Sesame Street at 40; Nigerian Television at 50

Nov 19, 2009

Yes! ‘Sesame Street’, every child’s favourite street and friends, is 40 years old and celebrations to mark this milestone already started a week early on November 3, 2009. Like you, most people I told, did not believe that the show is that old and understandably so. We all almost grew up watching ‘Big Bird’ and ‘Elmo’ so; people tend to think that the show started at the time when they were born!
The very first episode of ‘Sesame Street’ aired on November 10th, 1969. Not a lot of Nigerians would have been able to watch that since we were in the throes of the Nigerian Civil War at that time. Television was also not as universal as it is today, with cables, satellites and the internet. Then, to watch ‘Sesame Street’ outside of America, you had to go negotiate with the producers, buy tapes and then air them in your local country. Yet, the show was (and still is) a huge success.
The original format was very simple; to educate children while also entertaining them. At the time, education was seeing as completely separate from entertainment. Why try to have fun while learning? Now, shows like ‘Barney and Friends’ and ‘Teletubbies’ all copy that format. One of the biggest problems the producers had when putting the show together, was finding a name for the show. They feared that children may find it difficult to pronounce the word, ‘Sesame’! Harvard Professors like Gerald Lesser and Lloyd Morrisett of the Carnegie Institute teamed up with some of the best heads in television at the time, to work out the simplest yet, most effective way to get children to listen, enjoy and learn on television.
It took them three years, starting from 1966, when the research started, to 1969 when the first show was aired, to actually push out the show which seems so simple today. NBC aired the first show to huge acclaim and like a writer; Michael Davis stated then; “It became the rare children’s show, stamped with parental approval.”
I was a huge fan of the alphabet game. On every episode, an alphabet was chosen and different words and sounds that start with that letter, were talked about, defined and explained better than some our school teachers did. I for example, found out that were was a difference between the words ‘seat’ and ‘sit’ for the first time on ‘Sesame Street’. I was pretty young then and it stuck with me ever since.
Then there were of course the characters. Everybody loved ‘Big Bird’. It was the one character that most kids could most relate to. Naïve, very innocent, always asked questions and made a lot of mistakes. Everything seemed to excite it and it always tried to be better.
The total opposite was ‘Oscar the Grouch’. He was dirty and never happy. He never liked kids playing near his trash home and would always complain about everything. Most kids never liked him and always liked it when he was taught a lesson. He loved his pet; ’Slimey the Worm’ a lot though and with that, always showed that he also had a soft side. I would strangely look in trash cans then to see if he would jump out of one of them. Thankfully, he never did
Then there was ‘Forgetful Jones’. He never seemed to remember anything; even forgot his name sometimes. But what was interesting was how the producers of the show, used that disadvantage to help children remember things easily. The use of clues and props were always helpful for ‘Forgetful Jones’ and kids who watched, also picked that up.
Roommates; ‘Bert’ and ‘Ernie’ reminded me a lot of my elder brother and I at the time. The constant fights over bananas and food in general; while still remaining very close friends in the face of their many squabbles was something I could relate with.
Then there was the ‘Cookie Monster’. He was extremely emotional, as he cried whenever he saw an empty jar of cookie. Most people liked him then but I did not. I could not understand why he always had cookies and never swallowed them. I loved cookies too and always wished he would hand them to me rather than waste them by chewing and letting them out the sides of his mouth!
Apart from the very popular Muppet characters, one of the biggest reasons why ‘Sesame Street’ has been such a success is the fact that huge celebrities would visit the show as guests and the child in them would instantly be awakened! I remember seeing Bill Cosby there once and how well he felt at home. Other stars like Hilary Clinton, Ray Charles, Robert de Niro, Astronaut Buzz Aldrin, Denzel Washington and recently First Lady, Michelle Obama, have all been guests on Sesame Street. It makes these stars appear more human to kids (and even parents); while driving home the simple yet important point that that they too were once children.
The biggest plus for ‘Sesame Street’ was the fact that it never allowed any racial or social discrimination. At a time when blacks in America were still trying to live out Martin Luther King’s dream, actor Northern Calloway was already one of the most popular human characters on Sesame Street, playing David the fun black guy who always gave advice to the residents of Sesame Street whenever they needed one. He was also good at rhyming and poetry; playing David on the show until 1990 when he died.
