'Sesame Street' to parody 'Mad Men'

[Brian Damage]

Wait, what? Yes. PBS' "Sesame Street" will get on the "Mad Men" parody bandwagon, producers announced at the show's press tour panel Saturday.

Which led critics to wonder: Just how do you pull off a parody of "Mad Men" for preschoolers?

I'm going to use the transcript version of executive vp of content's Miranda Barry's answer, because it shows how much the oft-grumpy critics appreciated her answer...

"You may have seen our parody we did a fear years ago called ‘Desperate Houseplants’--"

[Laughter]

"-- which was a perfect translation of a houseplant that wasn’t getting its needs met by the gardener--"

[Laughter]

"--who was not watering it."

[Laughter]

Sesame Workshop's vp of education and research Dr. Rosemarie Truglio adds, “'Sesame Street' has always been written on two levels. And the children don’t understand these parodies, but the adult does.... Think about the title ‘Mad Men’ and think about the emotional curriculum that might be linked to that.”

The show is celebrating its 40th anniversary this November and will feature a new host -- Murray Muppet -- and the show's first use of CGI.

The panel was introduced with a clip with President Barack Obama, saying, "This video is brought to you by the number 40." Along with TBS' George Lopez talk show, this is the second program featured at press tour that's nabbed an intro clip from the president leading some critics to say, "enough already."

http://www.thrfeed.com/2009/08/sesam...-mad-men-.html

[Schmoopie]

OMG, that's hilarious! I don't think there's anything wrong with parodying an adult show on a kids program. They probably realize that parents watch it with kids and wanted to appeal to the parents a little. After all, you have to admit that if all you saw was kids stuff, you'd be sick of it in no time. A good example is "Monsterpiece Theatre". Kids don't watch "Masterpiece Theatre" with Allister Cooke on PBS, but it's still funny that they have "Monsterpiece Theatre" with Alilister Cookie! I think they would still find it entertaining. The one episode I saw that was funny was a really short one. They showed an orange and yellow striped worm and "Allister" introduced the segment as "Howard's End" (great movie by the way). I wondered how they were going to do this, and he simply pointed to the snake's head "This is Howard's beginning" and then pointed to his tail and said "And this is Howard's End"!

And I swear what is with all this criticism of Pres Obama? Who cares if he's on Sesame Street? I think it's pretty cool that he's kind enough to make an appearance. Kids need to know who the president is. I wish I would have seen Nixon or even Kennedy or Carter on Sesame Street. Even if all they did is say "Brought to you by the number 40". At least I'd have some recollection of them. Correct me if I'm wrong about Pres. Obama being the only President on Sesame Street.

I LOVE Mad Men and frankly I can't wait to see this. Maybe John Hamm will make an appearance! I'd watch that in a heartbeat!!

Andrea

[TracyLynnS]

I don't watch Mad Men, so haven't got a clue what it's about....

But I always enjoyed watching Sesame Street with my kids when they were growing up. (I watched it when I was a kid, too.)

And I'm tellin ya, I still sing some of their little songs and quote some of their lines:

A loaf of bread
A container of milk
And a sticka butter

And

It's a lovely 11 morning!
I heard eleven worms yawning.
I saw eleven cows sleeping midst the buttercups,
I said, "How's your cottage cheese?"
And they said, "Aw dry up!"

Eleven little birdies in the trees...
Bright yellow beaks and pinkie knees.
One, two, three, four, five, six,
Seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven....

Eleven's the number for me!
One, two, three...
Eleven's the number for me!

(Yeah, I'm 42 and I still sing this one around the house! lol)

I also loved it when Smokey Robinson was on with the letter "U" and singing a sesame street version of "U Really Got A Hold On Me", while the letter U kept hugging him. Too fun!

[Schmoopie]

Originally Posted by TracyLynnS

I don't watch Mad Men, so haven't got a clue what it's about....

But I always enjoyed watching Sesame Street with my kids when they were growing up. (I watched it when I was a kid, too.)

And I'm tellin ya, I still sing some of their little songs and quote some of their lines:

A loaf of bread
A container of milk
And a sticka butter

And

It's a lovely 11 morning!
I heard eleven worms yawning.
I saw eleven cows sleeping midst the buttercups,
I said, "How's your cottage cheese?"
And they said, "Aw dry up!"

Eleven little birdies in the trees...
Bright yellow beaks and pinkie knees.
One, two, three, four, five, six,
Seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven....

Eleven's the number for me!
One, two, three...
Eleven's the number for me!

(Yeah, I'm 42 and I still sing this one around the house! lol)

I also loved it when Smokey Robinson was on with the letter "U" and singing a sesame street version of "U Really Got A Hold On Me", while the letter U kept hugging him. Too fun!

OMG, now you're going to have me singing those songs! I'll be 42 next month and I have no kids, but it's nice to see that someone else my age still enjoys Sesame Street!

Andrea

[Schmoopie]

Originally Posted by TracyLynnS

I don't watch Mad Men, so haven't got a clue what it's about....

"Mad Men" takes place in the 60's and is about this advertising agency and the men who work there. It's kind of like a soap opera (in a way), because it follows the personal and professional life of Don Draper and his wife and family. I love this show!!! It comes on AMC. Definitely NOT a children's show but I think it would be hilarious to see it parodied on Sesame Street!

[Schmoopie]

OMG I actually found this parody on Youtube. It's hilarious! Kind of weird that they used "Mad Men" since it's definitely not a show for kids, but I'm sure that parents (or childless adult folks like myself) who are fans of the show love it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgvKCfZqxrQ