| Sesame Street | |||||||||
| Telly's fear of sliding | |||||||||
| Air date | February 17, 1994 | ||||||||
| Season | Season 25 (1993-1994) | ||||||||
| Written by | Judy Freudberg | ||||||||
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| Picture | Segment | Description |
|---|---|---|
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COLD OPEN | Gordon is about to announce today's sponsors when Telly enters, covered in pillows and wearing a crash helmet. He explains that he's going to play on the slide in the park today, and the pillows will keep him from getting hurt like he did the last time he went down the slide. Telly makes his way around the corner, as Gordon hopes he'll learn that he won't need so much protection. |
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SCENE 1 | Telly arrives at the park, where he observes Nathan, Ife, and Kenji taking turns on the slide. Telly tells Elmo that he will also be sliding, but then decides against it out of fear. Elmo thinks he's smart for wearing all the protective gear, so Telly musters the courage to do it after all - even going so far as to "laugh in the face of danger." However, he finds it hard to climb up the ladder while wearing so much padding and falls, needing the help of Elmo and the other kids to get back up. Telly realizes he'll have to get rid of the pillows, but vows to get on the slide... maybe. |
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Animation | Airplanes carve the capital and lowercase letter Y. |
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Muppets | Old West: Sinister Sam announces that someone has bought the last box of crayons, and he wants to know why. It turns out that he just wants a crayon so he can learn how to write the letter Y. (First: Episode 1288) |
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Cartoon | Y for Yak (new music added) Artist: Jeff Hale (First: Episode 1184) |
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Song | "Frog Kick" (First: Episode 2155) |
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Muppets / Celebrity | Kadeem Hardison says the alphabet with Natasha. (First: Episode 2787) |
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Cartoon | A bully says the alphabet to a mild-mannered gardener, who hits him in the face with a pie at the end. (new sting added) (First: Episode 0279) |
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SCENE 2 | Telly's pillows have been removed (though he's decided to keep the helmet) and he climbs up the ladder as Elmo watches. Once he reaches the top he finds he's still afraid to go down the slide, so he climbs back down the ladder. He then climbs up and down the ladder over and over again. |
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Cartoon | A man jumps up and down on a trampoline. (First: Episode 1449) |
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Song | Everyone has the same feelings, "No Matter What." Kids of all types play with a huge beach ball. (First: Episode 2782) |
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Cartoon | Two alpine climbers hike up a letter Z and stake a claim on it. (First: Episode 0281) |
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Muppets | Over the Top, a ZZ Top-like band, sings "ZZ Blues". (First: Episode 2317) |
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Animation | Playing cards form the letter Z and dance to zydeco music. (First: Episode 3166) |
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Muppets | Muppet & Kid Moment — Erik shows Grover his teeth, and tells him how teeth are used. (First: Episode 1639) |
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Cartoon | A toothbrush talks to a mouth about what could happen if not taken care of. (First: Episode 1476) |
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SCENE 3 | Telly feels proud as he's been able to finally sit at the top of the slide, but is still afraid of going down it. Elmo still thinks Telly can keep laughing in the face of his fear of sliding, but Telly doesn't think he can even do that anymore. Elmo promises to wait with Telly until he is ready to slide, which may take a while... |
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Cartoon | Abstract count to 17 (First: Episode 2820) |
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Animation | Growing Numbers #17 (First: Episode 2975) |
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Animation | Rap #17 (First: Episode 2488) |
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Muppets | Ernie and Bert: Ernie Catches All the Fish — Bert can't seem to catch fish with the luck that Ernie has. |
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Animation | Counting 1-10 (Indian imagery) |
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Song | "It's Time for a Rhyme" (First: Episode 3151) |
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Cartoon | In rhyme, a man points out animals who stole and/or ruined his clothing. (First: Episode 0778) |
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SCENE 4 | Telly is almost ready to go down the slide, and asks everyone who has gathered around to count to 3. After they count, Telly becomes stiff with fear and "has the sudden urge" to say the alphabet instead. Everyone says it with him, but there is still more waiting to do as he claims to be too exhausted from saying the alphabet... |
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Cartoon | A little girl sings "There Is Only One Me." (First: Episode 1942) |
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Film | A girl floats around in a circle. (First: Episode 3130) |
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Film | A girl's grandmother teaches Spanish to her parrot Kuka. (First: Episode 3101) |
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Muppets | The Hispanic community of Anything Muppets sings "It Sure is Hot!" (First: Episode 2601) |
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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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SCENE 5 | Telly still doesn't want to go down the slide and gives up. Elmo suggests that maybe he and Telly could slide down together, which won't make him feel so scared. Telly likes this idea, but just as they're about to slide, Telly backs out and lets Elmo go down by himself. Telly thinks he's nothing but a big chicken as he's the only one unable to go down the slide; a real chicken (Julianne Buescher) happens to come along and slides down fearlessly. Elmo decides to seek the help of a grown-up. |
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Song | Sesame Street Creature Feature: The Iguana (First: Episode 2938) |
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Cartoon | The Magnificent Splasho goes from the top of the ladder to the bottom of the water tank. (First: Episode 0655) |
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Film | A group of people form a human pyramid to illustrate top and bottom. (First: Episode 3144) |
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Cartoon | A hippo has difficulty getting the succulent fruit down from a tree, and enlists the help of another hippo. Artist: John Korty (First: Episode 1899) |
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SCENE 6 | Gordon comes over to help Telly overcome his fear of going down the slide. He tells him a story: when he was a boy, he became afraid of roller-skating after hurting his knee. His father convinced him that he wouldn't have fun if he didn't skate, and helped Gordon out until he wasn't afraid of skating anymore. Telly still doesn't think the story applies to him - he doesn't want to skate, he wants to slide! |
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Animation | A poem about oranges. (First: Episode 2881) |
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Muppets | The Count sings about the things hands can do. (new music added to intro) (First: Episode 3002) |
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Cartoon | A boy gets lost, and encounters a man with a yo-yo, who tells him to remember everything he passed. Artist: Jeff Hale (First: Episode 0408) |
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Song | "One of These Things" (with Fay Ray) (First: Episode 2604) |
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SCENE 7 | Gordon agrees to hold Telly's hand while he slides down, saying it's okay for him to be afraid. The chicken wants another turn after Telly, but while getting ready she accidentally gives him a shove, and he slides down all by himself! Telly is proud that he just slid down the slide by himself, and didn't get hurt. Gordon announces the sponsors while Telly, Elmo, and the chicken have fun sliding some more. |
Notes[]
- This episode was later re-aired in Season 27 as Episode 3496.
- Gordon's flashback takes place in a nondescript street area. In reality, it's the alleyway next to the Fix-It Shop, with the set pieces removed.
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