| Sesame Street | |||||||||||
| The Old Woman who Lives in a Shoe's house arrives on Sesame Street | |||||||||||
| Air date | February 26, 1991 | ||||||||||
| Season | Season 22 (1990-1991) | ||||||||||
| Written by | Judy Freudberg | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
| Picture | Segment | Description |
|---|---|---|
  |
SCENE 1 | As the adults clean up the aftermath of last night's hurricane, Big Bird and Snuffy are heard arguing. Maria and Luis investigate and learn they are arguing over something that landed on Big Bird's nest. He thinks it’s a shoe, but Snuffy thinks it’s a house. Maria and Luis take a look at it, and are surprised to find it’s both: it's a giant, shoe-shaped house! |
 |
Cartoon | Abstract count to 16. |
 |
Celebrity | Blair Underwood swings Elmo sixteen times. (First: Episode 2794) |
 |
Song | Kevin Clash sings "Skin." (First: Episode 2749) |
 |
Cartoon | Three mayonnaise jars follow three different paths after they leave the factory. Artist: ArtistMike (First: Episode 2762) |
 |
SCENE 2 | Maria realizes the house can only belong to the Old Woman Who Lives in a Shoe, which is further evidenced by a newspaper article Luis finds stating that Mother Gooseland was hit by the hurricane, too. Maria calls the evacuation center the characters fled to and reaches the Old Woman, who says she’ll be there soon. Snuffy rushes off to Snufflegarden to tell his classmates. |
 |
Cartoon | "Water Conservation": Frank the fish calls Carl and tells him not to leave the water running while brushing his teeth, otherwise the lake will be dry. Artist: Peter Chung (First: Episode 2689) |
 |
Song | "Take Care of That Smile" (First: Episode 2745) |
 |
Muppets | Monsterpiece Theater: Twin Beaks — Agent Cookie investigates a mysterious town. |
 |
Cartoon | A for astronaut, airplane, airport, and automobile. (First: Episode 2250) |
  |
SCENE 3 | Telly tries to remember the last two lines of the nursery rhyme, but fails to and wonders why it's bothering him. The Old Woman (Rhea Perlman) arrives and describes the sights she saw last night during the hurricane: the Three Little Pigs have to rebuild their brick house, Little Miss Muffet lost her tuffet, and Little Jack Horner's corner is no more. Since her house is now on Sesame Street, she decides to relocate there while Maria and Luis reassure Big Bird that they can repair his nest. The Old Woman then calls in her many kids who begin piling into the shoe-house. |
 |
Cartoon | "Island of Emotion" Artist: Sally Cruikshank |
 |
Muppets | Grover is the newest employee of a fast food franchise which serves such delicacies as O'Fish, O'Salad, O'Rye Bread, and O'Milk. However, this is a different kind of "fast food" restaurant: the food zips by the customer on trays across the counter, and falls to the floor if it's not caught in time. Mr. Johnson is not ready for this, so he asks if there's any "slow food." There is, but it's served by a turtle who takes longer than Mr. Johnson wants to wait. (First: Episode 2582) |
 |
Song | "One of These Things" (with Fay Ray) (First: Episode 2604) |
 |
Cartoon | Gerald's dog Sparky likes to pretend he's an alligator. (First: Episode 1519) |
  |
SCENE 4 | The Old Woman and her kids have flocked the street playing while Telly keeps trying to think of the next part of their poem, knowing that the rest will reveal something incriminating about her. They watch her as she makes sure the kids remember their new street name by reading the lamppost sign. Oscar pops from his can with another sign for them: his “SCRAM” sign. However, it doesn’t sink in as fast as he wants since it takes a while for the big group to leave. Big Bird and Telly observe that the Old Woman seems to know what to do, despite her poem saying otherwise. |
 |
Cartoon | Bruce the moose invites Toulouse LaGoose over for juice. (First: Episode 2498) |
 |
Muppets | "Sixteen Samba" |
 |
Film | A blind class goes on a field trip downtown, and visits a produce stand. (First: Episode 2580) |
 |
Animation | G/g musical notes (Gordon voiceover) (First: Episode 2233) |
 |
SCENE 5 | Big Bird sees the family eating lunch now, which jogs Telly’s memory. He recalls the next line of the poem: “She gave them some broth without any bread.” However, Big Bird observes them eating spaghetti with garlic bread. The Old Woman says it’s naptime, which reminds Telly of the next line: “... and whipped them all soundly and put them to bed.” Once again, Big Bird sees the contrary and watches the Old Woman sending them off to bed, kissing and hugging each child. |
 |
Animation | Cecille sings "I Wanna Be Me." (First: Episode 2791) |
 |
Muppets | Kermit shows what's inside of Herry Monster using the X-ray machine. (First: Episode 1974) |
 |
Song | Jeff Redd sings "Between." (First: Episode 2738) |
 |
Cartoon | A for apricot, alligator, acrobat, accordion, artist, airplane. (First: Episode 1586) |
 |
SCENE 6 | Telly and Big Bird ask why the Old Woman is nothing like her poem. She says that she's a different Old Lady who lives in a shoe and tells them her poem. She adds an extra verse that treats them both to a snack at Hooper's Store. |
 |
Animation | Kids talk about families, often mentioning having rhinoceroses as pets. (First: Episode 2759) |
 |
Muppets | The Two-Headed Monster finishes a bag of popcorn, and almost leaves it on the brick wall, but then argues over which trash can to throw it in. Finally, it rips the bag in half to "share" the trash. (First: Episode 2718) |
 |
Song | "Hot in the City" (First: Episode 2751) |
 |
Cartoon | Lillian discusses the adjustments she had to make when her parents had a new baby. She ultimately appreciates her sister. Artist: Craig Bartlett (First: Episode 2746) |
  |
SCENE 7 | Snuffy comes back from Snufflegarden and learns the Old Woman and her children are at the park and will return shortly. Snuffy catches a whiff of the garlic, which sets off his allergies. His sneeze is so powerful that it sends the Old Woman’s house flying. The Old Woman comes back and is shocked and worried (her insurance may not cover sneezes from a Snuffleupagus), but a call from Mother Goose calms her as her house has landed back in Mother Gooseland! The family begins to return home while Big Bird covers Snuffy’s snuffle with a hankie to prevent him from sneezing again. Maria announces the sponsors. |
Notes[]
- This episode was later re-aired in Season 24 as Episode 3027.
| Previous episode: | Next episode: |
| Episode 2821 | Episode 2823 |