Wed, Nov 21, 1973
The Count bothers Luis with his incessant counting. Luis tries distracting the Count by having him count something different - termites - Film A kid narrates footage of a termite colony. In the short time during the film, the Count manages to count over 18,000 termites featured. Nearing the end of his rope, Luis pours a box of nails on the ground for him to count; the Count finishes in a matter of seconds (counting over 2,000 nails). Luis tries getting rid of him by telling him to count grains of sand on the beach. The Count has already done this and further annoys Luis by listing various statistics he's counted (such as blades of grass in Central Park).
Thu, Nov 22, 1973
Big Bird greets the viewer in the morning, then notices smoke coming from Hooper's Store. He assumes Mr. Hooper must be cooking something, but then sees Mr. Hooper isn't there. He realizes there must be a fire and calls out for help. Gordon quickly phones the fire department, while Bob evacuates from his apartment above. The firemen arrive, bust down the door, and find the source of the fire is in the store's basement. They extinguish it as the adults explain the process to Big Bird.
Fri, Nov 23, 1973
Big Bird greets the viewer in the morning, then notices smoke coming from Hooper's Store. He assumes Mr. Hooper must be cooking something, but then sees Mr. Hooper isn't there. He realizes there must be a fire and calls out for help. Gordon quickly phones the fire department, while Bob evacuates from his apartment above. The firemen arrive, bust down the door, and find the source of the fire is in the store's basement. They extinguish it as the adults explain the process to Big Bird.
Mon, Nov 26, 1973
David, Gordon and Susan carry farm supplies to Oscar's trash can, without knowing why Oscar asked them for a bucket of water, some hay and oats, and a saddle. They hear a horse inside Oscar's trash can - his new pet. Oscar loves it when his bucking bronco kicks around and destroys his plates and furniture.
Tue, Nov 27, 1973
At Hooper's Store, Big Bird minds David's number 8 sign, blowing on it to speed up the paint drying. The top of the number 8 blows away, and Big Bird tries to coax it back. Cartoon: Jazz #8. Muppets Lefty the Salesman wants to sell an 8 to Ernie, who ran out of money buying some 9s. Ernie then offers to sell Lefty his 9s.
Wed, Nov 28, 1973
Roosevelt Franklin Elementary School: Using pictures on the blackboard, Roosevelt Franklin tells the class a story about two little dogs who find a big ol' bone in a doghouse. They try to take the bone, but it turns out that it belongs to a big, mean dog, who chases them away. The moral of the story: "If something's not yours, leave it alone; could be a big ol' dog in the doghouse."
Fri, Nov 30, 1973
When Big Bird gets stuck inside his nest area, Maria and Mr. Hooper cooperate to pry the doors open. Cartoon: "Poverty Q": A figure demonstrates Q words, despite the unruly stem of his letter Q that keeps detaching itself. Muppets: "The Question Song". Cartoon: Hypnotic "Q" rainbow. Muppets: Kermit and Grover draw a Q on the screen.
Tue, Dec 4, 1973
David greets the viewer, and introduces Cookie Monster, who claims he has a different way of illustrating the number 2. He displays two cookies, then eats them, which David thinks is not unique. Cookie goes off to find another way. Cartoon C - Cake. Muppets: Harvey Kneeslapper looks inside a paper bag and laughs and asks his next victim, "Wanna see?" The man says yes, so Harvey puts a letter C on him.
Fri, Dec 7, 1973
Maria raps an introduction to words that rhyme with grand. Luis displays his hand. Bob leads a band. Big Bird accidentally dumps sand on Maria. "Understand?" Cartoon: "The Story of A": A witch tells bored kids a story about the letter A involving an ant's apple getting stolen by an archer.
Tue, Dec 11, 1973
Sam the Robot demonstrates near-by mechanizing towards the steps, the tree, then the newsstand. Sam also moves near David, who starts to get annoyed. David suggests that Sam demonstrate far, by getting far away from him. Sam does so, but then calls David on the phone. Cartoon: H for hello (voice of Gary Owens)
Wed, Dec 12, 1973
Oscar has installed a doorbell on his trash can (which plays "Shave and a Haircut," ending with a screeching sound). He finds it only attracts more curious individuals to his can, so he rips it apart. Susan bothers him once more to point out his doorbell is busted. Cartoon- J family jamboree.
Thu, Dec 13, 1973
Bob, Maria, and David join Susan as she eagerly watches for a big surprise coming down the street. It turns out to be Gordon, pulling up in his brand new Volkswagen. Cartoon: The story of an old woman who lived in a nine. Artist: Bud Luckey. Film: George the Farmer shows embedded shapes using drawing of geometric forms and household objects with the same shape.
