| Sesame Street | |||||||
| Big Bird wants to change his name | |||||||
| Air date | December 24, 1997 | ||||||
| Season | Season 29 (1997-1998) | ||||||
| Written by | David Korr | ||||||
| |||||||
| Picture | Segment | Description |
|---|---|---|
  |
SCENE 1 | Big Bird welcomes the viewer and is greeted by a post woman with a package for him. She reveals her name is Imogene and that this is her first visit to the neighborhood. Big Bird wonders how she knew who he was and she claims it’s because his name and his likeness are one in the same. Big Bird then notes how Oscar, Snuffy and Celina all have regular names and not just descriptions. He then walks away upset, so Snuffy obeys the best friend conduct and goes to see what’s wrong. |
 |
Cartoon | Bobby's dog narrates why Bobby is sad. Artist: Fred Garbers (First: Episode 3455) |
 |
Song | "It's All Right to Cry" (First: Episode 3154) |
 |
Muppets | Muppet & Kid Moment — Samantha sings The Alphabet Song while Grover dances. (First: Episode 3579) |
 |
Cartoon | A girl talks about preparing to play with her new sled. Artist: Jim Simon (First: Episode 0413) |
 |
Film | Kids talk about how they like sledding down snowy hills. (First: Episode 3276) |
 |
Cartoon | A girl has trouble closing her suitcase after she's packed it, but has help from her four-legged friend. (First: Episode 1469) |
 |
SCENE 2 | Snuffy tries to cheer Big Bird up by offering one of his names (“Aloysius” and “Snuffy”), but Big Bird declines. He then suggests Big Bird get a new name, which he thinks is a great idea! Snuffy then tries to stop calling him “Bird” as a nickname. |
 |
Song | "Write Your Name" (First: Episode 3274) |
 |
Cartoon | M is for Marvelous Martha (new sound effects added) (First: Episode 0013) |
 |
Film | Wegman's dogs make an M. (First: Episode 3276) |
 |
Cartoon | Melba spells her name and her brother's name on their robot, Meltro. (First: Episode 3363) |
  |
Insert | "Professor Television" (Bill Irwin) tries to demonstrate near and far, with help from Maria's voice. (First: Episode 3617) |
 |
Film | Kids demonstrate near and far with soccer balls. (First: Episode 3538) |
 |
SCENE 3 | Big Bird’s plan to get a new name is to have each of them ask everyone for names they like. When Snuffy leaves, Ruthie arrives. Big Bird asks her for some names, so she sings a fast-paced song, jam-packed with dozens of names. Big Bird then asks her to sing it again, but spelling the names so he can write them down. Ruthie promptly faints. |
 |
Cartoon | Bruce the moose invites Toulouse LaGoose over for juice. (First: Episode 2498) |
 |
Film | The letter M dances at the beach. (First: Episode 3636) |
 |
Celebrity | Madeline Kahn sings, "Mmm...Madeline." (First: Episode 2370) |
 |
Animation | A clay man hikes up a letter M. (First: Episode 3413) |
 |
Song | "You Can Get Right Up" (First: Episode 3142) |
 |
Cartoon | Buttons ride a rollercoaster "up and down." (First: Episode 3207) |
 |
Muppets | Zoe sings "My Name Is Zoe." (First: Episode 3387) |
 |
Cartoon | A cat desperately tries to open a can of cat food by himself while his mistress is on the phone. Artist: Dan Haskett (First: Episode 2151) |
 |
SCENE 4 | Big Bird and Snuffy both have lists of potential names. Snuffy reads his list, which has suggestions from Elmo, Frazzle, Joey and Davey Monkey, Prairie Dawn and Telly, none of which Big Bird finds suitable. |
 |
Cartoon | A Zerkel named Jake demonstrates -ake words. Artist: Sally Cruikshank (First: Episode 3522) |
 |
Muppets | Herry Monster and Cookie Monster compete in "The Sesame Street Open" where they open various things like books or lunchboxes. Cookie Monster wins and eats his trophy. (First: Episode 3620) |
 |
Cartoon | The word OPEN is spelled out in jack-in-the-boxes. (First: Episode 3561) |
 |
Song | "At School," with animation bookended by live-action footage. (First: Episode 2782) |
 |
SCENE 5 | Big Bird has finally settled on a name he likes: Roy. He asks Snuffy to join him in telling everyone his new name. Snuffy, however, still has a hard time replacing the name in his memory. |
 |
Song | "My New Computer" (First: Episode 2857) |
 |
Muppets | Kermit the Frog sings "Do-Op Hop". (First: Episode 2071) |
 |
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) |
  |
SCENE 6 | Snuffy leaves Roy so he can practice some more remembering his name. As all of Roy’s friends pass by, they call him by his new name. But, being called “Roy” doesn’t make him feel happier. Snuffy comes back, having mastered calling him Roy. Roy begins to sob, missing his old name, even if it wasn’t like a regular name. Snuffy struggles adjusting to another new name. |
 |
Cartoon | "Pinball Number Count" (#12) Artist: Jeff Hale (First: Episode 0985) |
 |
Animation | Milo Counting: 12 (First: Episode 3568) |
 |
Cartoon | "Ladybugs' Picnic" (First: Episode 0416) |
 |
Muppets | Elmo tries to see what Herry is reading, but since Herry's too big. He tries to stand at various angles to look around his shoulders. (First: Episode 3631) |
 |
Animation | Looking for shapes on the Aztec Calendar Stone (Maria voiceover) (First: Episode 3049) |
 |
Song | Joe Raposo sings "Frog Struggle Song." (First: Episode 0492) |
 |
SCENE 7 | Snuffy’s got the hang of calling Big Bird by his regular name again. Miles passes by, surprised that Big Bird has changed his name again, but is happy that he’s changed his mind. He calls over Ruthie and Celina, who are relieved too. Snuffy announces the sponsors. |
 |
COMING SOON | Coming soon on Sesame Street: Baby Bear (dressed in an unusual outfit) climbs on top of Telly as part of his plan. |
See also[]
| Previous episode: | Next episode: |
| Episode 3682 | Episode 3684 |