As we near Thanksgiving this year, we also near the release of the newest Muppets movie today. “The Muppets” is being brought to us by writers Jason Segel (of “How I Met Your Mother” and “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” fame) and Nicholas Stoller (“Get Him to the Greek,” “Yes Man”) and director James Bobin (“Flight of the Conchords”). This year’s franchise reboot is hoping to breathe life back into Jim Henson’s lovable family of puppets, who have been missing from the big screen for over a decade.

Blast put together a Muppet timeline that chronicles the ups and downs of the Muppet gang from its beginning in 1969 to the current day.

1955 – 1961: Five Minutes With “Sam and Friends” student from the University of Maryland named Jim Henson creates a five minute show, called “Sam and Friends,” that airs twice every day on Washington D.C.’s NBC affiliate WRC-TV. The show features a title human character named Sam who is accompanied by a silly group of puppets, which are created and voiced by Henson. Voices are also provided by (Henson’s future wife) Jane Nebel, Bob Payne, and Jerry Juhl. “Sam and Friends” introduced viewers to puppets Kermit (not considered a frog yet), Professor Madcliffe, Chicken Liver, Pierre the French Rat, Yorick, and many others. As “Sam and Friends” grew in popularity, the characters began making appearances on other popular shows, such as NBC’s “Today”, “The Ed Sullivan Show”, and “The Jimmy Dean Show”. Check out the video below for a glimpse of Kermit on “Sam and Friends” before he became a star:

Bert, Ernie, Betty Lou, Roosevelt Franklin, Gordon and Susan on the first season of "Sesame Street"

November 10, 1969: “Sesame Street” Makes its Television Debut After over a decade of development, Jim Henson’s refined cast of puppets breaks into the spotlight with the premiere of “Sesame Street.” The television show, created by TV documentary producer Joan Ganz Cooney, aims to give pre-schoolers an education through entertainment. Families are introduced to classic characters such as Kermit the Frog, Big Bird, Cookie Monster, Grover, and Bert and Ernie. Jim Henson combines the words marionette and puppet and deems his creations “Muppets.”

Scred and Ploobis with Raquel Welch on "SNL", April 24th 1976

1975: Muppets Grow Up On First Season of “Saturday Night Live” With the debut of “Saturday Night Live,” Jim Henson sees an opportunity to cater the Muppets to adult audiences rather than kids. The first ten episodes of “SNL” contain a segment that features Muppet characters Ploobis and Scred. Ploobis and Scred’s sketches frequently include adult subject matter such as drunkenness, affairs, and sex toys. As the first season comes to a close and the second begins, SNL’s writers express displeasure in having to write Ploobis and Scred sketches. The characters cease to appear on the show by April of 1976.

January 29, 1976: “The Muppet Show” Debuts

After the mishap with “Saturday Night Live,” Jim Henson decides to take a new approach with the Muppets: appealing to kids and parents alike. As if to signal a fresh start, “The Muppet Show” stars an entirely new (with the exception of Kermit the Frog) ensemble cast of Muppets that includes Fozzie Bear, Miss Piggy, Gonzo the Great, geezer duo Statler and Waldorf, and countless others. In it’s run from 1976 to 1981, the show lands 21 Primetime Emmy nominations, four Emmy wins, three BAFTA awards, and a Peabody Award in 1979.

June 22, 1979: “The Muppet Movie” Hits the Big Screen

With “The Muppet Show” hitting it’s stride, Henson recognizes the potential for a film. “The Muppet Movie” provides an origin story for the Muppet gang, explaining how each of the major characters (Kermit, Fozzie, Miss Piggy, Gonzo, etc) met one another and how they began their journey to Hollywood together. The film is a box office smash, making $65.2 million domestically, which equates to $202.7 million today. It also does well critically, garnering a Golden Globe nomination and two Academy Award nominations (all for music). Roger Ebert gives “The Muppet Movie” 3.5 out of 4 stars and Variety magazine calls the film “a well-crafted combo of musical comedy and fantasy adventure.”

