PERFORMER various DEBUT 1972 DESIGN Caroly Wilcox builder

The Martians, sometimes called "the Yip-Yips", are interplanetary visitors, presumed to be from the planet Mars, who are terrified by things like clocks, telephones and computers on Sesame Street. When frightened, they hide beneath their lower lips, which shoot up to cover their faces. They rarely come face-to-face with other characters on the show.

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In their skits, these creatures, with squid-like tentacles, large eyes, and antennae, materialize into a room and converse with each other in their native tongue: "Yip-yip-yip-yip... Uh-huh. Uh-huh," done in monotone voices. They often come across common objects and, curious as to their names and functions, the Martians will consult a book presumably containing information about things on Earth, although they sometimes make several incorrect guesses based on their book. In one skit, for example, the Martians call a computer a television and a typewriter before deciding what it actually is.

The first puppets were originally chenille hats, adapted by Caroly Wilcox.[1]

Skits

Other appearances

"Guy Smiley Takes His Audience to Lunch" (First: Episode 2646)

Two Martians make a cameo appearance as audience members when Guy Smiley takes his entire studio audience to lunch.

Journey to Ernie

A Martian (David Rudman) appears briefly in the segment for "Outer Space."

Sesame Street Jam: A Musical Celebration

Big Bird is looking for some 'la-la-ers' throughout the show. At one point, he brings in two Martians saying he's found his la-la-ers, but they disappear. In that special, they were performed by Jerry Nelson (the blue one) and David Rudman (the pink one).

Play with Me Sesame

In one segment, Grover pretends to be a bus driver and sings "The Wheels on the Bus," inviting a pink martian aboard his imaginary bus.

Sesamestreet.org

An orange Martian (Matt Vogel) floats outside of Telly's spaceship in the introduction of the "Space Day" playlist.

Spaghetti Space Chase

The Martians (Martin P. Robinson and Matt Vogel) appear as animatronics riding a flying saucer in outer space as they notice all the spaghetti around them.

"Elmo the Musical"

The Martians (Leslie Carrara-Rudolph, Martin P. Robinson and Matt Vogel) appear in "Pizza the Musical."

The Furchester Hotel

Two Martians (the blue one performed by Warrick Brownlow-Pike) make a guest appearance in the episode "Space Alien Party."

When You Wish Upon a Pickle promo

Two Martians (Martin P. Robinson and Matt Vogel) (are seen in a brief cereal advertisement for "UF-Oh's."

Sesame Street at SeaWorld

An interactive element in the park features a mail slot, which when opened, shows video of the Martians visiting a disco, the beach and outer space.

Common Sense Media

Two Martians (Martin P. Robinson and Matt Vogel) appear in a video promoting the organization's "DeviceFreeDinner" campaign.

Street scenes

Songs

"Hi Friend"

Bob makes friends with the Martians and they all sing together.

"Get Along"

A song with Kermit, a cow, the Martians, Twiddlebugs and greasers.

"Brush Boogie"

Nonspeaking cameo during the song, sitting on a wall brushing each other with their interstellar brushes.

"Martian Family (Yip Yip Song)"

A song with two Martians and their baby.

"My Outer Space Friend"

A song by Telly about making friends with a Martian.

"Adding, Adding, Adding"

Bert is trying to read his book when Ernie starts singing a song about addition. As Ernie sings, he's joined by Cookie Monster and Grover, some cows, an elephant and a Martian. At the end of the song, Ernie leaves Bert with a room full of singing monsters and animals.

"Bert, oh Bert" (Sesamstrasse)

A music video with Eurovision winner Lena, Ernie and Bert.

"What Makes "U" Useful"

The Martians fly by in their spaceship, illustrating the term "UFO."

"Adventure"

Cameo appearance when En Vogue travels on a rocket ship to another planet.

"I'm Talkin' Love"

In the end of the song, a Martian appears to his friend Trisha Yearwood.

"Tall Tale" (Kids' Favorite Country Songs version)

An animated Martian appears in the background among a group of aliens in Noel Cowherd's verse.

"This Is My Street"

Two Martians join in the song.

"Yip Yip Number of the Day"

Martians are used to count to the number of the day.

Merchandising

Around the time of the 35th Anniversary of the program, licensees finally started to notice and recall the characters. In the latter half of 2003, retail outlet Hot Topic led the way with the first-known official Yip Yip merchandising, a "vintage"-looking t-shirt with two Martians (pictured).

This was followed in the fall of 2004 with Gund bean-bag toys (pictured). Another plush version was later produced for sale at Sesame Place theme parks.

In 2008, a second t-shirt was made by Mighty Fine featuring the same artwork as the Hot Topic shirt, but retaining the two puppets' original colors. More t-shirts eventually followed.

Light switch plates and other merchandising were released featuring a vintage art style created for many of the characters in conjunction with the anniversary celebration.

The 2006 Sesame Street calendar features the Yip Yips for the month of November, and they make an appearance on the front cover scene.

Two Martians appeared in "Out of This World", a Sesame Street Live touring show that launched in 2003, and featured in the song "The Yup Yup Boogie." They also make appearances in the CD-ROM game, Get Set to Learn!, during Zoe's "What Size is Your Prize?" game and the CD-ROM Elmo's Reading Basics. They also star in an online game at Pbskids.org, Earth Exploration, where they observe nature with their talking guidebook.

In 2011, the Martians were featured on iYip, a soundboard iPhone app in which the Martians recite random phrases and statements. (Martin P. Robinson and Matt Vogel provided the Martians' voices for the app.)

Book appearances