Comments on: S.A.M, the Sesame Street Robot (video)

By: namowal

namowal — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I remember Crack Monster, Jonathen. He scared me too. I’d run out of the room when the cartoon started. For years afterward I feared he’d show up on my bedroom wall at night. Normal cracks creeped me out too- I’d seen the cartoon and knew what they were capable of!

By: Jonathen

Jonathen — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

When I was a kid, there was an animated skit that used to have me screaming and running from the TV, as if someone was coming out of the TV to kill me (a la “The Ring”). It was about this girl sitting in her room on a rainy day. She has a whole bunch of cracks on the walls in her room (I guess she had plaster walls). As she’s sitting there, her imagination starts to go wild, and she sees the cracks form into different shapes, mostly animal shapes, and they start to come to life. There’s a camel, and a monkey who sings something like “Good day, good day, good day, I’m glad you came my way!”. Some other things happen too, but she closes her wide-open bedroom door, and behind it is a horrible looking splinter crack monster in the plaster with a really scary face! The music is disturbing, and the monster has a horrible voice! It claims that it is the crack master and starts to moa and scream1 Suddenly, the plaster pieces that make up the face start to fall off the wall until all that’s left is a brick wall behind it. I remember when the skit started, I was like “Oh no!” And started to scream and then when the face appeared I became hysterical! I had horrible re-occurring nightmares based on it for the entire time it was on the show. I’ve been trying to find it on youtube and elsewhere, but nobody has it.

Anyway, just my two cents!

By: happenstance_man

happenstance_man — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

–Great subject line! What a great way to purge childhood traumas. I had totally forgotten about the rubber bands counting to ten, but OH did I remember it when I saw it again! My heartbeat still rises when I watch it today. The music, the voice, the eerie winking and blinking–AAAAAAH!
–One I have NEVER forgotten is the ‘crack’ video. However I recalled the third (wise)crack calling himself the ‘King of the Cracks’, not the ‘Crack Master’. Since it was so long ago and we were all so young then, who knows which one is right until it shows up on youtube (if ever)? Anyway, I DO remember VIVIDLY how it ended. The last scene showed a full shot of the girl on her bed looking up at her wall wistfully singing “I’m gonna go back to the cracks someday” a few times, as if justifying some unnamed mental disorder she has. I remember both anticipating and dreading the possibility of watching it every time SS came on. if anybody sees it on Youtube or anywhere, POST POST POST!!!

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I don’t remember seeing S.A.M. before, but it’s clearly one programming glitch away from a killing spree.
“I’m a human, you stupid machine.”
“Incorrect. My infallible sensors have registered that you are a cement mixer. I shall demonstrate by pumping four hundred kilograms of cement mix into your primary aperture.”
“Aarghmmphle…”

By: Tzaqueri

Tzaqueri — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Sammy the snake terrified me. My mom would have to turn off the tv and spend an hour calming me down. I still don’t like him. The “Daddy Dear” and lost boy in weird neighborhood creeped me out too. The rubber band guy fascinated me though.

By: Jennifer Picker

Jennifer Picker — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

My name is Jennifer Picker and I can be reached at jpicker5@yahoo.com and you can look me up on MySpace. I just ran across your notes about S.A.M. the robot. I was doing a little childhood memorylane walking and looked him up. Not being afraid of much of anything as a kid, I remember screaming at the top of my lungs and sobbing with my mother holding me and making me brave the scary S.A.M. the robot. Not long after that I became an AVID Dr. Who fan. Off and on over the years I have wondered if I was the only person out there to make that Dalek/S.A.M. connection. I was very gleeful when I saw the posts relating S.A.M. to the Daleks!!!!!!!! I am almost 34 being born in 1974, I don’t recall when I first met S.A.M., but by 1982 I was in love with the Daleks. I guess now I can truely relate to the stories of the children of the day hiding behind the sofa scared to death, yet still peeking out to watch.

I originally thought to search Sesame Street this evening to look for the Box mime costumes they used to do brief skits in. Those would creep me out. I would like to try to recreate them for a Halloween costume some year. I am an avid costumer. My masterpieces are the Lucius Malfoy costume I made for someone and the Romana II (Destiny of the Daleks – pink echo of the Dr.’s atire) costume I made for myself. I could be Lalla Ward’s somewhat heavier built twin. :)

Thanks for reading,

Jen

By: SesameBeth

SesameBeth — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I also remember Crack Master… but had totally forgotten till now!!!! Now when I see cracks in our plaster, I get totally freaked! (Thanks a lot!) : )

The Sesame Street Willy Wimple cautionary tales used to scare/shame me to no end. WW was an irresponsible kid who littered and the msg was “well if every kid did it, can’t you seeee what an icky messy, no-fun world it would be.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kb2w81eFMuA

Another clip that used to scare me on SS was a film where kids were commenting on shapes in the clouds. It had surreal harp music in the background. The film began innocently enough, with fluffy marshmallow-like cumulus clouds… but then grew more sinister (or was it my imagination?) with dark clouds. The kids start to talk about how it’s gonna rain, and “let’s go home.” I haven’t been able to find this on YouTube, either.

By: freshie

freshie — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Anyone remember the bit from Electric Company that had “There’s a thump at the door!”? I imagined some awful monster called a “Thump” banging on the door, lol.