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Song Parodies -> "TV Hell (A Sesame Street Fan's Lament)"

Original Song Title:

"Jingle Bells"

Original Performer:

Traditional

Parody Song Title:

"TV Hell (A Sesame Street Fan's Lament)"

Parody Written by:

Ingeborg S. Nordén

The Lyrics

I'd already done a parody fragment to the tune of the refrain, long ago--alluding to the Elmo's World fragments at the end of new Sesame Street episodes, in which Elmo repeats the topic of the day ad nauseam to the "Jingle Bells" refrain. This time, I thought I'd use the whole original to say what I feel...
How I loved that show
from my early childhood days--
till fourteen years ago,
when Henson passed away.
The genius he could bring
made my spirits bright,
but "Elmo's World" botched ev'rything
that he had gotten right.

CHORUS:

TV hell:
can't they tell
Sesame's a bomb,
not the show I used to watch
curled up with my mom?
Actors dead,
so instead
Muppets steal the scene;
Wish I had a brick to throw
at my color TV screen!

Rumors I first heard
in a newsgroup on the Net,
old-time viewers' words
sounded quite upset.
Workshop writers said,
"Kids think Elmo's hot;
Let's give the red and fuzzy guy
a fifteen-minute spot!"

CHORUS

As the seasons passed,
more Muppet spots came on:
stories didn't last,
plots were almost gone.
Once the cast seemed real,
with histories and lives--
now all they seem to care about
is how kids count to five.


CHORUS

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Matches Pace of
Original Song: 
How Funny: 
Overall Score: 



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Voting Results

 
Pacing: 4.6
How Funny: 4.6
Overall Rating: 4.6

Total Votes: 10

Voting Breakdown

The following represent how many people voted for each category.

    Pacing How Funny Overall Rating
 1   1
 1
 1
 
 2   0
 0
 0
 
 3   0
 0
 0
 
 4   0
 0
 0
 
 5   9
 9
 9
 

User Comments

Comments are subject to review, and can be removed by the administration of the site at any time and for any reason.

