The Christmas That Almost Wasn't (But Then Was)

After yesterday's skewering of Christmas special cliches and tropes, it's a relief to return to something more traditional.  Wait, not "relief."  Burden.  Elmo's Christmas Countdown is the fourth television Sesame Street Christmas special and, by 2007, it appears the writers had run out of ideas.  Let us look at some of the previous dangers that almost resulted in Christmas cancellations: a thief steals everyone's gifts, Santa Claus falls ill, the weather is too harrowing.  All classics.

In Elmo's Christmas Countdown, Ben Stiller loses his advent calendar, dooming Christmas.  And that description is much better than the execution.

Just what this world needed: a Stiller Muppet.

Yes, Stiller the Elf tells us the tale about the year Christmas nearly didn't happen (a.k.a. every year).  See, on Christmas Eve, it is Stiller's job to grant one lucky Earthling with the task of officiating the Christmas Countdown via the Christmas Counter-Downer.  Once the Counter reaches 1, Christmas can occur.  If not, then no Christmas.  This is a faulty system that is just asking for trouble.

Um, why was this invented in the first place?  Why not just let time flow naturally?

Unfortunately, this is the year that Oscar the Grouch is randomly selected to kickstart Christmas.  And, as we are reminded through an updated version of "I Hate Christmas," Oscar hates Christmas.  And so he shoots the counter into the air, with each numbered box falling somewhere on Sesame Street.  Oh no!  Now Christmas will never come!

Oh, of course it will come.  And it comes by way of random characters finding the numbers in conveniently reverse order (save for a misplaced 5 which...is just a temporary hiccup with no repercussions).  So, although the numbers are slowly being found, Elmo can still insert them into the counter to begin the countdown.

And what happens when the numbers are activated?  Why, musical numbers and sketches with celebrity guests start playing, of course!  Ah, so we are going to see 10 little acts, right?  Well, no.  Numbers 9, 6, and 3 are CDN news reports in which Charles Blitzen reports on the Stiller-Counter catastrophe and reminds the audience of the impending cancellation of Christmas.

How does he even know about all of this?  I guess Santa's his informant.

Wait...why would the Counter-Downer even include these news reports?  Shouldn't they just be... happening?  It doesn't seem like a festive way to ring in the holiday.  Why not just have them occur outside of the countdown?  Well, because then there would only be 7 numbers, which is weird for a countdown.  And they probably couldn't round up 10 celebrities and had already promised spots to more than 5, so they had to put in some filler.  Just what every great special needs!

Okay, so how about these musical/comedy segments?  Well, we've got Jennifer Hudson singing "Carol of the Bells" with animals....

Not too bad.  B+

...Anne Hathaway and Big Bird singing "I Want a Snuffleupagus for Christmas..."

Hathaway doesn't even seem to know why she's there.  D

...Bert and Ernie directing Tony Sirico and Steve Schirripa in The Bert and Ernie Christmas Special...

KILL IT WITH FIRE!!! B-

...Jamie Foxx's bizarre remix of "The Nutcracker Suite," which gets an A+ just for this:

...the Count and Ty Pennington adding more ships to "I Saw Three Ships," which is a weird roundabout way to introduce an Extreme Makeover: Home Edition joke...

...nah, no pics or grade for that one, it's dumb...

...and Brad Paisley singing "Jingle Bells."

Aren't we all tired of this? D-

But even without the Counter, there is still Sheryl Crow singing "It's Almost Christmas," and Alicia Keys singing "Do You Hear What I Hear?"  Wait a second!  Why did they just make those two extra slots in the Counter-Downer Countdown?!  This special makes no sense!!!

I'm not even going to comment on the sentient, floating snowball.

At the end of the day, Stiller the Elf is taught by Elmo that sometimes you just gotta believe in Chrismas miracles, goshdarnit!  And as, if the special wasn't hokey enough, the cast sings a new song called "You Gotta Just Believe," and it's lead by Santa Claus played by Kevin James and--

OKAY, THAT'S IT!  I'm done with this one!  Sesame Street specials do not belong on network television!

You crossed a line, Elmo's Christmas Countdown.

All About Elmo

The Top Ten Sesame Street Song Countdown continues with a simple yet significant song.  You may love it, you may hate it, but there's no denying that nothing is quite like...

9. Elmo's Song - Elmo, Big Bird, and Snuffy

The force that is Elmo did not occur overnight.  The character slowly built his presence on the street over a couple of years, edging his way into the spotlight gradually and confidently.  But if we were to pinpoint a pivotal moment in Elmo's career, it would be "Elmo's Song."

