"No Sesame Street, please...we're British"

Of all the exports Britain has brought to America, there is one American import that hasn't caught on - Sesame Street.

The BBC flatly rejected Sesame Street in 1971 because they thought the programming was "authoritarian."  (How can Big Bird be authoritarian?)  So it went to another network in England (HTV) before Sesame Street was cancelled.

And like today, the BBC still won't tell British children how to get to Sesame Street - unless you live in Northern Ireland.  The reason: there are already other children's programmes out there, including the "talk down to children's" Blue Peter and other shows.

Which leads me to believe one thing and one thing only: the BBC doesn't want Elmo or any of his friends running the Beeb, because you know Stadtler and Waldorf will have their own rollicking politics show, and that the Count will be a financial advisor, and that Bert and Ernie will surpass the popularity of the two women from Absolutely Fabulous.