The Over looked stars of The Street

sesame street
Originally uploaded by travishoffman.

Since its premier on November 10, 1969 Sesame Street has been a positive influence on the youth of America and in the 120 countries it has been shown. With its cast of people and puppets intermingling on the picturesque street many lessons are taught about values in society. Many times puppets find themselves in troublesome situations and in time learn an appropriate means of dealing with that situation. Hence, a lesson learned. Out of the huge cast of monster like puppets only a handful has broken out into mainstream popularity. Perhaps the most popular puppet of all time is Kermit the frog. Kermit not only has achieved success on Sesame Street but also is a main figure in the world of the Muppets. Other well known sesame street "superstars" include Grover and Elmo. I tend to think that Elmo has had the most popular and aggressive marketing done on his behalf, therefore skyrocketing his popularity, to him having his own segment. Almost a mini show. Elmo's World.
I can't help but think about all the other members of the monster cast that never got their due credit as a Superstar and not just another face in the puppet monster arena.
First of all you have Telly Monster. Telly was always very emotional. Almost bipolar. When he was happy he was very happy and he we was sad, he tried to slit his monster wrists. I don't feel that Telly ever achieved a wide notoriety outside of the show. A little history research on Telly revealed that his name is derived from the English word for television. In the early days Telly had an affixation with televisions and actually had antennas standing on the top of his head, his eyes would also whirl around when watching television. Telly's television affixation was soon dropped in fear of portraying negative influences to children. Instead Telly became affiliated with pogo sticks and the musical triangle. Telly almost seems to be guinea pig for creating the marketing superstar, Elmo. Let's think about it here. Telly is a husky looking monster with a pinkish color that had an elongated face. Elmo of course is a small skinny puppet with an oval head and a brighter newer looking red color. Elmo is known for his happy optimistic outlook while Telly is more of a glass half empty type. To put it simply Elmo is better and redder. If Elmo and Telly were related children in a family it would be much like the Brady bunch. Elmo being Marsha and Telly being Jan. Telly actually has some family though it would seem. He has a cousin named Izzy monster, a punk looking light blue monster sporting a backwards facing baseball cap. Telly also has a sister named Juliette, who is rarely seen anymore on the street. No wonder Telly is always so worried, he's got a bully causing coming around roughing him up and he's got a sister that he has no idea what happened to. There is also some connection between the baby monster Natasha and Telly, perhaps a little sister or cousin.
Since sesame street has been around for quite a while now, some of the cast is, on paper anyways, getting quite old. Grover is one of the classic puppets and a personal favorite. I always thought Grover has a voice that is frighteningly similar to that of Yoda, only more cheery. It must be tough seeing all these new puppets taking over the street. I personally think Elmo and Grover don't get along. Grover in his heyday was VERY popular and what happens he gets old, becomes yesterday's news, and watches as this pint size red Elmo fellow takes over the street. As I remember, Grover is the only monster that had a super hero alter ego. Appropriately named Super Grover. Now that's pretty cool. Elmo doesn't have that, at least not yet. Maybe Grover has a clause in his contract stating his exclusiveness to the super hero alter ego. Grover was always my favorite. Let us know who your favorite sesame street character was.
Here are some other monsters/characters that come to mind:
Guy Smiley
Guy Smiley who of course was the ever talented game show host. Smiley was actually retired after the death of Jim Henson his voice and puppeteer. Guy Smiley helped children understand what annoying meant, before they actually knew the word itself.
The Honkers
The Honkers were the monsters who looked like a cross bastardization between Telly and a bicycle horn. They had trumpet like instruments for horns and when they pushed their noses the trumpet horns would sound, much like that of a bicycle horn you squeeze to sound.
Prairie Dawn
Prairie Dawn, as I remember was the only female puppet that wasn't a monster. I think that maybe Prairie Dawn should hook up with either Burt or Ernie and dispel the rumors that have been floating around about them.
The Martians
The Martians almost totally escaped my memory until I stumbled across them on a sesame street webpage. For those of you who don't remember the Martians were fuzzy alien looking creatures with HUGE mouths whose lower jaw could encompass the rest of their face. They also had antenna on their head and their whole bodies resembled an obelisk of sorts. They would often zip around, disappear and reappear, and go Yip Yip Yip

Possible treatment for some of the Muppets
From all this looking back at sesame street, I have noticed that some of the puppets little quirks may be treatable with modern medication. Here's a list of those who could be treated, what condition they may have and with what medication to treat them.

Telly - General Anxiety - Valium
Oscar - Alcoholism - a 12 step program
Ernie - ADD - Ritalin
The Two Headed Monster - Dissociative identity disorder / psychological evaluation/antidepressants
Bert - Obsessive Compulsive Disorder - Antidepressants

In closing, Elmo, you may be the most popular person on the street; however, these are the other people in your neighborhood, in your neighborhood, in your neighborhood.