Elmo speaks in the third person.  While this was intended to be a sign of his youth and innocence, it also works as a sign of Elmo's solipsism.  The world revolves around Elmo.  He is the most important creature in the universe.  He is the ultimate being.

In this scene, Elmo has written a little jingle that lacks thought-provoking lyrics and only comments on the fact that Elmo has written a song.  But he hasn't just written any song.  He has written "Elmo's Song," the song to replace all other songs.  When his friends are depressed for lacking a song of their own, the great Elmo graciously lends them his song.  But while it may be "Big Bird's Song" or "Snuffy's Song" temporarily, it is always "Elmo's Song."

After all, he wrote the music.  He wrote the words.

This song quickly became Elmo's main theme music and an adapted version of it was used to introduce the "Elmo's World" segments of the 21st Century.  Right, one half of each Sesame Street was devoted to Elmo.  And he didn't just have a street.  He owned the world!

Time to take over the world! Ahahaha!

This song merely hints at the path Sesame Street would take at the dawn of the new millennium.  Elmo is not a monster to be trifled with.  He has laid his claim to all of music and has won over trusted friends, lulling them into a false sense of security.  By participating in his charade, Big Bird has lost the power he once held.  His era is over.  There's a new kid on the block.

Forget it, Big Bird.  It's Elmo's Town.

Random Muppet #17: Dr. Sigmund Sillystuff

On the Muppet Wiki, there is a "Random Muppet" button which sends you to the page of one of the thousands of Muppets in existence. I will press the button and discuss the importance of the Muppet that comes up, no matter how obscure. No skips. No redos. This is the Random Muppet Challenge.

Random Muppet #17: Dr. Sigmund Sillystuff

An absent-minded professor.

Performer:  Jerry Nelson

Muppet Universe of Origin:  Sesame Street

Most Significant Appearance:  The Best of Elmo 2, released in 2010

Elmo is a popular character and has been for over two decades now.  So it's surprising that his second "best of" compilation video was not made until 16 years after the first in 1994.  As with most clip shows, there is a frame story set in place to explain why Elmo is revisiting these old clips (even though the target audience probably wouldn't care or notice a difference).  In the original, Elmo drew many pictures that represented some of his more classic moments and shared them with his friends.  For the sequel, Elmo meets a robot that runs on memories to stay alive and functional.

Well, we are in the 21st Century now.

The clips are more tangentially related to Elmo this time around.  While the first special featured original songs and skits, most of the clips used this time are musicians singing parody versions of their hits and Elmo just happens to be present for them (because Elmo is everywhere at this point).  Throughout the special, the Memorybot requests explanations for certain themes so that his "memory bank" can be completely filled.  And finally, an hour later (the first was only 30 min), there are enough memories to keep the robot in operation.

And the first thing Elmo and the robot do is...the Robot.

Finally, Memorybot's inventor, Dr. Sigmund Sillystuff finds the two and informs us that he created the mechanical man in order to help him with his own faulty memory.  Except it's a robot that runs on memories, it doesn't store them.  He was just asking for it to get misplaced.

For a brilliant man, he's not very bright.

But everything is okay because now, the robot has had so much fun with Elmo that he has made his own memories that he can run on.  The trio celebrates by...doing the Robot.

Why is He the Most Important Muppet?

Dr. Sillystuff invented a robot that runs on memories.  And the robot created it's own memories that it can use to fuel itself.

Ignoring the amazing possibilities and physical magic that comes with the telepathic transfer of a memory from a living being into an automaton...

..not to mention the fact that it can display these thoughts as well...

...Dr. Sillystuff has created a perpetual motion device!

A mind-reading device is an astounding invention in its own right, but while it seems like science-fiction to us, steps are currently being made to that invention becoming a reality (although we are still in the primitive stages).  But a perpetual motion device is impossible in any time period.

Energy has to come from somewhere.  It can't just be created from nothing or destroyed completely.  Yet, this robot supplies its own energy and somehow uses it with even less energy being burned.  This technology is wasted on a mere robot!

Sillystuff should try to implement this technology into vehicular transportation.  This man has single-handedly solved the world's energy crisis! So many problems can be solved with this discovery but he only uses it to help a little red monster think about the time Jason Mraz sang about playing outdoors to the tune "I'm Yours"?  Seriously?!

Dr. Sillystuff isn't just the most important Muppet.  He is the most important person ever.  If only he could remember it.

