| Sesame Street | |||||||
| Big Bird looks for answers | |||||||
| Air date | March 26, 1998 | ||||||
| Season | Season 29 (1997-1998) | ||||||
| Written by | David Korr | ||||||
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| Picture | Segment | Description |
|---|---|---|
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SCENE 1 | Big Bird and Snuffy look at an alphabet book which is on the O page, for Owl. Snuffy wonders why he's never seen an owl before, and they ask Gordon why they don't see owls when they walk in the woods. Gordon explains that owls come out at night. When Gordon leaves, Big Bird points out that when he and Snuffy asked him the question, Gordon rubbed his chin, and then answered the question. They come to the conclusion that maybe the chin-rubbing helped him answer the question, and decide to put it to the test ... but first Snuffy needs a question to ask Big Bird. |
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Song | "See Like a Bird" (Pigeon) (First: Episode 3670) |
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Muppets | Grover and Mr. Johnson: Grover the taxi driver picks up Mr. Johnson, who's startled to find his usual waiter driving a cab. Mr. Johnson wants to go to the library. Grover says that that is a very wise choice, and talks about the great things about a library. "Of course, you could also go to the zoo," he observes, and talks about the benefits of visiting the zoo. He also suggests the museum, or a movie. Mr. Johnson insists that they go to the library -- but Grover says they'll have to wait until he gets his cab fixed. (First: Episode 2984) |
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Film | Three taxi chairs (First: Episode 3119) |
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Song | "Hot in the City" (First: Episode 2751) |
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Cartoon | A concert pianist shows up in a construction worker's lunchbox, singing the alphabet. (First: Episode 0449) |
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SCENE 2 | Snuffy finally comes up with a question to ask Big Bird. It's the same question that they asked Gordon, so the test doesn't go so well. Snuffy then asks a new question, concerning the subject of the book that his mommy read to him last night, "Annabelle and the Magic Bottle." The title is a dead giveaway, but Snuffy is amazed when Big Bird comes up with the answer. His next question is about his aunt Samantha's last name. So far, all of Big Bird's guesses are wrong this time ... |
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Song | Leon Redbone sings "Have You Ever." (First: Episode 3274) |
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Animation | Fans unveil Q and q. (First: Episode 2895) |
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Muppets | Worms in Space The worms make the letter Q. |
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Cartoon | Airplanes carve the letter Q. (First: Episode 3179) |
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Song | "Write Your Name" (First: Episode 3274) |
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SCENE 3 | Big Bird is still trying to guess Snuffy's Aunt Samantha's last name. Gabi meets them, and when she finds this out, she scratches her head, then guesses that it's "Snuffleupagus," which is right! Big Bird and Snuffy are amazed; now Big Bird thinks that scratching his head will work better than rubbing his beak. Snuffy thinks both will work, and asks Big Bird another question: what's his Uncle Sidney's last name? Big Bird rubs his beak and scratches his head, and gets the answer right this time. He decides that he and Snuffy should see what others do while they figure out the answers to questions. |
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Cartoon | I Thought a Thought ... about big things. Artist: Cliff Roberts (First: Episode 0226) |
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Muppets | Farley sings "Figure It Out." (First: Episode 1626) |
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Film | A girl uses an instant camera to take pictures of her friends, who demonstrate several emotions. (First: Episode 3582) |
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Cartoon | Three owls blink. Artist: Owe Gustafson (First: Episode 1469) |
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Film | Song: It's number 3 (on trike/on hike) (First: Episode 3136) |
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Cartoon | A little girl counts the reasons why she likes the number 3. (First: Episode 3532) |
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Muppets / Celebrity | Denyce Graves leads a "Bug Choir" in a buzzing operatic tune. (First: Episode 3716) |
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Cartoon | Lightning bugs make shapes. Artist: Fred Garbers (First: Episode 3150) |
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Film | A girl floats around in a circle. (First: Episode 3130) |
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Film | Wegman's dogs make their own peanut butter and jelly. |
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Muppets | Cookie Monster sings "Eating Cookie" -- there's another reason every season. (First: Episode 3467) |
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Animation | Isadora's sneakers describe all the fun they've had this past year, as the seasons change. (First: Episode 2758) |
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SCENE 4 | At the playground, Big Bird and Snuffy go over what they found out on their quest: Gordon rubs his chin, Gabi scratches her head, Maria says "Hmmmm," Luis drums his fingers, etc. Snuffy thinks that if Big Bird does all the things they witnessed, he'll be able to answer any question at all. Snuffy asks him a question which he heard on Mr. Rogers - what do flowers need to grow? Big Bird rubs his beak, scratches his head, goes "hmm," drums his fingers, bounces up and down, says "oh, oh, oh," while patting himself on the forehead, and touches his cheek ... but when he's done, he's forgotten the question. He encourages Snuffy to keep asking the question, but Snuffy's forgotten it too. |
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Cartoon | Two hippie kids wonder how to make their droopy plant grow. (First: Episode 1484) |
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Muppets | Farmer Ernie sings "Grow High Grow Low" about how some plants grow high while some grow low. (First: Episode 2448) |
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Animation | Computer: tall / short (First: Episode 3110) |
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Song | "My New Computer" (First: Episode 2857) |
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Cartoon | How Andy Fritz Ate the Sun. Artist: ArtistMike (First: Episode 2730) |
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SCENE 5 | Big Bird still has trouble remembering the question Snuffy asked. Gordon and Gabi approach them, curious about what Big Bird is doing. Gordon explains that those "memory methods" are not what help people think of the answers to questions; it's the mind that does so. And when the mind doesn't know the answer, books come in handy. He then points out that Big Bird and Snuffy have answered plenty of questions without looking silly. Snuffy asks the flower question one more time, and Big Bird comes up with the right answer by remembering what he did when he took care of plants in the past. |
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Cartoon | "From Your Head" Artist: Sally Cruikshank (First: Episode 3474) |
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Animation | Cats appear in the clouds as Vivaldi music plays. (First: Episode 3634) |
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Muppets | Elmo sings "In Your Imagination." (First: Episode 3119) |
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Cartoon | Q for Quiet (new sound effects added) Artist: John Korty (First: Episode 0441) |
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Film | Girls giggle as they clap their way to the letter Q. (First: Episode 3340) |
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Cartoon | Fish swim to form Q and q. (First: Episode 3105) |
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Film | Kids talk about how they like sledding down snowy hills. (First: Episode 3276) |
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Cartoon | A group gives a newcomer funny looks, which hurts his feelings, but then they invite him to play marbles with them. He turns out to be a good player. (audible dialogue) Artist: Joanna Priestley (First: Episode 2840) |
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SCENE 6 | Now it's Big Bird's turn to ask Snuffy a question: what was the letter of the day today? Snuffy closes his eyes to think of the answer, even though he doesn't have to, and remembers that it was Q. Gabi's voiceover confirms it by announcing the sponsors, and Gordon reports the status of Slimey's spaceship. |
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COMING SOON | Coming soon on Sesame Street: Wynton Marsalis coaches Elmo, Zoe and Telly on how to play musical notes. |
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