1981: “The Great Muppet Caper” and the end of “The Muppet Show”

The spring of 1981 brings about the series conclusion of “The Muppet Show,” which airs its final episode with guest Shirley Bassey on March 15th. The show has aired a total of 120 episodes and run for a total of five seasons. The show is cancelled not due to lack of interest but rather Jim Henson wishing to devote more of his time to other projects, particularly his upcoming film “The Dark Crystal”, to be released in December of 1982.

Almost two years to the exact day after “The Muppet Movie” premiered, the Muppets return to the big screen with “The Great Muppet Caper.” In this film, Kermit and Fozzie play twin brothers who are newspaper reporters for The Daily Chronicle. When fashion designer Lady Holiday’s valuable diamond necklace is stolen, Kermit and Fozzie are put on the case. In their travels, they meet up with other Muppets like Rowlf, Scooter, and Miss Piggy, all of them playing characters other than themselves. “The Great Muppet Caper” is another box office success (though not as popular as the previous movie), making $31.2 million. Adjusted for inflation, that would be $77.7 million today. The film doesn’t do as well critically, with Roger Ebert calling it, “too nice, too routine, too predictable, and too safe.”

1983: “Fraggle Rock”

Two years after “The Muppet Show” saw its last episode, Jim Henson uses the popularity of the Muppets to bring a new puppet show into the spotlight – “Fraggle Rock”. The new show focuses on a race of human-like Muppets called Fraggles, who come in a variety of colors and live in caves. The idea of “Fraggle Rock” is to create an internationally relatable and translatable version of “Sesame Street”. Like he’s done before, Henson introduces an entirely new and separate bunch of Muppets with the Fraggles, and likewise no classic Muppet characters make guest appearances on the show. Following in the footsteps of “The Muppet Show”, “Fraggle Rock” is a hit, airing for five seasons with a total of 96 episodes.

1984: “The Muppets Take Manhattan”

In their third film appearance, the Muppets decide to give Broadway a try, attempting to get their own musical onto the stages of New York City. “The Muppets Take Manhattan” sees the gang playing themselves again, as opposed to playing separate characters like they did in the previous film. For the first time, the Muppet Babies are introduced in a flashback – these baby characters will resurface in a future Saturday morning cartoon. “The Muppets Take Manhattan” is also the first Muppet movie to be directed by Frank Oz, the voice of Miss Piggy, Fozzie, Animal, Cookie Monster and others. Though “Manhattan” does not fair as well at the box office as its predecessors, it still makes $25.5 million domestically.

“The Muppets Take Manhattan” is the last Muppet film that Henson will see released in theaters before his death in May of 1990.

Newspaper article about the London memorial for Jim Henson

May 16th, 1990: Jim Henson Dies from Bacterial Pneumonia

By the beginning of May, 1990, Jim Henson had begun experiencing flu-like symptoms. On May 12, while on a family trip to North Carolina to see his father and stepmother, he visits a local doctor who finds no signs of pneumonia. Henson takes an early flight home to New York and visits with his then separated wife Jane. In the early morning hours of May 15^th, he finally gives into pressure from Jane to go to the hospital. Jim’s condition rapidly deteriorates, causing him to pass away the next morning.

After Henson’s death, two public memorial services are held – one in New York and one in London. Following a stipulation set forth by Jim himself, attendees are forbidden to wear black. Each service features performances from the Muppets as well as a solo by Big Bird. Printed on each program is a quote taken from a letter that Henson wrote to his children four years prior to his death: “Please watch out for each other and love and forgive everybody. It’s a good life, enjoy it.”

1991 – 1994: “Dinosaurs”

Just prior to his death, Jim Henson had been working on a new idea for a sitcom called “Dinosaurs”. The half-hour comedy begins airing in April of 1991 on ABC. The show follows a family of dinosaurs who live a human-like life complete with living in houses, paying taxes, and working 9-5 jobs.

The project is a collaboration between Michael Jacobs Productions, The Jim Henson Company, and Disney’s Touchstone Entertainment. “Dinosaurs” is the first Henson production to rely heavily on animatronics, which were developed by Brian Henson’s (Jim’s son) company London Creature Shop.

1992: “The Muppets Christmas Carol”

“The Muppets Christmas Carol” is the first time the Muppets reappear after Jim Henson’s death. The film, directed by Jim’s son Brian Henson, provides a Muppet-reimagining of Charles Dickens’ classic tale A Christmas Carol, replacing many of the characters with Muppets. Gonzo plays Dickens himself, narrating a tale that features Kermit as Bob Crachit, Miss Piggy as Emily Crachit, Fozzie Bear as Fozziewig, and Michael Caine as Scrooge. “The Muppets Christmas Carol” reestablishes the Muppets’ relevance after an eight year absence from the big screen. The movie takes in $27.2 million domestically.

1996: “Muppet Treasure Island”

Like “The Muppet Christmas Carol” before it, “Muppet Treasure Island” adapts a classic story by casting the Muppets in the story’s major roles. Tim Curry, Kevin Bishop and Billy Connolly make up the non-Muppet cast, playing Long John Silver, Jim Hawkins, and Billy Bones respectively. Roger Ebert gives the film 2.5 out of 4 stars, calling it “a near miss”. “Muppet Treasure Island” makes $34.3 million in domestic box offices.

1996 – 1998: “Muppets Tonight”

With hopes of resurrecting the magic of “The Muppet Show”, “Muppets Tonight” begins airing in March of 1996. However, the show fails to attract the audiences that the old show once did and “Tonight” is pulled after two seasons and 22 episodes. Despite being a failure, the series did introduce a handful of new Muppets, including Pepe the King Prawn and Bobo the Bear (both of which appear in the latest Muppet movie “The Muppets”).

1999: “Muppets from Space”

The sixth Muppet feature film spelled disaster for the franchise, suffering both financially and critically. With a reported budget of $24 million (BoxOfficeMojo), the movie grosses just $16.6 million domestically. Most critics pan “Muppets from Space”, describing serious franchise fatigue and remarking that the Muppets are quickly becoming irrelevant. Roger Ebert gives the film 2 out of 4 stars and writes in his review: “Maybe ‘Muppets from Space’ is just not very good, and they’ll make a comeback. I hope so. Because I just don’t seem to care much anymore.” Everybody seems to agree that “Muppets from Space” is the proverbial final nail in the coffin.

2002 & 2005: The Muppets Are Reduced to Made-for-TV Movies

In an attempt to prevent the Muppets from fading completely from public memory, two made-for-television films are broadcasted on TV: “It’s a Very Muppet Christmas Movie” in 2002 and “The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz” in 2005. Star-power alone fails to save “Christmas,” which features the likes of David Arquette, Joan Cusack, William H. Macy, and Whoopi Goldberg. “The Muppet’s Wizard of Oz” is a similar story, starring Ashanti, Jeffrey Tambor, and Queen Latifah.

2011: Triumphant Return Predicted for the Muppets

“The Muppets” was released today, a day before Thanksgiving. The film is Disney’s attempt to reboot the aged franchise after a staggering twelve-year absence from theaters. New life is being breathed into the Muppets through a young new crew led by writer/star Jason Segel. Segel wrote the script with Nicholas Stoller (“Yes Man”) and James Bobin (writer/director for HBO’s hit “Flight of the Conchords”) directed the feature. A media blitz of a promotional campaign has created substantial buzz about “The Muppets”, particularly amongst nostalgic fans who grew up watching the Muppets as kids. As of the night before the premiere of “The Muppets”, the movie had a perfect 100% rating on RottenTomatoes.com based on 58 reviews.

