View source for Play with Me Sesame

{{short description|2002 American children's television series}}
{{Infobox television
| image        = Noggin Play with Me Sesame Logo.jpg
| caption      = Title card
| genre        = [[Children's television series]]
| runtime      = 24 minutes
| country      = United States
| language     = English
| location     = [[Kaufman Astoria Studios]], [[New York City|New York]]
| camera       = [[Multi-camera|Videotape, Multi-camera]]
| company      = [[Nick Digital]]<ref name="credits1"/><br />[[Noggin (brand)|Noggin LLC]]<br />[[Sesame Workshop]]
| producer     = [[Tom Ascheim]]<br />Alyssa Cooper<br />Dana Greengross<br />Kenny Miller<br />Jodi Nussbaum<br />Sarah Tomassi Lindman
| music        = Michael Ungar<br />Russell Velazquez
| based_on     = {{Based on|''[[Sesame Street]]''|[[Joan Ganz Cooney]] and [[Lloyd Morrisett]]}}
| developer    = Jocelyn Hassenfeld<br />Karen Kuflik
| presenter    = Steve Whitmire<br />Eric Jacobson<br />Fran Brill<br />David Rudman<br />John Tartaglia<br />Martin P. Robinson
| network      = [[Noggin (brand)#TV channel|Noggin]]<br />[[Universal Kids|Sprout]]
| first_aired  = {{start date|2002|4|1}}
| last_aired   = {{end date|2007|9|2}}
| related      = ''[[Sesame Street]]''<br />''[[Elmo's World]]''
| num_seasons  = 3
| num_episodes = 104
}}

'''''Play with Me Sesame''''' is an American [[children's television series]], created by [[Sesame Workshop]] and [[Nickelodeon]] for their former joint venture [[Noggin (brand)|Noggin]]. It is a spin-off of ''[[Sesame Street]]'' hosted by [[Ernie (Sesame Street)|Ernie]], [[Bert (Sesame Street)|Bert]], Prairie Dawn, and [[Grover]]. The series' backgrounds and animated elements were made by [[Nick Digital|Nickelodeon Digital]]<ref name="credits1">[https://archive.org/details/noggin-play-with-me-sesame-credits/ ''Play with Me Sesame'' credits.] Credit appears at 0:12 seconds.</ref> in New York City. Nickelodeon and Sesame Workshop developed the show to expand on ''Sesame Street'' by directly encouraging young viewers to interact with the characters. The series combines classic ''Sesame Street'' sketches with new segments, where the hosts invite preschoolers to join them in games.

The show began development in 1999, when [[the Jim Henson Company]] still co-owned the rights to the ''Sesame'' characters. To start production, Nickelodeon had to seek approval from Henson. ''[[Kidscreen]]'' reported that "the series marks the first time a State-side entity other than Sesame Workshop has been given permission by Henson to use the ''Sesame Street'' [[Muppets]]."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://kidscreen.com/2002/01/03/noggin-20020103/|title=Noggin has tween educon on the brain|work=[[Kidscreen]]|date=January 3, 2002|last=Connell|first=Mike|quote=The newest addition to that sked is Noggin-produced series ''Play With Me Sesame''... the series marks the first time a State-side entity other than Sesame Workshop has been given permission by Henson to use the Sesame Street Muppets.}}</ref> Noggin shot footage of the characters on a [[green screen]], and animators at Nick Digital added in new graphics. Many of the background designs in ''Play with Me Sesame'' were simultaneously used in Nickelodeon's [[Moose and Zee]] interstitials.

''Play with Me Sesame'' premiered on April 1, 2002 and ran for three seasons. The show was heavily linked with Noggin's website, featuring a regular segment where [[browser games|computer games]] from the site were played. At its launch, it was announced that ''Play with Me Sesame'' would continue to be produced for Noggin through 2009,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nexttv.com/news/nickelodeon-buyout-brings-noggin-house-159642|title = Nickelodeon Buyout Brings Noggin In-House|date = 12 August 2002}}</ref> but the show instead wrapped in 2007. It last aired on Noggin on September 2, 2007. Reruns moved to [[Universal Kids|PBS Kids Sprout]], where it aired until somewhere in early 2016.