Random Muppet #15: Abby Cadabby

On the Muppet Wiki, there is a "Random Muppet" button which sends you to the page of one of the thousands of Muppets in existence. I will press the button and discuss the importance of the Muppet that comes up, no matter how obscure. No skips. No redos. This is the Random Muppet Challenge.

Random Muppet #15: Abby Cadabby

A young fairy-in-training who can see the magic in anything.

Performer:  Leslie Carrara-Rudolph

Muppet Universe of Origin:  Sesame Street

Most Significant Appearance:  Sesame Street, August 14, 2006, "Episode 4109"

In preparation for Sesame Street's 37th season, rumors were buzzing about the new Muppet moving to the street.  The biggest reason this was such a hot topic was because the new Muppet would be a girl.  Sure, Prairie Dawn, Zoe, and Rosita were all very much a part of the cast, but this new addition highlighted a major push to market Sesame Street towards girls specifically, because, thanks to Elmo's popularity, the show was viewed as "boy-centric."

In the very first episode of the season, Abby Cadabby made her introduction and the world quickly learned everything they needed to know about her:

- She is the 3-year-old daughter of Cinderella's fairy godmother (and she is erroneously referred to as a "fairy goddaughter").

- She is a fairy-in-training, which explains her small wings, sparkly dress, and magic wand.

- With her wand, she is able to teleport.  But her best trick is turning objects into pumpkins.

The only problem is changing them back.

- And, most importantly, she loves to learn.

And that's all you need to know about Abby Cadabby.

Why Is She the Most Important Muppet?

Abby drew a lot of controversy before she even debuted on the show.

The purpose of her creation was simultaneously noble and materialistic.  She was marketed to be the most extreme "girly-girl" character type, which seems as if it would go against modern society's habits of breaking down gender roles and encouraging young children to be themselves.  This was a source of criticism, especially when it was evident that her inception came about in order to sell more merchandise to girls.  A quick walkthrough of a children's section of any type of store (clothing, toys, decorations, etc.) will reveal aisles of pink merchandise with Abby's face plastered all over it.

However, the creators took great care with Abby.  As evidenced by her introduction, Abby was also meant to represent a person of a different culture trying to integrate themselves into a new world.  Rather than pick an existing nationality, the show built on the fairy species and added elements to her character that would be unlike any that came before her.  She would be shy meeting new people and would have to explain her customs and try to fit in when learning those of her new home.  She even had to go to a special preschool made solely for storybook characters!

Taught by Mother Goose herself.

But even with all of these traits, Abby was still a source of discontent.  And that was because, no matter how much they tried to deny it, Abby was just Girl Elmo.

Wait, who is who again?

If you jump in and watch a random clip of Abby, you'll see countless similarities.  Similar personalities, similar voices, similar adorability factor.  It was enough to make anyone write off the character as a cheap clone used to fool gullible children into buying more stuff.

And that was the mindset I had until today.

I am old enough to have lived through over half of Sesame Street's 43-year production run.  Like many people, I stopped watching the show when I "outgrew" it.  Clearly I still liked the show, but it was mostly for nostalgia's sake, and I would prefer watching older episodes over newer ones.  So when Abby Cadabby was announced to the world, I was upset.  This character was completely unnecessary, I thought.  She's redundant conceptually and her design is a bit complicated for the simple-looking puppets already in the cast.

So when my Random Muppet button picked her for today, I was not looking forward to having to talk about her.  And, yes, even after watching a random clip, my thoughts were unchanged.  But then I watched more.  And more. And more.  And I can say non-facetiously that Abby Cadabby is one of the best characters on Sesame Street.

I'll admit, that cute voice really grew on me.

There are a few clips I can point to that led me to this conclusion, but one that stood out the most was Baby Bear teaching Abby how to draw the letter I.

Every scene on Sesame Street is a teaching moment for a character and the preschool audience.  But in order to make good television, characters have to grow.  Yes, the Muppets on this show will forever be children, but they still learn from their experiences.  Big Bird may still be naive, but he knows the alphabet by now, after 40 years of repetition.  He can't keep learning the same thing over and over.  That wouldn't be satisfying.

But here, we have someone new.  Someone who still needs to learn everything about the world.  Baby Bear is now the mentor and he gets to take pleasure in showing Abby how a crayon works and how to write.  Even the unscripted moment when the tip of the crayon breaks and Baby Bear quickly reassures her that it's okay and she can keep writing is a moment of discovery.  All the while, Abby is exclaiming that the whole process is magic and you know what?  It is!

