Joseph Scarbrough launched what he called "The Scarblog" as a way of cataloging his work over the years, as well as going into greater detail of things on his mind (known as "Unfinished Thoughts").
For a party that is now claiming to be against war, the so-called Grand Old Party sure does seem to have a history of being a party full of war-mongers. They chastised Americans who refused to fight in the Vietnam War and/or protested said war as being traitors to our country; they saw war as the only way to respond to the September 11th terrorist attacks; they complain that M*A*S*H is a, "situation commie hour" for being an anti-war show; and they ripped former President Barack Obama to shreds when he attempted to withdraw American troops from the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and bring them home (and yet, sang praises to the Lord above when Dictator Trump claimed he would do the exact same thing). And if it's not some sort of an actual fighting war raging somewhere in the world, they sure do seem to love to fabricate their own little geopolitical war that only they are engaged in - while also pointing fingers and blaming those they are attacking for instigating such fabricated wars, such as their War on Christmas that they claim the left started by saying, "Happy Holidays," instead of, "Merry Christmas" (even though there are other holidays aside from just Christmas that are celebrated during the season), or their War of Christianity that they claim the left started by trying to remove God from everyday life (even though the United States of America have a Separation of Church and State for a reason). But one conflict that the GOP has been waging for decades has been their war on the Public Broadcasting System, or PBS.
You probably have seen the news recently, about Elon Musk (an African immigrant who, somehow, has been given total authority to run our country, despite the big stink that Trump previous raised about Obama needing to prove he wasn't born in Africa, otherwise he legally couldn't be President) and Majorie Taylor Greene (a bleach blonde with a badly built butch body) calling for the dismantling of PBS, as well the cancelation of SESAME STREET (which is now in its 56th season) on the grounds that the show is Communistic propaganda that is indoctrinating our children into an anti-American idealogy. As ludicrous and far-out as their claims may seem, this actually is nothing new from the GOP concerning SESAME STREET in general, or even PBS as a whole; this has been going on for a long, long time, and their tune has not changed in the slightest . . . the only thing that has changed in that, in this day and age of social media and digital connection, they now can spread this sort of poison farther and faster than they could before, not to mention the United States is now also under the iron-fisted ruling of a Demagogue and Dictator who is emboldening the ones who are pushing these absurd agendas.
But why does the GOP hate PBS so much? One of the main reasons seems to be is that PBS, for all intents and purposes, is a non-profit organization, and we all know how much the GOP thrives on profits over people (the fact that just about every other developed nation in the world has some sort of universal healthcare system, while the U.S. still has a for-profit healthcare system that the GOP doesn't want to get rid of certainly tells you something); PBS is sustained by donations from viewers, as well as other government grants and funding provided by taxpayers' dollars - taxpayers' dollars the GOP would rather go elsewhere, like our already well-covered military and police force, both of which are already overly funded from wasteful government spending. This dates all the way back to PBS's inception in 1969, when beloved public television fixture, Mister Fred Rogers, appeared before Congress to defend the funding for programming on public television to cater to the early mental, emotional, psychological development of young children.
It is this funding that the GOP has long been against, and a subject that has been brought up in the political landscape as recently as the 2012 Presidential Election, when then-Democratic President Barack Obama's opponent was Republican Mitt Romney, and one of his campaign promises was to cut government and taxpayer funding for PBS, and turn it into a commercial television network that would be financed through ad revenue, much like other television networks such as ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, etc. While that in and of itself left a bad taste in the mouths of people who support PBS, I think what ended up contributing to Romney's downfall in that election was the attitude he had, as well as the way he worded this campaign promise of his, in that he made it seem as though he not only was going to go after PBS altogether, but he also dragged Big Bird specifically into this talking point of his. Needless to say, it provided a lot of the late-night comedians with plenty of fodder to poke fun at the way Romney made it seem as though he intended to order a hit on Big Bird.
(Indeed, I really hope no children saw this)
Going back to what Musk and Marjorie are proposing, as well as their unsubstantiated claims that PBS programming such as SESAME STREET is indoctrinating children into anti-American idealogy isn't anything new either; this is an agenda that they have been pushing for the better part of twenty years, and their tune has barely changed at all during this time. I know, because I have witnessed this firsthand, even on a local level.
