Comedy
Beef
Netflix’s newest show is well done, you might say. But Plugged In has a beef with some of its problems.
We’ve gotten to know Elmo, Abby Cadabby and Cookie Monster as Muppets–cute, colorful, non-threatening characters who hang out on Sesame Street.
But on Sesame Street Mecha Builders, the trio has gotten a supercharged, high-tech upgrade. Here, they’re robots–and Mecha-Elmo, Mecha-Cookie and Mecha-Abby use their superhero powers to tackle any problem that zooms their way in the town of Pretty Big City.
Back in November of 1969, Sesame Street debuted. The goal? To teach preschool-aged children their alphabet, how to count and how to be kind.
Fast forward 53 years and you’ll find that Sesame Street has taken on many different faces since its origin.
The latest iteration of this beloved children’s show is found on Cartoon Network and HBO Max, and it’s called Sesame Street Mecha Builders. This time, instead of focusing primarily on basic preschool skills, the creators over at Sesame Workshop are aiming to give young children a taste of a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) education.
So, what does that mean? Well, each episode (which is divided into two 10-minute parts) presents a problem to Elmo and his robotic friends that they must solve using critical thinking skills. Their plan, which is repeated many times, includes a three step process: Plan it. Test it. Solve it.
As Elmo and the gang work together (modeling kindness as they do so), they learn how to form a hypothesis, how to define simple, scientific terms and how to use educational observations to come to a conclusion. Along the way, they may transform into giants, shrink to the size of dust particles or use nifty gadgets. But whatever they do, the important thing is that they never give up no matter how difficult a problem may appear.
In the first half, Mecha-Elmo, Mecha-Cookie and Mecha-Abby save Pretty Big City from an asteroid. In the second half, Elmo and his friends must learn how to stop dust from ruining a musical performance.
Kristin Smith joined the Plugged In team in 2017. Formerly a Spanish and English teacher, Kristin loves reading literature and eating authentic Mexican tacos. She and her husband, Eddy, love raising their children Judah and Selah. Kristin also has a deep affection for coffee, music, her dog (Cali) and cat (Aslan).
Netflix’s newest show is well done, you might say. But Plugged In has a beef with some of its problems.
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