Do you know who we feel really bad for in the new digital, HD age? Not aging female celebs. Not makeup artists. No.

Puppets.

This is a world where everything is a razzle-dazzle doodad with 3-D googly eyes — and a fuzzy friend with a hand up it's tuchus just can't compete with that. The few left have either been marginalized or, like dear little green Yoda, de-puppeted to fit in the new age.

And that's kind of a tragedy, don't you think? Once upon a time anyone, like the Jewish Shari Lewis, could just grab an old sock, stick a couple of buttons on it, and have a 40 year career.

That was Shari Lewis and Lambchop: an award winning, cultural icon beloved by children of all ages. Now? Socky the Hand lasts five episodes, tops.

And don't even get us started on the modern fate of Howdy Doody...