Just recently there's been the news that Sesame Workshop (formerly the Children's Television Workshop) was going to be making a Muppet-starring show specifically for British audiences, the new Cbeebies series being announced by a brief "interview" with Cookie Monster at the end of an episode of Newsnight. It was adorable. The original show used to air on Channel 4 but disappeared from schedules years ago, only to return this year with totally new series The Furchester Hotel. Which isn't the first time the Jim Henson company has been involved in producing totally new versions of their superb education program which taught us about shapes, numbers, letters, and the surprising comedic sensibilities of James Blunt. Shortly after the US original debuted in 1969 there's been dozens of international versions, some of them more bizarre than others. A lot of them are just straight remakes that place the familiar characters of Elmo and Big Bird in different locations speaking different languages. Others are a little more...specific. There are French, Swiss, German, Dutch, and Brazilian versions where the New York street becomes something more appropriate for each culture; a Kuwaiti show that was broadcast in 22 Arab countries; an Israeli version dedicated to teaching kids about mutual respect due to "profound political tension in the region"; and then there's the South African Takalani Sesame, which focuses on AIDS education with the creation of the first HIV-positive Muppet, Kami. It's definitely a good thing to have such education being given to kids at a young age, especially with AIDS remaining such a huge threat, but...a Muppet with HIV? And it's nowt to do with Avenue Q? That's pretty surreal.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
