| Sesame Street | |||||||
| Staring contest | |||||||
| Air date | March 13, 1995 | ||||||
| Season | Season 26 (1994-1995) | ||||||
| Written by | John Weidman | ||||||
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| Picture | Segment | Description |
|---|---|---|
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SCENE 1 | Big Bird is tidying his nest area for his playdate with Snuffy, where they plan to play “Snuffle-Tag” all day in the park. Suddenly, he hears some commotion nearby and goes to investigate. |
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SCENE 1 cont’d | Big Bird finds Carlo supervising a staring contest between Lexine and Tarah. Carlo explains the rules of the game as they begin another round, which Lexine loses. They invite him to play but Big Bird isn't sure he'd be good at doing it. He gives it a try anyway and faces against Tarah, who loses. Proud and excited of his "newfound skill," Big Bird goes to tell Snuffy about the game. |
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Animation | Airplanes carve the capital and lowercase letter Y. (First: Episode 3199) |
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Film | Jaws spoof with the letter Y. (First: Episode 3323) |
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Animation | Planet Y / y (First: Episode 2859) |
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Muppets | Kermit the Frog sings "Do-Op Hop". (First: Episode 2071) |
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Cartoon | Two scribbles are hesitant to let a tall green one join them, until it protects them from the rain. (First: Episode 1477) |
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SCENE 2 | Snuffy tells the viewer how excited he is to play Snuffle-Tag when Big Bird arrives and tells him about staring contests. However, Snuffy still wants to play tag, so Big Bird suggests they take turns and play Snuffle-Tag after they have a staring contest. Although he is sure he will win, Big Bird blinks and loses the game. He insists they play again, but loses a second time. Snuffy starts to find the game fun and they start a new round. |
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Song | "One of These Things" (with Fay Ray) (First: Episode 2604) |
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Cartoon | Millie and Molly argue over whether to get a pet cat or a dog, so their mom gets them a turtle instead. (First: Episode 1314) |
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Muppets / Cast | "Sing Your Synonyms" (First: Episode 2331) |
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Cartoon | A gorilla outgrows his toy fire truck, and is about to throw it away, when he decides to pass it on to his little brother. (First: Episode 2840) |
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SCENE 3 | As the pair continues staring, Big Bird blinks and loses for the nineteenth time in a row. Snuffy is growing weary of the game, but Big Bird insists they keep playing until he scores at least one game. Snuffy then gets an idea and lets Big Bird win during the next round, but Big Bird sees through it. He's grateful that Snuffy was trying to be a good friend, but Big Bird is still determined to win. He promises they’ll play Snuffle-Tag once he wins before going off to find help. |
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Song | Joe Raposo sings "Frog Struggle Song." (First: Episode 0492) |
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Cartoon | Leanna Williams tells a story of how she traveled to Hawaii and bought a Hawaiian shirt. Artist: ArtistMike (First: Episode 2745) |
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Muppets / Celebrity | Kevin Kline and Phoebe Cates sing a song about measuring, while The Count uses a ruler to do so. (First: Episode 3105) |
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Cartoon | A shoemaker shows how he measures (human) feet with his ruler. (First: Episode 0618) |
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SCENE 4 | Big Bird enlists Carlo to help him, reading a book called Staring Made E-Z that he got from the library. The first practice method builds his concentration skills. He opens and closes his eyes, looks at the sky, looks at the ground, looks under his wing, and turns around. After doing these actions so much, he spins around and crashes. The book thinks he is now ready and Big Bird calls Snuffy in to play a rematch; Big Bird loses again. The book then suggests he watch the following segment... |
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Animation | Space frogs count to 10. (First: Episode 3109) |
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Muppets | Bip Bipadotta sings about "Air." (First: Episode 2568) |
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Cartoon | Dr. Annie Eyeball, PhD., looks at breathing. Artist: Bruce Cayard (First: Episode 2586) |
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Film | A Caucasian boy narrates a film of himself hanging out with his African American friend Jamal. (First: Episode 2787) |
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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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SCENE 5 | The next exercise requires knowledge of the alphabet, a nest, a tennis racket, and a monster. Zoe happens by and is commissioned into the exercise, which has him recite the alphabet while staring at the nest, then at the racket, and finally at Zoe while she hops. Zoe’s hopping makes him dizzy and crash once more. Big Bird calls Snuffy in for a rematch, but loses again. The book then advises him to relax and watch a song about Sammy the Snake... |
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Muppets / Celebrity | Carol Channing sings a spoof of "Hello, Dolly!" with Sammy the Snake, praising his ability to look and sound like an S. (First: Episode 1951) |
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SCENE 5 cont'd |
For the next exercise, Big Bird must stare at the letter S without blinking. |
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Cartoon | The letter S grows on a vine. (First: Episode 3278) |
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Film | A girl named Maria and her family are having a Cuban barbecue. She invited her friend, Stewart, to enjoy in the fun and learn about Cuban culture. (First: Episode 2760) |
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Animation | Counting 8 harvesters (First: Episode 2981) |
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SCENE 6 | Next, he must stare at a number 8. |
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Film | Eight children dance in a colorblock grid. (First: Episode 3115) |
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Muppets | Ernie sings "Dance Myself to Sleep." (First: Episode 1705) |
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Cartoon | A man tries to push a huge balloon elephant through a narrow doorway, and a girl helps him by deflating it. (First: Episode 1824) |
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SCENE 7 | Big Bird has completed all the exercises and is ready to take on Snuffy. Once they play again, Big Bird loses. The book suggests he quit staring and find something else he’s good at, like Snuffle-Tag. They both begin playing the game as they head down the street, which Big Bird proves to be an expert at. He thinks a book on the game would help Snuffy, but Carlo leaves when he brings up the idea to him. |
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Song | Joe Raposo sings "Somebody Come and Play." Snow leopards version (First: Episode 2519) |
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Cartoon | Y for Yak (new music and sound effects added) Artist: Jeff Hale (First: Episode 1184) |
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Animation | Sand Y/y (First: Episode 0626) |
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Muppets | Two flowers, a bird, and two bunnies sing "That's How I Got Here." (First: Episode 2983) |
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Cartoon | Babies and doggies pattern: What comes next? Artist: Keith Haring (First: Episode 3039) |
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SCENE 8 | Savion dances a little and is about to announce the sponsors when Big Bird rushes to him and asks him to say them without blinking. He announces them, but Big Bird thinks he blinked and has him start over. |
Notes[]
- This episode was later re-aired in Season 28 as Episode 3618.
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