==History==
===Production===
''Play with Me Sesame'' was the first long-form preschool series created by and for Noggin. The show encourages its young viewers to join in on the movement and learning they see onscreen, making television an active experience rather than a passive one. The format was meant to mimic a child's [[play date|playdate]]. [[Tom Ascheim]], one of the show's producers and the general manager of Noggin, said "all the things kids do—running around, coloring, playing computer games—are funneled into the experience."<ref name="Lawrence Journal">{{cite web|url=http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2002/mar/21/childrens_network_does/|title=Children's network does double duty|date=March 21, 2002|work=[[Lawrence Journal-World]]|publisher=[[Ogden Newspapers]]|location=[[Lawrence, Kansas|Lawrence]], [[Kansas|KS]]}}</ref>

The show's backgrounds and animated elements were created at [[Nick Digital|Nickelodeon Digital]]<ref name="credits1"/> in New York. These include the title sequence, the Sesame Computer game segments, and the background designs. The background designs, many of which resemble a child's crayon drawings, are the same ones featured in Noggin's [[Moose and Zee]] interstitials. Some of the designs (such as a lion, a dinosaur, and a bird) were featured as part of Noggin's channel logo, both in promotions for ''Play with Me Sesame'' and in general use. Sesame Workshop lists [[Nickelodeon Animation Studio]] and its former name, Games Productions, as a "project partner" for the series.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://downloads.cdn.sesame.org/sw/SWorg/documents/Annual+Report+2005.pdf|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200903021834/http://downloads.cdn.sesame.org/sw/SWorg/documents/Annual+Report+2005.pdf|archivedate=September 3, 2020|title=Sesame Workshop 2005 Annual Report}}</ref>

The third season's credits list Nickelodeon's parent company, [[Viacom (2005–2019)|Viacom]], as the owner of the "Play with Me" trademark.<ref name="s3-credits">[https://archive.org/details/noggin-play-with-me-sesame-credits/PWMS-Season-3-credits.mp4 ''Play with Me Sesame'' season 3 credits.] Credit appears at 0:20 seconds.</ref> ''Play with Me Sesame'' is unique in that it was a specially made co-production of Nickelodeon and Sesame Workshop,<ref name="copro">{{Cite web|url=https://www.nexttv.com/news/comcast-ponders-preschool-net-vod-precursor-337090|title=Comcast Ponders Preschool Net, VOD Precursor|date=9 June 2004}}</ref> rather than a syndication package like Noggin's [[Sesame Street syndication packages|previous collections]] of ''Sesame Street'' segments.

===Broadcast===
Nickelodeon extensively promoted the launch of ''Play with Me Sesame'' in 2002. Their marketing team created a musical [[infomercial]], performed by Grover and called the "Grover Song," as a sample of the ''Play with Me Sesame'' format. In the infomercial, ''Play with Me Sesame'' is highlighted as the main attraction of Noggin's lineup, and Grover sings about the different Nickelodeon characters seen on Noggin. The infomercial was aired across all of Nickelodeon's networks throughout spring 2002. In July 2003, the "Grover Song" infomercial won a Mark Award for brand image and awareness.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nexttv.com/news/20th-annual-mark-awards-156241|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200902191111/https://www.nexttv.com/news/20th-annual-mark-awards-156241|archivedate=September 2, 2020|title=20th Annual Mark Awards|date=July 21, 2003|work=NextTV}}</ref>

The show premiered on April 1, 2002. Its premiere was part of a major rebranding of Noggin.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-apr-01-et-heffley1-story.html|title = Noggin is Enrolling in Junior High| website=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date = April 2002}}</ref> When the show's first season was airing, it was Noggin's only original half-hour show for preschoolers; all others were short-form interstitials or simply reruns from Nickelodeon and Sesame's archives. In 2003, the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' wrote that Noggin "filled its days with old episodes of ''Sesame Street'', several Nick Jr. shows and one new series, ''Play With Me Sesame''."

===Live show===
[[File:Noggin-Play-with-Me-Sesame-tour.jpg|thumb|right|Grover, Bert and Ernie in the live adaptation.]]
On April 6, 2002, [[MTV Networks]] launched a live version of the ''Play with Me Sesame'' series.<ref>{{cite news |title=Noggin Sets Play Dates at Malls |url=http://www.multichannel.com/news/orphan-articles/noggin-sets-play-dates-malls/137387 |publisher=[[Multichannel News]] |work=Multichannel.com |date=March 20, 2002 |last=Hogan |first=Monica}}</ref> It featured [[costume character|walk-around characters]] of Bert, Ernie, and Grover performing interactive skits and songs from the show. Marketed as ''Noggin's Play with Me Sesame Mall Tour'', the live show was presented at malls in nine cities.<ref>{{cite news |title=Noggin's New Preschool Series, 'Play With Me Sesame' Hits the Road on a Nine-City National Mall Tour Commencing in April |url=http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/noggins-new-preschool-series-play-with-me-sesame-hits-the-road-on-a-nine-city-national-mall-tour-commencing-in-april-76553837.html |work=[[PR Newswire]] |publisher=[[Cision Inc.]] |date=March 20, 2002}}</ref> It became a finalist in the 2003 Beacon Awards<ref>{{cite web |title=CTPAA Announces Finalists for 2003 Beacon Awards |url=https://www.cablecommunicators.org/members/summary_2003/CR-CS-01.php |publisher=Association of Cable Communicators |date=February 10, 2003 |last=Butler |first=Michelle}}</ref> and received national coverage on [[CBS]]'s news program ''[[The Early Show]]''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Noggin's Play With Me Sesame Mall Tour |url=https://www.cablecommunicators.org/members/summary_2003/CR-CS-01.php |publisher=Association of Cable Communicators |last=Davis |first=Randy |date=February 10, 2003}}</ref>

