Mikes Tree House

It’s no surprise that Oscar the Grouch was swooning over the Wicked Witch of the West.

Just recently, I’ve been reading about a so-called banned episode, Episode 847, of Sesame Street. The late Margaret Hamilton, the actress who portrayed the Wicked Witch of the West (referred to as the Witch for the duration of this blog) in the 1939 film adaptation of The Wizard of Oz, reprised her role as the mean ol’ Witch to appear as the antagonist on this 1976 episode of Sesame Street.

All hell breaks loose.

Apparently, angry parents were not amused by their young kids being frightened from watching, at the time, the number one children’s program on American television.

The parents wrote indignant letters directed to the Children’s Television Workshop (now called Sesame Workshop) and the show creators, Joan Ganz and the late Lloyd Morrisett. Needless to say, they had a mess to clean up.

After a series of events, the powers that be decided to never air this particular episode ever again, and it was shelved, supposedly for perpetuity.

Fast forward to 2019, when this infamous episode reared its scary head at a “Lost and Found” event at the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens, New York, to celebrate the Sesame Street franchise’s 50th anniversary.

Three years later in 2022, Episode 847 was “leaked” online, via Reddit and the hysteria went from there.

Here’s the thing: when this particular episode originally aired on Tuesday, February 10, 1976, I was six years old and in the first grade. I was in school that day, so I missed the episodes airing. In fact, I had no idea that such an event even happened until 40 years later!

I decided to take a walk on the wild side and watch this episode to see watch the buzz was about. Was the controversy overhype or were there legitimate concerns from parents?

Here it is for your viewing pleasure…

What do you think? Was it as bad as parents said it was or was it simple hyperbole? You be the judge.