The Mr. and Mrs. Game

Sesame Street Game Shows
First Appearance	Episode 0072
Broadcast	February 17, 1970
Additional Appearances

Guy addresses Ralph and Trudy Monster.

The Mr. and Mrs. Game was a two-part game show segment that was based on The Newlywed Game and hosted by Guy Smiley. The object of the game was to match your partner's answers to three questions for a prize. The guests on the show were Ralph and Trudy Monster (portrayed by Beautiful Day Monster and Scudge).

During the first part, Ralph Monster was placed in an isolation booth while Guy asked Trudy Monster what Mr. Monster's favorite color is (green), his favorite food (cookies), and his favorite sport (scaring people).

During part two, Mr. Monster successfully replied to the same questions with the same answers. For their prize, Guy offered two choices: an all-expenses paid trip to Hawaii, with a new house, a new car, and ten thousand dollars in cash, or a cookie. After consulting his wife, Ralph chooses the cookie.

Script to screen

The original script for The Mr. and Mrs. Game was written much differently than what had aired. Part one was a complete round, with Anything Muppet couple Ralph and Trudy Smith managing to match every answer correctly after Ralph had been isolated. Part two saw Bill and Sue Monster answering the same questions. While Sue's answers matched the previous couple's, Bill gets all the answers wrong and increasingly gets angry, taking his frustration out on the set by the end of the game.

Impact

This segment has been cited by Jim Henson: The Works and an issue of School Library Journal as the origin of the character of Cookie Monster.

“Cookie Monster, according to (Jon) Stone, was born of necessity. "Jerry Juhl (the chief writer) had written a sketch about a quiz show, but it had no ending in the studio; at the end of the contest the master of ceremonies said, 'You have your choice of $10,000, a new house, a three-week vacation in Hawaii, or a cookie.' The character starts thinking and can't make up his mind. He says to his wife, 'You'd like the vacation.' She says, 'Well, yeah, but you know how you like cookies.' He screams, 'Cookie,' and the whole place goes crazy. That puppet was actually different from Cookie Monster, but we liked the idea so much we took another puppet out of Jim's trunk and made him Cookie Monster."”

Cast

• Jim Henson: Guy Smiley
• Frank Oz: Ralph Monster, Trudy Monster, Announcer

Notes

• Mr. & Mrs. was also the name of a long-running game show in the United Kingdom, first airing in 1964, and its basic format nearly matches that of this parody (three questions about the spouse's everyday habits while the other sits in a soundproof booth).
• The little girl character who helps Ralph in and out of the isolation booth is named Betty Lou for the first time in this sketch. While her name and performer would frequently change in the early years of Sesame Street, the name would eventually become permanently associated with the character.
• At the end of a Larry and Phyllis segment, the duo can be heard watching The Mr. and Mrs. Game after they argue about what to watch on television.