"New episodes of the children’s show will see him stuffing his face with fresh fruit and veg instead."

Oh yeah, 'cause that's why kids liked cookies, because of the Cookie Monster. Now, fruits and vegetables will quickly replace cookies as the staple "treat" for kids everywhere.

Hey, here's a thought! Why don't parents stop buying their kids all that junk food? They should put this influence stuff on adult shows. A kid who's at the Sesame Street age isn't gonna go out and buy his own junk food anyway, it's the parents that buy them. And no matter WHAT the Cookie Monster does, what self-respecting kid is going to tell his mom "No, thanks, I'm really watching my health" when he's offered a cookie?

They're targeting the wrong audience with that message.

Oh, and you're all absolutely right... TV sucks and it's really gotten out of hand.