Steve D'Monster supports PBS
As a lot of you may know, my first job was working for my viewing area's local PBS member station, now ETPBS, then known as ETP-TV from 2004 to 2007. At the time, I was a teenager and couldn't legally work in even a part-time position, so my years at PBS were as an unpaid intern, though I did gain quite a bit of experience in television production, ranging from camera operating to stage managing, and it was even here that I managed to get my feet wet as a semi-professional puppeteer when Steve D'Monster made his debut during the on-air pledge drives we used to have specifically for children's television on PBS, known as The Friends of Sesame Street Club. What some of you may not be aware of is that during all but four weeks of my high school years, I was also homeschooled . . . and yes, homeschool curriculum is far more faith-based than public school curriculum, though contrary to the stigma that is now prevalent thanks to all of these mass shooters who lived in rightwing echo chambers, being homeschool never once inspired me to pick up a gun and open fire in other establishments where I felt the people of said establishments were a threat to my very existence and privilege. Because I was in the homeschool system, I had some insight into what certain morality groups were up to in terms of certain agendas they were pushing, and in 2005, exactly twenty years ago, when it was coming up on time for another one of our PBS pledge drives, these groups were organizing a boycott of PBS children's programming, such as SESAME STREET, BARNEY & FRIENDS, ARTHUR, CLIFFORD THE BIG RED DOG, and many others, on the grounds that these programs were, "pushing the gay agenda," and otherwise indoctrinating and brainwashing our children into the LGBTQ+ community. Now, keep in mind, this was the mid-2000s, during the conversative G.W. Bush Presidency, a time in which even international networks that specifically catered kid-friendly programming such as Disney Channel, Nickelodeon, and Cartoon Network were prohibited from depicting openly queer characters and/or same-sex relationships; groundbreaking shows like THE LOUD HOUSE or THE OWL HOUSE, with their positive LGBTQ+ representations, among other depictions of diversity and inclusion, would never have made it to the air during this time for that very reason. Even primetime programming aimed specifically at adults had to include, "Viewer discretion is advised" disclaimers for "hyper-sexual content" at the beginning of shows that even so much as included a single gay character in its cast (something the GOP now wants the aforementioned shows such as THE LOUD HOUSE and THE OWL HOUSE to include).
A gay Muppet?!
So, where in the world did these religious right groups even get such a wild idea that shows like SESAME STREET were, "pushing the gay agenda"? Sadly, it was born out of something that was blown way, way, way out of proportion just years earlier, when it was announced that an HIV-positive Muppet character was going to be added to South Africa's co-production, TAKALANI SESAME. You see, many other countries in the world have their own localized co-production of SESAME STREET developed specifically to cater to that country's national culture, whether it's Mexico's PLAZA SESAMO, the Netherlands' SESAMSTRAAT, Russia's ULITSA SEZAM, Israel's RECHOV SUMSUM, Palestine's SHARA'A SIMSIM, or even Canada's SESAME PARK. Because of the HIV epidemic that has plagued South Africa for quite some time, TAKALANI SESAME was going to introduce a new Muppet character, a little monster girl named Kami, who, sadly, was born with the virus, as many children in South Africa are. Unfortunately, given how critical thinking skills are in short supply among America's rightwing, the outdated mentality that HIV/AIDS was a virus exclusively spread through sexual relations among homosexuals still persisted among these folks, so when they saw the news about the introduction of a new HIV-positive Sesame Muppet, these simpletons misinterpreted the news altogether as the original American SESAME STREET adding a gay Muppet to the show, which of course just outraged them to no end. Since PBS Kids shows were all about inclusion, acceptance, and tolerance, their way of thinking also drove them to the conclusion that all of these other shows were indoctrinating children into what they dismissed as an evil cult (oh, the irony), and as such, called for a boycott of these shows, as well as any fundraising PBS did for these shows. Of course, this was all hysteria and hyperbole, but another unfortunate thing is that these misguided people have incredibly loud voices that resonate among those who align with their way of thinking, so this boycott quickly gained traction, even before we began our pledge drive for that year. Having seen the writing on the wall for myself, I did attempt to warn my fellow PBS teamsters about this boycott, but given the ridiculous nature of said boycott, not to mention how the right has targeted PBS as a whole for years, they merely shrugged it off as more empty threats from a group of crazies who couldn't actually hurt us . . . except they did actually hurt us. Our pledges took a direct hit, and the station fell quite short of its goal for that year. They attempted to fix the problem the following year's pledge drive by raising the minimum pledge amount from $20 to $25, but even so, the damage had been done, and pledges continued to dwindle. Because of this, that was the last we ever did any on-air pledge drives specifically for children's programming, and they turned to private fundraisers instead.
Musk and Marjorie's assault on SESAME STREET and PBS is nothing new whatsoever, and it's not even these properties or outlets that those on the right side of the aisle have been going after for what they perceive to be indoctrination of our youth. You may have seen how the GOP has been actively banning and burning books all across the nation, particularly those that touch on subjects and topics relating to sexuality and gender identity . . . again, this is nothing new either. Going back to the previously-mentioned conservative Bush era, in 2007, these same people began banning and burning HARRY POTTER books after author J.K. Rowling revealed that Hogwarts headmaster Dumbledore was gay; again, the accusation was that our children were being exposed to, and groomed and indoctrinated into an, "evil cult." Funny, it seems to me that those who are actively trying to censor certain media and shield children from seeing depictions of diversity and inclusion are the ones who are doing the indoctrination.
Major Ferret Face
As you can see, the Grand Old Party is without question a war-mongering party; if it's not wars involving combat soldiers shedding blood and losing lives while fighting with other countries, it's class and culture wars being incited and fought amongst American people of differing races, sexualities, genders, or religions. They have instigated and dragged the rest of us into such wars for ages. If all of this proves one thing, it's that the GOP and the religious right are among the most regressive people on the face of this planet; they never change their tune, and they continue to steep their closed-minded worldviews in the tea kettles of hatred and bigotry. Want another example? Let's take a look at Major Frank Burns: here is a character on a TV show from the 1970s that was set in the 1950s, yet when you watch him, you realize that he is absolutely no different than any MAGA minion of today: he possesses the exact same backward thinking rooted in bigotry that you see permeate throughout the entire MAGA crowd - it has actually made him an even more frightening character to watch, but again, it goes to show you just how deeply stuck in their ways these people are. So while these assaults on SESAME STREET, PBS, children's education and entertainment are nothing new, they unfortunately are becoming far more aggressive as the likes of Trump and Musk embolden their base and stoke the fires that are spreading across the country (and even the world) that threaten our very democracy, and the people living within our society who don't conform to their idealogies in any way, shape, or form.
