A Special Sesame Street Christmas

A Special Sesame Street Christmas is a 1978 CBS Christmas special, made the same year as the better-known Christmas Eve on Sesame Street. The special was first broadcast on Friday, December 8, 1978 at 8 PM ET on CBS, pre-empting Wonder Woman that week.

The special features only ten of the Sesame Street Muppets: Oscar, Big Bird, Ernie, Bert, Grover, Herry Monster, Count von Count, Cookie Monster, Two-Headed Monster, and Barkley. Barkley is played by gymnast Toby Towson. The Barkley used for the special was a different puppet than the one used for the series, making him five feet tall, or higher, at times in the special. Mr. Hooper, David, Bob, and Maria are the only humans from the regular cast to make appearances. Instead, the regulars are replaced by a large, somewhat all-star cast.

The special features many plot elements that are very loosely tied together, the most important being Oscar as the "Scrooge" on Sesame Street, as a minor takeoff on A Christmas Carol. They include Leslie Uggams thinking lemonade was hot cocoa, singer Anne Murray and a magic eggnog container, Oscar adopting a kitten with a broken leg who was never seen again on the television series (which is out of character for Oscar, even on Christmas), and Ethel Merman calling Imogene Coca an idiot. Also appearing is Dick Smothers (only one half of The Smothers Brothers was hired for the special), Henry Fonda and Michael Jackson.

...
Wikipedia