Tom Ascheim said, "We are very excited to bring ''Play with Me Sesame'' to local markets across the US...''Play with Me Sesame'' gives kids a whole new way to Sesame with their favorite characters—Bert, Ernie and Grover—and we are confident it will be a hit on Noggin and in the malls."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://muppetcentral.com/news/2002/032102.shtml|title=Muppet Central News - 'Play with Me Sesame' travels nationwide for mall tour}}</ref>

==Cast==
<!-- Do not add any of the uncredited performers who appear in classic Muppet footage. This only lists the performers who are named in the credits.-->
* [[Fran Brill]] as Prairie Dawn (Seasons 1–3) and Zoe (Season 2)
* [[Steve Whitmire]] as [[Ernie (Sesame Street)|Ernie]] (Seasons 1 and 3)
* [[John Tartaglia]] as Ernie (Season 2)
* [[Eric Jacobson]] as [[Bert (Sesame Street)|Bert]] and [[Grover]] (Seasons 1–3)
* [[David Rudman]] as [[Cookie Monster]], Chicago the Lion and Ernestine (Season 2)
* [[Martin P. Robinson]] as Slimy the Worm (Season 2)

[[Pam Arciero]], [[Lisa Buckley]], [[Tyler Bunch]], [[Tim Lagasse]], [[Jim Martin (puppeteer)|Jim Martin]], [[Carmen Osbahr]], and [[Matt Vogel (puppeteer)|Matt Vogel]] are also credited as additional puppeteers. The classic Muppet footage features performances by a wide variety of Muppet performers, but they are not listed in the credits.

==Reception==
Nancy Davis Kho of [[Common Sense Media]] said that the show "exhibits the high-quality, thoughtful programming that parents have come to expect from ''Sesame Street''," while also taking note that "a smattering of more sophisticated humor in the dialog is a nod to the parents who will likely be watching."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/play-with-me-sesame-imagine-with-me|title=Play with Me Sesame: Imagine with Me|work=[[Common Sense Media]]|date=2008|last=Davis Kho|first=Nancy}}</ref>

==VHS and DVD releases==

The series' episodes were released onto DVD in the end of 2007 by [[Genius Products|Genius Entertainment]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/31188/play-with-me-sesame-playtime-with-grover/ | title=DVD Talk }}</ref> In Australia and Oceanic territories, the show was released on [[VHS]] and [[DVD]] by [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]] and [[Roadshow Entertainment]].
* Animals Everywhere (2005)
* Playtime with Grover (2005)
* Head, Shoulders, Fur and Toes (2005)
* Playtime with Ernie (2005)
* Playtime with Bert (2005)
* Sing with Me (2005)
* Furry, Fun and Healthy Too (2006)
* Playtime with Prairie Dawn (2006)
* Good Night Sesame (2006)
* Imagine with Me (2006)
* Let's Play Games (2006)
* Happy, Sad, Proud and Mad (2006)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070830101057/http://www.noggin.com/shows/play_sesame.php Noggin.com show page]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070830101151/http://www.noggin.com/games/pwms/pwms/index.php The game]
{{muppets}}

{{Sesame Street}}
{{Noggin shows}}

[[Category:2000s American children's television series]]
[[Category:2002 American television series debuts]]
[[Category:2007 American television series endings]]
[[Category:2000s preschool education television series]]
[[Category:American preschool education television series]]
[[Category:American television series with live action and animation]]
[[Category:American television shows featuring puppetry]]
[[Category:American television spinoffs]]
[[Category:PBS Kids Sprout original programming]]
[[Category:Noggin (brand) original programming]]
[[Category:Television series by Sesame Workshop]]
[[Category:Sesame Street]]