These are certainly dangerous times we're living in. Will we ever see an end to these wars? It's hard to say.
EDIT: July 18, 2025
Well, it finally happened. It's official: Dictator Drumpf and his fascist Nazi regime have killed PBS. Remember, this was one of the steps that Adolph Hitler took in taking over control of Germany: silence and censor the media and the press, which is exactly what Dictator Drumpf and the GOP are doing as we speak.
The Knoxville Fanboy Expo really knocked it out of the park this year, and I had an incredible weekend getting to meet some amazing Muppet/Henson veterans such as Bill Barretta, Kirk R. Thatcher, Steve Whitmire, and Kevin Clash, but also one of my favorite comedians, Jon Lovitz. I got spend several minutes with Bill, Kirk, and Steve, not just chatting about Muppet matters, but the art of puppetry in general - these guys really make a longtime fan feel more like an old friend, which were the biggest highlights of my day. Unfortunately, I really didn't get to chat with either Kevin or Jon - their lines were kept moving at all times, but it was still such a treat getting to meet them in person. There were still a number of other icons I would have loved to have met also, including Paul Williams, Anthony Anderson, Jaleel White, and Danny Trejo just to name a few . . . but I ran out of funds (Paul Williams alone was a third of my budget for that day) . . . that, and I couldn't find some of their tables, considering the Fanboy Expo had guests occupying all three floors of the Convention Center this year, and I had never set foot into some of these areas before.
Pepe the King Prawn may be an little asshole (Bill's words, not mine), but Bill Barretta is definitely one of the nicest, friendliest people you could ever meet!
Kirk Thatcher said we were going for a PLANES, TRAINS, AND AUTOMOBILES vibe when posing for our selfie.
Met Steve the first time in 2018. . . .
and again in 2024
I already met Steve Whitmire once before in 2018, but I couldn't resist meeting up with him again this year; still such a great guy. As you can see, I brought my old one-eared Ernie with me again.
Elmo and Splinter almost look like they're trying to photobomb my selfie with Kevin Clash, doesn't it?
Jon Lovitz didn't really seem to appear well that day; I don't know if he was feeling under the weather or what. Still didn't want to pass up the opportunity.
Some of Kevin Clash's disguinished colleagues such as Caroll Spinney, Alan Muraoka, Roscoe Orman, Emilio Delgado, and Bob McGrath had previously signed this mammoth book years before.\
MUPPET TREASURE ISLAND was one of my favorite Muppet movies as a kid (and the first one I saw in theaters), and was one I knew each of the Fanboy Expo's guests had worked on, so I had to have them sign this for me. And yes, Bill Barretta signed it in-character as Clueless Morgan.
All in all, one of the best days of my life, and definitely the highest point of 2024 for me. (I would have worn a Jim Henson t-shirt I have for the occasion, but it was hotternell outside, so I dressed cooly to keep from melting).
Oh, and in case anybody asks, no, those aren't actual Kermit and Elmo puppets at Steve and Kevin's tables, they were replicas that were gifted to them by other fans. Steve said that the Kermit replica was actually pretty close to the real thing in terms of size and construction.
It isn't just simply amazing that 2019 marks the 50th anniversary of the most iconic children's educational series in television history, but the fact that Sesame Street themselves encouraged fans across the world to join in on the celebration made it all the more special.
It's no secret that SESAME STREET has had a huge influence on me, mainly because of Jim Henson's Muppets, but clearly, other puppeteers out there have been inspired and influenced by Sesame and the Muppets for decades, thanks to Henson practically reinventing the art of puppetry as we know it. Ever since I and so many others started using YouTube as a platform to share our own work in puppetry with virtual audiences, some of us have expressed interest in doing collaboration videos that would combine our various different acts and characters into a single, fun project . . . unfortunately that wasn't a logistical possibility for many of us - particularly way back in the earlier years of our YouTube channels, when the tools many of us had were not that great (I certainly wasn't capable of chromakey or any similar visual effects).
But, as the years have passed, and a lot of us have, indeed, gotten better tools, better equipment, and have developed better sensibilities, the possibility of us collaborating on such a project had a higher likelihood - and with this being SESAME STREET's 50th anniversary, what better project to collaborate on than having our various characters get together for a sing-along of one the street's most treasured songs?
What you see here is not just Steve D'Monster, but other notable YouTube puppets such as Peter A. Cancilla's Allegra Longfellow and Professor Monster Johnson, Clyde Monster from Tai Jackson's A COMPANY OF FOOLS, Kevin L. Williams's Muley the Mule, Tim Kelly's Zook & Max, Marcelo R. Bottaro's new character Raspberry, and Matt (a.k.a. SchfiftyThree)'s pal Mike, singing along to the Joe Raposo classic, "Sing."
Don't forget to take the time to check out everybody's YouTube channels for yourselves; we could all use some subscribers!
Happy 50th anniversary, SESAME STREET! Thank you for your decades of service and education to generations of children, the young-at-heart, and of course us puppeteers!
