So A.V. Club does a Q&A for their staff and readers and had one about things that scared them as children but now seem ridiculous. Someone at MuppetCentral pointed out one of the responses (saying they would rather see it than the Margaret Hamilton episode), but I think the reader is indeed referring to the Margaret Hamilton episode, mistaking her for a gypsy (definitely plausible for it being so long ago and being viewed at such a young age). Anyway, I thought it was way too funny not to post here.
Leonard Pierce No offense to my fellow A.V. Clubbers, but I think I win this one. I was a latchkey kid, and when I was very, very young—maybe 6 or 7—I saw an episode of Sesame Street in which, I recall distinctly even though I can find no evidence of it through Google, a gypsy cursed Oscar The Grouch with a human nose.
Now, to this day, I cannot explain why I found this so profoundly terrifying and disturbing. Apparently it completely upended my entire post-toddler Weltanschauung. But whatever the reason, the sight of Oscar with a human nose upset me so much that I actually left the house and sat alone on the front porch until my parents got home from work, because I didn’t even want to be in the building with the television that had brought me such a horrific vision. I can remember clear as day how much it scared me, even if I have no idea why.
I've heard the whole Oscar nose thing as being part of this episode. Let's recover this episode for the sake of that guy!
♪ Good day, good day, I'm glad you came my way... ♪
Where could we even get it from? Are we supposed to sit and wait? I don't think we have made people aware that we're even looking for this thing, yeah there's a petition, but we haven't had anyone that actually saw the episode join this hunt right? Those type of people are regularly the most useful during while hunting for lost media because we can get more info then.
Well, I'm probably just saying nonsense at this point. I just want the thing.
Where could we even get it from? Are we supposed to sit and wait? I don't think we have made people aware that we're even looking for this thing, yeah there's a petition, but we haven't had anyone that actually saw the episode join this hunt right? Those type of people are regularly the most useful during while hunting for lost media because we can get more info then.
Well, I'm probably just saying nonsense at this point. I just want the thing.
I know; I always come back to this site hoping this has been found.
As for what we can actually do, someone sent a letter about it to Carol Spinney's fan club (still haven't heard if they got a response or not), an email to CTW lead to nothing for me... that's it; everyone get your grappling hooks and skull caps; we're going to Maryland!
Honestly, sometimes this just has to be the Sit & Wait Wiki; this isn't like ADWS which was purely solved through the internet. I feel like if more people knew about this they would definitely want to see it; all we can do is make sure CTW knows there are people out there who want to see it, so let's hope the petition was sent to them. Their view: "What do we have to gain from releasing a 40-year old controversial episode?". I can't argue with that, but still, there's no reason it shouldn't be seen 40 years after the fact. It's kind of disrespectful to just keep it locked up in a safe.
As for why I want to see this... I guess I just really want to see how badly they could've fucked an episode up with this important of a guest star to the point of it being banned. People who are vaguely into this are going to be disappointed when they see it, as it's obviously not going to scare an adult, let alone today's well-conditioned child in the world of 2016. It's just going to be the Wicked Witch being mean on Sesame Street, though people who have seen it said she was just way too mean.
Who knows? One day a clip may just be uploaded to Sesame Street's YouTube channel, and everyone's going to be like "Wow, I didn't know this happened". There is no doubt they have everything pristinely stashed away in the vaults. This is just one in a myriad of missing Sesame Street content: Out to Lunch... well, just look at the Wiki.
slightly off topic, but do we know if there are any other lost episodes of Sesame Street besides this and Snuffy's Parents get a divorce?
A lot. Those are just the most talked about and hot commodities because of their controversial nature. I never was able to get an exact number or even ballpark, but I would wager 30-45% of the show's history is missing. Heck, I might head over to Muppet Central and ask this right now.
Someone at Muppet Central had even claimed the divorce episode aired in their area, but that's for another day.
slightly off topic, but do we know if there are any other lost episodes of Sesame Street besides this and Snuffy's Parents get a divorce?
A lot. Those are just the most talked about and hot commodities because of their controversial nature. I never was able to get an exact number or even ballpark, but I would wager 30-45% of the show's history is missing. Heck, I might head over to Muppet Central and ask this right now.
Someone at Muppet Central had even claimed the divorce episode aired in their area, but that's for another day.
I suspected as much. I suppose it's inevitable with a show that has been on that long, and in the early-ish years of TV when there was no home recording or emphasis on preservation, that some of it will fall through the cracks. Pun intended
I know that this topic hasn't been touched on in ages, but I know Craig Shemin, the president of the Jim Henson Legacy. I can shoot him an email and let you know what he says.
Guys! I think this is big. Craig emailed me back and confirmed that it's real. Here's the email:
Hi, Shane -
It was pulled from circulation after the first broadcast because it apparently scared kids. I imagine the Sesame people want to keep it under wraps, but in the future, I might try to see if they’re willing to do a screening of “Lost Sesame Stuff.”
So yeah, It exists and the sesame people have a copy. So even if we have to wait, a copy does exist, and its in good hands. So, we'll just have to wait it seems like, and someone who has connections is trying to get it released.
Guys! I think this is big. Craig emailed me back and confirmed that it's real. Here's the email:
Hi, Shane -
It was pulled from circulation after the first broadcast because it apparently scared kids. I imagine the Sesame people want to keep it under wraps, but in the future, I might try to see if they’re willing to do a screening of “Lost Sesame Stuff.”
So yeah, It exists and the sesame people have a copy. So even if we have to wait, a copy does exist, and its in good hands. So, we'll just have to wait it seems like, and someone who has connections is trying to get it released.
Wow, this is actually nice. We knew it existed; some people debated whether SS destroyed it (there's no way considering we see mint season 1 ep's uploaded to YouTube), but the reassurance is nice. I will share this news.