Monsterpiece Theater is a recurring segment on the American version of the popular children's tv series Sesame Street

Sesame Street

Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...

portrayed as a children's educational parody

Parody

A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...

 of Masterpiece Theatre.

Format

While using Muppet characters to act out educational principles, Monsterpiece Theater is also a parody of the similarly acclaimed PBS show Masterpiece Theatre, now known simply as Masterpiece. The theme song is also a modified version of the Masterpiece theme song, only with trumpet

Trumpet

The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...

s and a much more upbeat tempo.

Monsterpiece Theater is hosted by Alistair Cookie

Alistair Cookie

Alistair Cookie is Cookie Monster's alter ego when hosting "Monsterpiece Theater" on Sesame Street. Created as a spoof of the original Masterpiece Theatre host Alistair Cooke, Alistair Cookie is basically Cookie Monster in an English smoking jacket and ascot tie, although Cooke was neither a pipe...

, who is Cookie Monster

Cookie Monster

Cookie Monster is a Muppet on the children's television show Sesame Street. He is best known for his voracious appetite and his famous eating phrases: "Me want cookie!", "Me eat cookie!", and "Om nom nom nom" . He often eats anything and everything, including danishes, donuts, lettuce, apples,...

 trying his best to look like Alistair Cooke

Alistair Cooke

Alfred Alistair Cooke KBE was a British/American journalist, television personality and broadcaster. Outside his journalistic output, which included Letter from America and Alistair Cooke's America, he was well known in the United States as the host of PBS Masterpiece Theater from 1971 to 1992...

. He wears a smoking jacket and holds a pipe which he usually ends up eating. Similar segments, titled Mysterious Theater and parodying fellow PBS anthology Mystery!

Mystery!

Mystery! is an episodic television series that debuted in 1980 in the USA. It airs on PBS and is produced by WGBH...

, are hosted by "Vincent Twice Vincent Twice", a parody of Vincent Price

Vincent Price

Vincent Leonard Price, Jr. was an American actor, well known for his distinctive voice and serio-comic attitude in a series of horror films made in the latter part of his career.-Early life and career:Price was born in St...

.

Logo History

When Monsterpiece Theater started in 1982, the logo was white with a blue background. That logo lasted until September 1993. The next logo was open to a book's title page and the opening titles was the length of the song which followed a camera hovering over various books and pictures of past Monsterpiece Theater segments and characters in a sitting room/library. That logo sequence was dropped after 2 seasons. The final logo in 1995 was in a writing font with a green curtain background. It lasted until 2001.