The Ran-Dells' "The Martian Hop" is a quirky little novelty song from the oldies era that I've been wanting to do a music video for for years, the problem is I never was exactly sure how I would approach this . . . I really couldn't see myself constructing some martian puppets for just one little music video.
It finally donned on me that with the upcoming MORON LEAGUE 4 in the works, that said martians for the music video could be none other than the Nerdlucks! As much as I denounce the excessive overuse of chromakey in modern film and television, the work I did on this music video turned out to be roughly 99% chromakey! Some had to be done with green screen, other with blue screen - it wasn't perfect, and the keying didn't turn out perfect either, but I suppose I got the job done for what I wanted to do.
So, finally, here is my music video for "The Martian Hop" by The Ran-Dells, with the Nerdlucks (and also featuring cameos by characters from SEINFELD, SESAME STREET, and ALVINNN!!! AND THE CHIPMUNKS).
As with the Sesame cast back in October, Steve's visit included a Q&A panel that I took the time to sit in on, and even participate in (you can hear me ask about writers Jim Lewis and Joey Mazzarino). This time, however, because it was just Steve, and the panel was in a smaller room with a smaller crowd size, the panel was a lot more intimate and personal, with more questions coming from those attending, as opposed to mostly pre-planned questions as with the Sesame cast. It was really enjoyable to listen to Steve share the experiences throughout his career with the Muppets; he was thoroughly engaging throughout the panel:
Afterwards, I went down into the bottom floor where the convention was being held in two connecting ballrooms, and with the large crowd size, it took me quite a while to find Steve's table, but I finally did and got a moment to speak with him. When I introduced myself, I was surprised to see that he actually recognized my name! Well . . . sort of. We spent a few minutes talking about characters he performed, such as Bean Bunny (and why he went from the main protagonist in THE TALE OF THE BUNNY PICNIC, to basically being the victim of the other Muppets' brutality for being obnoxiously cute), as well as the art of puppetry in general. He was an incredibly nice guy, with a very warm personality, which made meeting and speaking with him all the more special, and as with meeting the Sesame cast last October, is an experience in my life that I will never forget and would never trade for the world.
Not exactly sure why it was promoted as a reunion, but whatever.
For many years, I swore I'd never go to a con: not only do I not care for having to slither my way through large crowds, but when I've seen photos and videos of the kind of crazy, creepy, and depraved activities that go on among attendees at such things, I really wanted nothing to do with it. However, when I learned that some of the cast members of SESAME STREET were going to be at the Knoxville Fanboy Expo the weekend of October 6-8, I knew that this was a rare opportunity that I could not pass up at all, so for something like this, I was glad to make an exception.
Needless to say, I was both excited and nervous at the same time: having never been to a con before, I was a complete novice at this, so I needed to be shown the ropes, and there was a time or two where I was sent on something of a wild goose chase as far as tickets are concerned (more about that later), but again, the opportunity of meeting these legends of the world's most famous street was exhilarating - I hadn't felt this excited since the night Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood came to my town to put on an improv comedy show ten years ago.
After spending several minutes finding a place to park, then walking a couple of blocks over to the convention center, I was apprehensive, because again, being a novice at this, I didn't quite know what to expect, and I was kind of concerned about making a fool of myself. After arriving, I had to go through security measures worthy of national airports pre-TSA days: I had to have my bag checked, empty my pockets, remove my cap, and have a metal detector waved up and down my body; after that, I was ready to proceed. After going through a line to present my entrance ticket, I was given an armband like a hospital patient, then found myself going down three flights of escalators where two large ballrooms were - one for the Fanboy Expo, another for some kind of a convention a local grocery store chain was having . . . take a guess which one I went into.
Once I got inside an enormous room with hundreds of thousands of people walking around the different booths and tables set up for the guests, I was informed the cast of SESAME STREET were all the way in the very back side of the room. As I navigated my way through a maze of people, booths, vendors, and other people swarming around in this huge room, I could finally see in the distance posters hanging on the back wall for each of the guests' individual table, and as I could draw closer, I began seeing the faces of people who felt like they have been my old friends for as long as I can remember. I was lucky enough that not too many people were waiting in line at any of the tables, but I knew I needed to be brief and courteous, so I made it a point not to hang around any of their tables too long and hold anybody else up.
