This ‘Sesame Street’ Episode Was Banned After Receiving Complaints

The Big Picture

• An episode of
  Sesame Street
  featuring the Wicked Witch of the West from
  The Wizard of Oz
  was banned due to its scary content and complaints from parents.
• The episode aimed to teach kids about overcoming fears and using their manners, but it received criticism for being too intense and frightening.
• Compared to her appearance on
  Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood
  , where she showed that movies are make-believe,
  Sesame Street
  could have handled Margaret Hamilton’s character in a gentler way.

Since its inception in 1969, Sesame Street has become one of the most popular children’s television shows of all time, a favorite of children, parents, and educators alike. With friendly characters like Big Bird (Caroll Spinney/Matt Vogel) and maybe not so friendly but entirely harmless, like Oscar the Grouch (Caroll Spinney/Eric Jacobson), to beloved human characters like Bob Johnson (Bob McGrath), the innocent show hasn’t garnered controversy. Well, wait a moment. Actually, one 1976 episode, #847, actually did create a stir, enough that it was never broadcast again. What could Sesame Street possibly do to warrant such action? Did they stage a coup against the number 6? Did Bert (Frank Oz/Eric Jacobson) create a pigeon blitzkrieg to take over the Street, and then the world? No, it was simply just too scary.

The Wicked Witch of the West Appeared in the Banned ‘Sesame Street’ Episode

What young Sesame Street viewers saw in that episode is a character that has haunted many a dream since she first appeared in 1939’s The Wizard of Oz: The Wicked Witch of the West, played by Margaret Hamilton. The episode begins with David (Northern Calloway) stepping out of his store into a heavy, spooky wind, one that blows a broom out of the sky and into David’s hands. Not just any broom — this broom belongs to the Wicked Witch of the West, and she wants it back. She first appears lurking at the side of the store, accompanied by a heavy metal riff. After being electrocuted when she first tries to grab her broom, she spends the rest of the episode demanding the broom back. The Wicked Witch even disguises herself as a kind old lady, but nothing works until she politely and respectfully says “please.” Once she has the broom back, she says, “I’m going to fly back to Oz as fast as lightning and never see Sesame Street again.” She flies off, but ever the show-off, she cries, “This is glorious! Look! No hands.” The broom promptly falls again, and back into David’s grasp, prompting David to start crying, not wanting to go through the whole thing again. Fin.

For a show that prides itself on its child-friendly content, there’s a lot going on in this episode that is questionable, apart from why showrunners, who were also likely traumatized as children by the Witch, decided it would be a good idea to bring her on as a guest. The Wicked Witch boldly states that they haven’t seen the last of her before disappearing, only to reappear and make it rain inside the store. To David, she threatens, “I’ll turn you into a basketball, bounce, bounce, bounce, right into the basket!” Then she threatens to turn Big Bird into a feather duster (presumably big enough, then, to dust your home in one fell swoop). As an adult, it borders on nostalgic how easily Hamilton can slip back into her Wizard of Oz role, but as a child watching at the time, they’re now scared that they’ll see David roll down the street as a basketball. Also questionable? Seeing Big Bird’s violent side, holding a baseball bat and a hockey stick and saying, “Where’s that witch? I’ll fix her!”

‘Sesame Street’ Should Have Followed Mister Rogers’ Lead

The intent of the episode is clearly two-fold: teaching kids about overcoming their fears, and the best way to get something you want is by asking politely, not grabbing or demanding. As per the AV Club article above, Hamilton was a former teacher who was only too happy to reprise her most famous role for educational programming, and Sesame Street seemed the perfect place to do so. But there’s being wrong, and then there’s being so wrong that you are inundated with letters and phone calls from angry parents. Guess which category #847 lands in? The letters, some of which have been scanned and made available on Muppet Wiki, are a barrage of negativity, telling tales of nightmares, occult symbols, children’s fears of being turned into a basketball, and riddled with Bible passages meant to admonish the creative team behind the show. The feedback was so intense that it reportedly prompted an internal memo within the Children’s Television Workshop, “suggesting” that the episode not be re-run.

What’s funny about the whole debacle is that in 1975, a year before she appeared on Sesame Street, Hamilton was invited to be on Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood by Fred Rogers. The pair worked together for the purpose of showing kids that beneath the makeup is a regular person, that movies are all make-believe, and that there is nothing to be afraid of. That, really, was the best way to utilize Hamilton in what is more or less the same intention: overcoming fears. So why Sesame Street chose to have Hamilton go full-out witchy for the episode and not go with a far gentler storyline, especially when it was handled so well by a fellow PBS show just prior, is something we may never truly understand. From today’s viewpoint, it doesn’t seem entirely fair that the episode was pulled outright, but when you recall that there were only limited options available for children’s programming in 1976, they arguably made the right call. Banning an episode, however, means nothing thanks to the power of the internet, so you can actually watch the episode in its entirety, and make up your own mind.

Despite the negativity, one positive came out of the banned Sesame Street episode. Oscar the Grouch took one look at the Wicked Witch, and proclaimed, “You have got to be the most beautiful person I have ever seen. I think I’m in love!” Now how come no one wrote in about how lovely it was to see that even a crotchety, garbage-can-living, old Muppet can fall in love? Haters gonna hate, hate, hate.

Sesame Street is available to stream on Max in the U.S.

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