What's very interesting about the internet is that it's been a godsend for finding lost media. Including seemingly long lost pieces of media that were known to exist, either by the word of mouth of those who experienced it when it aired or the rare snippets of information that people were able to get over time. It can always be exciting when a piece of lost media gets found. And I think one of the pieces of media that people were looking for for the longest time was the curious case of Sesame Street Episode 0847. The one with the Wicked Witch of the West.
I don't think I need to go too deep into the history of 1939's The Wizard of Oz. Considered one of the most important film works of all time, and considered by the library of congress as the most seen film of all time. A moderate success at its release and now a film institution, despite the many horrors that befell production. It remains the most successful adaptation of L Frank Baum's original works. And over 35 years later, it was still a part of the collective pop culture consciousness, hence the decision of the Children's Television Workshop to base an episode loosely around the film. Downside is that most of the actors had passed on at that time. But they could still get the Wicked Witch.
An episode centered around the villain of a movie known for multiple accounts of childhood trauma. What could possibly go wrong?That is until June 18th, 2020 when Reddit user sarsaparilla170170 uploaded the entirety of the Wicked Witch segments to R/lostmedia and finally everyone could finally see the lost episode and just how traumatic it really was. And since I do have a tendency to clout chase from time to time, I'm covering it for this edition of Weird Episodes. And while it's generally not weird, at least in terms of Sesame Street, the whole feel of the plot along with, again, featuring the villain of The Wizard of Oz, is at least enough to earn it a full look. So let's review this thing.