Henson's vision, his energy and his innocence is an aspect of Sesame Street we don't particularly want to know about because then we know for sure that Cookie Monster, Big Bird and the gang are - well, you know, "pretend." Youngsters see it too; they slip helplessly back and forth between his real life and his make-believe one just as they do between their young adulthood and their childhood, all the time held captive by his work.

As one 11-year-old tester said, "That was cool. I learned more than I have in years." When I told her I'd once mistakenly walked into Henson's dressing room on the set of Good Morning, America, as he was reassuring Kermie, "Don't be scared-you've been on TV before," the girl's eyes sparkled. "I love him," she said. Some video!