Sketch Listings

Sketches on Monsterpiece Theater
Sketch	Description	Inspired By:
"ABCD Blue"	Grover Grover Grover is a Muppet character on the popular television show Sesame Street. Self-described as lovable, cute and furry, he is a monster who almost never uses contractions when speaking or singing....  and Herry Monster portray police officers who sing the alphabet song together.	NYPD Blue NYPD Blue NYPD Blue is an American television police drama set in New York City, exploring the internal and external struggles of the fictional 15th precinct of Manhattan... .
"Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves"	Anything Muppets are counted to total 40.	The story from the book of One Thousand and One Nights
"Anyone's Nose"	A monster sings a song about various noses and what they do.	The Cole Porter Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter was an American composer and songwriter. Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, he defied the wishes of his domineering grandfather and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn towards musical theatre...  musical Anything Goes Anything Goes Anything Goes is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The original book was a collaborative effort by Guy Bolton and P.G. Wodehouse, heavily revised by the team of Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. The story concerns madcap antics aboard an ocean liner bound from New York to London... .
"Chariots of Fur"	Grover Grover Grover is a Muppet character on the popular television show Sesame Street. Self-described as lovable, cute and furry, he is a monster who almost never uses contractions when speaking or singing....  and Herry Monster have a race.	Chariots of Fire Chariots of Fire Chariots of Fire is a 1981 British film. It tells the fact-based story of two athletes in the 1924 Olympics: Eric Liddell, a devout Scottish Christian who runs for the glory of God, and Harold Abrahams, an English Jew who runs to overcome prejudice....
"Conservations with My Father"	Cookie Monster's loving dad, an environmentalist, teaches his son about conserving electricity and water.	Herb Gardner play Conversations with My Father Conversations with my Father Conversations with My Father is a play by Herb Gardner.At its core are Eddie Ross , a Russian immigrant Canal Street bartender, and his son Charlie, who yearns to establish - at the very least - a peaceful co-existence with his angry, remote, and verbally and emotionally abusive father, who has...
"Cyranose DeBergerac"	A poet with a 2 foot (0.6096 m) nose tries to help the queen of France finish her poem. Unfortunately, the word used to finish it is the word he's the most sensitive to: "nose." One mention of that word infuriates DeBergerac.	Cyrano de Bergerac Cyrano de Bergerac Hercule-Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac was a French dramatist and duelist. He is now best remembered for the works of fiction which have been woven, often very loosely, around his life story, most notably the 1897 play by Edmond Rostand...
"Dances with Wolves"	A pig dances with a wolf.	Dances with Wolves Dances with Wolves Dances with Wolves is a 1990 epic western film directed by and starring Kevin Costner. It is a film adaptation of the 1988 book of the same name by Michael Blake and tells the story of a Union Army Lieutenant who travels to the American frontier to find a military post, and his dealings with a...
"Dr. No"	Super-spy James Bond James Bond (character) Royal Navy Commander James Bond, CMG, RNVR is a fictional character created by journalist and novelist Ian Fleming in 1953. He is the main protagonist of the James Bond series of novels, films, comics and video games...  has trouble seeing and visits his optometrist, Doctor No, who recommends that James take off his dark glasses. Afterwards, Bond is able to see again.	Dr. No Dr. No (film) Dr. No is a 1962 spy film, starring Sean Connery; it is the first James Bond film. Based on the 1958 Ian Fleming novel of the same name, it was adapted by Richard Maibaum, Johanna Harwood, and Berkely Mather and was directed by Terence Young. The film was produced by Harry Saltzman and Albert R... by Ian Fleming Ian Fleming Ian Lancaster Fleming was a British author, journalist and Naval Intelligence Officer.Fleming is best known for creating the fictional British spy James Bond and for a series of twelve novels and nine short stories about the character, one of the biggest-selling series of fictional books of...
"Fiddler on the Roof"	A farmer and his daughters sing about "Addition", which involves putting one fiddler on the roof after another.	Stein/Bock/Harnick musical Fiddler on the Roof Fiddler on the Roof Fiddler on the Roof is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in Tsarist Russia in 1905. It is based on Tevye and his Daughters by Sholem Aleichem...
