In this case, Bert and Ernie are not Sesame Street characters but in fact characters from Frank Capra's Christmas classic, "It's A Wonderful Life." This should explain why George Bailey is the one who gets shot, considering Ernie was a taxi driver for the small town of Bedford Falls in the film. It is interesting to note that there is no coincidence to the Muppets naming the characters this way. It is rumored that Jim Henson built much of the character of his puppets around the characters from the movie.