Shalom Sesame: 1. It's a real show. 2. I know. 3. It's an awesome, 12-part spin-off of Sesame Street that teaches Jewish children about their heritage and culture, with the help of predictable celebrities like Jake Gyllenhaal, Christina Applegate, Ben Stiller, Debra Messing, and Cedric the Entertainer. Since it's set to air at the tail end of 2010, Shalom Sesame still has plenty of time to garner enough publicity to force a statement from Madonna saying that it's just safer if she runs this whole thing. Ready for an education, Schlomo?
This incarnation of Shalom Sesame is actually a reboot of two miniseries from 1986 and 1990, except certain aspects have been altered for the new run. (For instance: Studies show that kids today respond violently to Bonnie Franklin and Tracey Gold.) The clip below is from the 1990 series, as an effortlessly expressive Joan Rivers (stay with me) explains to a clay pot how it came to be. Ah, the power of claymation, giving life's last-living saber-toothed tiger the undulating eyebrows and lips of a standard biped. Mazel tov!