A most excellent book
With my copy of A CELEBRATION OF 40 YEARS OF LIFE ON THE STREET, I was ready to go through and get the signatures of my old TV neighbors. Starting at one end of the line of tables, I began with Alan Muraoka, who was incredibly warm and friendly - I spoke with him briefly, discussing his twenty years on the show, and how he had been running Hooper's Store longer than any previous owner - including Mr. Hooper himself (something he said another fan had pointed out to him earlier, and he wasn't even aware of it). I shared with him my vivid memories of when he was the newcomer to the street, catering a big Birdkateer meeting, and running out of food in the rest of the store. I asked him how he felt about Hooper's Store makeover to look more like it did in the old days, which he said took him by surprise at first, but really loves it (especially the store's vertical neon sign). I also asked him how he enjoyed his time in Knoxville; he spoke highly of our famous Market Square area (think New York's Times Square, but smaller and cuter) and how he really liked the architectural design of our town as well. After Alan signed my book, I moved on to my next TV neighbor: Roscoe Orman, otherwise known as Gordon. We spoke about how he was the longest-running and most well-known of the Gordon's on SESAME STREET, but I also told him about how much I enjoyed his guest appearance on an episode of SANFORD AND SON, in which he played a bank robber; he told me how he remembered it was hard for him - playing a bad guy - to keep a straight face when taping that episode, because of how funny Redd Foxx was (not to mention his partner-in-crime in the episode was a dimwit who was bungling everything up). Roscoe also spoke highly of Knoxville, saying that he and the rest of the cast enjoyed really good barbecue at Calhoun's on the river - something that Emilio Delgado agreed with, as he was my next TV neighbor. I told Emilio how so much of what he did as Luis was before my time, that he and Maria were already married by the time I was born (he found an old photo of him with long hair in the 70s very amusing). Next was Bob McGrath, who was perhaps the most conversive of the guests I spoke with; I broke the ice with him by telling him I had recently listened to him and a group of hippy Muppets singing "Good Morning Starshine," which he shared an anecdote with me of performing that song with the Yip-Yip Martians at Carnegie Hall, as well as other concert performances he had done over the years. He also had a number of albums with him (one of which I bought as a souvenir) - one of them he found personally amusing, because of comments he had received from teachers who said they loved using songs he sings for teaching purposes, and that they love his vocals . . .but that they would like to be able to use his songs without vocals; this particular album contained songs he recorded with his vocals, and instrumental versions. Before leaving, Bob asked what I did, and I told him that I was, indeed, a puppeteer, and that the Muppets played an instrumental part in inspiring me to become one. He told me about a time he got to work with Shari Lewis, and what an amazingly talented and hard-working performer she was. Speaking of puppeteers, the final guest I got to meet was the legend behind the bright yellow feathers and matted green fur, Caroll Spinney himself. Meeting Caroll - something I had been wanting to experience for years - was certainly the highlight of my day, and the first thing I did was thank him for being an integral part of inspiring me to become a puppeteer, to which he thanked me for the compliment.
This is where I ran into some complications during my visit: I had purchased a special package that covered my meet-and-greet with the cast members, among other things, however, it wasn't until I reached Caroll's table that his chaperone informed me that I was supposed be given individual autograph tickets for each of the guests (specifically, pink tickets), which nobody had given me (again, I was a novice at this). What ensued was a wild goose chase: while Caroll, his wife Debi, and their chaperone offered to watch my bag and contents for me (Caroll even offered to cover for me if I was unable to obtain a proper autograph ticket), I was sent back to the entrace of the room to inquire about the tickets; once there, they informed me I would actually have to go back upstairs to the main entrance to inquire; after going back up three flights of escalators, I was told at the main entrance line that I had to go over to another help desk across the lobby to inquire; finally at this help desk, they were able to provide me with what I had been missing: my complimentary lanyard, and tickets . . . which were blue, instead of pink. Because of this confusion, one of the staff members went back down three flights of escalators with me to make sure that blue tickets were just as acceptable as pink tickets - which they were. Finally, after all was said and done (and the chaperones got their proper tickets for their guests), I was ready to speak with one of my puppeteering heroes.
Sadly, Caroll was not in the best of shape: his speech was low and weak, and Debi or his chaperone often finished his sentences for him, or answered my questions for him. He also struggled to sign the book for me, but he took the time to share an anecdote about Oscar with me, regarding the color changes he went through; I asked him about Jim Henson's original intentions to make Oscar purple, which Caroll said he remembered, and found it odd that Jim made him orange instead, saying that Jim never explained why (though I understand it was because those early primitive videotape cameras couldn't record the color purple very well), and how Jim changed Oscar green for an appearance on THE FLIP WILSON SHOW, which Caroll said was a really fun appearance to do. Caroll also had some things available as souvenirs, so I purchased a DVD copy of the wonderful biographic documentary I AM BIG BIRD (if you haven't seen it, you have to). I left Caroll a parting gift: a printed copy of some digital artwork I did several years ago, based on a comment I once heard that he, Jim Henson, and Frank Oz are the, "Original Rat Pack of puppetry," hence "The Muppet Pack." Caroll said he was going to hang it in his home studio.
I gave Caroll Spinney a printed version of this artwork I had made back in 2012.
After getting to meet the cast, it was soon time to go upstairs for a Q&A panel - which also included a sing-along. I filmed this panel, so you can watch if for yourself below:
Admittedly, I found the Q&A panel to be slightly disappointing. That's not to say I didn't enjoy it, because I certainly did, but as you can see from the video, most of the questions were planned ahead of time, and audience participation was limited to two or three questions; I confess I wanted to ask Caroll if his performing duties became exclusive to Big Bird and Oscar after the first couple of seasons was a conscious decision to ensure he's always on-hand to perform the characters as they were becoming more and more prominent fixtures on the street - I probably should have brought that up as I was speaking to him at his table. But nevertheless, it was fun being able to sing "Sing" with the cast.
I finally finished my day with a photo-op with the entire group; it was rather heart-warming to hear Alan say, "It's like seeing an old friend again," when I stepped into the photo booth for my turn.
These are the people in my neighborhood.
After the picture was taken, the cast said I could visit their tables again if I wanted to, so I did, leaving them with some parting words before they departed for lunch, thanking them once again for coming to town, and how wonderful it was to get to meet them; they really are the warm, genial, neighborly people that you've seen on TV all these years.
