A Special Sesame Christmas opening sequence

A Special Sesame Christmas

A Special Sesame Street Christmas was a low-budget 1978 CBS Christmas special, made the same year as the legendary and still popular Christmas Eve on Sesame Street. Screenshot from A Special Sesame Christmas, 1978, deemed fair use. ... Screenshot from A Special Sesame Christmas, 1978, deemed fair use. ... Screenshot from A Special Sesame Christmas, 1978, deemed fair use. ... Screenshot from A Special Sesame Christmas, 1978, deemed fair use. ... CBS (an abbreviation for Columbia Broadcasting System, its former legal name) is one of the largest television networks, and formerly one of the largest radio networks, in the United States. ... A Christmas television special is typically a one_time, 30 minute animated program aired during the Christmas season. ... Christmas Eve on Sesame Street scene with Oscar (in garbage can) and Big Bird at the 86th Street station Christmas Eve on Sesame Street is a Sesame Street Christmas special first broadcast in 1979. ...

Including only three of the Sesame Street Muppets: Oscar, Big Bird, and Barkley. Barkley is played not by its regular puppeteer, Bruce Connelly, but by gymnast Toby Towson. Not only that, but it is a different puppet used, making Barkley a gigantic and rather intimidating five feet tall, or higher, at times in the special. Mr. Hooper, David, Bob, and Maria are the only humans from the regular cast to make appearances. Sesame Street is an American educational childrens television series for preschoolers and is a pioneer of the contemporary educational television standard, combining both education and entertainment. ... An Oscar the Grouch puppet, at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. Oscar the Grouch, peering out of his can Oscar the Grouch is a Muppet character on the television program Sesame Street. ... Big Bird finds Ernie in a game of Journey to Ernie. ... Big Bird and Barkley in Japan Barkley, originally named Woof-Woof, was a dog character on the childrens television program Sesame Street. ... Toby Towson is a gymnast and dancer, who did a stint as the puppeteer who first performed the larger-than-life Muppet dog Barkley, starting in A Special Sesame Street Christmas. ... Mr. ... David was a character on the TV series Sesame Street. ... The following is a list of Muppet, animated, and human characters on Sesame Street, ordered alphabetically by first name. ... From a segment filmed on November 2, 1979 Maria Figueroa Rodriguez, nee Maria Figueroa is a human character of Sesame Street. ...

Instead, the regulars are replaced by a large, somewhat all-star cast.

The special features many plot elements that are very loosely tied together. They include Leslie Uggams thinking lemonade was hot cocoa, singer Anne Murray and a magic eggnog container, Oscar adopting a kitten with a broken leg who was never seen again on the television series, and is out of character for Oscar, even on Christmas (no explanation why or how the cat had a broken leg), and Ethel Merman calling Imogene Coca an idiot. Also appearing is Dick Smothers (only one half of The Smothers Brothers was hired for the special), Henry Fonda and Michael Jackson. Leslie Uggams (born May 25, 1943 in New York City) is an African American actress and singer, best known for her Tony Award-winning work in Hallelujah, Baby! Uggams first started in show business in 1950, playing the niece of Ethel Waters on the television series Beulah. ... A glass of American lemonade with ice cubes Lemonade is a soft drink that is made with lemons. ... This article is about cocoa, the food. ... Anne Murray CC, ONS (born Morna Anne Murray June 20, 1945), is a Canadian singer born in Springhill, Nova Scotia, known for her rich alto voice and her taste in choosing songs that appeal to pop, country and adult contemporary listeners alike. ... Ethel Merman (January 16, 1908 – February 15, 1984) was a star of stage and film musicals, well known for her powerful voice and vocal range. ... Imogene Coca (November 18, 1908 - June 2, 2001) was an American comic actress. ... Dick Smothers (born November 20, 1938) is an American comedian, composer and musician from New York, New York. ... The Smothers Brothers are an American music-and-comedy team, formed by real-life brothers Tom Smothers (born 1937) and Dick Smothers (born 1939). ... Henry Fonda in the classic 1957 film 12 Angry Men. ... For other people named Michael Jackson, see Michael Jackson (disambiguation). ...

It may be noted that, due to the utter lack of purpose to this special, none of these stars have ever shown up on Sesame Street as guests, possibly fearing a repeat of this fiasco. Merman had already appeared on The Muppet Show two years before the making of this extravaganza. This is a list of celebrity guest stars on the childrens television series Sesame Street. ... The Muppet Show was a television program featuring a cast of Muppets (diverse hand-operated puppets, typically with oversized eyes and large moving mouths) produced by Jim Henson and his team from 1976 to 1981. ...

It's important to note that it was more than likely that the least fondly remembered of Sesame Street specials was mainly produced by CBS, not the Children's Television Workshop (now Sesame Workshop). Sesame Workshop, formerly known as the Childrens Television Workshop (or CTW), is a non-profit organization behind the production of several educational childrens programs that have run on public broadcasting around the world (including PBS in the United States), as well as Noggin. ...

However, some credit has been given to this special. It was nominated in the 31st Annual Emmy Awards (1979) under the category of Outstanding Children's Program, losing to Christmas Eve on Sesame Street. This page refers to the year 1979. ... Christmas Eve on Sesame Street scene with Oscar (in garbage can) and Big Bird at the 86th Street station Christmas Eve on Sesame Street is a Sesame Street Christmas special first broadcast in 1979. ...

The special has not appeared on video or DVD, and likely never will.

References

• A Blue Christmas Tough Pigs review of this disastrous telefilm special.
• A Muppety Christmas Overview of the special. Site also includes many other specials, movies, videos, albums and assorted cards and ornaments.
• Internet Movie Database entry