Every day, new people come into this world, and they need to learn.  Things happen that are perceived as magic to them, and for a while, everything is wondrous and fantastical.  And Sesame Street needs to reflect that single moment that is a part of every young child's life.

Abby came to Sesame Street because it needed her to come.  It didn't need her to sell toys or shirts or bedsheets.  It needed her to learn.  As the years go by, Abby will mature.  She'll stay three years old, but she'll know more than she did on that first day when she moved to Sesame Street.  And by then, a whole new generation of kids will be ready to learn.  And a new Muppet will come.  And the cycle will repeat.

Abby is the most important Muppet because she is our reminder that Sesame Street will never (and should never) end.

Big Bird walks Abby home at the end of her first episode, passing the torch.

Love in the Fix-It Shop, Part 3: Wedding Jitters

The big day has arrived!

After four long months of being in love with each other, Luis and Maria's wedding day is finally here!  But first, a brief recap of the wedding day preparations.  All the only relatives who could be bothered to show up have arrived, including Maria's mother and Luis's Tio José and that's it!

Oscar, seen here driving the representatives of the Rodriguez and Figueroa families to Sesame Street.

The dress has been bought and the tux has been rented!  

Luis's wedding will be the greatest show on Earth!

And the Honkers have perfected their all-Honker cover of "Here Comes the Bride."

 This is what you should expect when you have a wedding on Sesame Street.

Finally, the wedding day arrives, and Maria drags her maid of honor Linda to the roof of 123 Sesame Street at the crack of dawn.  Because this is her day and everyone else will just have to deal with it.

Meanwhile, Luis hits the snooze button.  Typical!

The rest of the neighborhood starts getting ready for the wedding.  The ceremony will be held on the roof while the reception will be held down in the concrete courtyard.  How romantic!  The gang starts singing about the "Wedding Day," signifying that this episode is going to be a musical.

Because preparing for a wedding isn't nearly as exciting as the wedding itself, lets quickly get through the rest of the day:

- Elmo, Herry, and Telly argue about which of them has the most important role at the wedding.

The answer is Maria.

- Big Bird worries about not being able to sit next to both Gina and Snuffy at the party.

Don't worry.  They sing about it.

- The Amazing Mumford causes Gina to explode.

BAM!!!

- And Maria and Luis sing to their mirrors while getting dressed.

Something something love.

It is now time for the wedding and it is truly something to behold.  As you watch, remember that this is all occurring on a children's show.

First, the minister explains, in the simplest of terms, what a wedding and marriage is.  This is for the benefit of the children watching at home, but it is actually a very good speech.  Sometimes, when we look at things plainly, we can see how important they really are.  He explains why everyone has been brought to celebrate the joining of these two people, and what promises they are making to one another.  And then, in the middle of his beautiful speech, everyone enters a thought explosion!

This is the moment I did not expect when I heard the words "Sesame Street wedding."  I pictured a very nice, quiet ceremony, with perhaps a few jokes here and there.  But, no, we aren't getting let off that easy.  We are going to now hear the internal fears of everybody.  And I mean everybody!

Even Elmo!

- Maria is suffering from an extreme case of cold feet.  She is prepared to leap off the building, if it weren't five stories high.  All day long, we have watched her excitement build, but we had seen moments where it seemed as if she would crack.

- Elmo is terrified of dropping the rings and ruining the wedding, feeling as if it was a lot of pressure to put a 3-year-old monster in charge of a huge task.

- Linda and Bob each wonder if the other wants to get married, but neither of them have the nerve to take that chance.

- Gina (still in high school at this point) just wants to fall in love someday.

- Maria's mother realizes her daughter is growing up and wishes her father could have been alive to see her wedding.

- Tio José is reminded of his long-gone youth when looking at Luis.

- David is coming to terms with the fact that Maria, the woman he used to date, is marrying someone else and will be another man's wife.

- Just when Maria gathers her strength, Luis starts getting the same concerns and thinks the whole marriage is a mistake.

- And Oscar wishes the obnoxious organ music would come back.

Is this love or is this terror?

Those...are very complicated emotions to be dealing with in a kids show.  But that's what weddings do.  For an extended period of time, people are left to their own thoughts.  The grand display of a commitment to love cause everyone to question their own role, their own past or future, and their own resolve.  Weddings are supposed to be wonderful, but during that brief moment, everyone is at their most nervous and the tension is unbearable.

Surprisingly, we don't check in with Big Bird, but I believe he's probably in a state similar to this:

Fortunately, that building is five stories high and no one will be running away today.  Luis and Maria exchange rings and the rest of the episode just observes their festivities.  No more jokes.  No more songs.  Just wedding cake and bouquet-tossing and dancing.

