| Sesame Street | |||||||
| Telly loses his hamster | |||||||
| Air date | April 9, 1998 | ||||||
| Season | Season 29 (1997-1998) | ||||||
| Written by | Luis Santeiro | ||||||
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| Picture | Segment | Description |
|---|---|---|
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SCENE 1 | Elmo covers his eyes as Telly leads him down the street to see a special surprise - Telly's new pet hamster, Sweetie Pie. He originally wanted a horse, but his mom got him a hamster instead (since they both start with the letter "H"). Telly notes the things inside Sweetie Pie's cage that he needs, including his food and water dishes and his exercise wheel. There's one more thing that Sweetie Pie needs that is very important - love. He and Elmo start telling Sweetie Pie how much they love him. |
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Animation | The word "LOVE" in various situations. (First: Episode 3569) |
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Muppets | Grover: Fifteen Seconds On Love — Grover and Rosita have fifteen seconds to talk about love. (First: Episode 3527) |
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Song | "Beautiful Baby" (remake) (First: Episode 3549) |
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Cartoon | Students raise their hands and name words that begin with "U." Artist: Fred Garbers (First: Episode 3553) |
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Celebrity | Melissa Etheridge sings "Like the Way U Does." (First: Episode 3529) |
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Cartoon | Speech Balloon: U for UP (new sting and sound effects added) (First: Episode 0650) |
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Film | Wegman's dogs portray a check-up at the doctor's. |
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SCENE 2 | Telly claims that Sweetie Pie loves "The Alphabet Song." He launches into it, but Elmo points out that Sweetie Pie isn't singing along; Telly surmises that he just hasn't learned it fully, but is definitely singing along in his head. Telly also says that Sweetie Pie goes crazy over his triangle collection, which he's left at home. He can't bring the cage along, so Elmo volunteers to watch him. Telly is hesitant, but allows this and leaves while Elmo sings "The Alphabet Song" again to Sweetie Pie. |
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Animation | Portraits of kids display the alphabet. Artist: Lisa Crafts (First: Episode 3203) |
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Muppets | Big Bird's Video Postcards Big Bird explores the mask gallery at the Museo del Barrio in New York City. Edna, the art instructor, shows him and some kids how to make their own masks for a parade. (First: Episode 3058) |
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Cartoon | What Do You Do With a Pet? (First: Episode 0465) |
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Film | A child in a classroom draws a picture of her dog Puck, and goes over the care required to keep a pet. (First: Episode 2853) |
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SCENE 3 | Elmo continues watching Sweetie Pie when he notices his water dish is empty. Elmo wonders what to do - he can't leave his post, but Sweetie Pie needs water. He opens the cage door and grabs the water dish, promising to only be gone a minute while he runs over to Hooper's Store. Just as he leaves, Sweetie Pie starts crawling over the open cage door... |
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SCENE 3 cont'd | Telly returns with his triangle collection and is confused when he doesn't see Elmo around. Elmo returns a moment later with water and the monsters are horrified to see Sweetie Pie is no longer in his cage. |
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Cartoon | Bobby's dog narrates why Bobby is sad. (First: Episode 3455) |
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Muppets | Ernie and Bert: Ernie Brings Home a Surprise — Ernie brings a puppy home as a surprise for Bert. (First: Episode 1956) |
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Cartoon | A man (voiced by Jack Dodson) describes places that begin with U and what you can do with the letter U. (new music and sound effects added) (First: Episode 0416) |
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Film | The letter U dances at the beach. (First: Episode 3529) |
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Muppets | Ethel Mermaid sings "I Get a Kick Out of U." (First: Episode 3127) |
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Cartoon | A little boy describes a time when he got angry after his toy truck was destroyed by a big kid. Artist: ArtistMike (First: Episode 2764) |
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SCENE 4 | Elmo tries to explain what happened to Telly and realizes that he must have left the cage open by accident. Telly feels angry with Elmo (for his losing Sweetie Pie), with himself (for abandoning his hamster in the first place), and with Sweetie Pie (for abandoning him). Elmo promises to spend the rest of his life searching for him when Lexine happens by. They explain the situation and she offers to help look for him. |
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SCENE 4 cont'd | Meanwhile, Sweetie Pie has made his way to Oscar's trash can, where Oscar notices him. He brings the hamster inside the can, where he has a squeaky exercise wheel for him to use. Telly rushes by in his search, while Oscar considers naming the hamster "Mister Mud." |
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Cartoon | A woman identifies farm animals by their sounds. (First: Episode 1476) |
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Film | What sound does a baby chick make? (First: Episode 3419) |
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Cartoon | "Candy Man" Artist: Bud Luckey (First: Episode 0359) |
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Film | Milo Counting: 8 (First: Episode 3554) |
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Cartoon | "Captain Spacey" counts 8 planets until the 25-cent rocket machine runs out of juice. (First: Episode 3554) |
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Muppets | The Martians find a leaky faucet. (First: Episode 2962) |
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Film | The floating kids form a rectangle. (First: Episode 3131) |
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Cartoon | I Love You, in American Sign Language Artist: Steve Finkin (First: Episode 1170) |
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SCENE 5 | More kids have joined the "hamster tracking patrol," crawling as if they are hamsters. They've also created several signs concerning the lost creature, as Elmo and Telly explain to Ruthie. She recalls going through a similar process in helping Mother Goose find Hickory, Dickory, and Dock (the mice who ran up the clock). She scurries around acting like a hamster when an Anything Muppet woman (Fran Brill) appears, believing she is whom they are looking for (her husband endearingly calls her "Sweetie Pie"). |
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SCENE 5 cont'd | Oscar, hearing everyone calling out for Sweetie Pie, yells for a little peace and quiet. Lexine places a "Lost Pet Hamster" poster on his can and he realizes who Mister Mud really is. |
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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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Muppets | In song, a boy wanders into the Animal Lost and Found, looking for his pet named Homer. The shopkeeper says, "Describe Your Pet to Me." (First: Episode 2967) |
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Animation | Elephants appear in the clouds as Vivaldi music plays. (First: Episode 3627) |
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Film | Operation Playground: A group of students at P.S. 87 come up with ideas for a new playground, and raise money for the effort. Together with their parents and other people from the neighborhood, they build the playground. (First: Episode 2360) |
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Cartoon | A beatnik bat reads poetry at a nightclub, as everything rhymes with the "AT" sound. Artist: Lisa Crafts (First: Episode 3396) |
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SCENE 6 | Telly doesn't think he'll ever find Sweetie Pie when Oscar brings the hamster over in his own cage. Oscar has grown close to the little guy and believes his trash can is a more suitable place for him to live, with plenty of space to roam and fellow animals to encounter. Telly decides that Sweetie Pie can stay with Oscar, just as long as he can visit. The two debate over the hamster's name when Ruthie comes up with a compromise - "Mud Pie." Everyone watches his habits as Elmo announces the sponsors, as well as the progress of Slimey's ship back to Sesame Street. |
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COMING SOON | Coming Soon on Sesame Street: Bill Nye puts Elmo on the see-saw with some other kids and Big Bird. |
Notes[]
- The following season, Telly would get a new pet hamster, Chuckie (later becoming Chuckie Sue).
- For the summer reruns, this episode was replaced by a repeat of Episode 3657 (while retaining this episode's onscreen number).
- Scene 2 has been used as a stand-alone Muppet segment on Sesamstraat.
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