Sesame Street Old School – Volume Two/1974-1979 (Genius DVD)
Picture:
B- Sound: B- Extras: B Episodes: B
Even the
longest running children’s series of all time had a beginning and with Sesame Street Old School: Volume 2
(1974-1979) audiences everywhere get to tune into the classic charm that
boosted this series to its place in television history. The set has highs and lows, but overall is a
nice set nevertheless. It would be all
too easy to demand full season sets of Sesame
Street from the early days [like Saturday
Night Live], but then people must think twice about the sheer number of
episodes there have been, the editing/restoring job at hand, and the ‘rights’
to an array of features that would have to be looked into before any such set
could be released. Maybe one day when
technology catches up with desire we may see every episode available to the
general public; for now we will have to deal with the small tastes of classic Sesame Street we find on these Old School sets.
As any
reader can tell from what is written above, the Old School releases are by no means complete sets, but rather more
of a ‘best of’ set that offers fans premiere episodes from Seasons 6-10. Along with the
five individual, restored, and complete episodes there are 57 ‘bonus segments’
that no one should miss. Whereas viewers
may never see the complete series in nice volumized sets, at least we can look
back on sunnier days with sets like Sesame
Street Old School: Volume 2.
As stated
there are several fully restored episodes and a plethora of individual, classic
segments. This reviewer fully enjoyed
each episode presented as well as the over abundance of individual Sesame
Segments found on each disc; they were entertaining, nostalgic, and funnier
than this reviewer ever remembered. The
set features an array of almost forgotten classic characters and songs like
‘Telephone Rock!’ and ‘What’s the Name of That Song?’ Watch excitedly as Woof-Woof turns into
Barkley and be happy that Elmo is nowhere to be found; Volume 2 surely surpasses the content of Volume 1 and fans will not be disappointed. To this reviewer the best feature of all, THE
FIRST EPISODE OF SESAME STREET EVER! The
original Pilot had never been broadcast and trust me, it is not the Sesame
Street you remember. The pilot is
trippy, gritty, and puts a slight spin on the characters the audience could
never even dream of; all in all it is very neat to watch and that might even be
Luther Vandross as one of the singers in a Gospel/Pop group intended as a
staple of the series that never happened.
It is amazing how much Muppets love disco. Viewers may only get one restored episode
from each season, but it is cool to watch the series evolve if nothing else.
The
technical features on this classic television set are very nice, especially for
the episodes age. The picture is
presented in a simple, yet clean 1.33 X 1 aspect ratio that is in line with the
original airings. There are times where
the episodes seem to have less than brilliant colors, but for their age they
are still adequate. Several of the
classic premiere episodes from Seasons
6-10 have actually been restored and this reviewer is sure that it is the
best they have looked in a long time.
The sound is adequate in Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo and only has moments
of muffled or distorted sound. The
extras are not really a category on their own, but rather are infused within
the 57 additional segments; so overall nice.
Sesame Street changed the world and now here is
your chance to see how. With discussions
on diversity, social change, math, the alphabet, and everything in between Sesame Street was surely
groundbreaking. This 1974-1979 span presented on this set is
prefaced by many saying ‘this may not be suitable for children,’ well poppycock
to that! This is a brilliant set that is
fun and educational for any age group; from 2 too 102 Sesame Street lives in the hearts of every man, woman, and
child. The way to get to Sesame Street? Well on DVD of course.
- Michael P Dougherty II
