The two "Best Of" DVD releases that Shout Factory has put out of this classic PBS educational reading series are just not enough for the adult enthusiasts of Generation X like me who grew up with it. Ditto for the episodes that were made available for purchase/viewing on iTunes, Hulu, Amazon Prime. Plus, the altering that had to be done to episodes because of properties that were not those of Sesame Workshop, like the Road Runner cartoon shorts (Warner Bros.) and Spider Man (Marvel Entertainment, LLC, Disney).  All of this is entirely unacceptable to those like me who would like to be able to own and view the whole series before we die.  I also still like to think that the series is still effective at teaching lessons in reading.

 

This is standout material from the non-profit organization formerly known as Children's Television Workshop that they can't afford to keep ignoring by way of concentrating on the revival of the series that started in 2009, which just can't hold a candle to the original in my book.  All episodes should leave in the classic 1971 PBS I.D. that closed every episode as well. Wouldn't you like to be able to see all 780 programs done over six years, 130 a season, original and unedited, and completely restored, that were aired five days a week? Sure, some segments may be repeated, but it shouldn't be a bother to those who really like the series.  How many times would a double-sided DVD go into 780 programs, I mean how many of those would it take to fit the whole series? My guess is maybe 26 of them. I don't know how many it would take for single sided discs that could hold up to five episodes each at the most.  On a double-sided disc, it would be ten.  Criterion should be tapped to partner with Sesame Workshop on this deluxe DVD box set release, because Shout Factory may be a good company, but Criterion would take all of the painstaking steps to secure the rights to be able to leave in the episodes what are not the properties of Sesame Workshop.  If the money from DVD box set sales could be split with the rights holders of Road Runner, Spider-Man, I think that could turn out good.  Bonuses like interviews with surviving cast members could be included, as well as the special that aired in syndication, sponsored by Johnson Wax, one week before the series PBS debut; Here Comes The Electric Company.  "HEY YOU GUYS!" indeed. The websites to contact are http://www.sesameworkshop.org, http://www.criterion.com, and http://www.shoutfactory.com.  Sesame Workshop should also partner with the following company on the project; http://www.reelvault.com.  If a deluxe DVD/Blu-Ray series box set is not feasible for all parties, then they could release the series as individual season box sets.