Recession advice...from Elmo?

Getting the shortened week off to a lighter (and September-season-themed) beginning, The Huffington Post has an article focusing on How Your Favorite TV Shows Are Handling the Recession. Within the piece are plot synopses of seven different shows from The Simpsons (Homer's house gets repossessed) to Desperate Housewives (Lynnette and Tom's pizzeria is forced to close due to the recession).

That's all well and good, but what of those of us who like our televisual entertainments to be a little more…furry? Sesame Street is airing an episode tomorrow night (Wednesday, September 9) in which a certain red monster has to come to terms with the fact that his mom has been laid off. The result: a show that is slightly more realistic—and pragmatic—than the premise behind Hung or Breaking Bad (shows that have otherwise ordinary middle class characters making ends meet through male prostitution and meth dealing, respectively).

Leave it to Sesame Street—a show featuring a giant talking yellow bird and a mathematically gifted vampire—to inject a dose of reality back into the recession. That's right: rather than turning to a life of crime, Elmo discovers that he has to cut back, accepting DVD nights at home rather than trips to the movies, and learns important lessons about separating his "needs" from his "wants". That's a message likely to resonate with anyone who's lost a job in this recession—and one that he's taken way beyond the usual confines of his brownstone neighborhood. Check out his appearance on the Today show last weekend:

--Posted by Phil Stott, Vault Staff Writer