User:MuppetArchives/Today on Muppet Wiki Archive 05

Archive of Today on Muppet Wiki, February 2007.

February 2007

 * February 28 &#8226; Learn Along with Sesame is a collection of online videos produced by Sesame Workshop, currently available via the iTunes Store. The free downloads of educational resource videos launched this month on the iTunes Store, as full video downloads. The collection currently has 6 episodes, including "A is for Asthma", in which Elmo and Rosita meet an asthmatic friend, and "Talk, Listen, Connect", in which Elmo's father Louie is in the military.


 * February 27 &#8226; The Natural History Project was the working title for a feature film about dinosaurs conceived by Jim Henson in 1986, as his next big fantasy feature. In 1986, the project was developed as Henson's next big fantasy feature. The story involved a gruff old parasaurolophus who serves as a guide and teacher to a young corythosaur named Cory. Sketches also exist for a pair of dim-witted pachycephalosaurs, a woeful ankylosaur, a haughty styracosaur and a trio of villainous velociraptors to provide comical relief for the film's villainous monster, a Tyrannosaurus rex. However, almost a year after the script had been approved and pre-production design work had been completed, production halted. The studio decided to hold off on the project when it was discovered that another dinosaur film, The Land Before Time, was in production by Universal Pictures. The movie was never completed, although it may have served as the inspiration for the TV series Dinosaurs.


 * February 26 &#8226; Rosita's Easter on Sesame Street is a new storybook about the preparations for the Sesame Street Easter picnic. In the book, Rosita observes her friends preparing for the picnic, and then brings a surprise of her own. Baby Bear is among the excited participants, bringing Easter Braided Bread to the party, although it was established in the 2002 video Elmo's World: Happy Holidays! that he's Jewish. Of course, Easter on Sesame Street is all jellybeans and marshmallow chicks anyway, so it's more of a celebration of Springtime and sugar.


 * February 25 &#8226; Will Lee played Mr. Hooper on Sesame Street, from the show's debut in 1969 until his death. Lee was 61 years old when he began playing the kindly owner of Hooper's Store, and he had a long career before taking up residence on the Street. In the 30s and 40s, Lee worked with New York City theater groups that performed Communist-themed plays, and was one of the founders of the Theater of Action. He also had parts in several films, including a small part in Alfred Hitchcock's 1942 thriller Saboteur. Lee was called before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1948, and was blacklisted for several years. There's lots more, but you get the general idea. This is the latest article to be awarded Quality article status on Muppet Wiki. Visit the Quality nominations page to nominate and vote for the best pages on Muppet Wiki!


 * February 24 &#8226; McDonald's Muppet Workshop Happy Meal Toys: In 1994, McDonald's made a set of Muppet Workshop Happy Meal toys, which came in Muppet Workshop-themed Happy Meal boxes. Each toy was a plastic figure with a hinged mouth, which came with two accessories which could be exchanged with the other toys to create slightly different characters. The toys were a tie-in to a larger merchandising push for the "Muppet Workshop" brand, a line of craft kits which also included the Muppet Workshop Puppet Kits.


 * February 23 &#8226; Sesame Street Gangsters: Although Sesame Street is meant to represent a child-friendly, and somewhat idyllic, New York City street, the neighborhood has a network of seedy underground criminal organizations. These groups are run by criminals most commonly for the purpose of shady and illegal activities such as alphabet trafficking, black marketeering and robbery. Comprised mainly of Anything Muppets, these gangs are typically composed of a crime boss and his lackeys (often named Lefty).


 * February 22 &#8226; Snuffleupaguses are furry, pachyderm-like mammals native to the world of Sesame Street. A Snuffleupagus has a large proboscis, similar to an elephant's trunk, called a "snuffle." The snuffle is a Snuffleupagus' most important and versatile appendage. It is used for lifting small items, feeding, hugging, quick-blow-drying, waving, performing puppets, playing musical instruments and conducting musical arrangements. However, as Snuffy learned in Episode 3806, a snuffle cannot be used to communicate in American Sign Language. This is the latest article to be awarded Quality article status on Muppet Wiki. Visit the Quality nominations page to nominate and vote for the best pages on Muppet Wiki!


 * February 21 &#8226; Do De Rubber Duck was a reggae song sung by Ernie, who was joined by several other Muppets in the bathroom for a special dance. Near the end of the song, Bert stands outside the bathroom door and listens in on the song.


