SESAME STREET - FOR ADULTS ONLY

My brother and I weren't allowed to veg in front of the television when we were young. However, dispensation was given if we were watching PBS.

The Public Broadcasting Service was a haven for smart children's programming back in the 1970's. Mister Rodger's Neighborhood, The Electric Company, Villa Allegre, Zoom!, and of course Sesame Street, were shows we watched religiously. We learned the alphabet, numbers, colors and shapes, how to count, and get along with others.

I suppose you could say it was the original Channel 1.

So it was with amusing shock when I read in the New York Times this morning about how the first few seasons of Sesame Street, which are now available on DVD, come with the following warning:

“These early ‘Sesame Street’ episodes are intended for grown-ups, and may not suit the needs of today’s preschool child.”

WTF? A children's show not intended for children?

It seems my fellow Gen X'ers were exposed to such shocking and inappropriate scenes, such as:

 " . . . (a) dingy brownstone at 123 Sesame Street, where the closeted Ernie and Bert shared a dismal basement apartment, was deteriorating. Cookie Monster was on a fast track to diabetes. Oscar’s depression was untreated . . . "

" . . . a pretty, lonely girl like Sally might find herself befriended by an older male stranger who held her hand and took her home. Granted, Gordon just wanted Sally to meet his wife and have some milk and cookies, but . . . well, he could have wanted anything. As it was, he fed her milk and cookies. The milk looks dangerously whole . . . "

Read the article. It has an appropriately snarky tone, as it should. I mean, seriously, a parental advisory for Sesame Street?

For shame.