Sesame Street Episode 4405 Simon Says

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Category	Details
Episode Number	4405
Season	Season 44 (2013–2014)
Air Date	September 20, 2013
Word on the Street	Relax (Explained by Lena Headey)
Guest Stars	Peter Dinklage (Simon), Lena Headey
The Competition	Local "Simon Says" contest for kids aged 4–10
Simon’s Song	"Whatever Simon Says" (A song about power and persuasion)
Telly’s Strategy	The "Three Pillars": Relax, Listen, and Think
The Plot Twist	Next year’s game will be "Philip Says" (Simon’s brother)
Abby's Fairy School	Water Table Ocean (Studying 5 senses and cleaning sludge)
Cookie’s Crumby Pictures	The Biscotti Kid (A parody of The Karate Kid)
Murray's Segment	Murray Has a Little Lamb: Yoga School
Elmo the Musical	Circus the Musical (Elmo finds his "act")
Parody Segment	Sons of Poetry (A parody of Sons of Anarchy)
Key Muppets	Telly, Elmo, Murray, Abby, Blogg, Cookie Monster, The Count
Human Cast	Chris, Leela
Letter of the Day	Z (Zebra painting / Elmo’s "Zebra Song")
Number of the Day	15 (Counting 15 trucks)
Educational Focus	Executive Function, Self-Regulation, Physical Wellness (Yoga)
Sponsors	Z, 15

Facts

Peter Dinklage made a guest appearance as Simon in Episode 4405. The production team came up with the idea of making this character a "Simon Says" specialist, complete with his own entourage and a theme song. Dinklage filmed this appearance when he was at the height of his fame on Game of Thrones. The plot used his strong screen presence to explain how focus and hearing work.

Lena Headey, who you might know as Cersei from Game of Thrones, also appeared in the same episode, where she defined the word 'relax'. She teamed up with Murray Monster in a segment that was high-energy but also chilled. This was a deliberate "Easter egg" for adult viewers, as both actors played rival siblings on their main TV shows. The segment used deep breathing exercises to show a physical drop in heart rate.

Taran Killam was the voice of Philip, Simon's brother and assistant. The character was a puppet designed to look slightly dishevelled compared to the polished Simon. Philip was constantly muttering to himself, which was funny given the seriousness of the main game. This narrative dynamic looked at the idea of sibling rivalry and the desire for individual recognition.

Cookie's Crumby Pictures had a parody of The Karate Kid called The Biscotti Kid. They used 3D digital environments to create a dojo where Mr. MiCookie taught "Biscotti Karate." This focused on the "wax on, wax off" technique to teach repetitive motor skills and discipline. The animators used a cel-shaded filter to give the puppets a stylised, cinematic look.

Murray Monster visited a yoga school in the Murray Has a Little Lamb segment. He tried the "Warrior Three" pose, which needs a lot of core strength and a low centre of gravity. The film crew used a split-screen effect to show a professional instructor alongside Murray to highlight the alignment of the spine and limbs.

The Abby's Flying Fairy School bit was set inside a water table. The animators created a full 3D ocean floor to represent the microscopic world within the classroom toy. The students turned into fish models, which meant the animation team had to get creative with underwater physics and light refraction. This story focused on the five senses, using touch and sight to find hidden objects in a messy place.

Sons of Poetry made fun of the TV show Sons of Anarchy. The segment had a bunch of biker poets on leather motorbikes, and they crashed the scene to make some rhyming suggestions. The puppeteers were kitted out in custom denim vests with "Sons of Poetry" patches. It played on the difference between "rough" biker culture and the "soft" nature of romantic poetry to create humour.

Parent's Guide

Peter Dinklage plays the legendary Simon in this episode. Elmo doesn't make the cut because he's a bit too young. Telly's a bit nervous about the high stakes of the game. He's worried he'll fail the whole neighborhood. Simon helps Telly face his fears. He teaches Telly that success requires staying calm.

Kids often get nervous in the spotlight. Telly moves through a freak out to reach the other side. This story shows that nerves are a normal part of any process. You should praise your child for staying in the game. Try to focus on self-regulation instead of on the final result. I remember feeling the same pressure during a third grade spelling bee.

Telly and one girl are the final two contestants. Things got a bit heated during the last round. Telly remembers the three steps to relax and listen. Simon gives a trick command without saying the required phrase. Telly doesn't say a word while his opponent talks. Telly wins the trophy because he's so disciplined.

Simon Says is great for honing those executive function skills. It makes a child suppress a physical reaction until they process the information. You can use this story to practice mindful listening at home. Hey, could you ask your kid to wait for a secret word before they start a task? This helps build the patience needed for school.

