Cartoon	Apple: a riddle (First: Episode 2889)
	Celebrity	Whoopi Goldberg introduces the sound "WH" and then yells, "Whoopi!" (First: Episode 2861)
	Muppets	Waiter Grover: First/Last — Mr. Johnson orders several items from Grover, asking for them to be served in a particular sequence. (First: Episode 1307)
	Cartoon	D-draw, dent, drop, dancer, done (First: Episode 3060)
	Film	A man and a little girl perform small aerobic workouts. (First: Episode 1710)
	SCENE 2	Big Bird sings a subtracting song about "Four Goo-Goo Birds," as played by the Birdketeers.
	Cartoon	A peasant tries to woo a pretty girl by reciting the famous "Roses are Red" poem. The lines are fed to him by a poet behind a bush, whom she eventually runs off with. Artist: Irra Verbitsky (First: Episode 2058)
	Animation	Beads arrange themselves in different ways, and finally stick themselves to a boy's jacket. (First: Episode 3045)
	Muppets	Ernie and Bert: Ernie Brings Home a Surprise — Ernie brings a puppy home as a surprise for Bert. (First: Episode 1956)
	Film	A man talks about his working horses. (First: Episode 1466)
	SCENE 3	Maria, Gabi, Linda, Barkley, Snuffy, and the kids gather 'round Duane as he shows off his new puppy (named L.L. Cool Dog), which he got from the animal shelter. Snuffy hopes to have a dog of his own one day (named Bill) and is told how much responsibility he must have. Linda lists some of the things a dog owner must do, and Snuffy imagines how he would take care of Barkley. Mommy Snuffleupagus interrupts his daydream and considers Snuffy's request of adopting a dog. She allows him to get one, and they head off to the shelter.
	Cartoon	A flea sets up camp on a dog. Artist: Bruce Cayard (First: Episode 1004)
	Muppets	An Anything Muppet family sings "Let's Go Driving." (First: Episode 2095)
	Animation	Letter Garden: A Artist: Jane Aaron (First: Episode 3027)
	SCENE 4	The Snuffleupaguses arrive at the Animal Shelter, where the clerk (Paula Poundstone) assists them. After the clerk asks them a few questions to make sure their home is good for a dog, they look at three of the puppies the shelter has, but can't decide between the big, bigger, or biggest one. Snuffy tries calling "Bill," but none respond to it. The clerk tells them that they do have a special breed, a Snufflese Cavehound, in the other room. The dog begins to let out a bellowing howl and the clerk goes to get it, as Snuffy and his mother eagerly wait to meet them.
	Cartoon	Knights use different words for "big". Artist: Fred Garbers (First: Episode 1985)
	Song	"Washin' the Dog" (First: Episode 3020)
	Cartoon	Workmen construct a D building, filled with everything that begins with D. (First: Episode 0406)
	Muppets	The Martians are a "Yip Yip Family." (First: Episode 2724)
	Animation	Pencil box A/a
	Song	"Garbageman's Blues Song" (First: Episode 1875)
	SCENE 5	Monty interrupts the song partway through to report that this is the "middle" of the show, punctuated with another fanfare from the trumpeters. The python doesn't understand this either, so Monty shows the "silly asp" his own middle, tickling him again in the process. The song resumes afterwards.
	Cartoon	A man demonstrates what newspapers are made of, and finds an ad for "One slightly used monster." (First: Episode 2919)
	Muppets	Sesame Street News Flash: Mumford's Big and Small Trick — Kermit inadvertently falls victim to The Amazing Mumford's trick. (First: Episode 2696)
	Film	"One Thousand Faces" (First: Episode 2894)
	Cartoon	Joe's Lap (limerick) (First: Episode 0617)
	Film	A child in a classroom draws a picture of her dog Puck, and goes over the care required to keep a pet. (First: Episode 2853)
	Animation	The word "dog" appears on-screen, followed by a shot of a dog.
	SCENE 6	Snuffy and his mother return to Sesame Street with their Snufflese Cavehound, a very big dog (especially considering it's just a puppy) that they've instead named Belle as she's female. They briefly debate if such a big dog can be called "cute," eventually agreeing that at any size a puppy can be cute. The clerk confirms that Snufflese Cavehounds prefer to live in boxes, and Snuffy wonders where they can get one large enough for Belle.
	Cartoon	An animated number 15 sings "How Hard It Is to Be 15" to a child who is trying to count from 1 to 20, but can't remember 15. (First: Episode 2743)
	Muppets	Anything Muppets: Loud and Quiet — In a subway station, two men observe how loud and quiet it is. (First: Episode 1432)
	Animation	Where do the a's fit? (First: Episode 1586)
	SCENE 7	Monty reminds the viewer that this is still the middle of the show, poking a further spot on the ticklish python to illustrate.
	Cartoon	Can a cat bark? (First: Episode 0859)
	Muppets	Count von Count sings "Lambaba" as he counts sheep and other animals that pop into the room. (First: Episode 2789)
	SCENE 7 cont'd	After the first verse of the song, the show cuts back to the python and Monty, who is fast asleep. The python relays a message to the viewer from Monty, stating that this is still the middle of the show. The fanfare and confetti wake him up and he points to an even further spot on the snake, who can't help but giggle. The song continues...
	Animation	A piece of paper floats down onto a table, then folds itself into a paper crane, which flies away. (First: Episode 2892)
	Muppets	A monster sings "Comb Your Face." (First: Episode 1851)
	Cartoon	A bird watches as two monkeys climb above and below each other in a tree. (First: Episode 2965)
	Film	Empty / full classroom (time-lapse) (First: Episode 0415)
	Cartoon	A bird transforms into a plane, a car, a cat, a fish, a submarine, Submarine Man, and back to a bird. Artist: Vince Collins (First: Episode 1646)
	SCENE 8	Maria and the kids provide Belle with a box to sit in (from a refrigerator), as well as rags and blankets to put inside. Belle doesn't budge when asked to go inside, though Snuffy compliments her on her intelligence nonetheless.
	SCENE 8 cont'd	The scene suddenly shifts to Monty stopping the proceedings, whose hat now reads "The End" and he celebrates the end of the show. The python still doesn't get the picture, so Monty demonstrates by showing what happens at the end of the show - he announces the sponsors, then everything fades to black.

Notes

• As originally scripted, the first scene with Monty was meant to cut short the opening theme sequence and act as a cold open. When the theme song resumes thereafter, the "Four Goo-Goo Birds" song would be the first street scene of the episode.
• During Snuffy's fantasy of taking care of Barkley, he gives him a dish of Bow-Wow Chow dog food, which also happens to be the name of the brand that Guy Smiley tries to do a commercial for in an episode of Alphabet Chat.

Sources

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