Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, November 17, 1993 TAG: 9311190356
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By MELANIE S. HATTER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
I was not much older than 3 when I started watching the ``Sesame Street'' gang. Unbeknownst to me, an institution was just beginning.
I remember it as part of my growing up. Now, all of a sudden, I'm older than all the characters on the show.
What happened?
"Sesame Street" characters were like big brothers and sisters to me. I sang along with Oscar the Grouch, counted with Count Von Count and wished I could cuddle Snuffleupagus. I still do.
Whenever I get the chance, I tune in and marvel at how little it's changed. And how strange it is to see my son delighting at the same things that made me smile.
"It's one of those things that's timeless," says Jon Boettcher, vice president of programming at Blue Ridge Public Television. "Adults can appreciate the humor in it, too."
"Sesame Street" made its debut across the country on Nov. 10, 1969.
What's made it work is sticking to a concept that works while keeping it fresh, says David Britt, president of Children's Television Workshop, the show's creator.
The show's first focus was on teaching letters and numbers. Since then, "it has gone beyond that into the whole domain of child development, from cooperation and expressing feelings to the recent race-relations curriculum," Britt said.
The 25th season begins Monday. In it, "Sesame Street" makes a few more revisions to reflect the changes between the world I grew up in and the one my son is growing up in.
Now we can go "around the corner" to a new section of "Sesame Street" that features a playground, thrift shop, dance studio and "Muppet hotel." We'll meet Zoe, a 3-year-old girl monster who can't get her words out
fast enough; The Squirrelles - Crystal, Darlene and Rhonda - a trio of squirrels who sing Motown hits; and Wanda Cousteau, a fish whose portable fish bowl allows her to "boldly go where no fish has gone before."
Comedian Ruth Buzzi appears as Ruthie, the proprietor of a thrift shop called "Finders Keepers." Above the shop is a dance studio owned and run by Celina, a Filipino-American. And more children will join the cast, including a 9-year-old with a physical disability.
The new season brings an increased focus on families and their cultural differences. A young black family and Muppet family, each with a baby, will explore family issues.
There's so much talk about violence in television, but it's good to know there are positive learning shows out there for children. And as a parent, I'm looking forward to sharing the next 25 years of "Sesame Street" with my family.
The new season begins on WBRA (Channel 15) at 7 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.
by CNB