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#15: Elmo Takes Over Sesame Street

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It's Elmo's World and we're all just living in it.

Introduced to Sesame Street in 1979, Elmo started off as a background character, but soon gained increased prominence in the show during the 1980s, culminating with Kevin Clash taking over the role in 1985. Clash's performance was said to have "breathed new life" into Elmo's character, and as a result, Elmo became even more prominent, continuing to appear more and more on the show throughout the 90s. Created to be an innocent, toddlerlike character, Elmo appealed greatly to the show's youngest viewers, who were most engaged when Elmo was on screen. Finally, in 1998, Elmo was given his own segment of the show, titled "Elmo's World", which was a more fantastical segment of the show compared to the more grounded in reality segments of the rest of Sesame Street. "Elmo's World", a 15 minute segment of the hour long program, aired mostly during the 2000s, a time of significant change for Sesame Street from what it was before, and this is when most of the problems began, including the reduced presence (or removal entirely) of Muppet characters such as Kermit the Frog, and less emphasis on visiting real people in real world settings, to make time for more Elmo segments of the program. It was a serious departure from the show's original mission to teach kids about the real world and make them feel more comfortable in it, and while the Elmo's World segments did successfully appeal to young children, these segments were also said to be less educational than the main program itself, even adjusting for the fact that younger kids would be learning more simplified material. "Elmo's World" ended in 2009, and in 2012, a new segment called "Elmo: The Musical" debuted, focusing on songs sung by Elmo. Later on, in 2013, Kevin Clash would step down from the role after abuse allegations, though these were later dismissed due to the statute of limitations, and Elmo would take a less prominent role in the show going forward (though later spin--offs such as The Not Too Late Show With Elmo) would give the character some of the screen time he had enjoyed on the show itself). The rise of Elmo might've been popular with Sesame Street's youngest viewers, but it also forever changed the focus of Sesame Street, bringing the show in line with its contemporaries and in a way removing some of what made the show unique. It remains a popular and valuable educational resource for children, but it lost some of its appeal and even its sharp wit in the process, as what usually happens when a show with such a strong ensemble cast becomes so heavily focused on one distinct character.