Episode 3140

	Sesame Street
	Racism on Sesame Street; Telly and Baby Bear build an information booth
Air date	November 26, 1993
Season	Season 25 (1993-1994)
Written by	Jon Stone
Directed by	Jon Stone
Production	September 10, 1993
Sponsors	M, U, 2
Syndication	123 Sesame Street

Picture	Segment	Description
	SCENE 1	Best friends Gina and Savion emerge from the Subway Station having seen a Marx Brothers movie, having fun as they quote scenes from it. Gina is going to start her shift at Hooper's Store soon, so the pair walk through the around the corner area. Along the way they say hello to Ruthie at Finders Keepers and see some kids playing on a mattress abandoned for the trash to pick up. Since they're in a playful mood, Gina and Savion decide to do some jumping on the mattress, holding hands as they do so. As they walk past 123 Sesame Street, they find a basketball and Gina challenges Savion to a quick game. Just as they are going to split up they share a kiss, and Gina invites him into the store for a soda.
	SCENE 1, cont'd	They greet Telly, who's enjoying some milk, when the pay phone rings. Gina picks up the phone and gets a disturbing call, but only her part is heard and witnessed. Whatever she is being told makes her furious and Savion quickly cuts in, telling off the caller before hanging up. They suspect that whoever called must have seen the two of them hanging out together moments ago.
	SCENE 1, cont'd	Savion explains to a very disturbed and inquisitive Telly the hard truth: "There's just some really stupid people in the world who can't stand to see it when people of different races are friends." Telly finds it odd because of how so many different people, monsters, and animals are great friends on Sesame Street, including an "eight-foot-tall yellow bird who's friends with everyone." He doesn't care what color anybody is, and Gina asserts that she, Telly, and Savion will always be friends no matter what. Telly then becomes concerned when thinking about what would happen if the bigoted person ever calls the store again. Gina and Savion enact such a scenario, beginning with a polite response before they both blow raspberries into the phone!
	Song	Everyone has the same feelings, "No Matter What." Kids of all types play with a huge beach ball. (First: Episode 2782)
	Cartoon	M is for Marvelous Martha (First: Episode 0016)
	Celebrity	Madeline Kahn sings, "Mmm...Madeline." (First: Episode 2370)
	Animation	Letter Garden: M (First: Episode 3079)
	SCENE 2	Telly tells Baby Bear about what happened in the store, which Baby Bear can't believe; by that logic, he and Telly couldn't be friends since their fur is different colors. The two are happy to see that they've proven the racist thoughts aren't true before double checking their newly-built information booth (with Luis' help). Baby Bear and Telly then sing about how much they enjoy being "Best Friends."
	Film	Children in Jamaica learn how to make their own tie-dyed shirts.
	Cartoon	Snacks on Parade: Peanut Butter Artist: Bruce Cayard (First: Episode 1301) cut from the Noggin version
	Muppets	Kermit the Frog sings "Bein' Green" against a farm field background. (First: Episode 0722)
	Animation	Kids narrate how a Navajo blanket is weaved. (First: Episode 2976)
	SCENE 3	Gina comes by the information booth and Baby Bear and Telly explain how it works: for a penny, Baby Bear will give information about bears, and Telly has information about monsters. Gina pays Baby Bear a penny and asks about all the bears in the world, but Baby Bear only knows of the existence of him and his family.
	Cartoon	A man demonstrates what newspapers are made of, and finds an ad for "One slightly used monster." (First: Episode 2919) cut from the Noggin version
	Muppets	On a tropical island, Bert, Cookie Monster, Grover and a Caribbean Anything Muppet back-up band sing "Take a Rest". (First: Episode 3107)
	Cartoon	Lillian, the big sister. (First: Episode 2746)
	SCENE 4	Gina returns and Telly prods her into asking him about monsters, first paying the mandatory penny of course. Telly begins to list all the friendly monsters he knows of such as Elmo, Cookie Monster, Herry, Grover, and Merry. Gina cuts him short as she wants to learn more about the other kind of monsters. Telly isn't sure what she means, so she gradually begins to imitate the wild ones she's referring to while describing them - the kind that have long claws and snaggly teeth that slobber and roar and destroy everything in their path; this results in Telly and Baby Bear cowering in fear. She comforts them before making an observation to the viewer: "You know, when I was a little girl, all the storybooks said that little girls were supposed to be scared of monsters and bears and things like that, but... sometimes it's the other way around." After she leaves, Baby Bear and Telly marvel at their wealth (two pennies) and close the booth so Baby Bear can buy his dream bulldozer.
	Cartoon	Animals walk. (First: Episode 0926) cut from the Noggin version
	Muppets	Mac TV host Old MacDonald introduces the newest music video, "A New Way to Walk" performed by The Oinker Sisters. (First: Episode 2268)
	Cartoon	A number of kids named Joe play sports. Joanne plays kickball. Artist: John Korty (First: Episode 1871)
	Song	"Playground Map Song" (First: Episode 2680) cut from the Noggin version
	Animation	A girl unfolds a map and uses it to describe her trip to Mexico, stopping in Texas along the way. (First: Episode 2689) cut from the Noggin version
	SCENE 5	Savion sings "You Ought to Meet My Uncle," a song about different ways of dancing (and different uncles) as he dances with the kids.
	Animation	Kids talk about families, often mentioning having rhinoceroces as pets. (First: Episode 2759)
	Film	People go under, over, through and around a hoop.
	Muppets	Grover sings "Monster in the Mirror" assisted by several celebrities including The Simpsons, Whoopi Goldberg, and Ray Charles. (First: Episode 2835)
	Cartoon	A U train spells the words Unite, U-turn, Underground and Universe. (First: Episode 0624)
	SCENE 6	Savion finishes reading Tiana's Magic Carpet to Baby Bear, who is mesmerized by its very descriptive story. He and Savion discuss how great it is to read, and that one day Baby Bear will be old enough to read it himself. Savion decides to read the book again to him.
	Animation	"Flowers on the Doorstep"
	Muppets	Big Bird's Video Postcards In Arizona, Big Bird sees how kids help charros put on a rodeo, and rides a horse. (First: Episode 3049)
	Cartoon	A cartoon shows a few Spanish words - which are also English words. Artist: Fred Garbers (First: Episode 3011)
	SCENE 7	Telly and Baby Bear have learned that the two cents they earned from Gina isn't enough to buy a bulldozer, which costs $39,000; they consider re-opening their information booth.
	Film	Doll House (First: Episode 0131)
	Cartoon	A man counts two ears, two eyes and two arms. He picks up each leg to count two legs, and then falls down. Animation by Cliff Roberts (First: Episode 0406)
	Film	A parrot announces dos, or two of everything. (First: Episode 3108)
	Muppets	Little Chrissy and the Alphabeats sing "Count it Higher." (First: Episode 0553)
	Cartoon	A lizard, a girl and a dog dance. Artist: Karen Aqua (First: Episode 2795)
	SCENE 8	Gina and Savion wonder where the racist caller was watching them from. In case they still are, they link arms and sing the "Best Friends" song as they exit to the Subway Station. Baby Bear announces the sponsors, and the credits follow.