The first 21 seasons of Sesame Street were the greatest television ever made, along with Jim Henson's Fraggle Rock. Watch any classic Sesame Street skits on Youtube if you don't believe me.
Jim Henson was such a genius. Part of that genius was his genius as a leader of a group.
There were so many massive talents that worked with Jim Henson. They all have one thing in common. They all worked with Jim Henson; and outside of the first 12 years after Jim's death, when as a community now led by Jim's son Brian Henson they continued Jim's work and vision and came up with amazing collective works, none of them ever duplicated that genius outside of their work with Jim.
Save for one.
Joan Ganz Cooney, creator of Sesame Street.
Who had already began the process of creating Sesame Street's concept and curriculum, and brainstorming the creative side, when Jim came into the group.
Jim Henson was the creative genius.
Jim was the heart of Sesame Street.
Joan was the brains of Sesame Street.
Jim came up with the creative genius. The characters, the skits.
Joan was the one who set out to change the world by educating children through television.
Joan came up with Sesame Street's curriculum.
Joan came up with the idea that as Jim Henson, in the early 1960's, created advertisements that were comedy skits, that she could teach letters and numbers by 'selling' them in comedy skits that were advertisements for letters and numbers.
And Joan came up with how Children's Television Workshop created a television show.
For Sesame Street, she held a series of brainstorming sessions that were open to the public, in addition to her own people, where they would brainstorm ideas for the show.
It was in these brainstorming sessions that Jim Henson began working with her and Sesame Street.
He simply walked in (which is why I assume the sessions were open to the public), sat down in the back, and participated.
The brainstorming sessions were Joan's idea.
Joan Ganz Cooney. The brains of Sesame Street.
And Jim Henson, supergenius.
And they complimented each other perfectly.
God loves you!
Sincerely,
David S. Annderson