the longest running children program that educated a lot of people in their early years is clocking 45 years on November 10th. this program is most educative compared to other imitations like Barney and teletubies and it's always start studded.

You don't get to be the
longest-running children's show in U.S. TV
history by doing the same thing over and over.
So even though parents who grew up watching
"Sesame Street" can still see old favorites like
Big Bird, things on the street have changed
since the show debuted 45 years ago on Nov. 10,
1969.
Cookie Monster now exercises self-control and
sometimes eats fruits and vegetables. Millions of
kids watch the show on phones and computers
instead of TV. And there's less time spent on
the street with human characters. They're just
not energetic enough for today's viewers.
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In Britain, a BBC kids' show, "Blue Peter," is even
older — on since 1958 — but that "Sesame
Street" still exists in the U.S. at all, given the
competition here, says a lot. In 1973, it was one
of two shows on U.S. television for preschoolers.
Now it's competing with 84 kids' shows on TV
and countless others online. Yet "Sesame Street"
still holds its own, ranking 20th among kids ages
2 to 5 with 850,000 viewers per TV episode,
according to Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit
organization behind the show.
But now half the viewers watch it in digital
formats. Options include SesameStreet.org,
PBSKids.org, Netflix, Amazon, iTunes and some
50 apps. A "Sesame Street" YouTube channel
has a million subscribers and 1.5 billion views.
And touchscreens have been "a magic wand for
us in terms of engagement," says "Sesame
Street" senior vice president Scott Chambers.
Kids can trace letters or point to colors or
shapes, and the app provides positive
reinforcement.
"Sesame Street" also has the highest "co-
viewing" experience — meaning adults watching
with kids — of any preschool show: 49 percent of
"Sesame Street" viewers are over age 18. "We're
very proud of that," said Chambers. "We design
the show to engage the parent because we
know that's more educational. If you have a
parent watching with you, you're going to learn
much more."
That's why sketches often have contemporary
celebrity guests or pop culture references that 2-
year-olds don't get, but adults do. A James Bond
parody stars Cookie Monster as a secret agent,
Double-Stuffed 7, in "The Spy Who Loved
Cookies." Another show celebrates "what makes
people special," with Elmo telling Lupita Nyong'o
that her skin "is a beautiful brown color." The
actress responds, "Skin comes in lots of
beautiful shades and colors ... I love my skin!"
It's a classic "Sesame Street" lesson about
diversity that goes back to its groundbreaking
roots as one of the few shows in the 1970s to
feature all races and ethnicities. Today the show
also routinely features children with disabilities.
Parents whose kids watch old episodes may be
puzzled by warnings that the material may be
inappropriate for today's children. But remember
"Monsterpiece Theater," a parody of PBS'
"Masterpiece Theater"? Back in the day, Cookie
Monster hosted the show as Alistair Cookie, and
he had a pipe, imitating the real show's human
host Alistair Cooke. Cookie Monster gobbled the
pipe up rather than smoking it, but any reference
to smoking is now unacceptable.
The music has changed too. Those memorable
lyrics, "Sunny day, sweepin' the clouds away, on
my way to where the air is sweet," still open
every episode, but now the song has a
syncopated, jazzier beat. Other sketches feature
hip-hop or Latin music. In one new episode,
rocker Elvis Costello pops up singing, "A monster
went and ate my red two" to the tune of his
famous line, "Angels wanna wear my red shoes."
The Dracula-like Count von Count puppet uses a
disco beat to teach a lesson about the number
nine in his "Number of the Day" segment, and
every episode ends with "Elmo the Musical," with
Broadway-style songs and a velvet curtain.
Newer seasons also feature less of the actual
street with human characters, and more puppets
in skits with animation or other technical
wizardry. Executive producer Carol-Lynn Parente
says the puppets "have a madcap energy to
them" that helps "Sesame Street" compete with
the many other kids shows that are animated.
"Sesame Street" also is unique because before
any scripts are written, child development
experts offer input on what today's kids need to
succeed in school. That's why in addition to
teaching letters, numbers and values, the show
now teaches behaviors like impulse control and
listening to directions.
"Cookie Monster has been our poster child for
self-regulation because of his love of cookies,"
said Parente. The puppet sometimes now eats
fruits and vegetables instead — although he may
also devour the plate, table and chair.
Elmo also remains a central part of the show,
despite a real-world scandal in which three men
accused the puppeteer behind Elmo, Kevin
Clash, of underage sexual abuse. Those lawsuits
were dismissed in 2013 because the statute of
limitations on the accusations had run out.
Not all of today's parents love "Sesame Street."
Some say it simply doesn't keep their kids'
attention. Daphne Mallory, a mother of four in
Twin Falls, Idaho, grew up watching "Sesame
Street" but says her four children don't. "It lost
its relevance," she said. "It's geared toward
engaging the parents watching the program with
their children, rather than truly educating the
children. While I appreciate celebrity
appearances, I find it distracting more than
adding to the experience."
But Lori Chajet of Brooklyn, New York, says her
daughters, now 7 and 10, loved it — including old
episodes they got on tape — while she and her
husband appreciated the emphasis on
multiculturalism and the pop culture references
for adults.
"Little kids learn from it," said her 7-year-old
daughter Sasha, "but they really have a really fun
time watching it."


http://news.yahoo.com/sesame-street-marks-45th-birthday-072744482.html

i remember the count, the lady [or man] who was always painting numbers on things, the haberdasher [dont know what he's called, he usually has something to sell which turns out to be numbers], what else now.


the recent sesame street is now more international i think.