Sesame Street, Special

Directed byJon Stone

Theme music composer

Opening theme"Can You Tell Me How to Get to Sesame Street?"

Sesame Street, Special
Written by	Norman Stiles
Directed by	Jon Stone
Theme music composer	Joe Raposo Jon Stone Bruce Hart
Opening theme	"Can You Tell Me How to Get to Sesame Street?"
Ending theme	"Put Down The Duckie"
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Production
Executive producer	Dulcy Singer
Running time	47 minutes
Production company	Children's Television Workshop
Original release
Network	PBS
Release	March 5, 1988 (1988-03-05)
Related
Big Bird's Birthday or Let Me Eat Cake

Sesame Street, Special is a pledge-drive special that is based on the children's series, Sesame Street. It aired on PBS stations in March 1988 as part of PBS' March fundraiser.^[1]^[2]^[3]

Random House Home Video released the special on VHS in 1994; the release changed the title to Put Down the Duckie and removed the pledge break segment.

The special begins with Gladys Knight & the Pips performing the Sesame Street theme. Phil Donahue says Sesame Street is a place where everyone can live in perfect harmony. Oscar and the grouches dispute this because there is not enough trash or arguing and too much cooperating, and Maria says everything is too nice for Oscar, and the street has the right amount of those things. Count von Count agrees that Sesame Street is not perfect because there is not enough counting. Ernie says his Rubber Duckie wants to say something, and everyone lets him because the duckie deserves to squeak. A Dinger, a duck and a Honker also want to say something. Linda uses sign language to say that everyone on Sesame Street really likes kids; the Count agrees with Linda but still believes the street needs more counting. Phil leaves Sesame Street and the Count and grouches follow him. The Monsterpiece Theater sketch "The 39 Stairs" is repeated from a previous episode.

Oscar is upset because Bob will sing "The People in Your Neighborhood". Bob is joined by tennis player Martina Navratilova, reporter Barbara Walters, and consumer advocate Ralph Nader. Oscar says he liked the song after it ends. Ernie tells Hoots the Owl that when he tries to play a saxophone, he squeaks his Rubber Duckie, so Hoots sings "Put Down the Duckie" along with several celebrities. Reporter Kermit the Frog wants to know why Oscar likes public television, but he does not like it. Kermit mentions some reasons to like public television, but Oscar prefers the opposites. Kermit believes that Oscar does not like public television and introduces a pledge break. Oscar is interested in it and Kermit says that he can watch it now. After the pledge drive, Oscar says he taped it.

Three sketches from previous episodes are repeated; "Oh, How I Miss My X", "Grover the Singing and Dancing Waiter", and "Sing Your Synonyms". Robert MacNeil hosts a Sesame Street Special Report discussing the "cookiegate affair", where Cookie Monster was accused of stealing Susan and Gordon's cookies; Kermit is Cookie Monster's lawyer. James Taylor performing "Jellyman Kelly" with some kids is repeated from a previous episode. In "Pretty Great Performances", Placido Flamingo and the Sesame Street All-Animal Orchestra sing "Italian Street Song", conducted by Seiji Ozawa. More celebrities sing "Put Down the Duckie" over the credits. In a post-credits scene, Hoots asks Ernie to help him; every time Hoots squeaks his Rubber Duckie, he plays his saxophone too. Ernie tells Hoots, "you gotta put down the saxophone if you wanna squeak your duckie!"

v t e Sesame Street
Fictional location Sesame Workshop productions Characters Educational goals Format Influence Licensing Recurring segments Accolades
People	Linda Bove Fran Brill Northern Calloway Leslie Carrara-Rudolph Christopher Cerf Kevin Clash Joan Ganz Cooney Emilio Delgado Ryan Dillon Judy Freudberg Tony Geiss Louise Gold Jim Henson Richard Hunt Eric Jacobson Will Lee Gerald S. Lesser Peter Linz Kermit Love Sonia Manzano Joey Mazzarino Bob McGrath Lloyd Morrisett Jeff Moss Alan Muraoka Jerry Nelson Roscoe Orman Carmen Osbahr Frank Oz Carol-Lynn Parente Joe Raposo Martin P. Robinson Matt Robinson David Rudman Norman Stiles Jon Stone Caroll Spinney Matt Vogel Steve Whitmire List of guest stars List of puppeteers
Production	History Research International co-productions Elmo's World "Snuffy's Parents Get a Divorce" Wicked Witch episode Music discography
Songs	Theme song "Bein' Green" "C Is For Cookie" "I Love Trash" "Mah Nà Mah Nà" "Monster in the Mirror" "One of These Things (Is Not Like the Others)" "Rubber Duckie" "Sing"
Films	Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird (1985) The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland (1999)
U.S. spin-offs	Play with Me Sesame Sesame Beginnings Bert and Ernie's Great Adventures Elmo: The Musical The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo Mecha Builders
Television specials	Julie on Sesame Street (1973) Out to Lunch (1974) Christmas Eve on Sesame Street (1978) A Special Sesame Street Christmas (1978) Big Bird in China (1983) Don't Eat the Pictures (1983) A Muppet Family Christmas (1987) Sesame Street, Special (1988) Big Bird in Japan (1989) Sesame Street... 20 Years & Still Counting (1989) Big Bird's Birthday or Let Me Eat Cake (1991) Sesame Street: 25 Wonderful Years (1993) Sesame Street Stays Up Late! (1993) Elmo Saves Christmas (1996) Elmopalooza (1998) The Best of Kermit on Sesame Street (1998) CinderElmo (1999) Elmo's Christmas Countdown (2007) Abby in Wonderland (2008) The Cookie Thief (2015) Once Upon a Sesame Street Christmas (2016) When You Wish Upon a Pickle: A Sesame Street Special (2018) Sesame Street's 50th Anniversary Celebration (2019) Sesame Street: Elmo's Playdate (2020)
Books	The Monster at the End of This Book: Starring Lovable, Furry Old Grover (1971) Sesame Street Together Book (1971) Happy Birthday, Cookie Monster (1986)
Literature	Sesame Street Magazine Children and Television: Lessons from Sesame Street The Sesame Street Dictionary Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street Sunny Days: The Children's Television Revolution That Changed America
Video games	Big Bird's Egg Catch Alpha Beam with Ernie The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland Elmo's A-to-Zoo Adventure Cookie's Counting Carnival Ready, Set, Grover! Once Upon a Monster Elmo's Musical Monsterpiece Kinect Sesame Street TV
Attractions	Sesame Place Philadelphia San Diego Sesame Street 4-D Movie Magic Spaghetti Space Chase Super Grover's Box Car Derby
Documentaries	The World According to Sesame Street Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey I Am Big Bird: The Caroll Spinney Story Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street Jim Henson Idea Man
Related	The Jim Henson Company Noggin (1999-2002) Sesame Street in the UK Sesame Street Live Comic strip The Muppet Movie (1979) The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984) Syndication packages The Muppets "Sesame's Treet" Big Bag Oobi (episodes) Panwapa Teletape Studios Kaufman Astoria Studios The Joan Ganz Cooney Center Sesame Street: The Musical Evil Elmo
Category

Sesame Street, Special

Cast

Humans

Muppet performers

Special guest stars

References

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