"Gone with the Wind"	Kermit the frog and his "wife" in their home are caught in hurricane-force winds. While they hold on to the banister for support, Kermit tries to think of ideas to get out of the wind. His wife suggests subtracting; Kermit follows and is blown away, then his wife says "one of us, take away one of us is (wife gets blown away) ZEROOO!!!!!!", and finally Alistair Cookie Alistair Cookie Alistair Cookie is Cookie Monster's alter ego when hosting "Monsterpiece Theater" on Sesame Street. Created as a spoof of the original Masterpiece Theatre host Alistair Cooke, Alistair Cookie is basically Cookie Monster in an English smoking jacket and ascot tie, although Cooke was neither a pipe...  experiences the wind.	Gone with the Wind Gone with the Wind The slaves depicted in Gone with the Wind are primarily loyal house servants, such as Mammy, Pork and Uncle Peter, and these slaves stay on with their masters even after the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 sets them free...  by Margaret Mitchell Margaret Mitchell Margaret Munnerlyn Mitchell was an American author and journalist. Mitchell won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1937 for her epic American Civil War era novel, Gone with the Wind, which was the only novel by Mitchell published during her lifetime.-Family:Margaret Mitchell was born in Atlanta,... .
"Guys and Dolls"	Herry Monster sings about how he likes to play with dolls, and Ruby sings about how she likes to play with trucks.	Frank Loesser Frank Loesser Frank Henry Loesser was an American songwriter who wrote the lyrics and scores to the Broadway hits Guys and Dolls and How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, among others. He won separate Tony Awards for the music and lyrics in both shows, as well as sharing the Pulitzer Prize for...  musical Musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...  Guys and Dolls
"Hamlet"	Mel Gibson Mel Gibson Mel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson, AO is an American actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art.After appearing in...  plays Hamlet, who keeps repeating "words, words, words" -- but Elmo Elmo Elmo is a Muppet character on the children's television show Sesame Street. He is a furry red monster and currently hosts the last full 15 minute segment on Sesame Street, Elmo's World, which is aimed at toddlers. His puppeteer, Kevin Clash, uses falsetto to produce his voice...  can't read, so he only looks at "pictures, pictures, pictures".	Hamlet Hamlet The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...  by William Shakespeare William Shakespeare William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
"Howard's End"	A yellow and pink rattlesnake Rattlesnake Rattlesnakes are a group of venomous snakes of the genera Crotalus and Sistrurus of the subfamily Crotalinae . There are 32 known species of rattlesnake, with between 65-70 subspecies, all native to the Americas, ranging from southern Alberta and southern British Columbia in Canada to Central...  named Howard slithers on a stone wall while he shows his beginning, middle, and end.	Howards End Howards End Howards End is a novel by E. M. Forster, first published in 1910, which tells a story of class struggle in turn-of-the-century England. The main theme is the difficulties, troubles, and also the benefits of relationships between members of different social classes...  by E.M. Forster
"Inside/Outside Story"	Maria is inside; Tony is outside. Will they ever meet face-to-face?	West Side Story
"The King and I"	Grover plays a king, who dances with the lower-case letter "i".	Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The King and I The King and I The King and I is a stage musical, the fifth by the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. The work is based on the 1944 novel Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon and derives from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, who became governess to the children of King Mongkut of Siam in...
"Little House on Prairie"	Alistar Cookie displays an embarrassed Prairie Dawn Prairie Dawn Prairie Dawn is a fictional character, a rather mature seven-year-old Muppet girl on the children's television program Sesame Street. She is similar in appearance to a character from the Anything Muppets. She is famous for writing school pageants for her friends, mostly Ernie and Bert, Herry,...  with a little house on her head. Then, he shows "Little House Under Prairie", and then "Little House in Prairie". She runs into the studio, saying she can't do that. He proves her wrong by eating the little house.	Little House on the Prairie Little House on the Prairie (TV series) Little House on the Prairie is an American Western drama television series, starring Michael Landon and Melissa Gilbert, about a family living on a farm in Walnut Grove, Minnesota, in the 1870s and 1880s. The show was an adaptation of Laura Ingalls Wilder's best-selling series of Little House books...
"Lethal Weapon 3"	Mel Gibson Mel Gibson Mel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson, AO is an American actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art.After appearing in...  and Danny Glover Danny Glover Danny Lebern Glover is an American actor, film director, and political activist. Glover is perhaps best known for his role as Detective Roger Murtaugh in the Lethal Weapon film franchise.-Early life:...  meet near a "Danger" sign, and take cover from a number "3", which falls from the sky.	film of the same name Lethal Weapon 3 Lethal Weapon 3 is a 1992 American action film directed by Richard Donner and starring Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Joe Pesci, Rene Russo and Stuart Wilson. It is a sequel to Lethal Weapon and Lethal Weapon 2, and it is part of the Lethal Weapon film series.The movie is set in 1992, six years after... .
