Episode 4411

Sesame Street
Count Tribute
Air date	October 31, 2013
Season	Season 44 (2013-2014)
Production December 14, 2012 Sponsors S, 18 Releases Count on Elmo (edited), 50 Years and Counting

Picture	Segment	Description
	COLD OPEN	What's the Word on the Street?: Impostor
	SCENE	Alan, Chris and Telly welcome the viewer to a special evening on Sesame Street: the Count von Count is receiving the Noble Prize for Counting (being the best counter in the world), and everyone on the street has gathered for the ceremony. The two judges, Lars and Sigrid, wish for a quick ceremony, as they have to present an award to the winning whistler in Wichita in two hours.
	SCENE cont'd	As the ceremony begins, the judges introduce the Count, but he does not appear. Chris tries messaging the Count, who replies saying he was helping a counting emergency in Chicago and now his flights are delayed. He even counts the delayed flights and transmits his trademark thunder and lightning through the texts. They tell the judges of his delay and ask to leave the prize with them and they'll give it to him. But, the Count must be present, as he has to pass a final counting test in order to receive his prize. They don't want that to happen and promise he'll be here in a minute. Alan has an idea...
	SCENE cont'd	The judges introduce the Count again and out comes Alan, pretending to be him (cape, monocle, beard and all). The judges are skeptical at first, but proceed with the test: he must count the dancing pickles that appear behind the sign. Alan has trouble counting them all and blows it. To save the Count's reputation, Chris claims Alan's actually the Great Impostor of Sesame Street. Alan shuffles off doing his Gladys the Cow impression. The judges allow one more minute for the Count to arrive. Leela and Gordon approach Chris on the Count's whereabouts and he receives another message from him, now counting the announcements about his delayed flight. Telly claims they need someone who can count really fast and has someone particular in mind...
	SCENE cont'd	The judges introduce the Count again and out comes Telly in Count-costume. He's able to count better than Alan, but still can't get them all and fails the test. Chris tries to cover again, claiming he's the Count's twin brother, Ed. The judges give the Count one last minute to show up, or else his prize goes to the second best counter in the world. Chris is all out of ideas on how to stall the judges and Elmo claims he knows a counting trick the Count once taught him...
	SCENE cont'd	Elmo comes up to the podium now and almost blows the ruse with his third-person speech pattern, until Maria claims it's his Spanish nickname ("El Mo"). Elmo successfully passes the test by counting the pickles by two. However, the judges can't give him the prize; according to his profile, thunder and lightning always follow his counting and they didn't hear any, and they don't accept Alan, Chris and Telly making "boom" sounds behind their programs. Telly pleads with the judges, telling them how the Count's counting has made millions of people happy and is the best counter. But, rules are rules and if he's not here, he can't get the prize. Suddenly, all of his friends in the audience rise up, in full Count-ensemble, claiming they're the Count. The judges see the Count is a special figure on the street, but they still cannot give him the prize, and instead award it to the second greatest counter: a hand-held calculator from Beijing. Chris texts the Count about his loss, who replies that it's better to count friends who care about you than prizes.
	SCENE cont'd	Suddenly, the Count is lifted down from the sky by his bats and begins counting all his friends, much to their applause.
	Muppets / Celebrity	Hank Azaria shows Elmo what an impostor is by pretending to be Grover, Cookie Monster and even Elmo!
	Muppets	Murray announces Abby's Flying Fairy School is coming soon, but first, he and the kids rap about S words. (First: Episode 4209)
	Cartoon	Bubba, of Bubba's Word Emporium, announces his sale of S words. (First: Episode 4307)
	Muppets	Murray and Georgia quietly introduce Abby's Flying Fairy School. (First: Episode 4404)
	Muppets / Animation	Abby's Flying Fairy School Abby, Gonnigan and Blögg put their items in their cubbies, when they suddenly vanish, along with Mrs. Sparklenose's wand. They see a Cubby Creature inside, but can't catch him. They call on Spot, who shows them some patterns. They see the creature pops out of each colored cubby in a pattern and follow it to get into his lair. Once there, they find they have to guess his name to win their stuff back. They play "The Name Game", asking for clues as to what his name is. They get it right and the Cubby Creature has such a fun time, he reforms his ways and gives everything back. (re-orchestrated theme song) (First: Episode 4214)
	Song	OK Go sings about the "Three Primary Colors." (First: Episode 4281)
	Muppets	"Cookie's Crumby Pictures" is on the way, but first, Ovejita has Murray press a button. It reveals 18 apples, as well as drops a heavy 18 on Murray's head. (redubbed introduction) (First: Episode 4304)
	Film	In time-lapse, a man makes a puzzle of an 18. (First: Episode 4182)
	Animation	Counting 18 flowers in the garden. (First: Episode 4304)
	Muppets	Murray and the kids introduce "Cookie's Crumby Pictures."
	Muppets	Cookie's Crumby Pictures presents Les Mousserables (Rated ME: For Mixed Emotions) Cookie Monster appears as "Jean Bonbon," a French monster without cookies. He finds a jar nearby and begins munching them down. He runs into Flantine, who weeps over not being able to give her daughter a cookie. With some help from the narrator, Cookie is able to see she's sad by how she looks and acts; he doesn't, however, provide her with a cookie. He then runs into Epienine, who is jealous of Cookie's snacks. Cookie, too, blows her off. Soon, all his friends march in anger over his selfishness. Cookie soon realizes he needs to share his cookies and they all, with some marshmallows, celebrate "One Day S'more."
	Muppets	"Elmo the Musical" is next, but first, Ovejita the Mysterious will perform her famous fruit trick. After chanting the magic word manzana (apple), Murray turns into one.
	Muppets	Homelamb The sheep agents of Homelamb Security are looking for the Big Bad Wolf, who's still "on the lamb." They bring in top agent Brody to help investigate. Agent Carrie is immediately suspicious and brings Brody to a monitor to compare him to a real sheep. She finds herself falling in love with him as she describes his different parts. She eventually exposes him as the Big Bad Wolf, who runs off, with a lovestruck Carrie following.
	Muppets	Murray and a boy introduce "Elmo the Musical." (First: Episode 4410)
	Muppets	Elmo the Musical: Repair Monster the Musical Velvet and Elmo imagine up some tools to base today's musical around, but Elmo doesn't think they're suitable subjects. He decides to use them all and become a Repair Monster. Now in a park, Elmo finds he has to fix some things that are split in half somehow. The disasters are caused by The Great Halfini, who's trying to split his hot dog in half, but can't. Soon, everything in the park is split in half. Repair Monster Elmo discovers his wand is as well and fixes it. The two restore the park to its whole glory. (First: Episode 4410)
	Muppets	Murray announces the sponsors.

Alterations

Picture	Segment	Description
	Muppets / Animation	Abby's Flying Fairy School: Treasure Hunt (First: Episode 4305) This segment replaced the "Cubby Imp" segment in the HBO Kids version.

Notes

• This episode was produced as a tribute to the late Jerry Nelson. In addition to celebrating his signature Sesame character, Nelson's likeness appears on the Noble Prize logo.
• The street scene was repurposed as part of the framing story for the video Count on Elmo. Here, Chris' text to the Count and his reply is replaced with a newly recorded reaction from Elmo.

See also

• Muppeteer tributes
• Count von Count Impersonators

Sources

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