Bert Reviews

Bert is a character who was almost discarded.
Frank Oz didn't like him in the early days. He found him too dull, too reactive, too passive. The entire dramatic engine of Bert's existence depends on Ernie — without someone to frustrate him, Bert has no story. And yet, somewhere around year one, Oz found the genius in the dullness. He leaned in. He made Bert's rigid interiority not a flaw but a worldview — a fully committed approach to life built around order, routine, and the quiet dignity of low-key passions.
Bert collects bottle caps. He loves pigeons — specifically his pet pigeon, Bernice. He is president of the National Association of W Lovers. He eats oatmeal by choice. He reads Boring Stories and finds them genuinely exciting.
This is not a character who lacks depth. This is a character who has built an entire interior life around things the world has decided are unworthy of passion. And in doing so, Bert became one of the most quietly radical characters on the show: proof that your interests don't have to be cool to be worth defending.

Character Profile
Physical: Tall and thin with a distinctive unibrow (which gained expressive movement starting in Season 3), vertical-striped shirt, green pants, and an oblong-shaped head. His visual contrast with the rounder, softer Ernie reinforces their personality differences at a glance.
Personality: Serious, studious, organized, and easily frustrated — but genuinely good-natured underneath. Bert is not mean. He is simply a person who prefers quiet and does not always get it. His catchphrase "Yes, I do mind!" is the reflexive response of someone whose boundaries are constantly being tested by the person he loves most.
Relationship with Ernie: The show's most enduring dynamic. Bert and Ernie were created specifically to demonstrate that people with fundamentally different personalities can be genuine friends. Ernie is extroverted, playful, and mischievous. Bert is introverted, serious, and easily exasperated. They share everything — an apartment, a friendship, decades of screen time — and their bond never breaks.

Educational Function
Bert teaches:

Tolerance — accepting differences in the people closest to you
Self-knowledge — knowing what you like and standing by it even when no one else cares
Emotional regulation — experiencing frustration without cruelty


The Frank Oz Legacy
Jim Henson described the casting decision in a 1984 documentary: "I remember trying Bert and Frank tried Ernie for a while, and then we settled on the present arrangement. I can't imagine doing Bert now, because Bert has become so much of a part of Frank."
Oz himself said: "Bert is a very boring facet of myself... I was never really happy with Bert's character until about a year in, when I realized that he was a very boring character, and I'd use that weakness as a strength."
That transformation — turning perceived weakness into signature strength — is what makes Bert one of the most interesting character studies in Sesame Street history.

Cultural Legacy

One of the original 1969 cast, performed continuously for over 50 years
Bert and Ernie rank as one of the most recognized fictional duos in American pop culture
Their relationship sparked decades of fan theory and public discourse about representation
Sesame Workshop has consistently framed them as "best friends" — a choice that itself carries cultural weight


Listal Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5)
Underrated by casual viewers. Beloved by everyone who ever had an introvert's passion the world didn't understand. The quiet one who makes the whole thing work.

Ever watch something that was so clearly kitsch try to take itself too seriously? If not, then behold Logan’s Run, another adaptation of a grim novel that jettisons everything but the most skeletal basics. There’s a compelling idea there but it’s buried under poor acting (from normally solid actors), questionable writing, and environments that have aged poorly since 1976.

 

Logan’s Run keeps the central premise of the novel: the utopian ideal of this hermetic future world is built upon a disturbing secret – everyone must die by a certain age to maintain societal equilibrium. There’s also a large section where Logan 5 (Michael York) goes on the run with a sexy sidekick/love interest (Jenny Agutter), and that’s about where the novel and movie converge. The rest of the movie gives way to additions, much of it added by Stanley R. Greenburg, the screenwriter of Soylent Green, another grim novel that went misshapen in its transition to the screen.

 

The entire thing looks like what would happen if The Jetsons got revamped with a disco groove – lots of curved, clean lines and spaces occupied by shag haircuts, neon lights, and a “Me generation” sense of entitlement. There’s a wealth of good material to explore here (ageism, hedonism, technology run amuck, overpopulation), but a lot of it seems like pearl-clutching reactionary measures from an older generation to the waning countercultural movement. Consider it a case of frustrated ambitions.

 

Much of the film’s emotional journey hinges on Logan’s journey from cog in the machinery to individual stating that is more important that the people be free to live and be. A little bit of flower power, for sure, but not an inherently incorrect assumption as at least parts of this utopia seem nicely progressive. (Homophobia appears to be a thing of the past.) Although, much of Agutter’s Jessica journey is away from liberation and into something resembling heteronormative complacency. Agutter and Farah Fawcett essentially exist to provide jiggly cheesecake in skimpy gowns that barely close or contain much fabric.

 

Sure, the world of Logan’s Run resembles that of a shopping mall in feather-haired shagginess and mini-skirted glory, but there’s still times when the sense of camp and fun overpowers the awkwardness. Things do seem to improve when we move beyond the city and into the wild world of the rebels, including Peter Ustinov going full ham in his minor role. The entire thing plays a bit like Solid Gold: Armageddon. Make of that what you will.