Great article, Erik. I agree completely that Sesame's ability to adapt is the key to its longevity. Even when I disagree with the choices it makes, creatively or educationally, I'm so happy that it's still on the air after all these years.

I love that idea!

Cookie Monster got there in 1988.

Why so finicky, Finicky?

There's no counting in it?

There is nothing better than Jerry Nelson singing. Here's my favorite (non-counting-related) Little Jerry song:

Also, because this is the internet, someone made an hour-long version.

I don't, because I feel like the subtext was already there. "When I'm alone, I count myself" is enough of a masturbation joke without the fake censoring (and a much funnier one).

The Sesame Street version is the only version of "1, 2, 3, 4" I really know. If I hear the original on the radio or in a store or whatever, I'm always surprised that there are no chickens just back from the shore.

I usually try to catch a couple of episodes per year too. Honestly, I'm not crazy about the tightly-structured format they've been using for the past few seasons, but the characters are still great fun to spend time with, and the show is still capable of producing wonderful sketches.

Just like how we used to call the author of Sandman "Neil Gaywad."

Did you read the coffee table book that came out around the same time? It's a lot fluffier, of course, but it really does help fill in the other half of the story. It's focused on how the show is produced, from concepts to writing to filming, and it's full of great behind-the-scenes pictures and stories from the first…

Guys, guys - you're both right! And so is Erik! All *three* of those things are perfect.

But it's already half over!

I saw some ad the other day that called The Wonder Years a "cult series."

The other explaination for Orson Pink - and I imagine the one Moffat would use if asked - is "Time can be rewritten."

I agree, but I think it's complicated by the existence of "The Wilderness Years." For some fans, especially the kind who would be obsessive enough to edit a Doctor Who wiki, that counts as a separate era of the show.

I feel like Moffat's answer to this question would be "Time can be rewritten."

That's a solid choice for favorite Doctor Who story. Mine is "City of Death" because I am a boring person.

"Planet of the Dead" is also there now. Those were the two that were missing.