Muppet Wiki

Kermiteye Welcome to Muppet Wiki!


Please visit Special:Community to learn how you can collaborate with the editing community.

READ MORE

Muppet Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Sesame Street
Premiere November 21, 1983 (1836)
Finale May 18, 1984 (1965)
Episodes 130
Hooperpicture

A drawing of Mr. Hooper by Caroll Spinney, featured in Episode 1839.

Season 15 marathon

Gordon (and Snuffy) run the NYC marathon in Episode 1836.

Ernieonthemoon

"I Don't Want to Live on the Moon"

1852e

Captain Vegetable, who debuted in a song insert the previous year, appears in several episodes this season.

SPP-Drum

Oscar the Grouch and Telly Monster host "Sneak Peek Previews."

1856h

Country-western singer Polly Darton pays a visit to Sesame Street.

SallyRide

NASA astronaut Sally Ride (pictured with Grundgetta) makes three appearances this season.

Tellyface

Maria shows Telly how to use Sesame Street's new computer.

HonkerDuckieDingerJamboree

"The Honker-Duckie-Dinger Jamboree"

1943e

Telly comes face to face with Mr. Snuffleupagus on two separate occasions this year (episodes 1861 and 1943).

TeenySuperGuy

"He's just a Teeny Little Super Guy!"

RobMcNeil-Oscar

Oscar advertises his ice cream business for Robert MacNeil.

Butilikeyou

"But I Like You"

1868b

Linda begins her career as a librarian at the Sesame Street Library.

AtYourLibrary2

"At Your Library"

1939 - 03

David teaches the Rockheads about subtraction.

2HeaderPhoneBooth

Luis introduces the Two-Headed Monster to the public phone booths, located across the street.

1910moon03

Gladys the Cow attempts to jump over the moon.

ThroughtheDoor

Kermit the Frog directs Forgetful Jones for a movie.

1911b

Oscar is flabbergasted by the mysterious presence of a giant trash can.

OneBanana

"One Banana"

1929b

Bob's Uncle Wally drops by.

BBKing-AlphabetBlues

B. B. King performs the "Alphabet Blues."

Ep1957 photo Big Bird

Episode 1957: Election Day on Sesame Street.

Listentothebells

"Bells"

Hirschfeld-sesame

The cast of Sesame Street, as drawn by Al Hirschfeld.

Sesame Street Season 15 aired from November 21, 1983, to May 18, 1984.

Overview[]

According to Dulcy Singer, this season's shows "will widen youngsters' worlds with an introduction to computers and a look at the learning resources available to them in museums and libraries in their communities."[1] A new computer is installed for public use in Episode 1933 at the Fix-It Shop, where characters are able to use it for both leisure and work - especially coming in handy to help the failing memory of Forgetful Jones. Linda also uses a computer when she begins her job at the Sesame Street Library in Episode 1868.

A landmark moment for the series occurs during the first week of episodes, when in Episode 1839 the cast gathers to explain to Big Bird about the death of Mr. Hooper, whose performer (Will Lee) had passed away the previous year. The heavily researched and tested episode has become one of the series' highest-praised moments, with the Daytime Emmys declaring it one of the 10 most influential moments of daytime television.

The saga of the mysterious Mr. Snuffleupagus continues before his introduction to the grown-ups. Maria and Linda begin to believe Big Bird more about the elusive creature, particularly Maria when she is given proof that the others brush off (such as Snuffy's Puerto Rican cousin providing an authentic flower from his homeland). David also learns how Big Bird feels when teased about Snuffy being thought of as imaginary when he receives the same treatment trying to convince Big Bird of the existence of his friend Bill and juggler Michael Davis. Telly Monster ends up meeting Mr. Snuffleupagus on two separate occasions, though the grown-ups try their best to convince him that he only imagined him, confusing the young monster.

Characters and segments[]

Both younger and older cast members make brief appearances before getting recurring roles the following year. Bob's practical-joking relative Uncle Wally arrives in one episode, and the elderly Miss Trump guests in another. The teenage character Micki is seen assisting Linda at the library. From the Muppets, Captain Vegetable returns to extol the virtues of healthy eating to all the "little people" on Sesame Street (as he calls them), while David finds that an empty brick-strewn lot is the home of the sentient, slow-talking Rockheads.

