At the outset of this collection of choice episodes from Sesame
Street's first five years, a cheeky animated character informs you
that these episodes are not intended for children, but for nostalgic
adults. It's a by-the-books disclaimer from the good people at the
Sesame Workshop, who have done enough research to know that these
prototype series — filmed with nothing but good intentions and
puppets — do not live up to the exacting scientific formulas that govern
more recent episodes.
That's exactly why you should watch
this with your kids: becaues these early episodes are raw and relatively guileless
(rather more like a child). And even if some
of the elements don't work (the nature footage is overlong,
underproduced, and cored with sleepy folk revival lullabies), your
kids will be full of questions. Children are almost always fascinated
with adults' childhood, and this set offers a fun, sweethearted
opportunity to talk to your kids about your own memories of the show. Many elements
are the same (the theme song and most of the cast) but you'll get to introduce
Mr. Hooper and Bob, talk about your old Oscar the Grouch pajamas
(okay, maybe that's just me) and share your child's amazement that Oscar was,
for the whole first season, orange. — Logan Hill |
