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The intro to Mysterious Theater, a direct parody of the Mystery! title card.
Mysterious Theater was a series of segments shown on Sesame Street, starting in Season 21 (1989). The segment was a parody of the PBS series Mystery! and was hosted by Vincent Twice (a spoof of former Mystery! host Vincent Price). In contrast to the anthology format of Mystery!, "Mysterious Theater" exclusively featured Sherlock Hemlock and his faithful dog, Watson. The skits were rerun until the late-1990s, when CTW retired Sherlock Hemlock.
In a parody of Edward Gorey's animated opening titles for Mystery!, the "Mysterious Theater" opening featured a stylized illustration of a woman wearing both a black dress and a head scarf while holding a handkerchief and a rose at a graveside. The title is written on the tombstone. The scene is accompanied by tense-sounding music and such atmospheric sounds as a wolf howling, a cat meowing and thunder crashing.
Mysterious Theater was also used as part of a street scene in Episode 3033, in which Maria loses a sock on laundry day, and Vincent Twice introduces himself to Maria to host the segment "The Case of the Missing Sock." Sherlock Hemlock attempts to find the sock, but Watson finds it first and runs off with it, leading to Maria chasing the dog, though Sherlock does not notice and continues to seek the sock. Vincent Twice re-enters to close out the "episode," Maria continues chasing Watson and the sock, and Sherlock attempts to try and find the sock as Vincent Twice announces the sponsors.
Segments
| Picture | Title | Earliest Known Appearance | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
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Dial M for Mother | Sherlock tries to figure out what he needs to send a message to his mother before Big Ben strikes midnight... as he stands next to a London telephone booth. The message Sherlock has is to wish his mother a happy birthday. | |
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Circle Search | Sherlock is commissioned to find the shape of a circle in an antique castle before time runs out at 5:00. Watson does his best to point out that the face of a clock is the shape of a circle. | |
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The Case of the Missing Toast | Lady Agatha can't find her toast or roast, so Sherlock figures that it is a "rhyme crime", and suspects a ghost is the culprit. The thief turns out to be Vincent Twice. | |
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The Case of the Missing Cat | Sherlock is on the search for Lady Agatha's missing cat, knowing that is under something that rhymes with "at", while Watson discovers the cat is under a mat, which leads into a big cat-and-dog fight. |