Even though disco is dead and has been for years, there’s still an exception. And that is in the hearts of Muppet nostalgia. Back in the 70s into the early 80s when disco was all the rage, it was featured a lot with the Muppets and on Sesame Street. Even the classic Disney characters once had a disco album called Mickey Mouse Disco, but that’s another story.
Here’s a YouTube video that I found which features a compilation of various Muppet characters at the disco. Don’t worry, no one was drinking or getting into bar fights, not even the monsters. Enjoy.
During the fourth season of Sesame Street, a new Muppet character joined the cast of regulars. He’s a vampire known as Count Von Count. For short he’s simply called the Count and he lives in a dark castle with many talking bats.
The Count is best known for his obsession with numbers. He will count anything, and I mean anything, no matter the amount or the relevance. I can tell that the Count is based on Count Dracula. He does have the power to stun or control others, but only uses it against anyone hostile. This YouTube video I found of the Count’s very first appearance (circa 1972) shows him using it. However, this kind of situation doesn’t happen often.
Obviously, the Count is not in the same league as any of the vampires from Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Twilight, but he sure does leave an impact. When the Count finishes counting anything, he laughs maniacally, which causes a brief thunder and lightning, but no rain. How does he do that?
It’s unknown how long the Count has been a vampire, or who sired him, but he’s like no other. He’s friendly and is unaffected by sunlight or any other vampire weakness. Heck, the Count doesn’t even drink blood. At least I don’t think he does. If so, he probably keeps a secret stash and drinks in private. Surely he doesn’t feed off any of his friends, right? Then again, what ever happened to those old Muppet characters that aren’t on the series anymore? Hmm, curious.
The Count is also a good singer. Here’s a YouTube video on one of his old classic songs, “Count Up to Nine”. This was one of my favorites since I was a kid. I wonder where he got that jukebox.
The Count is definitely a long time favorite right up there with some of the other regular Muppets of Sesame Street Old School. As creepy as his castle is, the Count was never scary, unlike the monsters that eat other Muppets.
Most Sesame Street compilation DVDs are based on the modern material, like “Elmo’s World” and stuff. I find that disappointing, especially since Sesame Street: Old School isn’t releasing any more volumes (at least that I know of). That soon changed with a new compilation DVD called Sesame Street: Count It Higher.
The Count hosts this SMV (Sesame Music Video) special with a music video countdown of the top seven segments from the good old Sesame Street days. It starts with “Ten Commandments of Health”, performed by some singing doctors. I used to not understand this song, but I liked the numbers displayed on the screen and it sounded good. Then Kermit performs “Do Wop Hop”. That song was real catchy and is a real classic. “Awesome, Kermit. Totally awesome.” But this is only the beginning.
Next up is a video that I never saw before. It’s a rock group called “Over the Top” singing about the letter “Z”. It was a good blues song about how there aren’t many words that begin with “Z”. It makes you wonder how much worse the letter “X” has it. After that is a countdown extra with another catchy, but simple classic tune, “Honk Around the Clock”. Remember the Honkers?
That’s soon followed by an oldie from the 70s, which wasn’t featured in either of the Sesame Street: Old School box sets. It’s a spoof on the Beatles hit song “Let it Be” called “Letter ‘B’”, performed by the Beetles. Now that’s a classic segment I haven’t seen in years. Here’s a YouTube video I found of that segment. It kind of brings you back, doesn’t it?
Another classic segment from the 80s is a new wave band performing “Wet Paint”. The group calls themselves “How Now Brown Cow” and they wear Viking helmets with cool 80s attire. It’s pretty neat and the song was catchy too. It also looked like the keyboard player was showing off while he was playing the chorus with his nose.
Then comes Ernie and his friends singing “Do the Rubber Duck”. No, this isn’t a remix of Ernie’s old “Rubber Ducky” song. It’s more of a reggae style song with totally different lyrics, even though the principle is the same. Ernie’s friends who join in the song as well as the tub include Telly, Oscar, Kermit, the Count, Biff, Guy Smiley, Hoots the Owl, and a cow. I can never remember that cow’s name, but she’s a regular on Sesame Street. It’s hilarious how all of their dancing causes the whole bathroom to shake. Was that Elmo in the laundry hamper?
It all ends with the number one hit “Count it Higher”, performed by Chris and the Alphabeats. It was one of my favorites when I was a kid, but I think the Count went a little overboard when he mentioned that this song will always be number one on the charts just because it’s his most favorite.
Sesame Street: Count it Higher was and excellent compilation DVD. I must admit, that Count is so accurate when he counts the minor details in the videos from Kermit’s hops to the bubbles in Ernie’s bathtub.