In closing, there's two specific things that each of the cast members mentioned when I spoke with them: 1. They are blown away that SESAME STREET is about to approach Season 50 in a couple of years; I was told that the production staff is already preparing for the season, and Bob even mentioned the possibility of special live appearances in celebration. 2. The t-shirt I was wearing. They loved it. I told them that I've had the shirt for almost ten years, and to this day, it's still the one piece of clothing I have that gets the most comments from people wherever I go.
This day was a real treat for me, as it's certainly a rare opportunity to get to meet anybody involved with SESAME STREET, or the Muppets in general, in this part of the country, considering most events like this seem to be exclusive to either New York or Los Angeles; I probably would never get an experience like this ever again, so this will certainly be a day that will live on in infamy in my memory.
SESAME STREET has always managed to pull off Very Special Episodes that address rather heavy, sensitive, or true-to-life subjects in ways that make it easy for its preschool audience to grasp and comprehend. In 1983, they tackled the subject of Mr. Hooper's death after the passing of cast member Will Lee; in 2001, we saw a week-long story arc involving the destruction and rebuilding of Big Bird's nest after a hurricane blows through - which continues to be rebroadcast today in the wake of particularly devastating hurricanes such as Katrina or Sandy; in 2002, Hooper's Store caught fire in response to the September 11 terrorist attacks; and lest we forget the series of TALK, LISTEN, CONNECT and LITTLE CHILDREN, BIG CHALLENGES videos that cover such topics as parents in prison, parents in the military, and food pantries. I had no doubts that the introduction of the street's newest resident would be handled well, and it was. However, Julia's origins can be traced quite a ways back before we got to see her as a full-fledged Muppet on our screens. . . .
Lexi, Julia's ancestor
Several years ago, Sesame fan Alexandra created a fan-character named Lexi, an adorable and playful little Muppet girl who enjoys drawing, singing, dancing, and being a detective much like her hero, Sherlock Hemlock. Lexi also happens to have Asperger's Syndrome, a form of Mild Autism, of which Alexandra also has; taking notice of SESAME STREET's lack of Autism Awareness, she contacted Sesame Workshop about the possibility of incorporating Lexi into the show as an actual Muppet character to help bring more awareness of Autism to the world's most famous street, and to help educate kids more about what Autism is, and how it's dealt with by those who have it, and those who know people who have it, which resulted in the following:
For legal reasons, Lexi could not actually be used in Sesame material, however, after taking initiative, a new character was eventually developed specifically to do just as Alexandra wrote about: to help teach children about Autism and to understand more about it and symptoms they may see in Autistic kids. Enter Julia!
http://autism.sesamestreet.org/storybook-we-are-amazing/
Julia was initially created for exclusive web material, such as the above-linked online storybook, WE'RE AMAZING, 1,2,3! Through the storybook, we learn that Julia likes to do a lot of the same things as her friend Elmo, just a little differently; we also learn that she may not respond to someone right away, and that it helps to repeat yourself a few times. We also see some of the symptoms often associated with Autism, such as Julia's hand flapping when she's excited, or the mild panic attack she has when her sensitive ears hear sounds that bother her. The online storybook and other web material featuring Julia went over well enough that it only made sense that she would eventually become an actual Muppet on the show, and it finally happened:
It's interesting that SESAME STREET hasn't tried doing this before now, considering other children's shows out there have incorporated such characters long ago, with ARTHUR being a good example. ARTHUR has three prominent disabled characters that are featured on the show on a recurring basis: Marina Datillo, an independent blind girl; Lydia Fox, a wheelchair-bound girl who excels at basketball; and Carl Gould, a train aficionado with Asperger's. Each of these characters are depicted in ways that shows that despite having limitations due to their respective disabilities, they are still able to do things for themselves and are not at all helpless - in short, they can pretty much do whatever their friends can, just differently. In fact, when speaking of Julia's Autism, it's explained that she just does things, "In a Julia sort of way." Julia's debut episode aired on both PBS and HBO April 10, 2017, but for the time being, it is available for viewing on YouTube . . . so rather than me typing up a summary, you can just see it for yourself:
There really are no words for me to describe just how precious this episode is. As always, SESAME STREET handled the subject in an easy to understand, yet straight-forward and to-the-point manner that didn't sugar-coat or water-down the subject to the point of making it sappy or maudlin. This is why a show like SESAME STREET continues to be one of the most endearing and enduring children's shows for forty-seven seasons - despite what some naysayers or old, jaded, and cynical fuddy-duddies may say, SESAME STREET never talks down to kids, but presents their specific educational subjects with humor and heart. Through Big Bird, we learn that Julia may do things differently than other people he or we may know, but that doesn't mean that they can't be friends, and it's certainly heartwarming to see that both Big Bird and Julia are able to make new friends with each other. My personal favorite moment from the episode is Julia's case of the giggles as she sees how small Big Bird looks from up on the roof of the community center.
Again, there's really no words I can use to describe the excellent job they did - you just have to see this episode for yourself. I certainly hope that not only will Julia continue to be seen on the street, and be utilized in other ways to show just how capable she is of doing a lot of the same things as her friends, just in her own Julia sort of way, but that this may help pave the way for further Muppets with disabilities to populate the street.