And the wedding band doesn't play "YMCA."  Things are good.

As everyone would expect, a wedding on Sesame Street runs smoothly and without issue.  Nearly every other television show wedding has some conflict, some drama, some calamity to keep things interesting.  But this being the first presentation of a wedding that most kids were going to see, Luis and Maria's wedding set the bar that all weddings should hope to live up to.  All the drama remains internal, allowing reality to enter for a brief moment.   It shows that these are all adults who understand their choices in life.  This was a nice wedding that would lead to a perfect marriage.  All things considered, sometimes it's better when a wedding can just be a good thing.

Marital bliss.

The End of the World

The beginning of a new year is quite exciting.  A full-year's worth of potential lies ahead for everyone.  New adventures not yet experienced, new relationships not yet formed, new memories awaiting creation.  We bid farewell to the old year, resolving to ensure that the next one will be better.

All of this is completely arbitrary of course, but it's fun to celebrate change with the entire world.

And we get to stay up past our bedtime!

On Sesame Street, all of the grown-ups head out for their fancy parties while the kids and Muppets stay behind to have their own party.  They eagerly await midnight to watch the ball drop (off Wolfgang the Seal's nose).

It's not as majestic as Times Square, but at least there are puppets.

Elmo, Cookie Monster and Grover host a special on the Monster News Network to ring in the New Year, having correspondents around the world teach us about their New Year's customs.  Most of these segments include cameos from the actual international versions of Sesame Street.  But when those puppets aren't available, we are treated to "Elmo's cousins," (a.k.a. Elmo dressed up in stereotypical outfits with thick accents.)

Totally not offensive at all.

And, of course, Oscar the Grouch uses any opportunity to destroy people's merriment.  For young Telly, the new year represents the unknown, which frightens him.  He would rather keep the old year going forever.  And when Oscar convinces him that when the year ends so does time itself, Telly transforms into an apocalyptic doomsayer, trying to convince everyone to stop the new year from coming.

Telly needs help.

But he brings up a good point.  We all accept the New Year with open arms, as if it won't be exactly like the previous one.  There will be great moments and new developments, but there will also be many scary unpleasant moments as well.  Why else do we party so hard on the last night of the year?  We are not just saying goodbye, we are saying good riddance!  Why shouldn't we fear another year of the same?

We put lampshades on our heads so that we do not have to face the future.

Of course, if we avoid the future, we miss out on all that makes the year great.  We resolve to make the world a better place and while some of us may forget or mess up, we keep trying and we keep improving our lives.  The old year wasn't so bad, but everyone can use another chance.  You don't know what the best years of your life will be until the end, so it just makes sense to make each one better than the previous one.

Make this sendoff count, because the old year is never coming back.

As the ball drops tonight, think of all the magical moments from this year, and resolve to make ten times as many next year!  It's not the end of the world.  We've still got plenty of time to make our lives the best they can be.

Happy New Year!!!!

Christmas Overload

I have a dilemma.  I am running low on Christmas specials that Henson oversaw.  So tonight, I have a choice.  I could either discuss one of the many short pieces that appeared in larger Christmas variety specials or I can focus on a post-Henson special.  Because the Christmas shorts are hard to come by (and those that are easily found don't set out to accomplish much beyond some jokes), I will stray from my mantra and look at one of the Christmas specials that premiered after 1990.

But which one to choose?  A Very Muppet Christmas Movie is too long to tackle in one day.  Letters From Santa is kind of all over the place.  A Sesame Street Christmas Carol has kind of been done before (and will take away from the Muppet version).  And I cannot handle more than two-minutes of Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree due to Robert Downey Jr. speaking like a madman.

Seriously, it gives me an aneurysm trying to decipher his words.

It looks like it is up to everyone's favorite furry red monster to save the day!  I have decided on the following special because it is the only one that is actually a (mostly) original story, rather than a Muppet version of a typical Christmas tale.  And lo and behold, it actually covers some dark territory for Sesame Street. No, they don't quite make 'em like Elmo Saves Christmas.

It's like Groundhog's Day for kids!

As with all great stories, the great Maya Angelou narrates this yuletide Aesop Fable to convey the weight and magnitude of the situation young Elmo finds himself in.  After one of the young Muppets nonchalantly declares that he wishes it were Christmas every day, Angelou sets the record straight about having too much of a good thing.

Well, this Christmas party did not turn out quite as expected.  No adults even RSVP'd.

