Skeeter



Skeeter is Scooter's tomboyish twin sister, an athletic young girl predominantly featured in Muppet Babies.

Unlike the other babies, Skeeter was created specifically for Muppet Babies in 1984. With Miss Piggy being the only major female character in The Muppet Show cast, Skeeter was introduced as another female figure. An athletic young girl, Skeeter balances Piggy's ultra-feminine role.

She is energetic, gutsy and spirited but, at times, can be a bit of a show-off. Skeeter and her brother Scooter would occasionally show signs of sibling rivalry in the nursery, with Skeeter often calling her brother a "nerd." While Skeeter often expressed interest in being an athlete or gymnast, her brother was more interested in computers and books.

Piggy and Skeeter would often fight for the feminine roles; examples of this behavior can be seen in the second season episode "Snow White and the Seven Muppets", wherein the two girls fight over the role of Snow White, and in the fourth season's "Masquerading Muppets", in which Skeeter becomes jealous that Piggy "always gets to be queen."

Like many female Muppets, Skeeter was performed by male actors. Howie Mandel voiced the character for the first two seasons of Muppet Babies, after which Frank Welker took over the role.

Skeeter never appeared in traditional puppet form, but she did appear as a photo puppet in the books Muppet Babies' Classic Children's Tales and Muppet Babies' Classic Nursery Rhymes. A large walk-around version of the character was created for the Jim Henson's Muppet Babies Live! stage show.

Outside Muppet Babies
A pre-teen version of Skeeter appeared in many Muppet Kids books and products. Skeeter was seen living with her brother and their dad. She is often depectied wearing a green shirt and a skirt. Similar to her toddler incarnation, Skeeter has a lot of energy, and continues her love for sports. She is more outgoing than her brother. Janice and Piggy are her best friends.

Skeeter has only rarely appeared as a grown-up: once on a Carl's Jr. Muppet Parade of Stars Toys promotional bag and in a cameo in the Muppet Pick-Me-Up Book You've Still Got Me.

In "Fozzie's Costume" from It's Story Time, Fozzie is on a quest for the perfect Halloween costume. He happens upon two of his friends dressed as a giant. Scooter peers out through the jacket, while Skeeter, atop his shoulders, speaks to Fozzie unseen behind the mask.

In MuppetZine issue 3 (1993), Muppet Babies storyboard director Scott Shaw! wrote:

"As for the adult Skeeter, Henson Associates art director Michael Frith once explained that she's now a famous explorer, never seen again after an expedition to the jungles of the Amazon!"

When asked in 2009, "Whatever happened to Skeeter?", Muppet writer Jim Lewis said:

"Ahh, Skeeter. I wasn't there for the creation of the "Muppet Babies" animated series, but I suspect she was added to the show so there'd be another (dare I say, more balanced than Baby Piggy) female character on a show aimed at kids. We threw around various bizarre scenarios about what happened to Skeeter after "Muppet Babies," but none of these were ever confirmed. Frankly, I suggest contacting the Federal Witness Protection Program for more info. Let us know what you find out."

Family Reunion
Skeeter appears in The Muppet Show Comic Book during the "Family Reunion" story arc. Initially, the dialogue throughout the four part story avoids using her name. Roger Langridge cites that an arrangement was made between Boom and Disney, and the character is referred to as "Scooter's sister" in the story. (She finally signs a letter at the end of the story, as "Skeeter.") Much like her role on Muppet Babies, she has a complicated relationship with Miss Piggy; in one moment she appears to extend an olive branch, but in the same beat, plants an immature sign on Piggy's back. During her time at the Muppet Theater, she affectionately refers to Scooter as a nerd, manipulates Andy and Randy as pawns in a practical joke on Piggy, takes a misplaced interest in Robin's well-being, and poses as Fozzie's girlfriend. As the story comes to a close, Skeeter heads back to college to finish her degree in archeology, while also revealing that she is Agent X, an assistant for world famous detective Wormwood Soames.

In a recent interview with Toughpigs.com, Langridge mentioned that he was talking about having Skeeter return for one of the story arcs.

Adult Skeeter also makes a number of background cameos in the 2010 comic Muppet Sherlock Holmes.

Skeeter makes a brief cameo in the background of an illustration in the 2012 storybook Green and Bear It. (The book is illustrated by Amy Mebberson, who drew the "Family Reunion" story.)