Sesamplein

Sesamplein (Sesame Square) was the pilot episode for Sesamstraat, the Dutch co-production of Sesame Street.

The 35-minute pilot was produced by broadcasting organization VARA in 1974 and disappeared in the archives because broadcasters NOS and BRT joined forces to make Sesamstraat; the pilot aired for the first time on January 4th 1996 in honor of Sesamstraat's 20th anniversary, complete with commentary subtitles.

The pilot stars Ruud Jans and Saskia van Schaik, showing a little girl named Nicole Barbiers around her new neighborhood. She gets to meet the strange shopkeeper Mr. Brouwer, played by Alexander Pola, and the letter vendor, played by Adèle Bloemendaal. The street scenes were shot on location in the north of Amsterdam.

The Muppet voices are performed by Frans van Dusschoten and Ger Smit, who were famous for their voicework on the popular Dutch puppet series De Fabeltjeskrant. In the actual series, they were replaced by Paul Haenen, Wim T. Schippers and others. Frans van Dusschoten also performed the Dutch voice of Gobo Fraggle. The actors previously participated in a partial dubbing of an episode from the original American production which was broadcast for VARA on June 11, 1972. The program, also presented by Ruud Jans, served as a test to see if Sesame Street could be adapted for the Netherlands.

Most of the Muppet clips in the pilot (from 1969 and 1970) are quite scarce, and blended in with the street story: Grompie (the early Grover) lived next door to Ruud and Saskia, and even Bert and Ernie had their names displayed on a door.

There are no Dutch Muppets in the pilot. Instead, the Questor puppets of Ernie and Cookie Monster appear with the Dutch cast.

The pilot episode seems to be brought by the letter T and the number 20. The idea of 'one letter/number per episode' was dropped in Sesamstraat.

Scenes

Picture	Segment	Description
		Sesamplein Theme (similar to original Sesame Street intro)
	SCENE 1	Ruud introduces Nicole to Saskia, and then introduces their next door neighbor, Grompie.
	Muppets	Grompie demonstrates the difference between "near" and "far" by running away from the camera and back, eventually fainting from exhaustion.
	Cartoon	A guru counts to twenty. Producer: Ken Snyder; Music: Billy Taylor
	SCENE 2	Ruud, Saskia and Nicole walk past a TV store
	Cartoon	T is for Television
	SCENE 3	Ruud, Saskia and Nicole walk past Bert and Ernie's house: Nicole takes a peek inside
	Muppets	Ernie and Bert: Here or Not Here — Bert is reading a book when Ernie startles him by asking if he wants to play checkers.
	Cartoon	Drawing a kite that turns into a fish (w/ child voiceover).
	SCENE 4	Nicole and Saskia look at an aquarium
	Muppets	The Anything Muppets sing "Octopus' Garden."
	Cartoon	T is for Television (repeat)
	SCENE 5	Mr. Brouwer sells "T" instead of tea
	Muppets	Cookie Monster and Ernie: Table Manners — Ernie tries to teach Cookie Monster to use his knife, fork, and spoon.
	SCENE 6	The waiter in the restaurant reminds Nicole of a penguin
	Film	Kids count 20 penguins going down a slide.
	SCENE 7	Ruud, Saskia and Nicole find a ball dropping out of the sky
	Cartoon	"I've Got a Mind" -- bouncing a ball
	Song	Adèle Bloemendaal: "Letters Te Koop" (Letters For Sale)
	Muppets	Kermit helps Professor Hastings talk about the parts of the body. (Part 1)
	Cartoon	A penguin repeats the rhythms of the sounds it hears, which include a drum, a door knock, a saw, and a typewriter. Artists: The Hubleys
	Muppets	Kermit helps Professor Hastings talk about the parts of the body. (Part 2)
	SCENE 8	Cookie Monster eats the letter vendor's letters, and the credits roll (featuring Cookie Monster and Ernie puppets)