Let's face it, eBay is a fascinating website (at least, it used to be, before it became Paypal exclusive): whatever you may be looking for in the way of forgotten old treasures, eBay was the place to look for them, and at the same time, you never really knew what you might have turned up when browsing through the site.
Every once in a while, however, there will be some kind of joker who tries to sell off really odd and unusual items on eBay, such as a piece of toast with Jesus' face on it, or a teenaged girl selling her virginity...
But this really is something you have to see to believe: some joker on eBay is selling what he claims to be actual Muppet puppets that were used by Jim Hanson [sic] and Fronk [sic] Oz on SESAME STREET, and that they were given to him by the former vice president of PBS... so, are they for real? I don't know, you tell me...
Oh, well, this right here must prove that these things are legit!
What do I think of these?
My only guess is that puppet builder, Don Sahlin, was in a hurry and in a bad mood that day.
As you probably already know, today is SESAME STREET's 45th anniversary; to celebrate, here's a nice little number all the way back from their 35th anniversary special:
It's almost kind of hard for me to believe that it was ten years ago today that Steve was officially born to the world; I think of this as something of a milestone, if only because Steve is, so far, the only character I've ever developed that has survived for this long.
Steve's genesis is kind of an interesting one... it really isn't a stretch for me to say that when he was first developed, he wasn't anything like he is today, mainly because his personality wasn't really fully established. In fact, he really didn't have much personality at all... the only thing that was established from day one that's still in use today (albeit seldom) is his disdain for anyone calling him, "Stevie."
When I first built Steve in August 2004, I didn't intend on really using him in the manner of which I did. I was fifteen-years-old at the time - still young, still ambitious, still immature, and had my head in the clouds far more than I do now - I really had my sights set on someday being a Muppet Performer on SESAME STREET, and I thought if I was able to move up in the ranks and establish myself as a performer, that Steve could be a signature character of mine (which, to me, made sense, as I am now publically admitting for the first time that Steve's overall character design is pretty much borrowed from an Anything Muppet monster seen at least once or two on SESAME STREET in the 1970s, though some of you either already knew that, or already figured that out... and for the record, that's the only time I've done such a thing). To the best of memory, Steve's character, at the time, was that he was a wannabe comedian. I could see it now: he had a makeshift comedy club on the roof of 123, but the jokes and routines he told were so corny or cliched, that nobody really found them funny; Grover would have been his best friend, since somehow, Grover never managed to drive him crazy (that, and I was on a Grover kick at the time), though he would have a habit of calling him Stevie, resulting in Steve snapping, "Don't call me, Stevie!" (Interestingly, my fellow puppeteer, Missey Wright, thought the routine was a nod to the movie AIRPLANE!, but I hadn't seen the movie at the time, and I wasn't aware of Leslie Nielsen's iconic line, "Don't call me Shirley.")
Speaking of which, I was an intern at ETPBS (East Tennessee PBS, then known as ETPtv) at the time, and we were just getting ready for the summer 2004 Friends of Sesame Street Pledge Drive to help support and fund children's programming on PBS (we did two a year, one for two weeks in March, and other for a week in August). I had heard that Missey - who was their regular puppeteer for pledge drives - was unavailable to attend, and that they were thinking about trying to find somebody else, or foregoing puppets altogether; I offered to be a substitute. I wasn't officially a puppeteer at that point yet - I had a strong interest in puppetry, and a desire to be a puppeteer, but I wasn't actually performing yet (Kids on the Block had expressed interest in hiring me to be a performer, but I never heard back from them). They agreed to give me a shot, but there was just one problem: I needed a puppet to actually perform. I was already in the process of building Steve, just to play around and practice with, so I rushed to finish him (and boy, did it show in the beginning). The Friday before we were to start, I brought Steve in to give a little demonstration for Chris Smith, my supervisor; I don't even remember what I did as a demonstration, but they were impressed enough to let me do it. Monday finally came along, and considering this was going to be live on the air, broadcasting in multiple viewing areas (East Tennessee, southern Kentucky, southwestern Virginia, and the western ends of both Carolinas), I was a little uneasy about possibly not being quick enough on my toes to pull this off, but amazingly, so much of my focus and attention was drawn down to the monitor between my knees, that everything else around me was a void of nothingness; I was separated from the rest of the world, and in a world of my own that felt so natural, that I can't remember ever having any major catastrophes... a few errors, perhaps, but I was learning as I was going.
Chick magnet
But this isn't about me, this is about Steve. On Monday, August 9, 2004, Steve made his debut as a fill-in for Missey's character - a girl named Karla - to show his support for his favorite programs on PBS Kids (this pre-dates the PBS Kids GO! era). At the time, however, Steve still didn't have any personality to speak of, he was really just a generic monster puppet appearing on TV screens to inform kids to have their parents phone in their pledges of support, and they, in turn, would receive thank you gestures, such as t-shirts, bouncy balls, frisbees, circus tickets, Chick-fil-A coupons, among other little goodies; but one day, that all changed. Another one of my ETP colleagues, Russ Manning - who has contributed some terrific input to my work - had this wild idea: he saw something potentially funny in having Steve be something of a casanova wannabe. Every now and then, Russ would have Steve flirt with one of the phone girls, or one of his fellow on air personalities, and as it turned out, it was funny; that was a personality trait that ended up sticking, which is why even to this day Steve likes to think of himself as quite the ladies' monster.