Mon, Dec 17, 1973
Gordon puts two giant 1s together to make the number 11, but the numbers are a little disobedient at first. Cartoon: "It's a Lovely Eleven Morning" Artist: Bud Luckey. Muppets: Ernie and Bert - At the beach, Ernie notices that Bert is missing; all he sees is Bert's hat. Sherlock Hemlock helps find Bert, and in the process, discovers that Ernie accidentally buried Bert under the sand.
Tue, Dec 18, 1973
Maria, in need of $5 to pay back Luis, asks Gordon. Gordon asks Bob. Bob asks Big Bird. Big Bird asks Luis, and the money eventually makes its way to Maria, who gives it back to Luis. Cartoon: A boy and a dog fight over a letter "I." Muppets: Ernie and Bert - When it's Ernie's turn to get a newspaper from Hooper's Store, Ernie decides to plan everything he may need. He gets his scarf and hat and earmuffs in case it snows, his umbrella if it starts to rain, sunglasses and suntan cream if it's a sunny day, and a flashlight if it gets dark.
Wed, Dec 19, 1973
Johnny Cash sings "Nasty Dan" to Oscar the Grouch. Cartoon: Donnie Budd sings a two-step for pairs of animals. Artist: Bud Luckey. Grover and a group of monsters, including Herry Monster, Fenwick and Billy, get into a rowboat. The monsters all gather at one end, causing the boat to tip over and sink.
Thu, Dec 20, 1973
Number 3 quickies: Luis screws three screws into a birdhouse for Little Bird. Maria displays the three patches on her dungarees. Bob wears three cowboy hats. At Hooper's Store, Cookie Monster eats three plates of cookies, then eats the plates. Film- The Mad Painter #3 Cartoon: Simple Simon meets some strange-looking animals, all of whom have their parts switched around. Artist: Jeff Hale.
Fri, Dec 21, 1973
Big Bird, hosting a Tonight Show-esque production, gathers everyone around to tell them the "shortest story ever told" -- "Once upon a time there was a little girl, and she lived happily ever after." Everyone encourages him to tell a longer story, so Big Bird decides to take a "short intermission".
Mon, Dec 24, 1973
Gordon introduces an audience to Big Bird, who recites a poem about the otter. Film- Sesame Street Animal Films: "It's an Otter!" Music: Joe Raposo. Muppets: Ernie and Bert - Ernie answers the telephone. Bert overhears the conversation, which involves a baseball game, a rainy day, and a gorilla stealing a bologna sandwich. When Bert asks who just called, Ernie says it was a wrong number.
Tue, Dec 25, 1973
Maria, Bob and Luis find it hard to concentrate when they hear a series of loud car horns. They find that The Count is holding up a sign that reads "Please blow your horn" and has been counting the beep-beeps from passing drivers. They tell him to take down the sign, and he starts counting the cars that don't honk. Cartoon- Two boys notice a D, saying it looks fat. A resonant voice (Gary Owens) informs them that it's the letter D. This leads to a jazzy story about a dog who digs for dice, wins a duck, and buys a dinosaur with a dime. Moral: "If you dig a dinosaur, drop your duck for a dime."
Wed, Dec 26, 1973
Gordon has two kids make large and small Ws out of dowel rods. Muppets: Muppet and Kid Moment - Kermit asks Debo if he knows what a W is. Cartoon: Speech Balloon: W for water. Muppets- Ernie and Bert - Ernie has six jellybeans, and Bert has seven. Bert thanks Ernie for giving him the extra jellybean. Ernie says that isn't fair - they should have an equal amount. To make it even, Ernie eats the extra jellybean. That's fair, isn't it? Film- A girl named Jennifer visits family friend Mrs. Wilson in the country, and together they pick food from her garden.
Thu, Dec 27, 1973
Big Bird talks to Mr. Snuffleupagus on the telephone. Snuffy says he's going to send Big Bird a surprise present: something that rhymes with "bee". When Big Bird hangs up, he assumes it's a tree, and proceeds to clear his nest area. Cartoon: E Imagination Artists: The Hubleys. SCENE 2: Big Bird piles some shovels outside the doors, then invites Bob, Gordon and Maria to help him dig a hole for the tree he'll be getting soon. They doubt that his "imaginary" friend would send him a tree, and walk away. Big Bird thinks some more, and concludes that Snuffy will be sending him - the sea.
Fri, Dec 28, 1973
Bob, Maria and David greet the viewer. Bob sings a song about opposites to the kids, then Sam the Robot shows up, claiming to be an expert on opposites. Sam will be right back. Cartoon- A goat discusses the letter "G". A man comes by to also talk about G, but rather than point out that "goat" is a G word, he observes the grass. Disgusted, the goat butts the man out of the way. Muppets: Grover talks about the letter G, as it slowly grows.
