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Sesame Street - Old School, Vol. 1 (1969-1974) | 
| Actor: Sesame Street
Studio: Sesame Street
Category: DVD
List Price: $39.95
Buy New: $26.01
You Save: $13.94 (35%)
New (42) Used (8) Collectible (1) from $26.01
Rating:  149 reviews
Sales Rank: 1810
Format: Box Set, Color, Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Region: 1
Number Of Discs: 3
Running Time: 440 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.5 x 0.8
MPN: 89126400102
UPC: 891264001021
EAN: 0891264001021
ASIN: B000H6SY8C
Theatrical Release Date: 2006
Release Date: October 24, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
When the Children's Theater Workshop's Sesame Street first aired on television in 1969, it was a revolutionary new show aimed specifically at preschool children--an audience previously untargeted by television programming. Exhaustively-researched and tested on real audiences of preschoolers, this "experiment in kid programming" aimed to teach preschoolers the alphabet, numbers, body parts, rhyming, and basic reasoning skills while thoroughly entertaining them. Through the use of humor, the amazing puppetry of Frank Oz and Jim Henson, animation, the incredibly catchy music of Joe Raposo and Jeffrey Moss, and a fast-action pace borrowed from the television commercial format, Sesame Street was, and still is, more successful at educating and entertaining children than anyone initially imagined. What's more, the lessons learned by generations of preschoolers went far beyond simple school-readiness skills to include values like acceptance, cooperation, and inclusiveness because the urban Sesame Street was a place populated by people and monsters young viewers could identify with, where anything could happen, and where every ethnicity, generation, and species co-existed and interacted harmoniously. Sesame Street: Old School Volume 1 1969-1974 offers a sampling of the first five seasons of Sesame Street and includes the first episode of each season in its entirety as well as a large selection of classic segments from each season highlighting some of the most memorable sketches ("Bein' Green," "Rubber Duckie," "Whistle a Happy Tune," and Super-Grover in "Telephone Booth"), favorite human characters like Bob and Mr. Hooper, and guest appearances by celebrities like Bill Cosby, Lena Horne, Jackie Robinson, Carol Burnett, and Jesse Jackson. Adult viewers will be transported back in time as they witness Bert's frustration with his ever-noisy roommate Ernie, chuckle at the antics of Grover and his demanding customer in Grover's Restaurant, and wonder if Snuffleupagus will ever show himself to someone besides Big Bird. Other well-remembered moments include pinball number count, the baker who inevitably tumbles down the stairway with a handful of cream pies, the ever-munching Cookie Monster, "Here is Your Life" segments, Bert "Doin' the Pigeon," and the inevitably grumpy Oscar the Grouch. Post-Elmo preschoolers and their parents will laugh, learn, grow, and connect with one another as they share this classic compilation of Sesame Street moments. Bonus features include the original sales pitch reel (introduced by Joan Ganz Cooney and hosted by Kermit the Frog and Rowlf the Dog) and a thick booklet rich with history, trivia, and a pullout activity section for children. (Ages 2 and older) --Tami Horiuchi
Product Description
Do you remember how to get to Sesame Street? Relive those memorable moments from your childhood with Sesame Street: Old School. The best of seasons one to five are all here for the first time ever on DVD. Included are the best episodes from these early years the original pilot as it aired and tons of extras. Do you remember the Ladybug Picnic? How about Wanda the Witch? Did you learn to count with Bill Cosby or James Earl Jones? Sing "Nasty Dan" with Johnny Cash? Sesame Street Old School has something for everyone whether you just have those adorable monsters (and one big bird) or you want to share the show with your children. Make Abracadabra Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich grab your rubber duckie and head on down to where the air is sweet.System Requirements:Run Time: 420 minsFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: CHILDREN/FAMILY UPC: 891264001021 Manufacturer No: 89126400102
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| Customer Reviews: Read 144 more reviews...
 Yes, Finally!!! September 17, 2006
C. Dvorak
172 out of 176 found this review helpful
After many years of fans begging the Sesame Workshop (formerly the Children's Television Workshop) to do a major release of "classic" material from the archives, it appears that they finally relented! I think the success of the Electric Company Set from several months back paved the way...
Let me start out by saying that I'm 29 years old and have been collecting this material for years. The bulk of what I've obtained came from the Noggin channel which was playing old episodes of Street from 1969 to 1989 until they stopped airing them a few years back.
