We remember the very first time we saw 'Boardwalk Empire,' and thought to ourselves "golly, this is pretty swell, but gosh darn it if all this sex, crime and murder wouldn't be a bit better with chicken puppets."  Thankfully, we no longer need fear copyright infringement or crippling lack of funding, now that 'Sesame Street' has made its own parody of the HBO gangster drama!  Nope, you're not dreaming!

Continuing their increasingly rich vein of puppet parodies spoofing TV's hottest adult dramas, 'Sesame Street has next set its feathers sights on HBO and Steve Buscemi's period gangster epic 'Boardwalk Empire,' transforming it into the appropriately-titled "Birdwalk Empire."  Previously, the children's show has courted such adult fare as 'True Blood,' 'Mad Men' and 'Grey's Anatomy,' spoofing them as 'True Mud,' 'Mad Men,' and 'A's Anatomy,' respectively.  Who wants to put money on 'Breaking Bad' or 'The Walking Dead' next?

So how does "Birdwalk Empire" get around all the sex and violence of its namesake?  By re-imagining the series as a conflict between bird gangsters Nucky Ducky Thompson and Clucky Luciano over how best to strut down the boardwalk.  And who should save the day of course, but Agent Van Cuckoo, making the most convincing puppet Michael Shannon you ever did see?

Further bird puns await, so have a look-see at the sketch below, and don't forget to watch the real 'Boardwalk Empire' on Sunday nights!

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