I don’t think that I need to tell you that when you become a parent it changes who you are and what you talk about with other adults, but perhaps an illustration would drive the point home even further. The other night Ger and I were sitting at the dinner table. We sometimes aim to have Sam’s daily Sesame Street viewing overlap with at least part of our dinner so that we can have some uninterrupted time together. While Elmo and Zoe cavorted in the background, we started talking about who the heavy hitters were on the show. You know, the Muppets who didn’t have to worry about getting fired when they throw a fit over a too-small dressing room or scream about the wrong kind of M&Ms being served by the catering service.
The next hour’s conversation consisted of debates over where each of the Muppets fall on the star continuum. We eventually had to agree to disagree on a few points, but here’s my list:
A-List Muppets These are the top of the heap, the guys the show couldn’t survive without if they were kidnapped and stabbed to death: Elmo, Big Bird, and Ernie. In that order.
B-List Muppets These guys are still headliners and may have their own recurring skits, but they get the smaller trailers: Cookie Monster, Count von Count, Grover, and Oscar the Grouch.
C-List Muppets Here’s where the list gets bigger as the contenders for the upper echelons constantly bicker and claw past each other. These are mainly second fiddles and straight men to the bigger stars above: Zoe, Telly, Rosita, Baby Bear, Bert, and Snuffleupagus.
D-List Muppets These are the guys who couldn’t even cut it as C-List, and who get called in when things like “Elmo doesn’t do skits like this so Elmo thinks you should shove it” are heard on the set. This includes: Herry, Prarie Dawn, Stinky the –OH MY GOD! I just realized I’m sorting MUPPETS into categories! I just kind of blacked out there for a while and I wake up to see I’ve typed this. How could you people let me do this? I thought you people were my friends?
Well, to kind of clear the air, here’s some pictures:
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Sam is getting more and more independent every day. At the playground this weekend she had no qualms about running, climbing, and sliding without any intervention from me. Well, until she ascended to such heights that she needed help getting down. Otherwise, she’s going nuts, man. Ger also took her to a Mommy & Me party earlier in the week where everyone was supposed to be dressed up, so Sam went as a pumpkin-like sort of thing, kinda. Use your imagination.
Great photos. 🙂
Unless I am wrong, the characters on Sesame Street are not “Muppets”. Henson Co. sold the Muppets and Bear in the Big Blue House to Disney in 2004.
Really? Well, I hope the lawyers don’t come after me but I’ll always think of them as Muppets. Wikipidia (though hardly a definitive voice) still refers to them as “Muppets.” It also make sense now that Sam absolutely loves this one Bear in the Big Blue House book she picked up somewhere. She wants to read it several times a day. That’s fine, but thing is that it’s a Christmas book, which just seems weird.
Yeah, it was news to me also. Rebecca was the first person to point out this distinction to me, and the press release on the sale to Disney seem to support it.
Bear rocks. Really. A lot. I would hang out with Pip and Pop any day of the week.