I imagine most of the people interested in this set are familiar with the early years of Sesame Street. It was a chaotic, brilliantly conceived show from day one... very much a product of its time (the late 60s), and although the show was devised to teach kids, it was in its own way as revolutionary in format as Monty Python's Flying Circus was... extremely fast paced and chock full of highly imaginative, trippy animated segments (such as, for example the Racecars Spies number series, best described as a psychedelic freak out with dreamlike, surreal animation regarding numbers one through ten and sung by Grace Slick, then of Jefferson Airplane, in her own inimitable way)... And that's just the tip of the iceberg. For those of you who grew up being hypnotized, and yes, often frightened by the many strange, often subversive animated segments of the show (many of which are permanently etched in your brain; you'd be amazed how vividly some of these clips come back to you even after not seeing them for 25 years or more), still recall with affection the brilliant jazzy orchestrations of show composer Joe Raposo (who wrote the most sophisticated music ever devised for children's TV), remember hanging out with Mr. Hooper and a Gordon who actually had hair (there were actually two other actors who played Gordon before the current bald one we know and love), and loved the rougher, edgier quality of those early muppet segments, this is the release for you. After many years of Schoolhouse Rock being available for purchase (which I love too, but the early Street material is even better in my opinion), we can now look forward to this:
7 hours of classic content
5 complete hour-long episodes (slightly edited due to music rights issues)
Over 54 bonus segments, including:
The original pitch for the show - first time available anywhere!
Celebrity appearances from James Earl Jones, Jesse Jackson, Johnny Cash, Jackie Robinson
Classic segments every parent will remember: "I Love Trash," "Rubber Duckie," "C is for Cookie"
Original animations including Ladybug Picnic, Alligator King, King of Eight
Hopefully this will be the first of many releases of classic Sesame Street! The second volume of the Electric Company will be released in November.
Yes Virginia, there was a Sesame Street before Elmo... October 27, 2006
Kelley A. Bergamo (Homewood, IL)
68 out of 72 found this review helpful
I have been an avid fan of Sesame Street since the age of six weeks, when my mom placed me in my baby swing in front of the TV on an autumn day in 1976.
I just received this set today and I watched it from beginning to end. The episodes are crystal clear, fully restored, and completely unedited, unlike the versions shown on Noggin. I saw many clips that brought back fond memories, including the classic sketch where Bert is disturbed by water dripping in the bathroom and asks Ernie to "do something about it". In response, Ernie turns on the radio to drown out the sound of the faucet, and then turns on the vacuum cleaner to drown out the sound of the radio! Absolutely hilarious! All of your other old school Muppet characters are here, including Grover, Cookie Monster, Oscar (shown in his original orange color and his telltale green fur), Herry, Little Bird, Kermit the Frog Prairie Dawn, and of course, Big Bird and Snuffy! All of the actors look so fresh and young and you gotta love them 70s outfits! In addition to the five season premieres, there are also "classic clips" from each season as well as the original sales reel hosted by Kermit the Frog and Rowlf the Dog (who would later star in the Muppet Show) explaining what this new show called Sesame Street was all about.
I am glad that Sesame Workshop (formerly known to us old schoolers as the Children's Television Workshop) finally listened to the pleas of us thirty-somethings. I hope that there will be more episodes to come. This is a set that I will treasure for years to come and someday hope to share it with my own children.
Hours of fun for yesterday's kids! November 9, 2006
Brian (USA)
18 out of 19 found this review helpful
Rather than go with the traditional "box set-by-season" release schedule, the producers have taken the far more digestible and appealing approach of selecting highlight episodes from the show's first five seasons. This makes for a wonderful viewing experience for 30-somethings feeling nostalgic for their childhoods. To be honest, most people wouldn't want to sit through an entire season's worth, anyway. The "greatest hits"/"classic clips" approach is far more palatable.
While the Muppets are undeniably cute, this is a package that is squarely aimed at adults. There is an interesting disclaimer in the booklet as well as an animated introduction on disc 1 that explains how teaching methods have changed dramatically in the last 30 years, and that some components and ideas are no longer necessarily suitable for today's young audiences to watch on their own. For example, in the first episode, Gordon is walking alone with one of his newly-arrived young students after school and giving her a tour of Sesame Street. His wife invites the little girl to come over later for milk and cookies, and she accepts immediately. Her parents are nowhere to be seen, and are never consulted. In another episode, a little lost girl uses a dime to call home for help, but a well-meaning SuperGrover forcibly carries her away, ostensibly to save her mom the trip. And of course, there's the issue of the grownups not believing Big Bird even though he's telling the truth about the Snuffleupagus.
Disc 1 also contains the original 30 minute pitch reel that the Children's Television Workshop designed for Public Broadcasting Stations to consider the show. Introduced by CTW founding member Joyce Ganz Cooney, the reel features Rowlf the Dog explaining the show concept (creating "commercials" for letters and numbers) to Kermit by showing test clips and footage of development meetings. It's absolutely fascinating (and genuinely heart-warming) to see the people involved in pioneering what was an exciting and new learning medium. You see footage of a cartoon ("The Letter J") being pitched, developed, animated, recorded, and tested on kids. It's a remarkable process that makes you appreciate the hard work and true heart that goes into creating something positive for children. The footage interspersed with Muppet "producers" trying to come up with a name for this wonderful new show...
