Classic and long-running TV shows are prone to have ‘lost episodes’ due to various reasons such as broadcast complaints, mismanagement, or poor technology at the time. However, just because one is lost doesn’t mean it’s gone forever. This can be said for the long-running children’s program Sesame Street as episode #847 has been recovered after it was deemed “too scary for children”.
The lost 15-minute episode was uploaded to YouTube by Mike Minnick and later circulated on Twitter and Reddit on r/lostmedia. The episode was broadcast back in the 1970s and starred Margaret Hamilton, who played the Wicked Witch of the West in 1939’s The Wizard of Oz, and reprised the role for the children’s program. The episode was pulled from broadcast and didn’t have a re-run after the show received complaints from multiple parents, claiming that the episode was “too scary” for children.
The parents who complained aren’t alone, as adults who saw this episode when they were kids have come out and said that they remember watching this and were scared as well.
For those curious about what this episode is, it’s intended to teach kids to be kind and use manners. Local Sesame Street civilian, David, catches a magic broom that belongs to the Wicked Witch of the West. The witch tries to get it back but fails, as David tells her that unless she shows some respect, she won’t get her broom back. This made the witch mad so she threatens to transform everyone, including Big Bird, into inanimate objects unless they return the broom.
But all of them stand their ground as they want this “visitor” to be kind.
Fans celebrated on social media as the recovery of this lost episode was huge. At the same time, fans were surprised that an episode like this was seen as “scary” and young children in the ’70s will not survive popular kid’s media in the modern era.
So if you want to see a piece of lost media that was aired back in the 1970s or are a huge The Wizards of Oz, now is the perfect time to give episode 847 a watch.
The lost episode has been preserved on YouTube for the public to access.
