| Sesame Street | |||||||
| Gabi gets sick on her birthday | |||||||
| Air date | January 23, 1996 | ||||||
| Season | Season 27 (1995-1996) | ||||||
| Written by | Sonia Manzano | ||||||
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| Picture | Segment | Description |
|---|---|---|
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SCENE 1 | Elmo greets the viewer as he and Luis decorate the Rodriguezes' apartment for Gabi's 8th birthday party. Maria gives her daughter a kiss and finds she has a high temperature. Gabi also feels tired. Maria decides to take her to the doctor. |
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Animation | Stop-motion representation of "Happy Birthday," with balloons, gummi bears, glitter, etc. (First: Episode 3358) |
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Muppets | Waiter Grover prepares a table for a family who's celebrating their grandmother's birthday, but Grover doesn't know her name, so when each family member refers to her as a different relative each time, Grover thinks there's more than one party going on, so he ends up bringing out seven cakes. (new sound effects added) (First: Episode 1958) |
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Cartoon | Number Guy: "How Many Sheep Will Jump Over My Bed?" The answer is 9. (First: Episode 3364) |
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Cartoon | Nine Ants Artist: Owe Gustafson (First: Episode 1485) |
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Cartoon | Rap #9 (First: Episode 2509) |
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Film | Cheri goes fishing with her abuelo. (First: Episode 2784) |
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SCENE 2 | Luis and Elmo wait at the steps of 123 Sesame Street for Gabi and Maria to return from the doctor. When they arrive, Maria reveals Gabi has a light case of the flu, and she can't be around other kids. Due to this, they worry that her birthday party will have to be called off. They head up to their apartment to rest, while Elmo tells the viewers, "This isn't a happy birthday... This is an un-happy birthday!" He thinks of how to make it better. |
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Film | I hab a cauld ib by dose. Artist: Bruce Cayard (First: Episode 1170) |
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Song | "Happy Happiness," against footage of kids playing at a beach. (First: Episode 3320) |
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Cartoon | A monster named Doug has trouble getting to sleep at night, until the teeth in his dream remind him to brush his own. (First: Episode 3145) |
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Muppets | The Oinker Sisters sing "The Boogie-Woogie Piggies." (First: Episode 2922) |
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Cartoon | A little girl leaves everything on in the house, until the TV set recites a poem about sharing electricity. Artist: Lisa Crafts (First: Episode 2845) |
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Film | A TELEPHONE rings at a phone booth in the city, and someone answers it. (First: Episode 3274) |
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Cartoon | Figures dance around a telephone as it rings. Artist: Keith Haring (First: Episode 3058) |
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SCENE 3 | Luis comes to Maria and Gabi, resting in the living room. He tells them that he called everybody and informed them Gabi is sick, and that they'll have her birthday party when she recovers. Maria says that even though she's too sick to have her party, she can still receive her birthday gifts. They bring out her gifts: an acoustic guitar, a Spanish-speaking toy doll from her tia Mercedes and uncle Felix, and a Mexican pinata from her tia Matilda. Luis blindfolds Gabi and she whacks it to open out the candy. They all have a fun time, especially Gabi, and Luis reminds her what her mother said: "It's okay to be sad because you got sick on your birthday." She says it's hard to be sad when you have all these gifts and candy on the floor. |
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Song | John Pizzarelli sings about feeling "happy and proud" on your birthday. (First: Episode 3421) |
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Animation | F / f candles (First: Episode 3081) |
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Muppets | Big Bird displays a letter F for FAST, then moves around fast. (First: Episode 3215) |
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Film | Alphaboy fans his father's feet with feathers. |
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Muppets | Kingston Livingston III sings about his birthday party, but all of his friends are outside the house, while the party is inside. |
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Animation | Computer: in/out (First: Episode 3122) |
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Song | "We're All Growin'" (First: Episode 3141) |
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Cartoon | How they say "good night" in Haiti and in India. (First: Episode 1824) |
