| Sesame Street | |||||||||
| Telly is "Yes Man!" | |||||||||
| Air date | March 4, 1994 | ||||||||
| Season | Season 25 (1993-1994) | ||||||||
| Written by | Josh Selig | ||||||||
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| Picture | Segment | Description |
|---|---|---|
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COLD OPEN | Big Bird announces the sponsors as Telly bounces by on his pogo stick, repeating "Yes!" Big Bird explains to Savion that Telly is pretending that he's "Yes Man," a superhero who always says "Yes!" Big Bird is also playing his assistant, and the two go off to look for those in trouble (scored by a play on the Batman TV theme). |
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SCENE 1 | Savion asks the two how they came up with such a silly game. Big Bird explains it was in a book Ruthie read them, and he calls her over to read it. She begins reading them The Adventures of Yes Man... |
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SCENE 1 cont'd | In the story, a king suffers several misfortunes from his servants as the only answer he can give them is "no." As such, he finds himself having snow dumped on his head, getting tickled, and rejecting an offer of an ice cream cone. Suddenly, he's visited by a superhero - Yes Man, who teaches him how to say "yes" instead and keep his pesky servants at bay. |
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SCENE 1 cont'd | Following the story, Savion questions Big Bird's role, as Yes Man didn't have an assistant in the book. Big Bird states he got the job just by asking (and Telly is unable to decline). |
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Cartoon | A man shows the viewers his "YES" machine. (First: Episode 0822) |
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Song | Sesame Street Creature Feature: Joe Raposo sings "Goats." (First: Episode 2366) |
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Animation | Writing utensils form the upper and lowercase letter E. (First: Episode 2880) |
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Song | Ornate E's go easing by to a song. (First: Episode 2937) |
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Animation | Planet E / e (First: Episode 2840) |
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Animation | Three balls compare sizes. An orange ball (voiced by Daws Butler) boasts that he's the smallest, until his little brother comes onto the scene. (First: Episode 0786) |
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SCENE 2 | "Yes Man" and his assistant ask Savion if he needs help. He declines, wondering how saying "Yes" all the time can help anyone. They then come across a little girl in the park having trouble playing her recorder. By saying "Yes," they're able to instill some confidence in her and she is able to properly play her scales. |
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Film | Topi antelopes nod "yes." Music by Joe Raposo (First: Episode 0411) |
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Animation | Cecille sings "I'm Gonna Get to You." (First: Episode 2873) |
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Film | A girl dances her way into her family portrait. (First: Episode 3119) |
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Cartoon | zip, zoom, zoom, zig, zag, zany, zoo. (First: Episode 0359) |
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Muppets | "Zig Zag Dance" (First: Episode 1567) |
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Muppets | Poverty Z (First: Episode 0085) |
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Film | Fay Ray dresses up as a "green elephant," a moose, and "Kermit the dog." (First: Episode 2864) |
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SCENE 3 | Monty asks Nathan a few silly "yes" and "no" questions, jotting the answers on his clipboard. Through his questionnaire, Monty discovers that like him, Nathan likes to jump up and down and shout, "Penguins! Penguins! Penguins!" |
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Cartoon | A dog answers "Yes" to every question. (First: Episode 0783) |
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Film | Kids narrate a film about how Yufka, a Turkish flat-bread, is made. (First: Episode 2937) |
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Animation | Yellow drops don't want to play with a red ball at first, but they make a good flower together. (First: Episode 1895) |
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Muppets | Ferlinghetti Donizetti delivers "The Easy Rhythm Rappin' Alphabet" while Grover displays his super smooth break-dance moves. (First: Episode 2033) |
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Cartoon | Z for zebra and zoo (First: Episode 0281) |
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Animation | A ball looks for its match on a brick wall. (First: Episode 1470) |
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SCENE 4 | Savion continues trying to do homework when he's interrupted yet again by "Yes Man," who will now say "Yes" 40 times while bouncing on his pogo stick. He's only able to get through the first eight when Savion requests that Telly give it a break for awhile. Big Bird is also getting a bit tired of the game, which offends Telly who leaves (or rather, bounces off) in a huff. |
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Cartoon | "Mad Goat Song" Artist: Derek Lamb (First: Episode 0771) |
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Film | A child narrates a film of him and his brother, Andrew, taking a ride on the ferry. (First: Episode 2951) |
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Cartoon | A movie director calls for 12 pilots, 12 airplanes, 12 parachutes, 12 clowns and 12 pies. |
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Muppets | "Honk Around the Clock" (First: Episode 1631) |
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Animation | Clown Honking #12 |
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Muppets | Herry Monster and Louisey sing "I Can Sing." (First: Episode 2976) |
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Cartoon | Snacks On Parade: The Raisin Artist: Bruce Cayard (First: Episode 1171) |
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SCENE 5 | A still bitter Telly finishes counting his 40 "yes"s all by himself when Ruthie and Big Bird arrive with a new story to tell him - The Adventures of No Man. |
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SCENE 5 cont'd | The story follows the same plot as before, only now the king suffers for saying "yes" to everything. No Man appears, encouraging him to say "no" now. |
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SCENE 5 cont'd | Telly begins to learn a moral from the two stories: it's okay to say "yes" and "no" depending on the situation. He promises to say "yes" and "no" as necessary (and possibly throwing a "maybe" in the mix). |
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Song | Gina and Maria sing "The Word is "No." (First: Episode 2548) |
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Film | Some Navajo kids narrate a film about how their blankets are weaved, and how they make paper blankets in school. (First: Episode 2990) |
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Cartoon | Geometry of Circles #2 "Seven Circles with Designs" (First: Episode 1394) |
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Muppets | Bip Bipadotta sings "Opposite Stuff." (new keyboard overdubs added) (First: Episode 2425) |
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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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Muppets | Monsterpiece Theater: Hamlet — Mel Gibson plays Hamlet. (First: Episode 3047) |
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Cartoon | Counting to 10 (Latin rhythm) (Spanish dub). (First: Episode 3045) |
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SCENE 6 | Telly, sans "Yes Man" outfit, finds Savion in the park and apologizes for his behavior earlier. He reports he'll only say "yes" and "no" sometimes and adds he's loaned his costume and pogo stick to Ruthie, who's currently enjoying pretending to be a superhero. Telly then announces the sponsors, and the credits follow. |
Notes[]
- This episode was later re-aired in Season 27 as Episode 3420.
- Additional performers include Joey Mazzarino, Carmen Osbahr, and Fran Brill (as the royal subjects), with Martin P. Robinson as the king. Brill also performs the little girl with the recorder.
Gallery[]
puppets for the king's story being prepped in the Muppet Workshop
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