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ryan-reynolds-sesame-street.jpg

Grading Celebrity Guests: Sesame Street vs. Yo Gabba Gabba!

By Dustin Rowles | Lists | November 8, 2010 |

By Dustin Rowles | Lists | November 8, 2010 |


Most people think that competition over celebrity guests is the fiercest between late-night talk shows — there was speculation years back, for instance, that Jay Leno wouldn’t agree to allow on certain guests who first appeared on Letterman. In the end, it was that competition that contributed to the demise of “The Arsenio Hall Show.”

But the real competition for celebrity guests is in the children’s shows. Star power and hip factor are certainly important. But there’s a lot more involved here: You’re asking the guest to do more than talk about him or herself; the children’s shows are competing harder and harder to coerce their guests into doing humiliating things. If you can get a A-list hip star to wear, say, an octopus on his head or do a ridiculous dance, then you’re winning the celebrity guest sweepstakes.

The two fiercest competitors in this game are “Sesame Street” and “Yo Gabba Gabba!,” who have both had their share of celebrity guests doing humiliating things. Below, I take a look at 10 recent-ish guests on each show, and grade their star power, their hip factor, and the humiliation subjected, and come up with an overall grade on each show.

Yo Gabba Gabba


10. Jack Black

(Hip Factor: 5. Star Power: 7. Humiliation Factor: 9)


9. Elijah Wood

(Hip Factor: 6. Star Power: 4. Humiliation Factor: 9)


8. Andy Samberg

(Hip Factor: 6. Star Power: 3. Humiliation Factor: 4)


7. Angela Kinsey

(Hip Factor: 5. Star Power: 2. Humiliation Factor: 3)

6. Anthony Bourdain

(Hip Factor: 6. Star Power: 3. Humiliation Factor: 6)

Yo Gabba Gabba! Season 3 with Anthony Bourdain from Diana M on Vimeo.

5. Weezer

(Hip Factor: 7. Star Power: 5. Humiliation Factor: 7)

Weezer on Yo Gabba Gabba! from NickPress on Vimeo.


4. Mos Def

(Hip Factor: 8. Star Power: 4. Humiliation Factor: 8)

3. Sarah Silverman

(Hip Factor: 8. Star Power: 3. Humiliation Factor: 5)

Sarah Silverman on “Yo Gabba Gabba!” from NickPress on Vimeo.

2. The Shins

(Hip Factor: 9. Star Power: 3. Humiliation Factor: 2)

1. Amy Sedaris

(Hip Factor: 9. Star Power: 2. Humiliation Factor: 7)

sedarisgabbagabba.jpg


The Roots

(Hip Factor: 10. Star Power: 6. Humiliation Factor: 2)

Overall Scores: Yo Gabba Gabba!

Hip Factor: 7.8
Star Power: 4.2
Humiliation Factor: 6.2

Final Result: 6.06

Sesame Street

Michelle Obama

(Hip Factor: 2. Star Power: 10. Humiliation Factor: 1)

Jack Black

(Hip Factor: 5. Star Power: 7. Humiliation Factor: 2)

Jimmy Fallon

(Hip Factor: 5. Star Power: 5. Humiliation Factor: 3)

Jake Gyllenhaal

(Hip Factor: 5. Star Power: 7. Humiliation Factor: 5)

Maggie Gyllenhaal

(Hip Factor: 6. Star Power: 6. Humiliation Factor: 2)

Judah Freidlander

(Hip Factor: 8. Star Power: 1. Humiliation Factor: 3)

Ryan Reynolds

(Hip Factor: 6. Star Power: 8. Humiliation Factor: 7)

Paul Rudd

(Hip Factor: 7. Star Power: 7. Humiliation Factor: 7)

Ricky Gervais

(Hip Factor: 8. Star Power: 5. Humiliation Factor: 3)

Neil Patrick Harris

(Hip Factor: 9. Star Power: 6. Humiliation Factor: 6)

Overall Scores: Sesame Street

Hip Factor: 6.1
Star Power: 6.2
Humiliation Factor3.9

Final Result: 5.4


Overall Winner: Yo Gabba Gabba!

(Hat Tip: coveredinbees)