Even then, Steve had an active imagination.
Karla and Steve
I think Steve went over fairly well his initial week on ETP - he seemed to be something of a hit with everyone in the studio, and I think there may have been an occasion or two where a kid phoned into the station to try and talk to him. Whatever the case may be, it seemed to warrant an invitation to have Steve return for further pledge drives. Missey returned for the March 2005 pledge drive, and after getting acquainted, they had Karla and Steve on air together; it worked pretty well for both Karla and Steve, to have another puppet character to interact with... at first. From a technical aspect, apparently there were too many mics on that particular set for the control room, so Karla and Steve were later separated, and Steve was given Karla's old position, while Karla was promoted to her own newsdesk segment (something that was proposed for Steve for station bumpers and promos, but never materialized, though the idea was later recycled for the MONSTROCITY NEWS entries of Steve's YouTube series).
THE KARLA REPORT and MONSTROCITY NEWS
Steve made his internet debut on YouTube, December 26, 2007.
There was no question in having Steve return for the August 2005 pledge drive, but after that, ETP quietly ceased having on air pledge drives for rather sound reasons, and as such, Steve ended up being put to rest for a while. At that time, I hadn't quite made up my mind whether to persue a career in puppetry, or animation: I was taking an animation course my senior year, but by the time that was over, I was so burned out on animation that I swore it off forever, and decided to go with puppetry instead: it came more natural to me, and it felt far more satisifying to manipulate a puppet in real time and get instant results, as opposed to manipulating a drawn figure on a computer screen, frame by frame, and only getting a few second's worth of results that took hours (and sometimes days) to achieve. By then, I also started getting ideas for other shows and characters, so it made sense to stick with puppetry; but there was still a matter of Steve: what was I going to do with him? By the end of 2007, I had a thought: YouTube was still relatively new (Google's fascism hadn't set in for another couple of years), and I had a camcorder, with a pull-out LCD screen that could serve as a monitor; why not take advantage of using a pre-social media YouTube to do something with Steve, and put both him and myself out there? I didn't have a whole lot to work with at first: most of those earlier entries on YouTube were mostly reactions to what was in the news (such as the survey conducted in London that children don't like clowns), or just having Steve lip-sync to a song. It was fun to do, and slowly but surely, Steve started getting a little attention from people who appreciate puppetry - especially the film and television style of puppetry Jim Henson innovated with the Muppets - and it all seemed to snowball a little from there. As time went on, Steve's small yet dedicated fanbase seemed to grow, and at the same time, so did Steve's personality: no longer was he just a generic monster character; the more I played around with him, the more I was able to find his character, and he grew into the little self interested and self absorbed prima donna, with the slight little mischevious streak, and a love for the ladies, that people know him as today (and it's interesting that at one point, his fanbase was largely female).
D'Monster for 2012
YouTube was certainly a wonderful tool in helping spread Steve's exposure to a far broader scope, taking him from a nice-sized viewership just in the East Tennessee and surrounding areas, to an even nicer-sized viewership that spans not just across the U.S., but also Canada, the U.K., and Australia. In those years, as the series progressed, more effort was put into the entries: while Steve still maintained his little intimacy with viewers, more and more entries were planned in greater detail, with some reflecting current events, holidays, and at times, the series even got topical with reviews from movies to politics, to Steve even running for President in 2012. Later still, entries were given actual plots and scenarios for Steve to act in. But, as the old saying goes, "There's a little bad in everything good." Eventually, Google's control over YouTube became far more biased - YouTube began favoring partner channels that generate revenue for them (therefore, putting money in their pockets), and as such, smaller channels began being swept under the rug; a combination of a serious decline in Steve's viewership on YouTube, and feeling I've done as much as I could, I decided to end Steve's YouTube series in the spring of 2013 - after seven seasons, and 63 entries. This was also going to allow me to ponder on trying to focus on other projects within The Joseph Scarbrough Universe, including the ambitious anthology special, PUPPET POWER (for which Steve served hosting duty).
Steve hosted the webspecial PUPPET POWER
And now, here it is, 2014, ten years since Steve first graced TV screens (seven since he first graced computer screens). In all these years, one thing that I've recently come to realize is Steve is actually the hardest character for me to write for... I guess I've performed him in such spontaneity for so many years, that any dialogue for him feels more natural and in-character if it comes off the cuff, rather than off a script page; it's hard to describe, but if a line is written for him, even if it's a line he would probably say, it still feels artificial doing that line, rather than doing a line on the spur of the moment. But, all that aside, it's an interesting feeling to be looking back on ten years of Steve being in existence; I've certainly enjoyed what I've done with him, and there's even more areas I'd certainly would have liked to explore with him... but has Steve stood the test of time? Has he left an impression on the public? I honestly don't know, and I don't even really think it's my place to answer that, I think that's up to the people to decide.
I would like to thank those of you who have been watching all of Steve's exploits and escapades these past ten years, whether you've watched him show his support for public television, or get himself into unusual situations on the internet, or host faux news programs and web specials; I certainly hope you've enjoyed all of this. If you have a favorite moment from all of this, please feel free to comment, I appreciate getting feedback, and I'd like to know what you've personally enjoyed.
