TVSquad

If the very thought of the fledgling economy makes you just a little bit sad, get some Kleenex and a shoulder to cry on because you're about to bawl your eyes out.

If you are the kind of heartless bastard who won't cry at the discovery of this news, you should. Get a fork, poke yourself in the eyes, and let nature take its course.

The Sesame Workshop, the non-profit organization that created the world's greatest kids show in the history of whatever, is laying off a huge chunk of its staff.

I am older than Sesame Street.

That's the first thing that went through my head when I saw that the show starts its 39th season today on PBS (check local listings for time). This means that I must have started watching the show when I was around four years old, which seems strange to me, but I've learned never to argue with Bert & Ernie.

I knew they'd end up there sooner or later. On Saturday, the Smithsonian Institution in Washington unveiled its latest exhibit: "Jim Henson's Fantastic World."

The exhibit features 14 of Henson's Muppet creations, including Bert and Ernie, Kermit the Frog, and others from the long-running Sesame Street. The exhibit is scheduled to remain at the Smithsonian until October, then leaves on a three-year tour to seven other cities.

Yeah, I'm repeating myself, but the only two words that come to mind about today's Family Guy table read/lunch session are: freakin' sweet!

And I'm not just talking about the FG swag (pens, notebooks, inflatable Brian dolls) either. The cast of FG is doing a live table read of the show's 100th episode titled "Stewie Kills Lois." The title says it all!

A FOX publicist advises anyone of the faint of heart and all non-Quagmire-types to consider making their way to the exit door. I don't see anyone leave.

Sesame Workshop is working on the first two seasons of The Adventures of Bert and Ernie, a brand new series featuring the iconic duo as stop-motion animated characters rather than their usual puppet selves. Actually, the original Bert and Ernie will still appear, but the bulk of the show takes place in their imagination, where they'll be depicted in clay. Also featured in the animated segments will be Ernie's beloved Rubber Duckie and Bert's pet pigeon.

The new series is slated for a first and second season debut in 2008 and 2009, respectively, but as of this writing it appears the series has not been picked up in the United States. I find it hard to believe that PBS or Noggin wouldn't pick up the new series, which has the appeal of long-standing characters and an animation style that's common in many preschool series these days.

After the jump, I've placed a YouTube clip of the first appearance of Bert and Ernie on Sesame Street. Ernie is in his bathtub, but there's no rubber ducky to be found. Oh, and he calls his bathtub "Rosie" but I'll let you watch the clip to find out why that is. The voices are a little different than what they eventually evolved into, but even with this first appearance you can see how well Jim Henson and Frank Oz bounced quips and one-liners off one another. I love watching really early Sesame Street episodes, because the puppeteering, while excellent, hadn't quite reached the perfection it would in the show's later years. If you look closely, you can actually see part of Frank Oz's arm and head in the lower right corner. Part of me kind of prefers that raw, unedited look. Enjoy: