Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street

Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street is a book that completely lives up to its name. It starts back in the late sixties with a question asked at a dinner party--could television be used to teach children?--then takes us through the history of children's television in the US, the social upheaval of the 1960s, the backgrounds of the important players in the creation and development of Sesame Street, and the study and science involved in creating what is, I'm pretty sure after reading this volume, one of the most important and influential shows in American history.

It's an amazing work. It tells the whole story of the painstaking work--feasibility studies, education symposiums, awareness campaigns, scientific research, funding nightmares--that went into just getting the show on the air. It is both detailed and uncomplicated, by which I mean it goes into specifics without miring itself in technical details. It's a mark of Davis' talent that he can make you doubt whether or not Sesame Street will ever make it to the air. The entire project had so much against it, and even when the it did start airing, it was never a sure thing that the series would get a second season.

The personalities involved in the making of the show--Joan Ganz Cooney, Jon Stone, Sam Gibbon, Dave Connell, Jim Henson, Gerald Lesser, Joe Raposo, Carroll Spinney, the wonderful cast, and many others--are a big part of what makes this such a fascinating read. We find out a lot about their lives before the show and why they joined on. I've read a lot over the years about what makes Sesame Street work and why it's so culturally important, but this is the first time I've read so much about why people wanted to make Sesame Street a reality. Everyone went into the show with a theory--that television could be used to teach preschoolers--and found ways to make that theory a wonderful reality.

I didn't realize, by the way, how many of these people had been in earlier milestones of childrens' programming. Many of them came from Captain Kangaroo or from Kukla, Fran and Ollie. The book has so many great moments where it seems like fate keeps magically bringing these people together. It's exciting, and the people involved were all very talented and very willing to use those talents to reach children and try to give them a base of curiosity and responsibility to grow up with.

But what I also liked about this book is that it's a warts-and-all look at the show. Not in a sensational way, but in a very realistic way. A number of people involved with the show have passed away--the prologue takes place at Jim Henson's memorial service--and others have real complaints about how they were treated and the direction the show has since gone in. Jon Stone, for example, left behind an unpublished memoir that is very critical of the producers and the show's refocus on Elmo and marketing after Jim Henson's death. The descent into drugs and madness of Northern Calloway (who played David) is not shied away from. And Davis is among the few who place the blame for Jim Henson's rapid deterioration on intense (and troubling) negotiations with Walt Disney CEO Michael Eisner. (This book is the first warts-and-all look at Jim Henson that doesn't smooth out the rough edges of his personality--I really wish Random House would release Ron Powers' unpublished 1993 adult biography of Henson that was blocked by the Henson family; barring that, I'll bet Davis could write an honest book about the man.)

In all, this is an excellent book that takes a look at something that was very influential in my life, and people (and Muppets) who seemed like an extended family to me when I was very young. The recounting of the death of actor Will Lee, and the subsequent episode dealing with the death of his character, Mr. Hooper, moved me to tears. If you're at all interested in television history or Jim Henson and the Muppets, it's an essential book. And even if you're not, it's still a compelling, well-written, wonderful book that I wouldn't pass up.