The story begins with everyone on Sesame Street preparing for Christmas the next day.  The shopping is done, the decorations are up, and spirits are high.  Elmo prepares for the arrival of Santa by waiting by the fireplace all night.  Suddenly, he is awoken by the sounds of Mr. Claus trapped in his chimney.

Jackpot!

Elmo frees Santa, thus saving Christmas!  The End!

Wait, no.  Santa rewards Elmo with a snow globe that grants wishes when you shake it.  Elmo decides to hold on to his gift for a special occasion.  And then comes Christmas, the most special occasion of all!  Elmo enjoys walking about town, receiving gifts from neighbors and enjoying the laughter and songs.  And so he is struck with a brilliant idea.

I will take over Sesame Street, and then, the world!  All for my amusement!

He wishes for Christmas to occur every day.  Now, usually, on the day after Christmas (after everyone has spent their gift cards and returned their gifts), people are turned off by everything Christmas-related.  No more Christmas songs are played and no more Christmas movies are watched.  It's as if we all breathe a collective sigh of relief that Christmas is over.  Perhaps it is because we know that it is the day that is furthest from the next Christmas so we do not want to be disappointed by reminders of yesterday.  Whatever the case, everyone is done.

But on Sesame Street, everyone quickly jumps on board with the idea and looks forward to Christmas #2.  Santa Claus, however, has a different agenda, and realizes that someone made that wish again.  So he sends Elmo on a time-traveling trip with his fastest reindeer Lightning so that he can see the negative effects of "Christmas every day."

Rudolph may be able to see through fog, but Lightning can break the space-time continuum.

Elmo and Lightning witness Christmas on Easter, Christmas on the Fourth of July, and Christmas on next Christmas, with each visit depicting a world that grows darker and darker.  The novelty has quickly worn off and people have all become bitter and depressed.  All businesses have closed, the Count has grown tired of counting Christmases, and worst of all, Big Bird has been separated from his best friend Snuffy, who was supposed to comeback from visiting relatives "the day after Christmas."  By the time December 25th rolls around again, it's just the 366th Christmas in a row, so no one even acknowledges it's significance.

The saddest sign to see every single day.

Elmo learns his lesson (finally!) and then returns back in time with Superman to stop himself from ever receiving the snow globe in the first place.  Instead, he settles for the greatest gift of all, a moo-bunny.

Not to be confused with a "cabbit."

This special stands out above the other post-Henson fare because it deals with a topic that many children can relate to at Christmas time.  We build it up to be such a magical day that, for over-indulgent children, they do not understand the reason we cannot have it all the time.  This show teaches the concepts of "forever" and  "special" in a way that few other children shows have tackled.  To a child, it would be great to eat chocolate for every meal or watch television all day long or only have recess instead of classes.  Moderation is foreign to them.  So to see Elmo go through the journey with such resistance to accept the horrors around him, it can be very eye-opening to a young child.

I quite enjoyed the small touches this episode had (that were not present in the Sesame Street special I covered earlier this week).  Even though this was very much Elmo's story, he took a backseat as he observed the trials of all other characters.  This allowed the ensemble to work cohesively, rather than all focused on one objective.

My favorite moments include:

- Bob leading the carolers in the song "It's Christmas Again" every single day.  I loved how the song evolved from a joyous romp into a monotonous routine with new lyrics for each day.

- Big Bird's story about being unexpectedly torn away from his best friend, especially him writing the same letter every day ("Dear Snuffy, I miss you.  Your best friend, Big Bird") and the letters piling up by his nest because the mail isn't picked up on Christmas.

- The Count's Christmas outfit:

- Bert and Ernie responding to George Bailey talking to Bert and Ernie in It's a Wonderful Life (which plays nonstop on every television set).

- And Oscar wallowing in everyone's misery throughout the year.  On the final Christmas, when Elmo says he was planning on using his final wish for rollerblades but decides instead to wish for one Christmas a year again, Oscar butts in, "No! Go for the rollerblades!"  That's the Christmas-hating grouch we love.

Yes, this was truly a Christmas special that felt like a Jim Henson production.  Even though he was not around to oversee it, it manages to keep his spirit alive with its sharp wit, catchy songs, and a thoughtful message to all viewers.  Christmas is special.  We can keep it's spirit alive all throughout the year.  But a little bit can go a long way.  If we got everything we wished for, there would be no more motivation in life.  Sometimes it is what you rarely experience that makes you appreciate the moments in between.

That was great!  Same time next year?