There are five episodes spread across three discs, one from each year between 1969-1974 (including the pilot). Each episode can be viewed as originally broadcast, or you can jump directly to a certain skit. The discs also contain separate sections that contain highlights from each season as a whole, so you can revisit hilarious classics like "Ernie Counts Sheep", "Grover's Restaurant", "Sesame Street News: Rapunzel", trippy cartoons like "Loaf of Bread, Container of Milk, and Stick of Butter", "Alligator King", "The Pinball Song", and great songs like "Bein' Green", "Rubber Duckie", "C Is For Cookie", and "I Love Trash".
There are also remarkable celebrity appearances, with Bill Cosby, Jackie Robinson, James Earl Jones, Lou Rawls and Carol Burnett counting or reciting the alphabet.
It's also interesting to see our favorite characters before they were fully developed: Big Bird is initially presented as an extraordinarily simple-minded goofy character and Oscar is a strange nuclear orange.
The booklet is packed full of information on the behind-the-scenes process and includes a mini-almanac to help put things in perspective (when Sesame Street debuted, the average median income was less than $9000!). There's a mini-pullout puzzle section aimed at children, but I can't see too many kids actually bothering with it. Plus, the grownups won't want to tear up their booklet!
If you're feeling reflective and want to revisit pre-Elmo Sesame Street, this is an essential purchase that gives you the nostalgia fix you need without wearing out its welcome.
Review Brought to You By the Letter "A" and the Number "1" October 27, 2006
Christina Warren (Atlanta, GA)
17 out of 17 found this review helpful
At 23 years of age, I can truly say that I have been a lifetime fan of Sesame Street. Watching the 3-DVD set of Sesame Street - Old School, Vol. 1 has been both nostalgic and enlightening. Because I was born practically a decade after most of the material on this set originally aired, I expected most of the content to be new to me (I was barely a year old when Mr. Hooper's death was explained to the world), but that was not the case. Many of the short films and interstitials were familiar (and not just because I used to watch Sesame Unpaved on Noggin) to me as a viewer from the mid-1980s, and I think that just underscores the quality the show has exhibited from the beginning. Sesame Street truly revolutionized children's programming, not just because it was educational, but because it was (and remains) entertaining, not pandering. I'll admit, seeing Gordon with an afro, Orange Oscar and the first few tries at Big Bird's head still freak me out a bit (as they did when I saw them on Noggin several years back), but the show itself is just as good as I ever remembered, something that cannot be said for most nostalgia entertainment (like Transformers or He-Man or JEM).
The set contains five full episodes from the first five seasons, and 54 (the liner notes are incorrect, they should have asked Count for help) bonus clips. The set also includes the 25 minute pitch-film that was made before the series originally aired, explaining Sesame Street's message and motive. Although the episodes have a disclaimer that it is not necessarily intended for today's pre-school children, I believe they would probably enjoy "classic" Street even more than the current lineup of shows. The fact that today's pre-schoolers may be more advanced than the Sesame Street of yore can really be attributed to Sesame Street itself, and that's pretty cool. Still, I personally appreciate that the aim of the set is at adults, because so many of us associate our childhood with Sesame Street. A booklet is included that gives a brief overview of the series from the first five years and I found it informative.
According to Muppet Central, a few sketches were altered or removed for music copyright issues (one with Stevie Wonder, one with Rogers & Hammerstein), but because I never saw the originals, I found nothing amiss. What astounded me more than anything was that at the end of the first five years, more than 600 episodes of the show had been produced. No wonder they can't release full seasons! Although the full-length episodes are great, my favorite part are the additional sketches from each respective season. Seeing Kermit sing "Bein' Green" in its original form, the "Bread, Milk and Butter" cartoon and the "In in the Sky with Diamonds" parody is a real treat.
The picture quality is great -- especially considering the program's age (and the fact that it was one of the first programs to be recorded on video, although film was used for most of the interstitials) -- I doubt the show ever looked as good as it looks right now. The sound quality is good too -- mono of course -- but clear and crisp.
Overall, I highly recommend this set for anyone who loves or loved Sesame Street. For those who were born after these episodes aired (like me), looking back at the beginning is really special. It is clear that everyone involved had a true love for teaching and interacting with children and taking television to another level.
Thanks for Finally Taking Us to Sesame Street! October 11, 2006
Neil Ferreira (Rocky Hill, CT United States)
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
Simply put Sesame Street is the best children's educational programming ever created. It's smart, funny, and timeless. All three of my children have benefited greatly from watching this show (as did I as a child). Other children's shows are very good and entertaining but from my own personal experience I'd have to say Sesame Street is still tops in teaching. I can't wait to share this box set with my two year old daughter. I'm sure even my two older boys will get a kick out of seeing what I used to watch when I was a child. I'm hoping this is a first in a long line of comprehensive chronilogical collections to come!
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