Episode 3906

	Sesame Street
	Papa Bear invents a perpetual porridge machine
Air date	May 1, 2000
Season	Season 31 (2000)
Written by	Tony Geiss
Production	January 12, 2000
Sponsors	Q, 3
Releases	HBO Kids

Picture	Segment	Description
	SCENE 1	Baby Bear excitedly reports that his Papa Bear has just made a wonderful new invention - the Perpetual Porridge Machine, which makes bowls of porridge instantly. Today, they'll be debuting it at Hooper's Store. Papa Bear shows his son and Alan how the machine works - press the big, shiny button to activate and soon, fresh bowls of porridge come out. The first bowl comes out and Baby Bear finds it tasty. Papa Bear goes off to work on another invention, leaving Baby Bear to continue taste-testing.
	SCENE 1 cont'd	The machine spits out another bowl. Alan isn't sure how to stop it, as pushing the button again doesn't help.
	Song	Joe Raposo sings "Everybody Eats." Re-filmed version (First: Episode 2855) cut from the HBO version
	Muppets	Ernie and Rubber Duckie say hello to the viewer. (First: Episode 3808)
	Cartoon	Two viewers with Picassoesque facial features in an art gallery critically examine the portrait of a viewer. Artist: Mo Willems (First: Episode 3442)
	Muppets	Ernie and Rubber Duckie introduce the letter of the day. (First: Episode 3813)
	Cartoon	An airplane skywriter makes the letter Q. cut from the HBO version
	Muppets	Elmo shows a trick you can do with the letter Q - by covering the stem of the letter, you get the letter O. (First: Episode 3418)
	Animation	In reversed film, Q and q candles are unmelted. (First: Episode 3079)
	SCENE 2	Alan leaves a message for Papa Bear on the phone, asking how to turn the machine off. As the machine churns out another bowl, Mr. Johnson comes in for a glass of milk. Alan and Baby Bear encourage him to try some porridge as well (so they can get rid of it), even offering a "two-for-one" special. "Eat porridge with a friend," Baby Bear suggests. Mr. Johnson likes the idea and goes off to find his friend Myrna (who has already made her way to the Bronx). Baby Bear offers to eat some more as the machine releases two more bowls.
	Animation	In stop-motion, sandwich ingredients square-dance in a ring and arrange themselves into a sandwich, which gets a bite taken out of it in a refrigerator. (First: Episode 3080)
	Muppets	"Cereal Girl" (First: Episode 2687)
	Cartoon	In Egypt, three lemons make lemonade. (First: Episode 3285)
	Song	"Wow! It's Number 3!" (First: Episode 3136)
	Cartoon	A little girl counts the reasons why she likes the number 3. (First: Episode 3532)
	Muppets	Ernie asks Rubber Duckie what he wants to see next. (First: Episode 3786)
	Cartoon	A brief animation of pouring milk in a glass, coupled with the word milk. (First: Episode 3012)
	SCENE 3	Alan tries to move the machine into the basement, but it's too heavy. Telly and two of his fellow Triangle Lovers come in to order some triangular bubblegum, when Baby Bear begs him to have some porridge. Telly helps his best friend out and together, they all cooperate in eating as yet another bowl is released.
	Cartoon	"Name That Food" game show hosted by Don Carrot Artist: Len Glasser (First: Episode 1491)
	Muppets	Big Bird sees Elmo hung up on the top of the screen, then going down to the bottom. After he helps Elmo up into his arms, Big Bird asks if he liked being up or down. Elmo likes being with Big Bird the best. (First: Episode 3711)
	Film	Girls do a hand-clap game about the letter Q. (First: Episode 3322)
	Animation	Fans unveil Q and q. (First: Episode 2895)
	SCENE 4	The machine is turning out porridge faster than everyone can eat. Alan wonders aloud what they can do, cueing an appearance by The Count, who knows exactly what to do - count the bowls!
	Song	“You Don't Have to Be a Grizzly” ...to eat some honey! (First: Episode 3398)
	Muppets	Ernie recites a poem which introduces a Cookie Monster segment ... (First: Episode 3824)
	Muppets	Cookie Monster sings "Eating Cookie" -- there's another reason every season. (First: Episode 3467)
	Muppets	Ernie and Rubber Duckie introduce the number of the day. (First: Episode 3786)
	Cartoon	Hortense counts 3 peas. Artist: Michael Sporn (First: Episode 2519)
	Film	Three kids dance for the number 3. (First: Episode 3167)
	SCENE 5	Nobody but Baby Bear can stomach any more porridge, as Telly and the others leave for their Triangle Lovers Meeting. This gives Baby Bear an idea - contact the Porridge Lovers Club! He tells Alan their website, where they post a message about the store's free porridge. Within seconds, several members (including Michael B. Jordan and Bruce Connelly) show up to the store, ready to eat.
	Cartoon	Snacks On Parade: The Raisin Artist: Bruce Cayard (First: Episode 1171) cut from the HBO version
	Animation	"Just One Strawberry Blues" (First: Episode 3161)
	Cartoon	An army of ants gets to the bakery, only to find that it's closed. (First: Episode 2088)
	Muppets / Celebrity	Big Bird and Zoe are visited by Christopher Reeve and his son Will, where his dad explains his lifestyle after his 1995 accident and how his wheelchair functions. They all then head to the library, with Zoe accompanying Reeve on his chair. cut from the HBO version
	Animation	A girl reads a book, a magazine, a newspaper, and a letter. (First: Episode 3142)
	Cartoon	An alien comes across a pair of tree trunks; one with multi-colored leaves, the other without. He finds and grows leaves to mount on the other tree, then strings a hammock between the two. (First: Episode 1451)
	Muppets	Ernie recites a poem which introduces the next Wegman dogs segment ... (First: Episode 3813) cut from the HBO version
	Film	Wegman's dogs bake a pineapple cake. (First: Episode 3756) cut from the HBO version
	SCENE 6	Alan notices the machine is slowing down. Baby Bear and the others pass the time until the next batch comes by singing the "Porridge Alphabet Song." Papa Bear arrives to see the commotion and shows them how to shut the machine off: just yell "That's enough porridge!" The machine deactivates at last. There's one bowl left, which they give to Papa Bear (who claims he'll need the strength to carry that thing home).
	Muppets	Elmo's World: Bananas (First: Episode 3858)
	SCENE 7	Papa Bear plows through his porridge, while Alan and Baby Bear announce the sponsors.