Early 'Sesame Street' shows not for kids

NEW YORK, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- Volumes 1 and 2 of "Sesame Street: Old School" come with a warning stating the first episodes of the beloved U.S. series may not be appropriate for children.

"These early 'Sesame Street' episodes are intended for grown-ups and may not suit the needs of today's preschool child," the statement said.

The long-running series began in 1969.

Asked by The New York Times why the warning was necessary, Carol-Lynn Parente, the show's executive producer, mentioned one installment that depicted Cookie Monster chewing on, then eating a pipe during the parody "Monsterpiece Theater."

"That modeled the wrong behavior, so we reshot those scenes without the pipe and then we dropped the parody altogether," Parente told the Times.

She noted that Oscar the Grouch's extreme grouchiness in early episodes doesn't set a great example, either.

"We might not be able to create a character like Oscar now," Parente said.