Page "History of Sesame Street" Paragraph 41

According to Davis, Sesame Streets second decade was spent " turning inward, expanding its young viewers ' world ".

The show's curriculum grew to include more " affective " teaching — relationships, ethics, and positive and negative emotions.

Many of the show's storylines were taken from the experiences of its writing staff, cast, and crew.

In 1982, Will Lee, who had played Mr. Hooper since the show's premiere, died.

For the 1983 season, the show's producers and research staff decided they would explain Mr. Hooper's death to their preschool audience, instead of recasting the role: the writer of that episode, Norman Stiles, said, " We felt we owed something to a man we respected and loved ".

They convened a group of psychologists, religious leaders, and other experts in the field of grief, loss, and separation.

The research team conducted a series of studies before the episode to ascertain if children were able to understand the messages they wanted to convey about Mr. Hooper's death ; the research showed most children did understand.

Parents ' reactions to the episode were, according to the CTW's own reports, " overwhelmingly positive ".

The episode, which won an Emmy, aired on Thanksgiving Day in 1983 so parents could be home to discuss it with their children.

Author David Borgenicht called the episode " poignant "; Davis called it " a landmark broadcast " and " a truly memorable episode, one of the show's best ".

Caroll Spinney, who played Big Bird and who drew the caricatures prominently used in the episode, reported the cast and crew were moved to tears during filming.