| Sesame Street | |||||||
| Wanda the Word Fairy visits | |||||||
| Air date | February 24, 1992 | ||||||
| Season | Season 23 (1991-1992) | ||||||
| Written by | Tony Geiss | ||||||
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| Picture | Segment | Description |
|---|---|---|
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COLD OPEN | Wanda the Word Fairy, while riding her bike to the Fix-It Shop to get her toaster fixed, greets the viewer and presents today's sponsors. |
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SCENE 1 | Maria is about to take Big Bird, Snuffy, Marcus, Alexis, and Zelda to the park when Wanda crashes into the Fix-it Shop workbench. Wanda picks herself up and introduces herself to everyone, then leaves her enchanted toaster on the bench and looks around Sesame Street for all the words she can find. With a wave of her wand and the magic words "Elia Kazan," name tags appear on every person and object on Sesame Street! Wanda begins to lead Big Bird, Snuffy, and the kids on a reading journey... |
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Cartoon | A lizard sings about how she likes to be "Above it All," as well as below. Artist: Sally Cruikshank (First: Episode 2559) |
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Muppets | Marshal Grover: Looks for Water — Marshal Grover becomes dehydrated and suffers from mirages in the desert. (First: Episode 2874) |
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Song | "Drink of Water" (First: Episode 2545) |
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Cartoon | A fan reveals the letter C. (First: Episode 2746) |
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Film | The Count (in voiceover) subtracts from five to four to two children on a park bench. |
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SCENE 2 | Snuffy asks Wanda how she got her job as a word fairy. In song, Wanda explains that instead of being a tooth fairy or a fairy godmother, she decided to be a word fairy because she loves words. "And the hours are good," she adds. |
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Cartoon | Pinball Number Count #3 Artist: Jeff Hale (First: Episode 0978) |
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Film | A child narrates a film of him and his brother, Andrew, taking a ride on the ferry. |
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Animation | Arnold uses his imagination. Artist: Craig Bartlett (First: Episode 2754) |
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Muppets | "Cereal Girl" (First: Episode 2687) |
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Animation | A girl unfolds a map and uses it to describe her trip to Mexico, stopping in Texas along the way. (First: Episode 2729) |
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SCENE 3 | Oscar is irritated at Wanda's cheeriness. When she approaches him, he tells her to go away in several ways, but instead she displays his words on the screen, which drives him into his trash can. |
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Cartoon | Young Chris Columbus explores the world of ants - and they, in turn, explore his house. Artist: ArtistMike (First: Episode 2816) |
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Song | "My New Computer" (First: Episode 2857) |
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Cartoon | P for Planet (First: Episode 2008) |
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Muppets | Ernie sings "Dance Myself to Sleep." (First: Episode 1705) |
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Animation | Luxo Sr. examines a box. Luxo Jr. pops out of the box, demonstrating "surprise." (First: Episode 2851) |
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Film | Some kids talk about a garden they have in the middle of the city. (First: Episode 2889) |
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Animation | Cecille sings "I'm Gonna Get to You." (First: Episode 2873) |
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SCENE 4 | Wanda says her favorite kind of words are verbs, and tries to show the gang how to FLY and how to CLIMB a wall, but doesn't succeed at either of them, so they all DANCE to "Feel the Beat" instead. |
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Cartoon | A pencil tries to write the word DANCE. Artist: Fred Garbers (First: Episode 1966) |
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Film | On a windy day, Maria (in voice-over) asks a man (Bill Irwin), "Does air move things?" The wind speaks for him. (First: Episode 2876) |
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Cartoon | The Ringmaster presents 3 high-flying felines (cats to us) who fall into a barrel of water. (new sound effects added) Artist: Jeff Hale (First: Episode 1339) |
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Muppets | "We Are All Earthlings" (First: Episode 2835) |
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Cartoon | A loud-voiced girl talks about her dog Pete. Artist: Bruce Cayard (First: Episode 1266) |
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Film | "Simple Pleasures" by Bobby McFerrin is played over footage of a girl trying to play frisbee with a dog on the beach. (First: Episode 2876) |
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Cartoon | A girl thinks she hears a monster doing a cha-cha outside her window, but it's only the wind and a cricket. Her snores frighten the real monster. Artist: Deanna Morse |
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Song | En Vogue sings "Adventure." |
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Animation | A girl plays in, on and under a sculpture. (First: Episode 2898) |
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Muppets | Sesame Street News Flash: Cinderella's Fairy Godmother — The Fairy Godmother prepares Cinderella's gown. (First: Episode 2442) |
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Film | A zydeco band plays "Allons a Lafayette" while people dance. (First: Episode 2498) |
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Cartoon | P for Penguin Artist: Jeff Hale (First: Episode 1190) |
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SCENE 5 | Wanda's enchanted toaster is fixed by now. Maria asks why it's enchanted, and Wanda explains that it was once a frog (as evidenced by the fact that it can croak like one). Wanda takes her toaster and rides into the sky on her bike, announcing the sponsors, and leaving a litter of word name tags for Maria and the gang to clean up. |
Notes
- This episode was later repeated in Season 25 as Episode 3174.
- Some additional scenes were present in an early draft of the script. In one scene, the gang rests on the steps of 123 Sesame Street for a snack. Wanda provides everyone with signs bearing the words of foods, which she then magically makes the genuine articles. Unfortunately, her sign reads "Hot Dog" and she magically gives herself a dog in a sweater instead. Another scene introduced Webster the Word Sprite, who helps segue to an original song, "Rubbadubba." In addition to these scenes, Telly Monster was also scripted to appear instead of Snuffy.[1]
Sources
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