Category Archives: Muppets

A short, fun Muppet Tuesday inspired by a video referred to us by The Geoff Man and last week’s Top Chef.

As far as Sesame Street characters go, we don’t remember being particularly enamored with Cookie Monster as a child.  Certainly, we weren’t fans of that red menace Elmo, but our allegiances laid more with Ernie and that other blue monster, Grover (probably because of his aural resemblance to Yoda, his brother in Frank Oz-helmed arms).  And, of course, we appreciated and admired Kermit, not just for being the straight man who tolerated all the zany creatures on Sesame Street, but because we were thoroughly impressed that he managed to moonlight as the “Muppet News” reporter while managing the Muppets full-time.  That guy was basically the 70s and 80s version of Joel McHale  (But really, Kermit can’t count as a favorite, because he’s a given, it’s like saying the Beatles are your favorite band (which they are not).  Hall of Fame members are not options)).  But for some reason, while not disliking Cookie Monster, he never struck the same chord as the others.  Perhaps because he wasn’t as silly-mean as Grover, or childlike and mischievous as Ernie.  He seemed rather one-note, heck bent on one thing and one thing alone, and that obscured a rather winning personality.  But with his SNL audition tape, his appearance on the show with Jeff Bridges, and his guest-judging on Top Chef last week, our opinion towards the pastry pouncer began to change.  With hs newly discovered nuanced sense of humor Cookie Monster was evolving into our favorite Sesame Street Muppet .  Except that, as this vintage video shows, that sharp sensibility was there all along.  We just missed it until now.  Somehow, Cookie Monster might actually be the subtlest monster on Sesame Street.

And, as usual, we plan to recap last week’s Top Chef just before the new one airs tomorrow night, but take a look at this behind the scenes clip from featuring Cookie Monster, along with Telly and, yes, Elmo, hilariously kinda being dicks to the crew.

And we now realize where Barbara Walters got it from…

And if just one, just one, 3 year-old decides they prefer Cookie Monster to Elmo then we’ll be happy.