Murray stops by a yoga school to try the warrior three pose. He wobbles and falls on his first few attempts. The teacher tells him to focus on one thing and breathe. Murray finds his balance once he stops worrying about falling. This shows the connection between the mind and the body. Physical success starts with mental focus.

The story shows that your body actually follows your thoughts. If your child is having a hard time riding a bike, remind them of this lesson. If you take a moment to quiet your mind, you'll find your body can do more. Murray also learns to adjust his volume in the peaceful yoga class. This teaches you to be aware of the situation you're in. You've got to match your energy to the activity of those around you.

Summary

What’s the word on the street?: Relax

Simon Says, Street Story: Kids, Monsters, and sheep of all kinds are preparing for the local “Simon Says Competition.” Telly welcomes the viewer and introduces the representative from Sesame Street: Elmo! Elmo and Chris explain, that Elmo can’t participate, because the game is only for kids between 4 and 10 years old and Elmo is just 3 and a half. 

Telly, on the other hand, is old enough to play and they suggest him to do so, but he says that he’s not good at it. Chris leads them in a practice game and Telly loses because he doesn’t understand the point of the game.

Suddenly, Philip appears, introducing the man everybody listens to Simon! Telly asks Simon why everybody must do what he says, and Simon sings a song about when he was young, people have just done “Whatever Simon Says”. 

Telly isn’t sure if he will compete until Simon gets him to play. In the Simon Says street story, the character of Simon is played by Peter Dinklage.

Telly freaks out because he is afraid of failing and Simon (Peter Dinklage) sings his song again, telling him to relax. Telly breaths and does some relaxing and Chris starts another practice game, and Telly does make it further than before but still loses. 

Simon sings a song about paying attention and listening to the words “Simon Says”. The game starts and Simon leaves him with the key to winning, relax, listen, and think.

Telly successfully makes it in the top three. A little lamb messes up and only Telly and a girl are left and Simon tells them to wish each other good luck, and the girl who wishes Telly luck loses because he didn’t say “Simon Says”. 

Telly wins and everyone gathers around him to celebrate and Simon makes an announcement: Next year, instead of “Simon Says” the competition will be “Philip Says”. 

Sesame Street Episode 4405's street story "Simon Says" ends.

Celebrity: Lena Headey talks about the word on the street relax.

Cartoon: “Quiet or Loud.”

Muppets: Before Abby’s Flying Fairy School lands, Murray and Ovejita will take us to school. In Murray Has a Little Lamb, they visit a yoga school.

Muppets: A man paints a Zebra on his hand, which starts with the letter Z.

Cartoon: Elmo sings the Z sound in “Z - Zebra song”

Muppets: Murray and Jordan introduce Abby’s Flying Fairy School.

Abby’s Flying Fairy School Blögg's Sense of Sludge: In class, Abby Cadabby, Blögg, Gonnigan will use their senses to study the water in their water table. But Blögg rather wants to study his sludge balls instead which causes a lot of trouble. They use their senses to get the sludge balls out of the water and succeed!

Muppets: Before Cookie’s Crumby Picture comes on, Murray talks about yoga with teacher Shari.

Cartoon: Fifteen Trucks are counted. They then make a large 15.

Muppets: Murray and Maylon introduce “Cookie’s Crumby Pictures”

Cookie's Crumby Pictures The Biscotti Kid: Cookie Monster plays the character "Cookie-san" who wants to learn the art of Biscotti Karate from Mr. MiCookie. But Cookie-san has a hard time focusing because he's focusing his attention on the cookie belt. This segment is an adaptation of The Karate Kid and first aired in Sesame Street Episode 4405.

Muppets: Elmo the Musical is next, but now it’s time for the yoga lesson.

Muppets: Sons of poetry, Mr. Browning needs a rhyme for the end of his love poem.

Muppets: Murray and Austin introduce Elmo the Musical.

Elmo the Musical Circus the Musical: The name of this section is Circus the Musical. Elmo has a great Dream World, and he dreams himself as various characters each episode. In this episode Elmo plays a "monster with a dream" of joining the circus.

He ringmaster says Elmo that he needs an act before he can join that Elmo does not have yet. The first act, The Great In-Between cannot continue and Elmo goes on his place. We see Elmo's and The Chicken's funny adventures in this part. There are five songs that are sung in this episode.  The name of the songs are "To Join the Circus," "Ring Master Song," "In Between Song," "The High Wire Song," "Keep on Cluckin'"

Muppets: Murray announces the sponsors. Sesame Street sponsors are the number 15 and the letter Z. Sesame Street Episode 4405 ends.