Mad Men on Sesame Street

Aman Ali, a BoingBoing guest blogger, is the co-author of 30 Mosques, a Ramadan adventure taking him to a different mosque in New York City every day for a month.

I'll spare you guys the annoyance of raving about how good the TV show Mad Men is. But now apparently Sesame Street has gotten Mad Men fever. My friend's 3-year-old son saw the clip and said he wants to grow up and be like Don Draper. I said "You and me both kid, you and me both."

Aman Ali is a writer and comic that is not afraid to speak his mind. His jokes cross age, cultural and religious barriers with the intention of bringing people together with his humor.

MORE: Funny • guestblog • Kids • madmen • parody • pop culture

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Avram / Moderator

And the the Draper Muppet finishes off a bottle of scotch and goes to visit his mistress.
Roach

So you want to lie to everyone you know, ignore your children, and cheat on your wife repeatedly?
Ronald Pottol

And what about the “Twin Beaks” episode with Special Agent Cookie?
Jesse M.

Anonymous #16 wrote:
Horrible musical selections that draw from over-sexualized music (just watch that “Muppets From Space” flick….horrible selections of Disco, Funk, and Reggae).

I haven’t seen Muppets From Space, but Sesame Street has been using this type of music periodically since the 70s…for example, see Disco Grover, or the funky 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12 song, or Stevie Wonder performing ‘Superstition’ on Sesame Street (check out that kid gettin’ down at 4:10!)

Besides, Muppets From Space wasn’t a spinoff of Sesame Street, it was a spinoff of the Muppet Show! That show was never aimed only at kids, there was always a fair amount of adult humor on there.
Anonymous

Anonymous @ 12, I have two words for you: Monsterpiece. Theater.

Indeed, I thought of that as I was writing. I give you Alistair Cookie, but then you would inevitably be introduced to something completely different like “Upstairs, Downstairs” with Grover… going up and down a set of stairs.

There is something slavish about the modern parodies which reminds me of the last days of SCTV -high concept, but not that much fun.
TEKNA2007

Am I the only one who sees the Emperor is nekked.

It’s not perfect (from Slate I think, Matt Weiner said he already used up all his existing ammo for season one and was frantically reloading), but if you’re going to watch episodic TV it is IMO one of the best things going.

I rented the first season on DVD one by one, then rented the second season in entirety and consumed it in a weekend. Now going nuts as the third season trickles out on its own release schedule.
devophill

This reminds me of my favorite Monsterpiece Theater, and also that they’ve done this sort of thing for years.
David Cake

This reminds me a great deal of one of my other favourite bits of Sesame Street, Twin Beaks, muppets doing David Lynch from the very early 90s.

Which just goes to show that all the people complaining about recent Sesame Street just don’t know the show as well as they thought – they have been doing this sort of TV parody for a long time, and it was the staple of the Monsterpiece Theatre segments that must have been one of the most loved parts of the show, and began well before Jim Hensons death.

My other favourite Monsterpiece theatre segment – waiting for elmo, a parody of waiting for Godot.
Anonymous

I watch a fair amount of Sesame Street with the kid, and I have to say, I find the parodies like this kind of lame. (They do a 30 Rock one as well.)

Old-timey Sesame Street seemed to parody types rather than whole shows (Guy Smiley, for example), which I think gave a them a more flexible platform for the sketches. I don’t know who this is supposed to amuse, the adults, or the kids, but it happens in almost all TV shows and makes me think that TV writers don’t do much other than watch TV all the time, resulting in a kind of self-referential tunnel vision.

Of course, old-timey Sesame Street also showed kids in the hood using rusty mattress spring sets as a sort of trampoline, which wouldn’t go down well these days, I’d imagine.
mgfarrelly

I think it’s charming. It’s the sort of parody that gives the adults watching with their kids something to enjoy, like the aforementioned “Monsterpiece Theatre” bits.

My question is why do a “feelings” skit? Especially when you could go with something like “Add Men” and do some basic math?
13tales

This may be the most wonderful thing ever. I’m not exagerrating.
Gilbert Wham

#21: Exactly. That’s what I was expecting. Where was The Count? Also, lest we forget: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ul7X5js1vE
13tales

Ugh. Ignore my terrible spelling.
nemryn

You’re not alone, Mojave!
Anonymous

i am in favour of children’s programming using the word “sycophant.”
Aman Ali

I’m going to have to agreee with you 13tales.
Anonymous

“It’s been an emotional roller coaster hasn’t it? Good work sycophants!”
PJCoursey

This was pretty charming…

Although I was hoping to see Muppets chain smoking constantly while saying chauvinistic things.
coaxial

Good work sycophants. ;)
Ratdog

Is no one else sad that the bear has no honey? or that the raccoons stole his food? Man this is depressing.
Anonymous

Men don’t wear fedoras indoors.

Not even in that show.
Anonymous

“Good job sycophants.” – an underutilized phrase if there ever was one.
Tdawwg

Brilliant idea casting Mitt Romney for the Don Draper role…. and Mittens really carries the role!
Mike Harris

I’m surprised they didn’t go with “glad” instead of “happy”, to continue the theme.
Anonymous

grrrr…

Sesame street and the Muppets have been so bastardized since Jim passed on. I don’t know who is steering that ship…whether it’s Henson the younger…or maybe no one is at the helm……

Kitchy references. Horrible musical selections that draw from over-sexualized music (just watch that “Muppets From Space” flick….horrible selections of Disco, Funk, and Reggae).

There was a purity to the old muppets…where each part added to a greater whole. Now it’s each element reduces.

It totally lacks the joy and purity that Jim infused it with.

Now there’s this crass sense of trying to be cool and hip (like the many appearance of Kermit on TV talk shows in totally inappropriate situations)…instead of being cool. And humour that is more TMZ than PBS.

I mean Kermit with Lady Gaga at the MTV VMA’s?…really???

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifd4gjIJ9Bc

Kermit the Frog on America’s Got Talent??

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eztcCT9e_jI

On Jimmy Kimmel??

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NM-NfvLPAs

They should have just packed all Jim Henson’s characters in after he passed on…instead of letting the muppets disolve into mediocrity…and overwrite amazing childhood memories with pure crap…
Stefan Jones

#10: Cripes, seeing a guy get his foot chopped up by a riding lawnmower isn’t enough for you?
Anonymous

I agree that the show is superbly made and the actors are excellent, but nothing ever happens!
Oooh, he’s conflicted!
Oooh, no one respects her!
How dramatic!!

I love nuanced and subtle, but this is pushing credibility. Am I the only one who sees the Emperor is nekked.
Anonymous

Good work, sycophants!
jere7my

Old-timey Sesame Street seemed to parody types rather than whole shows (Guy Smiley, for example), which I think gave a them a more flexible platform for the sketches.

Anonymous @ 12, I have two words for you:

Monsterpiece.

Theater.
Anonymous

My friend’s 3-year-old son saw the clip and said he wants to grow up and be like Don Draper. I said “You and me both kid, you and me both.”

But just like in the “Highlander” movies there can only be one!