Play with Me Sesame

Play with Me Sesame
Genre	Children's television series
Opening theme	"Play with Me Sesame"
Ending theme	"Play with Me Sesame (instrumental)"
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	3
No. of episodes	104
Production
Location(s)	Kaufman Astoria Studios
Running time	24 minutes
Production company(s)	Sesame Workshop Noggin Originals
Release
Original network	Noggin
Original release	April 1, 2002 (2002-04-01) – September 2, 2007 (2007-09-02)

Play with Me Sesame is a children's television series, spun off from Sesame Street. It featured Sesame Street characters, such as Bert, Ernie, Grover, and Prairie Dawn. From April 1, 2002 until September 2, 2007, the show was aired on Noggin, which was rebranded as Nick Jr. on September 28, 2009. The series was produced by Sesame Workshop and Nick Digital.

Segments

Play with Me Sesame features many different segments, such as:

• Ernie Says: A game similar to "Simon Says," except the title is different. Ernie almost always manages to annoy Bert in this segment. For example, one time he asked Bert to help him hold an enormous piece of cheese, which he said was an "important part of the game." To Bert's anger, he says that "you can stop playing Ernie Says." He later points out that he just wants to have a snack, as he gets hungry after playing Ernie Says. Another example is Ernie pretending to fall asleep and wake up. Bert thinks he is sleeping, but he wakes up. Unlike Simon Says, where one cannot do something Simon does not say to do, every phrase in Ernie Says begins with "Ernie says...".
• Ernie's Interactive Games: Beginning in Season 3, Ernie can play games with Bert and the kids.
• Prairie Dawn's Art Class: A segment where Prairie Dawn showcases drawings made by kids.
• Prairie Dawn's Music Class: Beginning in Season 3, Prairie Dawn would trade her art segment for one oriented around music.
• Kit and Domby's Art Class: A segment aired on Play with Me Sesame UK, where Kit and Domby showcase art that has been sent in.
• Sesame Computer: The gang play games on the computer from their website at Noggin.com, such as "Oatmeal Art," "Pigeon Patterns," "Perfect Pair," and "Ducks in a Row".
• Move and Groove with Grover: The child dances along to a video. Grover often interrupts to point out some things and to tell the child more. Other times, he sings basic songs such as "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" or "A Very Simple Dance".
• Grover's Musical Segment: Beginning in Season 3, Grover invites the children sing, dance and play along with your favorite Sesame Street Muppets.
• End Segment: A short and final game of Ernie Says is played. The first statement is usually "Ernie says, say goodbye..." The special circumstance in which the characters say goodbye ties into the theme. For example, Ernie says to say goodbye while wiping windshield wipers in the car-themed episode.

Classic Muppet segments were put into the show as well.

Cast

Muppet performers

• Fran Brill as Prairie Dawn and Zoe (Season 2)
• Steve Whitmire as Ernie (Seasons 1/3)
• John Tartaglia as Ernie (Season 2)
• Eric Jacobson as Bert and Grover
• David Rudman as Cookie Monster, Ernestine, and Chicago the Lion (Season 2)
• Martin P. Robinson as Slimey the Worm (Season 2)

Additional performers

• Pam Arciero
• Lisa Buckley
• Tyler Bunch (Season 3)
• Tim Lagasse (Season 3)
• Jim Martin
• Carmen Osbahr
• Matt Vogel
• Jim Henson (Classic Muppet segments)
• Frank Oz (Classic Muppet segments)
• Jerry Nelson (Classic Muppet segments)
• Kevin Clash (Classic Muppet segments)
• Caroll Spinney (Classic Muppet segments)
• Richard Hunt (Classic Muppet segments)
• Joey Mazzarino (Classic Muppet segments)

Merchandise

The series' episodes were released onto DVD in fall 2007 by Genius Entertainment.

International

Play with Me Sesame UK

In the United Kingdom, Play with Me Sesame aired on Playhouse Disney UK. It showcased old and new Muppet (and sometimes film) clips from Sesame Street, with new linked segments, that featured Bert, Ernie, Grover, and Prairie Dawn. The show also included cameos by Zoe, Cookie Monster, and Ernie's niece Ernestine. The show also featured two British Muppets, Kit and Domby,^[1] who live in a castle on top of a hill. They spent most of their time in the castle kitchen, bedroom and living room, which were very similar to Bert and Ernie sketches. Kit had an English accent, whilst Domby had a Scottish accent. They sometimes visited schools and playgroups, to sing or talk with the children.

Ireland

In Ireland, the show aired on TG4, dubbed in Irish, as Tar ag Spraoi Sesame during the Cúla 4 children's programming block. Sesame Workshop worked with production company Telegael to adapt the American footage. In the development phase, the title was initially announced in July 2007 as Sraid Sesame (literally "Sesame Street").^[2] The series' voice director, Padraic O Neachtain, said they "had to find voices that were as close as possible to the originals and the most likely candidates.... would be sent for approval to the Children’s Workshop in the United States where a final decision would be made."^[3] The series' adaptation coincided with the pre-production of Sesame Tree, a Sesame Street co-production for Northern Ireland.

Asia

When Play with Me Sesame aired on the Hallmark Channel in Asia during October 2003, the Prairie Dawn segments were cut for time.

Denmark

In Denmark, the show was included as its own segment on Sesamgade.

Portugal

In Portugal, the show aired in the block Zig Zag on RTP 2, in Portuguese, as Abre-te Sésamo in 2007. the show is aired again on RTP1, in Portuguese as Brinca Comigo Rua Sésamo in 2012.

International broadcast

Country/Region	Channel
United States	Noggin Sprout|PBS Kids		Southeast Asia	Diva Disney Junior
Spain	Disney Junior
France	Disney Junior
United Kingdom	Disney Junior
Portugal	RTP1 RTP 2
Ireland	TG4
Denmark	TV 2 (as part of Sesamgade)
Afghanistan	Tolo (as part of Baghch-e-Simsim) Lemar (as part of Baghch-e-Simsim)
Australia	ABC Kids (5 July 2004 - 31 January 2014)
Canada	Treehouse TV
India	Cartoon Network Pogo
Poland	MiniMini
Central Europe	Minimax
Italy	Rai Sat Ragazzi Rai Gulp Rai YoYo
Latin America	Televisa (Clips of Plaza Sésamo) Discovery Kids (as part of 3, 2, 1 Vamos!

References