"Me, Claudius"	Several monsters fight over which one of them is Claudius.	I, Claudius I, Claudius (TV series) I, Claudius is a 1976 BBC Television adaptation of Robert Graves' I, Claudius and Claudius the God. Written by Jack Pulman, it proved one of the corporation's most successful drama serials of all time... (with a title originating in the catchphrase I'm Spartacus.
"Monster in a Box"	A small monster is supposed to be in a box, but instead he is on a box, and then under a box.	Spalding Gray Spalding Gray Spalding Rockwell Gray was an American actor, playwright, screenwriter, performance artist and monologuist...  monologue
"Monsters of Venice"	Grover convinces people that they should invite him and his monster friends to a party.	The Merchant of Venice The Merchant of Venice The Merchant of Venice is a tragic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. Though classified as a comedy in the First Folio and sharing certain aspects with Shakespeare's other romantic comedies, the play is perhaps most remembered for its dramatic... by William Shakespeare
"Monsters with Dirty Faces"	Police Grover Grover Grover is a Muppet character on the popular television show Sesame Street. Self-described as lovable, cute and furry, he is a monster who almost never uses contractions when speaking or singing.... 's first task of the day is to get a group of monsters to wash their faces, but they only do what their tough leader, Rocky, does.	Angels with Dirty Faces Angels with Dirty Faces Angels with Dirty Faces is a 1938 American gangster film directed by Michael Curtiz and starring James Cagney, Pat O'Brien, the Dead End Kids and Humphrey Bogart, along with Ann Sheridan and George Bancroft... .
"Much Ado About Nothing"	Waiter Grover laments to Mr. Johnson that the restaurant doesn't have anything he orders.	Much Ado About Nothing Much Ado About Nothing Much Ado About Nothing is a comedy written by William Shakespeare about two pairs of lovers, Benedick and Beatrice, and Claudio and Hero....  by William Shakespeare
"The Old Man and the C"	Grover plays an old man in a rowboat, which is on a giant letter "C".	The Old Man and the Sea The Old Man and the Sea The Old Man and the Sea is a novel written by American author Ernest Hemingway in 1951 in Cuba, and published in 1952. It was the last major work of fiction to be produced by Hemingway and published in his lifetime. One of his most famous works, it centers upon Santiago, an aging fisherman who... by Ernest Hemingway Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway was an American author and journalist. His economic and understated style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the...
"One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"	The wrong numbers keep flying over the wrong things.	One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (novel) One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is a novel written by Ken Kesey. Set in an Oregon asylum, the narrative serves as a study of the institutional process and the human mind, as well as a critique of Behaviorism and a celebration of humanistic principles. Written in 1959, the novel was adapted into a...  by Ken Kesey Ken Kesey Kenneth Elton "Ken" Kesey was an American author, best known for his novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest , and as a counter-cultural figure who considered himself a link between the Beat Generation of the 1950s and the hippies of the 1960s. "I was too young to be a beatnik, and too old to be a...
"Room at the Top"	Grover climbs up a mountain to find there is no room at the top.	Room at the Top
"The Horse Whisperer"	Various animals whisper their own noise before a horse comes to whisper "neigh".	The Horse Whisperer The Horse Whisperer The Horse Whisperer is a 1998 American drama film directed by and starring Robert Redford, based on the 1995 novel of the same name by Nicholas Evans...
"The Postman Always Rings Twice"	Grover is waiting for the postman to deliver his important letter. As he waits, however, many other people come to his house with their own unique "rings".	The Postman Always Rings Twice The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946 film) The Postman Always Rings Twice is a 1946 drama-film noir based on the 1934 novel of the same name by James M. Cain. This adaptation of the novel is the best known, featuring Lana Turner, John Garfield, Cecil Kellaway, Hume Cronyn, Leon Ames, and Audrey Totter...
"The Sound of Music"	Grover is sitting on a hill, which moves to the sound of music. Look for an audio cameo by Julie Andrews Julie Andrews Dame Julia Elizabeth Andrews, DBE is an English film and stage actress, singer, and author. She is the recipient of Golden Globe, Emmy, Grammy, BAFTA, People's Choice Award, Theatre World Award, Screen Actors Guild and Academy Award honors... .	Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music The Sound of Music The Sound of Music is a musical by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the memoir of Maria von Trapp, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers...