 * February 20 &#8226; Bunraku is a type of puppetry founded in Osaka, Japan in 1684. Although the term "bunraku" refers to a specific type of puppet in Japan, in other countries the word is used loosely to refer to any style of puppetry where a full-bodied puppet is manipulated by any number of visible puppeteers, typically dressed in black. "Elmo's World" regularly uses bunraku techniques in Dorothy's fantasy sequences. Other memorable examples include Fozzie and Kermit's dance number at the El Sleezo Cafe, Jacob and Robert Marley's number in The Muppet Christmas Carol, and Super Grover's flight in The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland.
 * February 19 &#8226; Bruno the Trashman is a sanitation engineer on Sesame Street who acts as personal chauffeur to Oscar the Grouch. He appeared on the series from Season 9 through Season 24. During the 1970s, the Sesame Street cast made live performances across the country, but there was no effective way to get Oscar to enter the stage. Caroll Spinney, inspired by a puppet character on The Gong Show, conceived of a full-body garbage man who could physicially carry Oscar. Since his arms are usually just holding onto the can, Caroll Spinney was able to perform Oscar as well as Oscar's right hand. The trash can was connected to an opening in Bruno's stomach.


 * February 18 &#8226; Thog is a nine and a half foot tall blue monster. His size may make him imposing, but he has a sweet and gentle disposition. He first appeared as a monster in the 1970 Christmas special The Great Santa Claus Switch, partnered with a green monster named Thig. In 1973, Thog was featured prominently in a dance number with Julie Andrews in The Julie Andrews Hour, and he had a featured number in the 1974 pilot The Muppets Valentine Show, singing and dancing with "Real Live Girl" Mia Farrow. Thog made periodic appearances on The Muppet Show, but he hasn't been seen since. We miss him.


 * February 17 &#8226;  Tommie Through the Years: Tommie is one of the main characters from Sesamstraat, the Dutch co-production of Sesame Street. Tommie is a six-year-old dog-like character, who's energetic, creative and inventive. The puppet has been redesigned significantly since his debut in 1976, when he looked more like a teddy bear than a dog. The color of his fur has changed, his eyes have changed, and he's lost his arm rods. A lot can happen in thirty years!


 * February 16 &#8226; Western Publishing is the latest article to be awarded Quality status, having been voted one of the best articles on Muppet Wiki. This article explains the history of Little Golden Books featuring the Sesame Street and Muppet Show characters, from The Monster at the End of This Book through Cookie Monster and the Cookie Tree and Miss Piggy, Queen of Hearts. To nominate, discuss and vote on Muppet Wiki's best articles, visit the Quality article nominations page.


 * February 15 &#8226; Itzhak Perlman is an Israeli virtuoso violinist and teacher, one of the most famous violinists of the late 20th century. So what's he got to do with the Muppets? Plenty. In 1980, he recorded three segments for Sesame Street -- playing a duet with Telly Monster for violin and tuba, and singing along to "Put Down the Duckie". In 1986, Perlman appeared on a number of volumes in the Shalom Sesame home video series, alongside the American characters from Sesame Street and the Israeli characters from Rechov Sumsum.


 * February 14 &#8226; Muppet Merry Miniatures: Happy Valentine's Day! Here's a couple of toys from 25 Valentine's Days ago -- a pair of miniature figures featuring Kermit the Frog as the Prince of Hearts, and Miss Piggy as the Queen of Hearts.


 * February 13 &#8226; Bureaucracy is a concept in sociology and political science referring to the way that the administrative execution and enforcement of legal rules are socially organized. In fiction, bureaucrats are often portrayed as impersonal or even rude, valuing the rules over any personal beliefs or attachments. Muppet Show bureaucrats include Inspector LaBrea, a government noise inspector who threatens to shut down the show in episode 413, and Clive Cahuenga, the singing civil servant from episode 316. The Sinclair family battled a number of bureaucrats, notably the Job Wizard and the Office of Male Supremacy, and the world was ultimately destroyed by the bureaucratic Vogons. For more information on bureaucracy, see also every other aspect of your life.


 * February 12 &#8226; Anders Peter Bro is a Danish actor whose film credits include Bryllupsfotografen, Kongekabale and En dag i oktober. Bro is also fluent in English, and played Lt. Chathier in the 1998 Jean-Claude Van Damme movie Legionnaire. More importantly for our purposes, of course, Bro dubbed the voices for Kermit and Waldorf in Muppets Juleeventyr, the Danish dub of The Muppet Christmas Carol.