The first look at Double Fine's upcoming Once Upon a Monster

First they brought you into the world of heavy metal in Brutal Legend, then they delved into downloadable titles like Costume Quest and Stacking, now Double Fine brings you…Sesame Street?

It was announced today that Double Fine Productions will be developing Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster for use with Microsoft’s Kinect peripheral.  The game will follow Elmo, Cookie Monster and a host of other Sesame Street characters as they adventure through an interactive storybook.

While the announcement may come as a surprise to many gamers, especially those waiting for an announcement of a core game for Kinect, Double Fine’s founder Tim Schaefer calls the game a labor of love, and the perfect project to where the team is at this stage in their careers.

“Sesame Street had a profound effect on me, and many members of the Double Fine team, when we were children. So did video games,” said Schaefer. “Now many of us are parents and we want to share with our kids the great experiences we had, but also the completely new ones made possible by cutting-edge technology like Kinect for Xbox 360. So it’s a labor of love on many levels.”

Once Upon a Monster is expected to release this fall.

NBA superstar Dwight Howard’s new educational children’s album, Shoot for the Stars, is for a good cause. The record benefits The BETA Center, an organization that specializes in the support of families in crisis and teen Moms in the Orlando area. Credit must given to Howard who, since entering the NBA straight from high school in 2004, has demonstrated a level of maturity and responsibility that is rare amongst today’s professional athletes.

The album, as one might expect, boasts a number of covers of classic stadium anthems that have been hilariously tweaked to make reference to Dwight’s status as a pro basketball player. Tag Team’s 1993 hit “Whoomp! (There It Is),” becomes “Hoop (There It Is).” And what of MC Hammer’s masterpiece, “U Can’t Touch This?” You guessed it, rather than the DIY-praising hook of the original, the all-star Center refreshes the archaic lyric by making “Howard” rather than “Hammer” time.

As well proving him as a better role model than many of his colleagues, Howard’s new record also demonstrates that he may have more book smarts than most of them too. Whether he required a lyric sheet when recording his version of the timeless “ABC’s,” this reviewer can neither confirm nor deny. We’ll have to wait for any possible live performances of the song to know for sure.

Aside from the fact that the NBA’s “Superman” had a surprisingly talented supporting cast with him in the studio (session musicians who have played with the likes of Eric Clapton, Ray Charles, and Stevie Wonder), there isn’t much more to say about this album.

Instead, lets take a look at the “All Time Top Three List of NBA Players Doing Dorky Things For The Entertainment of Children.” Take a moment, if you will, to imagine just how much free-throw-interrupting smack was talked off the back of some of these ill-advised career moves:

3. David Robinson appears on Sesame Street — 1998

Former Spurs big man sung the alphabet and hung out with Count von Count. His segment was supposed to be done with Elmo, but in a legendary on set feud, the Count locked the red fuzz ball in a coffin and stood in. It was later revealed that the Count had been angling for a job as an NBA statistician, a position he still covets.

2. Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Charles Barkley, Mugssy Bogues, Patrick Ewing, Larry Johnson, and Sean Bradley star in “Space Jam” — 1996

Perhaps more of a travesty than the goofy appearance of the NBA legends in this film is the fact Bill Murray was also roped in to play a role in the green screen misadventure. Thankfully, Murray’s career bounced back and MJ returned to the Bulls for three more championships.

1. Shaquille O’Neal stars in “Kazaam” — 1996.

Widely acknowledged as the worst film about a rapping 7-foot genie of all time. The Celtics’ newest star also recorded the soundtrack. For a double-whammy of unashamed awfulness, the “Big Shamrock” tops our chart.

Dwight: you have work to do.

Try to follow along: After getting canned from spending time with the Sesame Street muppets, Katy Perry — the actual person, not an animation — will appear in a skit during “The Simpsons” Christmas special this year, in which the animated “Simpsons” characters jet out of the cartoon world and become puppets in the real world.

