Radar

Radar is Big Bird's teddy bear on Sesame Street. He is a brown stuffed bear with a red ribbon around his neck, who was given to Big Bird as a gift from Mr. Hooper.Sesame Street Unpaved, page 34Big Bird recalls the story to Piri in Episode 2073 Much like Ernie's Rubber Duckie, Radar is Big Bird's most treasured possession, and Big Bird often confides in the bear.
Big Bird's teddy bear appeared unnamed as early as Episode 1000 (1977). The stuffed toy wears a red ribbon around its neck and stands approximately three feet tall. The same bear, still nameless, also appears in Episode 1211 and Episode 1217. The first use of the name Radar occurs in Episode 1255 (1979) when Big Bird learns he's going to have to spend some time in the hospital. Radar is a smaller bear at roughly a foot and a half with a lighter midsection, and wears a golden ribbon around his neck. His style and minimalist attire (typically just a ribbon) would change slightly over the years, but he essentially remained a basic teddy bear.
Big Bird sang "More Than a Toy" as an ode to Radar in Episode 3606; a story in which his Auntie Audubon tried to replace Radar. He also accompanied Big Bird on a week-long stay at Camp Echo Rock. Other storylines over the years have involved Radar being ripped (Episode 3922), having gone missing (Episode 3884), or accidentally being sold (Episode 4174). Radar has more often served as a source of comfort not just for Big Bird, but his friends as well: he's loaned out to Baby Natasha in Episode 3651, and stays overnight with Maria at the hospital in Episode 3526. As one of Big Bird's most treasured possessions, Radar even holds the power of restoring his memory when Big Bird contracts the memory flu in Episode 3396.
A rejected, multi-episode story arc would have seen Radar venturing into space, coinciding with the prop's inclusion in a launch on the real Space Shuttle Challenger in 1986. The unused proposal later found life twelve years later for a season-long arc in which Slimey went to the moon.
Radar has often been depicted in Sesame Street coloring books and illustrated books over the years, and in the early 1980s, a stuffed toy Radar was marketed. Radar was also featured in Follow That Bird, where Big Bird sent Radar ahead by "special delivery, bear mail" to keep them from being spotted.
The stuffed bear was named by Big Bird's performer Caroll Spinney as a tribute to actor Gary Burghoff, who played Walter "Radar" O'Reilly on M*A*S*H.Sesame Street 35 Years Anniversary Game The two met at a taping of Hollywood Squares, and the bear's name is a dual tribute, reflecting Burghoff's Radar character, who brought a teddy bear to Korea, and the fact that in his private life, Burghoff is known as a painter of birds and an activist for bird preservation. In Episode 5001, Little Bird's teddy bear is named "Walter," another reference to the M*A*S*H character.
In a Season 39 episode, Big Bird holds a "nest sale" and bumps Radar into the nest where he is selling toys without knowing. Snuffy accidentally sells him to Count von Count who buys all the toys to count them. Kaitlyn then comes back and returns him after the Count gave it to a monster and the monster gave it to her.
==Notes==
* Big Bird packs a teddy bear for an overnight visit to his Granny Bird's house in Episode 0278.
==Book appearances==
* Early Bird on Sesame Street (1980)
* Follow That Bird Activity Book (1985)
* Follow That Bird coloring book (1985)
* A Bird's Best Friend (1986)
* Big Bird's Busy Day (1987)
* A Day in the Country (1988)
* Nothing to Do (1988)
* Big Bird Flies Alone (1989)
* Big Bird's New Nest (1990)
* Cookie Soup "Big Bird and the Lost Bear" (1990)
* Sleep Tight! (1991)
* My Name Is Big Bird (1992)
* Mini-Boxes to Color & Share (1992)
* Not the Monster! (1994)
* Rise and Shine! (1996; reworked as Up, Up, Up! in 2011)
* Spooky Sleep-out (2001)
* Friends All Day (2002)
* Fun with Friends (2004)
* Boo! (2005)
* Fly Away with Big Bird (2006)
* S is for School! (2006)
* All About Me! (2007)
* Let's Match (2007)
* Grover's 'Twas the Night Before Christmas (2008)
* Lovies (2008)
* All Tucked In on Sesame Street! (2014)
* Good Night, Sesame Street (2023)
==Merchandise==
* Radar plush
* Furr Fwenz
* Lego Ideas Sesame Street
* Madame Alexander dolls
* Big Bird's Stamp & Learn
* Sesame Street PVC figures (Applause)
* Sesame Street PVC figures (Tyco/Fisher-Price)
* Sesame Street Playtime Talkers
* Sesame Street Poken
* Sesame Street Pop! Vinyl figures
* Sesame Street die-cast cars (Learning Curve)
* Sesame Street figures (Blokees)
* Sesame Street figures (Sony)
* Sesame Street finger puppets (Tara Toys)
* Sesame Street music boxes (Applause)
* Sesame Street needlecraft kits (JanLynn)
* Sesame Street nightlights (Enesco)
* Sesame Street salt and pepper shakers (Vandor)
* Sesame Street stickers (Gibson Greetings)
* Sesame Street watches (LewCo)
* Sleepy Time Pictureland
==See also==
* Muppets' transitional objects
* Teddy Bird
==Sources==
__NOWYSIWYG__
Category:Sesame Street Characters
Category:Muppet Props