Mon, Dec 31, 1973
Big Bird encounters a Muppet salesman hawking "little machines" - boxes that that produce music, laughter and flashing lights, but also emit smoke, which the salesman downplays. Big Bird decides to take one. Cartoon- Frances Fairy displays several F words. Muppets- Muppet and Kid Moment - Bert and Ingrid count backwards from ten to one.
Tue, Jan 1, 1974
Maria, in need of $5 to pay back Luis, asks Gordon. Gordon asks Bob. Bob asks Big Bird. Big Bird asks Luis, and the money eventually makes its way to Maria, who gives it back to Luis. Cartoon- A boy and a dog fight over a letter "I." Muppets- Ernie and Bert - When it's Ernie's turn to get a newspaper from Hooper's Store, Ernie decides to plan everything he may need. He gets his scarf and hat and earmuffs in case it snows, his umbrella if it starts to rain, sunglasses and suntan cream if it's a sunny day, and a flashlight if it gets dark.
Wed, Jan 2, 1974
Johnny Cash sings "Nasty Dan" to Oscar the Grouch. Cartoon- Donnie Budd sings a two-step for pairs of animals. Artist: Bud Luckey. Muppets- Grover's rowboat - part 1 Grover and a group of monsters, including Herry Monster, Fenwick and Billy, get into a rowboat. The monsters all gather at one end, causing the boat to tip over and sink.
Thu, Jan 3, 1974
Number 3 quickies: Luis screws three screws into a birdhouse for Little Bird. Maria displays the three patches on her dungarees. Bob wears three cowboy hats. At Hooper's Store, Cookie Monster eats three plates of cookies, then eats the plates. Film- The Mad Painter #3. Cartoon- Simple Simon meets some strange-looking animals, all of whom have their parts switched around. Artist: Jeff Hale.
Fri, Jan 4, 1974
Big Bird, hosting a Tonight Show-esque production, gathers everyone around to tell them the "shortest story ever told" -- "Once upon a time there was a little girl, and she lived happily ever after." Everyone encourages him to tell a longer story, so Big Bird decides to take a "short intermission". Cartoon- The great Alphonso and his trained X's.
Mon, Jan 7, 1974
Gordon introduces an audience to Big Bird, who recites a poem about the otter. Film- Sesame Street Animal Films: "It's an Otter!" Music: Joe Raposo. Muppets- Ernie and Bert - Ernie answers the telephone. Bert overhears the conversation, which involves a baseball game, a rainy day, and a gorilla stealing a bologna sandwich. When Bert asks who just called, Ernie says it was a wrong number.
Mon, Jan 8, 1973
Maria, Bob and Luis find it hard to concentrate when they hear a series of loud car horns. They find that The Count is holding up a sign that reads "Please blow your horn" and has been counting the beep-beeps from passing drivers. They tell him to take down the sign, and he starts counting the cars that don't honk. Cartoon- Two boys notice a D, saying it looks fat. A resonant voice (Gary Owens) informs them that it's the letter D. This leads to a jazzy story about a dog who digs for dice, wins a duck, and buys a dinosaur with a dime. Moral: "If you dig a dinosaur, drop your duck for a dime." Cartoon- Superman exclaims "D!"
Wed, Jan 9, 1974
Gordon has two kids make large and small Ws out of dowel rods. Muppets: Muppet and Kid Moment - Kermit asks Debo if he knows what a W is. Cartoon- Speech Balloon: W for water. Muppets- Ernie and Bert - Ernie has six jellybeans, and Bert has seven. Bert thanks Ernie for giving him the extra jellybean. Ernie says that isn't fair - they should have an equal amount. To make it even, Ernie eats the extra jellybean. That's fair, isn't it?
Thu, Jan 10, 1974
Big Bird talks to Mr. Snuffleupagus on the telephone. Snuffy says he's going to send Big Bird a surprise present: something that rhymes with "bee". When Big Bird hangs up, he assumes it's a tree, and proceeds to clear his nest area. Cartoon- E Imagination Artists: The Hubleys. SCENE 2- Big Bird piles some shovels outside the doors, then invites Bob, Gordon and Maria to help him dig a hole for the tree he'll be getting soon. They doubt that his "imaginary" friend would send him a tree, and walk away. Big Bird thinks some more, and concludes that Snuffy will be sending him - the sea.