 * February 11 &#8226; MuppetFest Memories is the latest article to be awarded Quality status, having been voted one of the best articles on Muppet Wiki. This article is a synopsis of the panels at MuppetFest, the 2001 Muppet fan convention, and it includes lots of quotes and pictures from the event. To nominate, discuss and vote on Muppet Wiki's best articles, visit the Quality article nominations page.


 * February 10 &#8226; McDonald's Muppet Workshop Happy Meal Toys: McDonald's made a set of Muppet Workshop Happy Meal toys in 1994, which came in Muppet Workshop-themed Happy Meal boxes. Each of the toys included two mix-and-match parts that could be switched with the other toys in the set.


 * February 9 &#8226; The Earth Day Special was a two-hour special which aired on ABC on April 22, 1990, featuring an all-star cast addressing concerns about global warming, deforestation, and other environmental ills. One scene featured the Muppets; Kermit the Frog and Robin, surrounded by other frogs and animals in a devastated swamp, watch the broadcast, and discuss how the polluting ways of mankind harm animal life and lead to extinction. We have a transcript of the scene, with photos. It's pretty depressing.


 * February 8 &#8226; The Muppet Mobile Laboratory is an in-development theme park exhibit for Disney's California Adventure. Part of Disney's "Living Characters Initiative" project, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker will be "brought to life" through the use of advanced Audio-Animatronic remote-control-puppeteering technology. Planned to start in January 2007, Bunsen and Beaker will travel in their Muppet Mobile Laboratory vehicle through the Hollywood Pictures Backlot, part of California Adventure. The Audio-Animatronic puppet versions of the characters will encourage park visitors to take part in their experiments and antics.


 * February 7 &#8226; Jim Henson Bench: In 1991, a bench in Central Park was dedicated to Jim Henson, on Literary Walk between 66th and 72nd Streets. The inscription reads: "To the joyful life of JIM HENSON, who loved this walk in the park".


 * February 6 &#8226; Elmo's World: What Makes You Happy?: If what makes you happy is more Elmo's World DVDs, then today is your lucky day. The new DVD released today covers three topics -- Friends, Singing and Dancing. The Friends segment explores the ongoing rivalry for Zoe's friendship between Elmo and Rocco, Zoe's pet rock.


 * February 5 &#8226; Labyrinth Bubble Gum: The marvelous thing about Muppet Wiki is that it never loses the power to surprise. I had no idea that Topps made bubble gum to tie in with the 1986 release of Labyrinth. Now I know, and my life is the better for it.


 * February 4 &#8226; Don Sahlin was Jim Henson's main designer and puppet builder in the 1960s and '70s, and a key influence on the overall aesthetic of the Muppets. Sahlin first worked with Henson on the design for Rowlf the Dog, who was originally built for a series of Purina Dog Chow commercials and went on to become the Muppets' first star. Beyond building specific characters, Sahlin contributed two significant concepts to the Muppet aesthetic, "the Magic Triangle" and "the Henson stitch." This article has been voted by Muppet Wiki contributors as a Quality article, one of the best articles on the wiki. You can participate in this process, too! Visit the Quality article nominations page to nominate and vote for the best articles on Muppet Wiki.


 * February 3 &#8226; Let's Lay an Egg is a Sesame Street spoof of Cole Porter's 1928 hit song "Let's Do It, Let's Fall in Love". In the Sesame version, oviparous animals sing about their reproductive cycle. According to the song, "doves do it, hawks do it, even puffins on the rocks do it." The birds sing together in the chorus: "Let's do it! Let's lay an egg!" In another verse, we learn that snails do it, slugs do it, and even tiny Twiddlebugs do it -- a secret of Twiddlebug reproduction that had never been mentioned before. The list of egg-laying animals in the song also includes frogs, toads, alligators, snakes, hens, toucans, fish, crows, and dinosaurs.


 * February 2 &#8226; Will the Circle Be Unbroken: After Rizzo and the rats have been a nuisance throughout the Muppet Theatre during The Muppet Show episode 503, Miss Piggy and Beauregard convince them that they get to eat only after they entertain and spread happiness. In their plea with Kermit to join the Muppet family, Joan Baez helps to bring everyone together by leading the cast in the finale performance of "Will the Circle Be Unbroken".


 * February 1 &#8226; Night Train is Roosevelt Franklin's dog. He appears in The Sesame Street Library Volume 2, in the one-page story "Roosevelt Franklin Washes His Dog." Roosevelt struggles to heft the large, uncooperative canine in the tub, and ends up dousing himself in the process.