Sesame Street: 20 and Still Counting

thumb|300px|Clip from the special.
Sesame Street: 20 and Still Counting aired on NBC on April 7, 1989.
This one-hour special marks the 20th anniversary of Sesame Street, the ground-breaking educational children's series that has taught numbers and the alphabet, along with social and cultural concepts, to generations of preschoolers.
Hosted by Bill Cosby, the retrospective includes appearances by Muppet characters Big Bird, Grover, the Count, Kermit the Frog, and Bert and Ernie, as well as Sesame regulars Bob, Gordon, Susan, Maria, and Luis, and many others. Kermit the Frog and Jim Henson introduce the show.
The program illustrates the changing topics and techniques that have blended entertainment with education over the years, and features classic clips from past episodes as well as the recollections of those responsible for making the series a success and viewers who grew up watching the show.
Two of the special's through lines feature Kermit going out on the streets of New York City to answer his question of the day - "Can you tell me how to get to Sesame Street?" Meanwhile, Ernie and Bert use their video camera to record the activity of the block so they can watch Sesame Street on TV. 
Among the highlights are Ray Charles and a chorus of Muppet monsters singing "It's Not Easy Bein' Green" by Joe Raposo; a discussion between series creator Joan Ganz Cooney and Jim Henson; clips from international versions of the series; famed tenor Placido Domingo performing with his Muppet counterpart, Placido Flamingo; and reunions with some of the children who participated in Muppet & Kid Moments, including Shola Lynch, Fanny Lim, and John Williams III. 
The special ends with a memoriam to Joe Raposo, who had died two months before its broadcast. For his last project with Jim Henson,Jim Henson's Red Book entry, 12/9-11/1988 – VTR Sesame St. 20th – last time with Joe Raposo – Ray Charles – Placido Domingo Raposo wrote two original songs, "What a Bird!" and "Look Through the Window." Additionally, Raposo's "Sesame Street Theme" opens the special, and "Sing" is performed by the entire cast as the finale.
==Production==
The special was initially conceived as an episode of The Jim Henson Hour,Jim Henson: The Biography, page 405 which formally premiered the week after the special aired. prior to its premiere acknowledge the special as being an episode of the show. An early suggestion during that time was to have Ernie and Bert make an appearance in Muppet Central.Tony Geiss papers at the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Yale University
The special developed first as an outline under the subtitle "Around the World in 40 Winks." Bill Cosby remained as the host, with the context of him being a straggler from a New York City tour group, but the Ernie and Bert throughline was entirely different. Opening up in their apartment bedroom, Ernie suddenly wakes up and in a sleepwalk-like state begins wandering out of the room looking for something, with a concerned and embarrassed Bert following. The two then board Cosby's tour bus and eventually travel all over the globe to such places as Kuwait, Russia, Italy, and the Grand Canyon (with Grover in a new role in each place). They eventually make it back to their bedroom on Sesame Street where Ernie finds what he's looking for - his bed, then proceeds to tell Bert all about his exotic, globe-trotting dream. It was later suggested that the globe-trotting aspect be changed to the duo collecting home movies from the other Sesame co-productions, eventually evolving into the home movie plot in the final special.
This outline also proposed "C is for Cookie" to be performed throughout the special by various celebrities of renown (such as Sir John Gielgud, Katharine Hepburn, Marlee Matlin, and James Earl Jones) before culminating in a "We Are the World"-style finale. Other musical suggestions included the theme song as performed by the Pointer Sisters, a slick MTV-esque performance of "Rubber Duckie" by Mick Jagger or Cyndi Lauper, and a bilingual duet of "Sing" by Raúl Juliá and Dionne Warwick.
The finalized special taped throughout the autumn of 1988, with Jim Henson specifically recording material on October 26,Jim Henson's Red Book: 10/26/1988 – ‘VTR Sesame St. 20th Anniversary Show’ and between December 9-11.
==Releases==
A DVD of the special was released in 2010 by Lions Gate Entertainment for the Jim Henson Company. (This special is one of the few Sesame Street projects directly produced by the Jim Henson Company, who retain the rights.) However, the DVD release omits the end credits. In 2013, the special was re-released on DVD and iTunes through Gaiam Vivendi Entertainment.
File:SesameStr 20YearsAndCountin.jpg|Lionsgate2010cat. 28474asin. B003INBNY8
Image:Ss20stillcounting-menu.jpg|Menu for Lionsgate release
File:Sesame20 - iTunes.jpg|Gaiam Vivendi Entertainment2013HE3203
==Cast==
*Host: Bill Cosby
*Guests: Ray Charles and Placido Domingo
*Muppet Performers: Caroll Spinney, Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Richard Hunt, Jerry Nelson, Fred Garbo, Fran Brill, Camille Bonora, Judy Sladky, Martin P. Robinson, Bryant Young, David Rudman, Kevin Clash, Pam Arciero
:Uncredited: Noel MacNeal,behind-the-scenes photo; Sesame Street Unpaved, p. 170. Rick LyonNOSTALGIA TALK: Episode #34 (Featuring RICK LYON) (01:37:32)
*Cast: Emilio Delgado, Sonia Manzano, Bob McGrath, Loretta Long, Roscoe Orman, Miles Orman, Linda Bove, Bill McCutcheon, Alison Bartlett, Northern Calloway
===Muppet Characters===
:Big Bird, Ernie, Bert, Kermit the Frog, Grover, Cookie Monster, Herry Monster, Don Music, Count von Count, Placido Flamingo, Elmo, Baby Natasha, Oscar the Grouch, Telly Monster, Mr. Snuffleupagus, Alice Snuffleupagus, Barkley, Prairie Dawn, Ruby
;Background Characters
:The Amazing Mumford, Frazzle, Two-Headed Monster, Gladys the Cow, Sonny Friendly, Forgetful Jones, Hoots the Owl, Athena, Meryl Sheep, Buster the Horse, Mr. Honker, Anything Muppets, Monsters, Kermit the Forg, Parker, Clancy, Billy Monster, Chip and Dip, Grundgetta, Max the Magnificent, Bruce, Immy, proto-Merry Monster
==Credits==
*Executive Producer: Jim Henson
*Produced by: Diana Birkenfield
*Directed by: Peter Harris
*Written by: Judy Freudberg and Tony Geiss
*Music Composed and Directed by: Joe Raposo
*Production Designer: Victor DiNapoli
*Music Producer: Danny Epstein
*Orchestration: Larry Wilcox
*Staging Consultant: Anita Mann
*Associate Director: David Gumpel
*Muppet Workshop: Caroly Wilcox, Kermit Love, Richard Termine, Stephen Rotondaro, Mark Zeszotek
;for the Children's Television Workshop
*Executive Producer: Dulcy Singer
*Special Projects Producer: Nina Elias
*Music Associate: Dave Conner
*Stage Managers: Chuck Vinson, Frank Comito
*Production Assistants: Eric Andrews, Pat Nugent, Jennie Zoikowski, David Blacker, Mary Foster
*Cameras: Les Leibowitz, Frank Biondo, Dave Driscoll
==Sources==
==External links==
* John O'Connor, "TV WEEKEND; 'Sesame Street': Milestone and Beginning", New York Times, 7 April 1989.
* Muppet Central Review
* The Muppet Mindset review of the DVD
* DVDizzy.com DVD review
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Category:Sesame Street Specials
Category:Anniversary Productions
Category:Sesame Street Video