This week the new season of Sesame Street premieres. On Tuesday, I mentioned in the comments to this post that this year there was a new muppet character, Abby Cadabby. Abby is geting the big marketing push; apparently it dawned on the tree-hugging PC crowd at CTW that no female muppet had ever broken big from Sesame Street (yes, I know, Miss Piggy; but she was from the Muppet Show, not from the Street.) So this floppy, cuddly little magical muppet is getting the Elmo-money push. Presumably you'll want one-- or more-- Abby Cadabby dolls for Christmas. I can't seem to find any on sale yet, but yeah, we'll be buying 7 or 8 mint dolls as soon as they're out, and keeping them boxed and in storage. (What kind of idiots would let their kids play with the retirement nest egg?)

But that Elmo-money push is, as we at APW suspected, causing a problem on the Street. Elmo, it seems, is pissed. "Elmo just wants what's best for Elmo," he told TV Guide, "Elmo is the straw that stirs the drink. Abby thinks Abby is the wand that stirs the drink, but Elmo is the main stirring thingie in this drink. If you don't believe Elmo, Elmo will ask a baby." We've already mentioned Elmo's on-air tirade during Monday's episode of That's Elmo's World (in the above-linked-to comment.) Yesterday, Elmo didn't even show up; Cookie Monster was pushed out in front of the cameras at the last minute to fill in, struggling through what became "That's Cookie's World." ("Baby, how YOU like cookie? Wait-- Why I ask baby? Baby has no TEETH!")

There have been rumors circulating that Elmo plans to bail out of Sesame Street when his contract expires at the end of the year and jump to satellite radio. "Sure, Mel Karmazin would love to have a personality like Elmo on Sirius," said Mel Karmazin yesterday. "But as far as Mel Karmazin knows, he's still under contract."

Personally, I don't care for the Abby Cadabby character. I think she needs a better shtick. I prefer my muppets to have that adult, NYC cab driver sensibility-- like Ernie, like Oscar, like Snuffy, like Baby Bear. I like to imagine, maybe, that Judd Hirsh could play the character. But with all these baby muppets-- like Elmo,. like Zoe, and now like Abby-- its hard to see how the show can appeal to anyone over the age of nine.

The highlight of Monday's show, of course, was the spot-on spoof of Law & Order-- "Law & Order: Special Letters Unit." But don't take my word; click that link and enjoy.