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SCENE 4 | Elmo walks down the street, delivering the gifts from Gabi's friends to her house in order to make her happy. He runs into The Count, and asks if he has gotten everybody ready. He has, but before they can bring the gifts to Gabi, he must count all of the presents. And since it's Gabi's birthday, he vows to count them in Spanish! He starts counting them, but briefly forgets what seven is in Spanish. During this time, the weight of the presents starts getting heavier on Elmo's hands. Once the Count reaches the total, 10 presents, the weight is too heavy, causing Elmo to collapse. |
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Film | A girl who lives in El Salvador plays a counting game with her class, which involves running around and getting into groups of a number when it is called. (First: Episode 3012) |
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Muppets | Moe Cocker and a chorus of dogs sing "With a Little Yelp from My Friends". (First: Episode 3108) |
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Film | A trip to an African dance school. (First: Episode 3266) |
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Cartoon | A magician writes in his diary about the many mishaps during his performance. (new sound effects and music tag added) (First: Episode 2053) |
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Muppets | Monsterpiece Theater: Howard's End — A snake demonstrates beginning, middle, and end. (First: Episode 3263) |
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Cartoon | Beginning / middle / end: a beatnik follows a trombonist's note through a long horn. Artist: Frank Gresham (First: Episode 3266) |
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SCENE 5 | The Rodriguez family sits in the kitchen, surrounded by birthday party utensils. Gabi plays her guitar, feeling sad that her party would've started now if she hadn't been sick. The doorbell suddenly rings, and Luis runs to the door to meet a postal worker (performed by Fran Brill) with a singing telegram, and a special package for Gabriela Rodriguez from Puerto Rico. It's for Gabi! The deliverer sings her telegram, which Maria explains is a Puerto Rican birthday greeting. Gabi opens the package, which contains a pogo stick sent from her grandmother. The deliverer also learns Gabi is sick, and happens to cheer her up with the exact same motto her parents told her! |
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Cartoon | A map of Puerto Rico forms into the shape of animals and other things that are found there. (First: Episode 3030) |
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Muppets | The Hispanic community of Anything Muppets sings "It Sure is Hot!" (First: Episode 2601) |
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Animation | A girl dances her way into a family portrait. (First: Episode 3134) |
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Cartoon | A mad scientist (voiced by Daws Butler) teaches his monster how to say the words "Fred," "foot", and "Friday." (First: Episode 1162) |
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Film | Letter Garden: F (new sound effects added) (First: Episode 3048) |
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Cartoon | The letter F morphs into cartoon faces. (First: Episode 2916) |
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Muppets | Ernie & Bert — Ernie tells Bert to stand still in front of the camera so that he can "trace" Bert's face on the screen. (First: Episode 0536) |
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Cartoon |
Two viewers with Picassoesque facial features in an art gallery critically examine the portrait of a viewer. Artist: Mo Willems |
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Muppets / Celebrity | Robin Williams and a robin observe how similar they are. Afterwards, the robin sings "Lullaby of Birdland." (First: Episode 2848) |
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Cartoon | Kids sing "Happy Birthday" while the word "happy birthday" is on the screen followed shortly by an animated birthday cake. (First: Episode 3005) |
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SCENE 6 | Elmo is about to walk into Gabi's apartment with her friends' birthday gifts. The Count catches up and asks if Elmo is ready. Elmo reminds the Count not for him to start singing until he follows him inside. |
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SCENE 6 (cont'd) | In the kitchen, Gabi practices jumping on her new pogo stick while Maria talks to her mother on the phone. She hands the phone to Gabi so her grandmother can wish her a happy birthday, along with the repeated motto. Their doorbell rings, but when Luis opens the door, nobody's there, except the presents from Gabi's friends. Elmo starts calling her name outside, and they all rush to the window. Everyone is standing outside, including Big Bird, Mr. Snuffleupagus, Zoe, Bob, Celina, Gina, Gordon, Miles, the Count, and Elmo. They all sing Happy Birthday in Spanish to Gabi, with the Count even stating the motto as well. Gabi is now happy, and everyone sings the song again. Bob announces the sponsors. |
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COMING SOON | Coming soon on Sesame Street: Telly throws a ball to Baby Bear, but it conks him on the head. |
Notes[]
- The episode was later re-aired in Season 29 as Episode 3732.
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