“Simpsons” executive producer Al Jean told MTV: “In the wake of Elmo’s terrible betrayal,the Simpsons puppets wish to announce they stand felt-shoulder-to-shoulder with Katy Perry.”

Joking aside, the skit was shot earlier this month, before Elmo-gate broke.

Perry will play Moe’s girlfriend in the skit, and there is some singing.

"Hi, Elmo! Are you ready to play dress-up?" — Singer Katy Perry asks Elmo.

Katy has become the latest celebrity to film a segment for children’s show "Sesame Street," re-recording her last year’s hit "Hot ‘N Cold" with child-friendly lyrics.

This short two-minute clip was just posted on YouTube on Monday and quickly passed the million viewer mark.

But that clip will never appear in an episode.

Complaints came in about the singer’s dress and exposed cleavage. Parents fumed over her "inappropriate" cleavage-baring outfit, and the clip has been axed from the New Year’s Eve episode.

Seriously, though, the combination of "California Gurls" singer and Muppet Elmo is absolutely cute, and little Elmo running around Perry is very adorable. Most of the shots only show her head. There’s nothing overtly sexual about any of this.

Care to discuss? Leave some comments.

It’s been 40 years since Sesame Street first started educating and entertaining children across the country.

I can think of a few things off the top of my head that I learned about with my eyes glued to the television and my hand in a box of Cheerios as a child: Counting, counting in Spanish, bottle caps, and a mastery of the ABC’s are a few examples.

But here’s one thing I learned about on Sesame Street that you might not think of right away: death.

When Will Lee, the actor who played Mr. Hooper, died of a heart attack in 1982, instead of covering it up on the show or saying Mr. Hooper moved away or went on vacation, the show decided to tell children the truth: “Mr. Hooper died.” They told Big Bird this in the episode “Farewell, Mr. Hooper,” broadcast on Thanksgiving 1983. Later in the episode, Big Bird wants to give all the cast members drawings that he made of each of them. When Big Bird asks where Mr. Hooper is, they remind him that Mr. Hooper is dead, to which Big Bird replies that he’ll just wait for him to come back, so he can give him the drawing. The adults pause and tell Big Bird that when someone dies, they never come back.

It was real. It was powerful in a way that insulating modern television may never be again. It was one of TV’s most important moments, and it would affect me just as much when I saw it for the first time in the late 80s. (I wasn’t born when it originally aired)

But most of my Sesame Street memories aren’t nearly as sad!

It this doesn’t completely floor you, nothing will: (see more here)

Register a free account with Blast, and leave a comment about your best Sesame Street moment for a chance to win a free DVD.

Forty years ago today, PBS, the Public Broadcasting System, aired its first television broadcasts, the US Census Bureau announced.

PBS began as little more than a string of local educational programs. Over the last four decades, shows like “Sesame Street,” “The American Experience,” “Masterpiece” and “NewsHour with Jim Lehrer” have touched the lives of many Americans.

“Over the years, PBS has built a reputation for excellent programs and objectivity,” the Census Burean said in a statement.

The Public Broadcasting System has more than 350 stations, which come together collectively to own the network.

Madonna the Grouch

Clearly, Madonna’s yes peeps are too busy telling her that too much plastic surgery is a good thing to share with her that the‚ Sesame Street look is out.‚ The painful alternative would be that‚ Madge skinned‚ Oscar the Grouch‚ and‚ wore his pelt the launch of the Tattoo Heart Collection to Benefit UNICEF dinner at The Plaza on‚ Wednesday in NYC. Sigh. Somewhere Jim Henson is turning over in his grave.

Youtube is featuring this very old Sesame Street video that most of us should remember from our childhood.

Oh my god, huge flashback!

There are plenty more videos and games to check out at the new Sesame Street Workshop website at http://www.sesamestreet.org, which launched August 11.

Trippy…

This should be familiar too.