Sesamstraat

Dutch version of the American children's television series Sesame Street

Sesamstraat is a Dutch television series in the Netherlands, and a localized version of the U. S. children's program Sesame Street. In its early days, the show was broadcast in Flanders (Belgium) as well. It is the second longest running foreign adaptation of Sesame Street without interruptions, behind only Sesamstraße. It targets children between 3–7 years old.

After a pilot episode entitled Sesamplein ("Sesame Square") which was released in 1974, Sesamstraat began broadcasting in 1976. It started as a Dutch/Belgian coproduction, with only one thirty minute episode a week. These episodes had only 12 minutes allotted for the Dutch cast. At the time, there were only two Muppets and three live actors (Piet Hendriks, Sien Diels, and Annet van Heusden). Piet owned a hobby and crafts workshop and a camper which he would drive around The Netherlands and Belgium for live trips. Sien owned a grocery store, where the exchange of knowledge and happenings were as important as the selling of products. Annet played a kindergarten teacher. In 1978, the show's format changed to a daily 15 minute show that aired in the evening, around dinnertime. The first season was shot on location in a half Dutch, half Belgian town. It was broadcast every Sunday for a half hour in the afternoon. For the second season, a realistic town square was built inside the studio, which slowly evolved into a more abstracted, colourful town, featuring Pino's nest, Sien's store, a workshop, two houses, an apartment building, a trailer and a treehouse. The insides of the house sets could be decorated in different ways, so that the viewers would never be certain about who lived where. Other special Sesamstraat episodes include the 2500th episode, and a yearly special episode focused on Sinterklaas. The 25th anniversary of the series featured guest appearances on the street by Dutch celebrities. On January 7, 2000, Prime Minister Wim Kok read the daily story "Er staat een olifantje in het gras " (There is a little elephant standing in the grass) for the Muppet residents before they went to sleep. Wim Kok is one of the many prominent guests who read a story to them. (Normally this was done by Frank, Gerda or Paula). Other celebrities that have made guest appearances include Freek de Jonge (comedian), Ruud Gullit (professional soccer player), André van Duin (comedian), Mary Dresselhuys (actress), Hans Dagelet (actor), Kees van Kooten (writer), Brigitte Kaandorp (comedian), Sonja Barend (show host) and Janine Kastelijn (Youth Winner for Reading in 2000). In 1992, a 30 minute film, Sesamstraat en Melkweg, was produced for the Artis Zoo Planetarium in Amsterdam. In 2005, the show saw some schedule trouble. The government decided to halt the funding and broadcasts of NPS. The final debate took place on September 12, 2005, in the Tweede Kamer. It was decided that NPS could continue making programs, but it had to make several changes to fit into modern television, including a new broadcast schedule. For the 2005/2006 season, Sesamstraat moved into new scenery. The set became completely abstract, with toy block like buildings, broccoli for trees, and a tower with a giant light up clock. The scenery was introduced with a TV special. Bert, Ernie, Cookie Monster, and Elmo flew over to the Netherlands for this special occasion. It was the first time the American characters visited the Dutch street. Starting in September 2006, Sesamstraat expanded to 30 minutes and began airing three times a day. In 2008, the show received 15 minutes of extra broadcast time a day. This meant there was room for two more Muppets. Angsthaas and Stuntkip were introduced. October 2009 brought a new segment for the show. Several famous Dutch singers performed duets with the Sesamstraat characters Pino, Tommie, Ieniemienie and Purk. All songs were written by Henny Vrienten. The segments aired every Friday starting October 30, 2009. Among the artists were Trijntje Oosterhuis, Caro Emerald, André van Duin, Edsilia Rombley, Ernst Daniël Smid, Hind, Guus Meeuwis, Huub van der Lubbe and Willeke Alberti. All the duets were broadcast again in a special on December 25 and 28. On June 28, 2019, The NTR made public that they had to economize again and decided to stop producing the series for the following two years. Reruns were broadcast instead.

Pino is one of the most important Muppets in the children's program, and has been a part of the central cast since the show started airing in 1976. He has the appearance of a giant blue bird whose design closely resembles that of Big Bird, who is his cousin. At approximately 4 years old he is a little younger than his friends Tommie and Ieniemienie, and sometimes he has a little trouble keeping up with them. Pino is shy, sensitive, and sometimes clumsy in his childish naivety. Being the second youngest, he likes to play with Purk. He is best known for his funny laugh and his catchphrase "Echt waar?!" ("Really?!"). Pino has had many different performers through the years, including Dirk Grijspeirt (1976), Theo Joling (1977), Bert Plagman (1979), Erik J. Meijer (1980) and Leo Dijkgraaf (1984). In 1991, Renée Menschaar started performing Pino, and she has been his regular performer ever since. She is the first woman to play Pino, who has always remained a boy character.

Tommie is a six year old dog. He is clever, energetic and creative. Tommie can write a few words, including his own name, which he is very proud of. He is famous for his own made up exclamations, like "Poe hee!" (approximately pronounced as: pooh hey) and "Hatseflats!". In the 2005/2006 season, Tommie got his own racing car. Tommie has been around since the beginning in 1976. The first Tommie puppet was made by producer Ton Hasebos from an old fur coat. He was a teddy bear like creature that walked on all fours. Through the years he evolved from a 'teddy bear' kind of creature to a more doglike animal. Tommie's recent look, which was introduced in 1981, was designed by The Jim Henson Company. The recently refurbished Tommie has a lot more fur in his face. Like Pino, Tommie has had a few different performers, including Stef van der Linden in 1976 and Martin Pragt in 1978. In 1979, Bert Plagman became Tommie's performer, after sharing the part with Martin. Renée Menschaar (Pino's performer) and Judith Broersen (Purk's performer) both started their Sesamstraat careers as Tommie's right hand. Nowadays, Daphne Zandberg performs Tommie's right hand.

Representing the psychological age of a six year old mouse, Ieniemienie is the oldest of the group. She is clumsy and messy and loves to get herself dirty. She is still learning how to talk, and she can't walk yet. She is taken care of by everyone on Sesamstraat. Introduced in 2003, Purk is the newest of the Muppet characters. She was created in order to introduce the subject of "a younger child in the family". nonetheless he became a well loved character among the people who grew up with him. Meneer Aart demanded to be called "Meneer Aart" (Mr. Aart) and he saw himself as the most important man of the street. Since the death of Lex, Aart has sometimes taken up the role of a grandpa. Just like the other characters he doesn't like Buurman Baasje. He always calls Pino "Piño". Aart Staartjes' performance of Mr. Aart was loved by many and he continued to perform this character for over 40 years until his death on 12 January 2020. Paula (Paula Sleijp) joined in 1982. Her role is some kind of grandma, but since 1996 in a more stern way. In the 1990s Paula Sleijp also played the character of the Baroness, a silly and dumb lady with a French accent. After 28 years, she left the show in 2010. Rik (Rik Hoogendoorn) debuted in 1993 as Mr. Aart's nephew (although he never calls Aart his uncle). Rik is a clumsy young man, trying to do silly inventions, which often do not work. He is also a thick man, who enjoys eating and hates sports. He left the cast in 2007. Sien (Sien Diels) was already in the first episode in 1976. She runs a store. In the first seasons she was often wearing overalls and using tools, because of the focus on female emancipation.