"Sneak Peek Previews," a spoof of PBS' Sneak Previews hosted by Telly Monster and Oscar the Grouch, makes its debut. A short-lived series of Scanimate segments called "By the Numbers" also airs this season, where anthropomorphic numbers reside on a military base as they count off. Voices for these segments include Jim Thurman and Paul Dooley.

Episodes[]

Episodes 1836 - 1965 (130 episodes)

Notes[]

  • This is the first season to have the Sesame Street sign and the CTW logos (with the debut of its then new font) appear on-screen. The in-credit logos would appear in a still frame of a random scene from an episode or over the final action scene. Originally, the superimposed logos (with different colored variants per episode) were still and flashed on screen one at a time. Starting with Episode 1915, a new closing logo graphic was introduced, with the Sesame Street logo flipping in, followed by the "CHILDREN'S TELEVISION WORKSHOP" words sliding in one by one. This would continue until the end of season 26 (with the exception of repeat episodes that aired during seasons 27 and 28).
  • After a nine year absence, Joe Raposo returned as musical director and would remain with the show until his death.
  • This was the first season with the Muppets Inc. copyright, in addition to the Children's Television Workshop copyright, at the end of the episodes.
  • Despite being released between seasons 16 and 17, the filming of the Sesame Street movie Follow That Bird commenced shortly after this season had finished.
  • This is the last season with Brian Muehl as a credited Muppet performer, although he would return for multiple uncredited performances during the 1990s.
  • According to CTW's executive vice president David Britt, by this time, merchandising accounted for 70% of the show's yearly budget. This season is the first to operate without a government grant. Its budget came from public broadcasting station contributions ($2.7 million), CTW merchandising ($5.6 million), and international broadcast royalties.[2]

Cast[]

Cast
Linda Bove, Northern Calloway, Emilio Delgado, Loretta Long, Sonia Manzano, Bob McGrath, Roscoe Orman, Alaina Reed (Uncredited: Toni Agard)
Jim Henson's Muppets
Caroll Spinney, Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, Brian Muehl, Martin Robinson, Bryant Young (Uncredited: Cheryl Blaylock, Fran Brill, Ed Christie, Jim Kroupa, Noel MacNeal)
Guest Stars
Marv Albert, Roger Caras, Carol Channing, Michael Davis, Ben Harney, B.B. King, Robert MacNeil, Sally Ride

Characters[]

Human Characters
Gordon, Susan, David, Maria, Luis, Linda, Bob, Olivia, Akim, Uncle Wally, Micki, Miss Trump, Mr. Macintosh
Muppets
AM Monsters, Anything Muppets, Bad Bart, Barkley, Bert, Betty Lou, Biff, Big Bird, Bruno the Trashman, Buster the Horse, Captain Vegetable, Clementine, Cookie Monster, Count von Count, Dinger, Don Music, Dr. Nobel Price, Elmo, Ernie, Esme, Ferlinghetti Donizetti, Fluffy, Forgetful Jones, Gilbert and Sullivan, Gladys the Cow, Grandpa Grouch, Granny Bird, Grover, GrundgettaGuy Smiley, Honkers, Mr. Honker, Irvine, Kermit the Frog, Little Chrissy, Max, Mommy Snuffleupagus, Oscar the Grouch, Osvaldo, el Gruñón, Polly Darton, Prairie Dawn, Rockheads, Slimey, Mr. Snuffleupagus, Sully, Telly Monster, Tough Eddie, Two-Headed Monster

Credits[]

Sources[]

  1. "Metropolitan Museum Musical Special Leads Landmark Sesame Street Season." CTW Press Release. October 1983
  2. Argus-Leader (Sioux Falls, SD) via Associated Press "When Big Bird talks, kids listen" by Ann Blackman, Nov 27, 1983


Previous season: Next season:
Season 14 (1982-1983) Season 16 (1984-1985)
Advertisement