SESAME STREET {PARTY FOR GRANDPA BILL AND GRANDMA SARAH} (TV)
Summary
One in this series of educational children's programs that teaches numbers and the alphabet, along with social and cultural concepts, to pre-schoolers.
The main plot revolves around Miles’s family holding a party to celebrate the 45th anniversary of Bill and Sarah, his grandparents. Miles and his family perform the song “Bountiful Tree” in order to explain the concept of family to his baby cousin Celina. Big Bird arrives as well just before the family sits down to eat. Miles is called upon to recite a poem he has written for the occasion, but he is reluctant to do so. Instead, his cousins perform a traditional African dance. His parents realize that he does not want to read his poem but they do not know why. Miles continues to stall, and his parents dance to the song “Dancin’ Beak to Beak,” along with some assistance from Big Bird. As the rest of his cousins finish their performances, Miles’s turn approaches, although he still remains shy about it. He leaves the room before he is called up, and his father goes to recover him, finding him sitting on the stoop. Miles says that his poem is “just a poem” and is inferior to the offerings made by the rest of the family. His father assures him that his grandparents will be pleased anyway, and that his poem is good enough because of Miles’s efforts. This causes Miles to change his mind and he heads back inside. Miles finally reads his poem, which is about his appreciation for his grandparents and for notable African-Americans. His family rather likes his poem.
Other highlights include: children discussing the structure of families; Elmo interacting with a beluga whale named Winston; a short animation featuring a baby demonstrating various emotions; Ray Charles performing the “Alphabet Song,” accompanied by Michael Jeter, Patrick Stewart, Tony Bennett, Shari Lewis (and Lamb Chop), Harry Belafonte, David Robinson, and Ellen DeGeneres; an animated segment featuring a game show called “Name That Food”; a sketch featuring a dog baking a cake; an animated segment about the continent of Africa; a sketch featuring the Count attempting to find a suitable substitute for his flock of sheep, which he counts in order to go to sleep; several segments revolving around the number nine; Cookie Monster interacting with Lexine; a stop-motion animated section, “Dancing With My Family”; an animation featuring various animals in a procession; Kingston Livingston III singing “Just Happy to Be Me”; several segments revolving around the letter P; Bert, Ernie, Cookie Monster, Prairie Dawn, and Herry Monster performing “I Think That it is Wonderful”; an animation featuring a coin flying in and out of various openings; a film segment featuring a girl getting her eyes examined; Grover attempting to explain the meaning of the word “exit” but facing constant interruption, and an animated segment about characters from a mural coming to life to demonstrate exiting; an animation featuring the song “From Your Head”; a cartoon set to the song “Me, M-E, Me!”; a segment featuring Baby Bear and Papa Bear at the Museum of Modern Art; the song “I’m in Great Shape,” teaching about various shapes; a clay-animation section about the use of the imagination; Elmo singing “In Your Imagination”; and an animation about a frustrated artist.
Details
- NETWORK: PBS
- DATE: January 29, 1997
- RUNNING TIME: 0:58:42
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:51501
- GENRE: Children's; Education/Information
- SUBJECT HEADING: African-American Collection - Music; TV - Children's; TV - Education/Information
- SERIES RUN: PBS - TV series, 1969-
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Ray Charles … Performer
- Michael Jeter … Performer
- Patrick Stewart … Performer
- Tony Bennett … Performer
- Shari Lewis … Performer
- Harry Belafonte … Performer
- David Robinson … Performer
- Ellen DeGeneres … Performer
- Carroll Spinney … Muppet Performer, Big Bird
- Kevin Clash … Muppet Performer, Elmo, Kingston Livingston III
- David Rudman … Muppet Performer, Baby Bear
- Joey Mazzarino … Muppet Performer, Papa Bear
- Imani Patterson … Cast, Miles Robinson
- Roscoe Orman … Cast, Gordon Robinson
- Loretta Long … Cast, Susan Robinson
- Lexine Bondoc … Cast, Lexine