"The 400 Blows"	Grover Grover Grover is a Muppet character on the popular television show Sesame Street. Self-described as lovable, cute and furry, he is a monster who almost never uses contractions when speaking or singing....  has to blow out the candles on his birthday cake 400 times, causing him to gasp severely. This was the only Monsterpiece Theater sketch that is in two parts. Part 1 shows 1-40. Part 2 is 41-400 (this part never actually occurred).	François Truffaut François Truffaut François Roland Truffaut was an influential film critic and filmmaker and one of the founders of the French New Wave. In a film career lasting over a quarter of a century, he remains an icon of the French film industry. He was also a screenwriter, producer, and actor working on over twenty-five...  film Les Quatre Cents Coups The 400 Blows The 400 Blows is a 1959 French film directed by François Truffaut. One of the defining films of the French New Wave, it displays many of the characteristic traits of the movement. The story revolves around Antoine Doinel, an ordinary adolescent in Paris, who is thought by his parents and teachers... .
"The Sun Also Rises"	The only one who can make the sun rise is Merry Monster - who won't stop crowing.	The Sun Also Rises The Sun Also Rises The Sun Also Rises is a 1926 novel written by American author Ernest Hemingway about a group of American and British expatriates who travel from Paris to the Festival of San Fermín in Pamplona to watch the running of the bulls and the bullfights. An early and enduring modernist novel, it received...  by Ernest Hemingway Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway was an American author and journalist. His economic and understated style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the...
"The Taming of The Shoe"	Grover is accompanied by a talking shoe.	The Taming of the Shrew The Taming of the Shrew The Taming of the Shrew is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1591.The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the Induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunken tinker named Sly into believing he is actually a nobleman himself... by William Shakespeare
"12 Angry Men"	After going through a situation similar to "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest", Alistair Cookie Alistair Cookie Alistair Cookie is Cookie Monster's alter ego when hosting "Monsterpiece Theater" on Sesame Street. Created as a spoof of the original Masterpiece Theatre host Alistair Cooke, Alistair Cookie is basically Cookie Monster in an English smoking jacket and ascot tie, although Cooke was neither a pipe...  announces he's out of time and is confronted by 12 Angry Men.	12 Angry Men.
"39 Stairs"	Grover climbs 39 stairs to see what is at the top, but ends up being disappointed with the results.	Alfred Hitchcock Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...  film, The 39 Steps The 39 Steps (1935 film) The 39 Steps is a British thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, loosely based on the adventure novel The Thirty-nine Steps by John Buchan. The film stars Robert Donat and Madeleine Carroll....
"Twin Beaks"	Cookie Monster gets to star in this tale, in which he is a detective in a town where everybody has two beaks.	1990s television series Twin Peaks Twin Peaks Twin Peaks is an American television serial drama created by David Lynch and Mark Frost. The series follows the investigation headed by FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper , of the murder of a popular teenager and homecoming queen, Laura Palmer...
"Upstairs, Downstairs"	Grover Grover Grover is a Muppet character on the popular television show Sesame Street. Self-described as lovable, cute and furry, he is a monster who almost never uses contractions when speaking or singing....  runs up and down a flight of stairs (look for a picture of Dr. Teeth on the wall).	British television series Upstairs, Downstairs Upstairs, Downstairs Upstairs, Downstairs is a British drama television series originally produced by London Weekend Television and revived by the BBC. It ran on ITV in 68 episodes divided into five series from 1971 to 1975, and a sixth series shown on the BBC on three consecutive nights, 26–28 December 2010.Set in a...
"Waiting For Elmo"	Grover and Telly Monster Telly Monster Telly Monster, known usually as just Telly, is an eternally worrying, fuchsia monster Muppet on Sesame Street. He is puppeteered by Martin P. Robinson....  lament near a tree waiting for Elmo. In disgust, the tree both monsters are waiting near leaves.	Waiting for Godot Waiting for Godot Waiting for Godot is an absurdist play by Samuel Beckett, in which two characters, Vladimir and Estragon, wait endlessly and in vain for someone named Godot to arrive. Godot's absence, as well as numerous other aspects of the play, have led to many different interpretations since the play's... by Samuel Beckett Samuel Beckett Samuel Barclay Beckett was an Irish avant-garde novelist, playwright, theatre director, and poet. He wrote both in English and French. His work offers a bleak, tragicomic outlook on human nature, often coupled with black comedy and gallows humour.Beckett is widely regarded as among the most...

CD Rom Games

• The Sesame Street CD-ROM games "The Three Grouchkateers" and "Elmo Through the Looking Glass" featured a Monsterpiece Theater intro

External links

• Muppet Wiki: Monsterpiece Theater