Just for fun, here’s another YouTube video I found of a classic Sesame Street segment called “Born to Add”. I think this video could’ve also worked on this DVD. Was that really Bruce Springsteen singing? It sure sounds like him.
Sesame Street has been around for a long time and Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird was its first movie. There are no segments this time. This is a full-length road trip movie with all sorts of surprises. At first I was disappointed because the segments are usually the best parts of the series. In a way, it did seem unlikely at the time for a big screen film to be based on a PBS show.
It starts when social worker Miss Finch places Big Bird with a bird family, because he’s not with his “own kind”. What is she, specist? Feeling depressed, Big Bird hitchhikes from Illinois back to Sesame Street in New York. Or was that New Jersey on the map? Miss Finch is highly determined to get him back. So it’s up to the rest of the Sesame Street gang to find Big Bird first.
The Sesame Street gang takes several different routes in the search. It even includes tracking from above. Ernie and Bert take a biplane and Super Grover flies solo. Their separate adventures make it much more interesting. One of my favorite scenes was when Maria (Sonia Manzano) and Oscar stop at the Grouch diner, where Sandra Bernhard plays the waitress. It’s hilarious when the tossed salad goes into a food fight and one of the grouches complains about his Jell-O. What also makes the road trip interesting is the music. Like when Waylon Jennings, as a truck driver, sings “Ain’t No Road Too Long” and the other groups join in. Now if only Cookie Monster would stop eating the car.
Elmo has a cameo, but this film was made in 1985. Long before he was all the rage. It’s also revealed that Big Bird is six years old. Now if he had been around since 1969, he’d be at least 16 by this point. In bird years he’d be even older. Then again, Muppets don’t age like humans do.
This was a good film that represents Sesame Street from when I as a kid. The series is still around, but it has changed a lot since then. Other great examples include Sesame Street Old School: Vol. 1-2, which features classic characters like Don Music, Sam the robot, Little Jerry & the Monotones, Chris & the Alphabeats, and the late Mr. Hooper (Will Lee). Ah, the good old days.
Back in 1989, The Muppet Show started to make a comeback with a whole new concept called The Jim Henson Hour. Jim Henson himself hosts this primetime series with each episode separated into two half-hours.
The first half is called Muppet Television. Kermit runs a variety show with a celebrity guest star, but instead of the Muppet Theater it’s at a satellite control center called Muppet Central. The types of acts and skits performed are more based on what you’d see on TV and commercials more than live theater. In a way, that takes away some of the impact The Muppet Show had on its level of creativity.
Some of the original Muppets return, but not many. Most of the Muppet characters featured are brand new like Digit the robot, who looks like Dr. Frankenstein and helps Kermit roll the segments, Vicki the film school student, and Limburg the handyman, or handybird. Not to worry. This show still has some of the old favorites like Gonzo, Link Hogthrob, Fozzie, Rowlf, and Bean Bunny. This show also introduces newer favorites like Clifford the pink babboon and Waldo the flying special effect that can take any form. He’s also featured in the Muppets 3-D attraction at Walt Disney World’s Hollywood Studios.
This show also made me more familiar with celebrities of the 80s. Ones like Louie Anderson, Ted Danson, Smokey Robinson, Bobby McFerrin, Buster Poindexter, and Marc Wiener.
Muppet Central has every kind of network you can imagine. The many monitors in the background are neat with each one showing something different. I’m sure Kermit has a difficult time deciding which ones to air on the show. It’s so incredible.
The second half of The Jim Henson Hour is a completely different feature. Most commonly it’s an episode from The Storyteller. I used to not like that show back then because it was nothing like the Muppets. Now that I’m older, I find it interesting sometimes. John Hurt tells old folktales and the stories come to life with darker Muppet characters that are more for older viewers. The Storyteller’s companion is a talking Muppet dog, who really gets into these stories.
In the second season of The Storyteller, Michael Gambon tells the tales, which are more based on Greek Tragedies. Yes, he played Dumbledore on Harry Potter films 3-6. These stories may be even darker, but that Muppet dog still gets into them.
I really enjoyed this classic Muppet series. At least the first halves. On occasion the second halves have something good also, but not often. It’s too bad it didn’t last very long. At times this show was difficult to keep track of, but I looked forward to it whenever I could find it on.
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was its first movie. There are no segments this time. This is a full-length road trip movie with all sorts of surprises. At first I was disappointed because the segments are usually the best parts of the series. In a way, it did seem unlikely at the time for a big screen film to be based on a PBS show.
