TV Tuesday: Sesame Street

Am I the only one who gets warm fuzzies when Sesame Street comes on?

More than once, I have been overcome with the urge to suggest to my children (who were contentedly playing) that we turn on the TV. Just because it was almost 9:00 and I knew Sesame Street was about to start.

Hey, the show is in its 39th season, so they must be doing something right. It’s one of the few shows still on the air that premiered before I was born. Like air, water, and space travel, Sesame Street has always existed. And it has always felt like a safe, cozy place to hang out.

You know you are truly famous when you land a spot on Sesame Street. Guests have included Larry King, Rachel Ray, Conan O’Brien, Jon Stewart, and Barbara Walters, just to name a few. And every music celebrity is just dying to have a hit popular enough to be turned into a song about a letter of the alphabet. The Dixie Chicks croon about the letter B, and Norah Jones sings “Don’t Know Why Y Didn’t Come.”

Throughout those 39 years the format has stayed basically the same. You can still see animated clips from your childhood followed by a spoof of a reality television show.

I’ll try to resist that urge to turn on the television, but don’t be surprised if on a snowy day you find me cuddled up with my kids on the couch, watching Big Bird search for Ernie yet again.