Fri, Jan 11, 1974
Bob, Maria and David greet the viewer. Bob sings a song about opposites to the kids, then Sam the Robot shows up, claiming to be an expert on opposites. Sam will be right back. Cartoon- A goat discusses the letter "G". A man comes by to also talk about G, but rather than point out that "goat" is a G word, he observes the grass. Disgusted, the goat butts the man out of the way.
1974
Big Bird encounters a Muppet salesman hawking "little machines" - boxes that that produce music, laughter and flashing lights, but also emit smoke, which the salesman downplays. Big Bird decides to take one. Cartoon- Frances Fairy displays several F words. Muppets: Muppet and Kid Moment - Bert and Ingrid count backwards from ten to one.
1974
While David tries to study, Luis practices the bongos for his gig tonight. David asks him to tone it down so he can study, and Luis goes from the Fix-it Shop to the steps by the garage. When he practices there, Maria tells him to keep it down because she has a headache. He then heads to the 123 steps, but Oscar puts a sign on his can: "Grouch sleeping". Luis assumes he'll bother Oscar, but Oscars encourages Luis to bother him while he's trying to sleep.
1974
Luis and the kids look up and see Alphabet Bates skywrite the letter O (First: Episode 0012). Cartoon- A song about a rolling O, with artists: The Hubleys. Bob, Big Bird and friends go on a scavenger hunt for objects shaped like the letter O. Big Bird asks Gordon to borrow an automobile jack, for a reason he's keeping secret for now.
1974
Grover gives a presentation of how well he can remember things. His assistant David flashes a card with the letter S on it, which Grover will remember once the card is flipped. However, Grover immediately forgets what letter it was. As he tries to remember, Gordon enters with his Sesame Street Sluggers uniform, all embroidered with Ss; this doesn't stimulate anything for Grover. He then tries to shush Oscar the Grouch, who complains that his typewriter is missing an S key. He then sees Susan wearing an S-shaped pin and the kids scrubbing scribbled Ss off the wall, all the while still unable to remember the letter. David enters to tell Grover he has to leave, with the card now flashing the letter once more. Grover suddenly "remembers" it was the letter S all along. Cartoon- S is for snow, Santa, and sleigh.
1974
David shows Maria and the kids how a tape recorder works by sampling some audio of their voices and playing it back. He flips the tape over to side B to hear what else he's recorded, thinking maybe it's some notes he took for class. After a moment, his voice is heard in a poetic cadence, "Just a few thoughts I'd like to say about Maria..." He immediately switches it off, but Maria wants to hear the rest after hearing her name. David insists the Maria he's talking about is his sister's new cat, but she convinces him to play the rest back anyway. Finally he admits that the poem was about her, which Maria says was very nice.
1974
Biff alerts the residents of 123 Sesame Street that the property is about to be demolished to build a new parking lot. Gordon and Susan protest heavily against it, and Biff realizes that he got the address wrong - the proposed parking lot is supposed to be at 321 Sesame Street, not 123. Cartoon "Poverty U". Film of U, for Underpass. Muppets- Harvey Kneeslapper: Harvey Kneeslapper goes to a man and asks, "Can I take a picture of U?" The man gives him permission, but Harvey tells him that his shoes are untied, and when the man looks down, Harvey slaps the letter U on top of his head and takes a picture of it. Film with; (stop-motion) - 'Beginning/End' - A barber gives a boy a hair cut.
1974
Gordon finds a rope. He brings it over to the kids and asks them to form letters with it, although it's clear that some of the kids haven't learned all of them yet. Cartoon of C - Cake. Muppets- Monsters, including an early Grover, Cookie Monster and Beautiful Day Monster, pass on the message, "See." The wide shot reveals that the monsters were whispering about the Letter C.
Thu, Jan 24, 1974
Bob greets the viewer, and proceeds to talk about the letter Y, when Maria interrupts him to talk about the number 7. They bicker, until Bob gets an idea: he draws seven Ys in chalk on the sidewalk. Muppets with waiter Grover: Grover serves Mr. Johnson a bowl of chicken soup. Johnson says that he can't eat the soup, and Grover can't guess why. "That settles it," Johnson sighs. "From now on, I'm bringing my lunch to work in a paper sack." He finally explains to Grover that he can't eat the soup because he doesn't have a spoon.
Fri, Jan 25, 1974
Today, everyone on Sesame Street is dressed like The Count, who teaches them how to say "Greetings" and laugh like him. He counts 8 counts, including himself. Muppets- Old West: Five good men are needed to form a posse and catch Bad Bart, the meanest man in the West. The sheriff counts five men in the saloon, and tries to organize them. But it turns out that there are only four good men -- one of them is Bad Bart. Cartoon- B is for bear, bicycle, bump, branch and bee.