Episode 2895, unofficially titled "Snuffy's Parents Get a Divorce", is a filmed yet un-aired episode of the popular U.S children's show Sesame Street. The episode was created for broadcast in 1992, but shelved by most broadcasters and producers once test audiences to the program were not able to understand the concept of divorce.
Launched in 1969, the PBS children's series Sesame Street was created with modern, lower-class, urban audiences in mind. While the audience quickly expanded beyond the initial demographic, the program stayed committed to occasionally tackling serious issues such as death, adoption, marriage, and pregnancy. These episodes are often inspired by national statistics or events within the circle of the show's own cast and crew.
In Season 23 (1991–1992), the subject of divorce was the big project of the season. As a result, producers filmed an episode "Snuffy's Parents Get a Divorce", in which Aloysius Snuffleupagus (also known as Snuffy) and little sister Alice must deal with the separation of their parents. The plot seemed to trouble children who watched it in test screenings, essentially afflicting the comfortable, rather than comforting the afflicted.
Sesame Workshop released a video called Little Children, Big Challenges: Divorce, on the topic.
Read more about Snuffy's Parents Get A Divorce: Conceptual Inception, Choosing An Approach, Test Results, References
Famous quotes containing the words parents and/or divorce:
“We, the soldiers who have returned from battles stained with blood; we who have seen our relatives and friends killed before our eyes; we who have attended their funerals and cannot look in the eyes of their parents; we who have come from a land where parents bury their children; we who have fought against you, the Palestinians—we say to you today, in a loud and a clear voice: enough of blood and tears. Enough.”
—Yitzhak Rabin (1922–1995)
“In a world where women work three times as hard for half as much, our achievement has been denigrated, both marriage and divorce have turned against us, our motherhood has been used as an obstacle to our success, our passion as a trap, our empathy for others as an excuse to underpay us.”
—Erica Jong (20th century)