In the first episode of Sesame Street, Gordon takes a girl named Sally (Troy Beyer) on a tour of Sesame Street, introducing her (and the viewers) to the various characters on the show. On the street, Sally meets the human cast -- Gordon, Susan, Bob, and Mr. Hooper -- as well as two Muppet characters, Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch.

Ernie and Bert appear for the first time and Kermit the Frog gives a lecture on the letter W, interrupted by an early version of Cookie Monster.

Also featured in this episode are the first installments of the "Number Song Series" and "Jazz" cartoons, the first appearance of a group of Anything Muppets, and the first performance of "One of These Things". Carol Burnett is the first celebrity guest to appear on the show.

In this episode, many sketches are introduced by the characters, even within the inserts. This reflects the fact that the show was initially conceived as a children's version of Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In. For example, Gordon asks Kermit to give his W lecture, and when the sketch begins, Kermit says that Gordon asked him to talk about the letter W.

Alterations

Picture Segment Description

Song

(DVD release) Joe Raposo sings "A Little Bit (at the Beginning)" along to a film of "good things growing better."

This segment was not in the original broadcast of the episode. It is currently on the episode's 2006 DVD release, where it replaces "You can clean almost anything." It was shown after Oscar's debut. Insert

(2019 YouTube livestream) Big Bird tries to play jump-rope with the kids as the credits roll.

This scene, originally from episode 0010 was shown after Mr. Hooper announces the letter and number sponsors. Afterwards, no CTW mentions are shown.

Insert

(HBO Max release) The closing scene from Episode 0005, with the book mention intact, is shown after Mr. Hooper announces the letter and number sponsors. A 1971 copyright screen replaces the funding credits.

Cast

Notes

This episode can be viewed in its entirety at the Museum of Broadcast Communications Archives.

Sources



