MEAWW.COM / ENTERTAINMENT / TV

BANNED 'Sesame Street' episode gets the viral treatment as fans revisit Margaret Hamilton classic

This 1976 episode of Sesame Street was removed because parents complained Margaret Hamilton's role as Wicked Witch had frightened the children

One of the most talked-about and iconic episodes of the cult show ‘Sesame Street’ which airs on PBS, is currently doing the rounds on social media. The longest-running and loved children’s show ‘Sesame Street’, has been created by Joan Ganz Cooney and Lloyd Morrisett.

Back in 1976, there was a particular episode, 0847, of ‘Sesame Street’ which featured a crossover of Wicked Witch of the West from ‘Wizard Of Oz’ and Big Bird, that apparently had been taken down by the channel for it had been too ‘scary’ for children. It was archived in the Library of Congress for public viewing. The long-running educational children's television series combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry and is known for its images communicated through the use of Jim Henson's Muppets and includes short films, with humor and cultural references.

RELATED ARTICLES

‘Street Gang: How We Got To Sesame Street’: 5 things to know about HBO documentary

Wes and Elijah on 'Sesame Street': Who are the 2 Black characters explaining racism on 'ABCs of Racial History'?

This particular episode starred veteran actress Margaret Hamilton, who reprised her role as the Wicked Witch of the West from ‘The Wizard of Oz’. Back in 1976, actress Hamilton was asked by Sesame Workshop to reprise her role as the Wicked Witch for this specific ‘Sesame Street’ episode, almost 37 years after her iconic ‘Wizards Of Oz’ performance opposite Judy Garland. The 73-year-old Hamilton agreed and came onboard to film a sketch that taught all the young children to face their fears heads on. In this specific episode, The Wicked Witch openly demanded that residents of Sesame Street return her broom and also goes ahead to extent of threatening to turn Big Bird into a giant feather duster.

This episode was removed from syndication in 1976 because of being too ‘frightening’ for children, is now available on both Youtube and Reddit. At the time it was removed, the producers of the sketch were flooded with phone calls from angry parents who complained that the Wicked Witch of the West scared their kids. Wikipedia refers to a 1996 survey that found that 95% of all American preschoolers had watched it by the time they were three. In 2018, it was estimated that 86 million Americans had watched it as children. As of 2021, it has won 205 Emmy Awards and 11 Grammy Awards, more than any other children's show.

As soon as this episode received a second birth on YouTube, social media has been constantly talking about it in the comments section.

"People forget the type of exposure kids had to “scary things” then compared to today. She was a real life villain, and one of the only kid friendly movies kids could watch. I agree that this was just such a great loss to be gone for so long, especially for Margaret Hamilton. Such a legend," wrote a fan on YouTube. "Seeing Margaret Hamilton in and then out of the makeup is such a head spin! She was amazing as the Witch and also in The Addams Family," another YouTube viewer wrote.

"Margaret Hamilton…. I love her so much and miss her desperately. I love how 40 years later she was still able to play the wicked witch as incredible as she always was," commented another. "This episode scared me beyond belief when I was 5. I would anxiously watch the start of each episode after seeing this one, to make sure it wasn't the "witch one" again. Of course I never saw it again, and at some point convinced myself it was a nightmare. After doing an internet search for it a few years ago, I saw the articles about it and felt vindicated that I wasn't crazy. Thanks for uploading this! I hope it is allowed to stay!’," wrote a fourth viewer. "What a real joy to see... I know she scared the bageezus out of me when I was a little one watching The Wizard of Oz every year on television. Now, it's just plain old nostalgic to see the original Wicked Witch’," shared a fan on YouTube.  "Interesting this was so controversial. Children have been dressing up as witches for years some scarier that the Wizard of OZ's wicket witch. She's amazing and true to her Oz character. There were far more controversial episodes than this one like when the first black muppet was introduced or HIV positive character, challenging the so-called social norms," read another YouTube comment.

Twitter too wasn't spared the discussion as fans of the show commented there as well. "I love everything about this #SesameStreet episode. Margaret Hamilton's Wicked Witch is always so iconic, but it's absolutely delightful how she brings the character to life here. This is an absolute gem," a fan wrote. "I'm gonna watch it. I did see the episode of Mister Rogers where she was a guest when I was little. I knew the show filmed in Pittsburgh, and I cried when my mother said we couldn't drive over to the studio to meet her. (I thought the show was live.)," added another user.

"People are going bonkers over the 'lost' Margaret Hamilton Sesame Street edition. It was NEVER lost, just inaccessible to most people. If you want genuinely lost TV, look at the BBC Archives, as an example! #sesamestreet," wrote a fan. "Finally saw the witch episode of #sesamestreet and David is now my favorite character," noted a fan. "In the lost 847th ep of #SesameStreet, the Wicked Witch terrorizes the city to retrieve her broom. However, a Black shopkeep stands up to her, refusing to return the broom until she "treats me like a person." The symbolism is clear, teaching kids to never abide racial cruelty," added a fan. "Seriously this episode of #SesameStreet was banned ?," a fan asked.