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Sesame Street
Premiere November 9, 1970 (0131)
Finale May 28, 1971 (0275)
Episodes 145
Erniebertsign
Everyonemakesmistakes2
SS131b
ErnieBertBananaEarPart1

"I can't hear ya, Bert; I have a banana in my ear!"

Kingofeight

The King of Eight

Over

"Over, Under, Around and Through"

1091-30

George the Farmer appears in a series of film segments that utilize pixilation, giving the character a jerky way of movement.

Circlessong

Herry and Cookie Monster sing Circles

Larryphyllisinvites

Larry and Phyllis, the "cooperation couple."

Rollercoaster123

Number Three Ball Film

Listenmybrother

Listen My Brother returns for a second season of songs.

0193-TSD

Today's Secret Drawing

15403470 876477529205117 7023651712405602304 n

"Hey, Mr. Ice Cream Cone Man!"

Cosbytwinsalphabet2

Celebrity guests from this season include Bill Cosby, Carol Burnett, ice skater Peggy Fleming, Joe Namath, Flip Wilson, Arte Johnson, and the cast of Bonanza. Players from the New York Mets and the New York Knicks also appeared in multiple counting segments.

BigBirdPete0270a

Big Bird builds a rocket with Pete (Cleavon Little) in Episode 0270.

YellowPurpleHandsMilk

A series of vignettes where Muppet hands are the stars debuts this season.

BobDavid0268

Northern Calloway appears in two episodes as David this season, before becoming a full-time cast member.

Got-A-Mind

I've Got a Mind

UnFamily

Gordon demonstrates the "UN" family of words.

OscarMrHooper0268

Oscar enjoys a sundae at Hooper's Store in Episode 0268.

Sesame Street Season 2 aired from November 9, 1970, to May 28, 1971.

Characters[]

Much of the original cast and Muppets established in the first season are present during the second season, though some would go through changes. The main cast of Bob, Gordon, Susan, and Mr. Hooper remain the human hosts on the Street, and are now joined by Tom and Miguel (the show's first Latino character). David joins the cast later in the season, and food vendors Mr. Macintosh and Willy helped make the street more realistic and livelier. The comedy duo Buddy and Jim is replaced by Larry and Phyllis, whose segments focused on the importance of cooperation. Several other human characters are seen less frequently but in hosting roles for a few episodes, such as Lillian (Episode 0240), Pete (Episode 0270), and Maria (Episode 0256).

Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch return as the two major Muppet characters on the Street, and both have been redesigned. Big Bird loses the dopey "hick" aspect of his character from the first year and begins to act more like a child rather than a slow-witted adult. Oscar still retains his grouchiness, but his fur has been changed from short orange shag to longer green fur.

After a summer puppeteer workshop, performers Fran Brill and Jerry Nelson join the Muppets, frequently performing various other characters that appeared during the street segments. Four of the more popular Muppets used in inserts -- Ernie, Bert, Cookie Monster, and Grover -- all return for the second season. Kermit the Frog, however, is dropped from the cast (though he would still appear in segments from the first year), and in his place are new Muppet characters such as the burly Herry Monster, Herbert Birdsfoot (who, like Kermit, would conduct lectures, often in the company of Grover), Sherlock Hemlock (a detective who often arrives at unusual deductions or small clues), sound imitator Simon Soundman, and children Farley, Marty, and Prairie Dawn. Muppets from the first season that had been used in previous productions, including The Ed Sullivan Show (such as Beautiful Day Monster and the Snerfs), no longer appear.

Segments[]

For a full list, see Season 2 segments.

The "magazine format" of inserts continued to be used, and several new recurring film, cartoon, and studio series appear for the first time. These include the Larry and Phyllis segments, the Today's Secret Drawing animations (narrated by Laugh-In's Gary Owens), and George the Farmer, who presented relational concepts. Two recurring animated segments dealt with the more abstract concept of the mind: I Thought a Thought and I've Got a Mind. A series of narrated inserts in which Muppet hands are the only characters were introduced and used to teach problem solving skills, matching items that go together, and counting. The segments of cast members with live animals on set, which was very frequent the previous year, is eventually phased out by the end of this season.

Curriculum[]

New topics were added to the curriculum that were established for the first season, while some of the original topics were expanded. The second season focused on:

  • numbers from one to twenty
  • sight words (including street signs) and letter blending, as sometimes demonstrated by The Word Family Song. Among the words that were featured include "stop," "exit," and "bus stop," as well as words used in everyday conversation such as "the" and "is."
  • simple addition and subtraction
  • multiple classification (such as the song by the same name in Episode 0168)
  • regrouping items, demonstrating that they will still retain the same number no matter the position they're placed
  • property identification
  • the mind and its uses: remembering, thinking, hoping, and imagining
  • conflict resolution[1]

In addition to these topics, the show sometimes focused on Latino-American culture with Spanish sight words and phrases, such as "pare," "calle," and "ven aqui."[2]

Episodes[]

Episodes 0131 - 0275 (145 episodes)

Notes[]

  • This is the first season to have a certain closing credit sequence on Friday episodes, rather than having the action continue while the credits rolled. (This season's credit crawl featured several still shots of children's paintings.)
  • Except for Episode 0135, this is the first season to have the letter and number sponsors announced before the credits on Friday episodes.
  • This is the only season produced with 145 episodes.
  • A majority of street scenes from this season aired (dubbed) for German co-production Sesamstrasse's first 247 episodes from 1973 through 1975.

Cast[]

Cast
Matt Robinson, Loretta Long, Will Lee, Bob McGrath, Jaime Sánchez, Alan Arkin, Barbara Dana, Larry Block, Northern Calloway, Carla Pinza, Vinnette Carroll
Puppets by Jim Henson's Muppets
Caroll Spinney, Frank Oz, Fran Brill, Jerry Nelson
Human Characters
Gordon, Susan, Mr. Hooper, Bob, Miguel, Larry and Phyllis, Tom, David, Willy, Maria, Lillian
Muppet Characters
Anything Muppets, Bert, Betty Lou, Big Bird, Cookie Monster, Ernie, Farley, Granny Fanny Nesselrode, Granny Grouch, Grover, Guy Smiley, Herbert Birdsfoot, Herry Monster, Lefty the Salesman, Lefty's Boss, Little Bird, Little Jerry and the Monotones, Marty, Oscar the Grouch, Prairie Dawn, Professor Hastings, Roosevelt Franklin, Roosevelt Franklin's Mother, Sherlock Hemlock, Simon Soundman, Slimey, Tony, The Twiddlebugs, Yorick (Episode 0145)
Guest Stars
Jess Adkins, Leon Bibb, Theodore Bikel, Cast of Bonanza, Dave Broadfoot, Carol Burnett, Tim Conway, Michael Cooney, Bill Cosby, Reuben Figueroa, Peggy Fleming, Walt Frazier, Arte Johnson, Listen, My Brother, Cleavon Little, Little Theatre of the Deaf, Christopher Lofton, Jim Nabors, Pete Seeger, Superman, Flip Wilson

Credits[]

Season_2_credit_crawl

Season 2 credit crawl

credit crawl

Sources[]

  1. Truglio and Fisch. G is for Growing. p. 31
  2. Sesame Street Magazine Parents' Guide, 1970.


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Season 1 (1969-1970) Season 3 (1971-1972)
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