Like the show creator; Joan Ganz Cooney recently said; “I’d like to think that we got Barack Obama elected because we were the first television show to deal with racial integration as it affected children back then; who (incidentally) are today’s voters.”
While that could be debatable, the acceptance rate of the show across countries, races and continents of the world, definitely proves that there was something on the show for everyone. Countries from Nigeria to Japan, Norway, Brazil and 120 others, all watched and still watch the show; while some other countries like Canada, New Zealand and Korea, have all produced their own home grown versions of the show.
40 years later, it is easy to understand why the show is such a huge success. With a record 122 Emmy Awards for the show and one Lifetime Achievement Award to boot, nothing better underlines the huge success that Sesame Street has been. USA Today also captured it rightly with their headline; “At 40, ‘Sesame Street’ is in a constant state of renewal.” That is the secret of their success; the one secret that Nigerian television has probably not heard about.
On Saturday, October 31, 1959, the very first signals from the Western Nigeria Television (WNTV) were transmitted from Ibadan; launching the very first television station in Africa. From the humble beginnings when faces and names like Julie Coker were very famous, television seemed to have a very bright future. Then some of the best home grown productions followed. Everyone watched ‘Cock Crow At Dawn’, ‘Behind The Clouds’; ‘Samanja’, ‘Icho Oku’; etc. people could relate to stories from these home grown productions and from comedy to drama, there seemed to be a story for everyone.
As the 90’s started to close out, most home grown shows did the same. The last show I remember paying a little attention to was; ‘After The Storm’, which ran on NTA sometime from 1997. Most other TV shows, even if a little popular, have failed to catch on wildly with the country. The ‘Super Story’ series, has tried to keep things fresh and original but even that seems to have lost a little steam with viewers. The very popular ‘Tales By moonlight’ which had the same appeal with children as ‘Sesame Street’ failed to re-invent itself over the years, which led to dwindling viewership and eventual scrapping of the show.
People have argued that satellite television and international shows are to blame. While that makes some sense, I think that is the pessimistic and lazy way to look at it; which is probably the Nigerian way of looking at most things anyway.
In more serious countries, satellite television is seen as a challenge to grow and do better. When you notice that your territory is being threatened by foreign content, the smart thing to do is to rise up to the challenge match or even better what you get internationally. There is no reason why Mexican soap operas should be more interesting to watch than what we offer; especially seeing that they mostly come with simple stories that Nigerians should be able to write and act out. From the news to talk shows and entertainment, Nigerian television still seems stuck in the 80’s. Where the CNN’s and Sky’s of this world, as sharp and professional as they already are, still constantly strive to re-invent themselves, stations here are okay with borrowed content and poor transmission.
Aside the fact that television stations are now scattered all over the country, reaching the most remote ends of the country, there is little or nothing to cheer. People watch Nigerian television not because they want to but because they have to (when their satellite subscription is out or they cannot afford it). There is hardly any show on TV today that has people running to their homes to go watch. The sense of growth and competition seems completely gone and very little seems to be done in that direction.
50 years since WNTV Ibadan, the fondest memories of Nigerian television are from many years past; so much so that October 31st passed by without any fanfare; save for a handful of newspaper articles and editorials. The television practitioners from a nation with the first TV station in Africa, now go to other African countries like South Africa (whose first TV station started transmitting over a decade after Nigeria’s WNTV) for training. Yes, military rule did not help a lot of these sectors grow; but has there really been a drive to get better 10 years after democracy? Does growth simply mean being able to package uninteresting breakfast shows and read the news on the hour? Does technical advancement and innovative programming not matter anymore? Most importantly, why is there no show on Nigerian television today that I can describe in such glowing terms as ‘Sesame Street’?
I was not born when either ‘Sesame Street’ or Nigerian television were born but while both may have shaped my childhood in some way, it is only right to celebrate with the one who has shown consistency and the right attitude towards growth and success. No one likes to be associated with an inability to make progress. I sure do not. So, here are 40 hearty cheers to ‘Sesame Street’. Like their theme song goes, it’s still “Sunny days, sweeping the clouds away…”
ANSWERS ANYONE?
Since the MRI scan has cleared players in the ongoing FIFA U17 World Cup as ‘under 17’, why do people still find it hard to believe that the Nigerian players are not age cheats?

Ebuka-Obi Uchendu