WhizkidF - September 13, 2004 - Report this comment
I don't usually watch Sesame Street, but I'm missing the episode when Big Bird took ballet.
Royce Miller - September 13, 2004 - Report this comment
good one, Ingeborg
Know 1 can hear you dream - September 13, 2004 - Report this comment
I´m falling for that subliminal hint in the last line: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 5, 5. :-)
Ingeborg S. Nordén - September 13, 2004 - Report this comment
Although I do appreciate your triple-5 vote, that last line wasn't meant as a subliminal message: all I wanted to do was comment on the way Sesame Street is much more focused on "topic of the day" segments (letters, numbers, other categories) than it had been when I was growing up. The fact that older episodes showed characters with interests, feelings and problems unrelated to any overt lesson didn't prevent my learning anything from the show...*shrug*
Know 1 can hear you dream - September 13, 2004 - Report this comment
Relax Ingeborg, I was only kidding about that subliminal thing. That, and coming up with new topic- or parody-related ways to comment and/or saying "You get fives from me" is something we do a lot here. Check out the updated-several-times-an-hour latest comments page. Warning: It´s additive.
http://www.amiright.com/messagehtml/
Ingeborg S. Nordén - September 13, 2004 - Report this comment
So I've noticed, Know 1; I've been guilty of tying my comments in to the parody topic myself. When Johnny D posted his "Man In Motion" send-up about the Elmo craze, my comment read "This vote is brought to you by the letters J and D, and by the number 5!" *lol*
Agrimorfee - September 13, 2004 - Report this comment
The ol' Street's not the same---they used to be really clever in their skits...the original Muppets sketches (such as the Guy SMiley Game Show parodies, the Bert & Ernie chronicles, the continual war between Waiter Grover and the poor guy at the restaurant) were hallmarks of comedy that grownups could enjoy as much as the kids. Then they got even freakier in the '90s--with parodies of high class literature and movies in "Monsterpiece Theater" (including a ROTFLMAO sketch of "Twin Beaks"--with FBI Agent Cookie Monster talking to Diane his tape recorder, and runins with "Laura", "David Finch" and a Lady with a Talking Log!) Elmo killed it all. (sigh)
Johnny D - September 13, 2004 - Report this comment
Parody full of e-mo-tion!
Written by that S.Nord guy!
'bout how Ses-a-me Street to-day makes Elmo mindless!
Ingeborg S. Nordén - September 13, 2004 - Report this comment
I'm a gal, actually--but thanks so much for the vote and the compliments. Hopefully I can come up with more parodies that deserve as many fives as yours...
Johnny D - September 13, 2004 - Report this comment
Ooops, sorry about my gender-blunder! Well, some people --- even gals --- will say "guys" when referring to groups of either gender! ;-)
Serafina - September 13, 2004 - Report this comment
This one was pretty good. I watched sesame street when I was little, but don't remember too much about it since I was so small. I'm 29 now, so I don't watch it. (Although there are a few cartoons I still enjoy. ;D) Anyway, you did a fine job with this, so I'll give you a perfect score.
Michael Pacholek - September 13, 2004 - Report this comment
Elmo should be elected to the annoying-takeover-guy Hall of Shame along with Steve Urkel and Jack McFarland. Only he could make the greatest show in the history of kids' TV jump the (expletive deleted) shark! Who knows, maybe we'll catch a break. Maybe Oscar will shout, "Go away!" and make him cry and actually go away. Or maybe Cookie Monster will eat him. Naw, then we'd have "Law & Order: Muppet Victims Unit." Or "Homicide: Life On Sesame Street." Bobby Donnell of "The Practice" defends Cookie while Jack McCoy of "L&O" prosecutes. McCoy: "Was there or was there not red fur found under your fingernails, Mr. Monster?" Cookie: "Me no have fingernails! Me bite nails!" Donnell: "Your honor, I object! There were no cookie crumbs found at the scene! And what about the corpse? If you can't find where he bit, you must acquit!" The judge: "That is enough, Mr. Donnell! That's one! One night you'll spend in jail for contempt of court! Ah-ah!" Foreman: "We the jury find the defendant not guilty by reason of hunger-induced insanity." Cookie: "And me find the victim de-lish-us! Ha ha!"
Ingeborg S. Nordén - September 13, 2004 - Report this comment
I'm sorely tempted to put my next parody into the mouth (no pun intended) of an angry Cookie Monster who's protesting his new role on the show: the newer episodes of Sesame Street have a recurring letter-of-the-day segment where he uses clever tricks to avoid eating a lettered cookie. Come on, the character's name is not Alphabet Monster...and I think he'd say so if he were real. But which song would be best suited for this parody? I've got two possible candidates... (1) "C is for Cookie", from the show itself; and (2) "ABC" by the Jackson Five. (I'd almost considered Len Barry's "1-2-3"...but one of the regulars has already used that for a Sesame Street parody, and I don't want to put that song on the "overdone" list. Any constructive suggestions?
Know 1 can hear you dream - September 14, 2004 - Report this comment
Probably not your style of music, but you´d make our resident rap endorsers/enforcers EthanM and Luke Brattoni very happy with a parody of Coolio´s "1-2-3-4" which I think is quite underdone compared to his "Gangsta´s paradise".
Ingeborg S. Nordén - September 14, 2004 - Report this comment
I don't normally listen to rap, you were right about that...best to stick with the soft rock and "traditional" tunes I grew up hearing, or my pacing may be thrown off badly. Anything in the 60s-80s range (non-rap, please!) that seems appropriate?
Michael Pacholek - September 14, 2004 - Report this comment
If only there were more songs with words in the title that rhyme with "Grouch." (Couch? Pouch? I've tried.)
Phil Alexander - September 15, 2004 - Report this comment
Ingeborg - happy to see you've started writing, too: you've left too many comments with too much thought behind them for you not to have caught the bug by now. I've never been much of a Sesame Street watcher (fortunately my children never took to it; unfortunately, it was teletubbies ;-) ), but enjoyed this nonetheless.
Phil Alexander - September 15, 2004 - Report this comment
PS Michael - ouch, slouch, crouch, vouch... is that enouch, er.. enough?
Lee Rasiel - September 15, 2004 - Report this comment
I Agree with you the Classic Sesame Street is better than the recent Sesame Street
Lee Rasiel - September 15, 2004 - Report this comment
very nice and I agree with you I like Sesame Street from the 60s 70s and 80s better than the Sesame Street from the 90s and the 2000s
Ingeborg S. Nordén - September 15, 2004 - Report this comment
Lee: When I'm only nine months older than Sesame Street I feel as though a childhood icon is being mangled out of shape nowadays: I thought Elmo's use of "Jingle Bells" for the topic tune was cute when his segments first aired during the holidays, but when it became a year-round shtick I got inspired to show people just HOW annoying that toy-piano arrangement of a Christmas refrain could be. Basing my protest parody on a song that was itself being recycled on the new episodes may be slightly hypocritical, but it gets the point across! Phil: you thought of three more "grouch" rhymes than I could remember off the top of my head. If I ever get stuck for an appropriate rhyme on my next submission, mind if I ask your help on the boards?
Phil Alexander - September 16, 2004 - Report this comment
Of course I don't mind - though you could always try www.rhymezone.com first (I've even set up Opera to be able to right-click a word and find rhymes). Incidentally, I'd say basing a protest parody on a song that's used on the show makes it somehow more satirical - gives it more "punch".
Ingeborg S. Nordén - September 16, 2004 - Report this comment
I almost did a parody of the Sesame theme song itself, partly based on the rewritten lyrics that the cast sang on "trip episodes" during the 70s and 80s: "Here we go/bollixing up the show..." at the beginning, and "it's a sad, sad, sad, sad day/for the fans of Sesame Street" at the end; between those bits I got stuck for something appropriate/
Apricot - October 10, 2004 - Report this comment
Have you ever talked to Tokusou Sentai Blessranger?
Ingeborg S. Nordén - October 11, 2004 - Report this comment
Not talked to, no--but I've seen his stuff; judging by his parodies about violent video games/anime and about killing Sesame characters, I'd be afraid to talk with him.
John Harvey - October 12, 2004 - Report this comment
Elmo used to be good... What happened? On a Christmas episode, Elmo was given three Christmas wishes by Santa. The first thing he wished for was a glass of water. When a confused Santa asked why he wished for a glass of water, Elmo simply responded "Because Elmo was thirsty." Since then, Elmo, as well as the show has taken a turn for the worst... However, Oscar will ever be the most awsome muppet for once calling Gordon "chrome dome".

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