Inside jokes (miscellaneous)



Muppet scenes mentioning names of performers, Henson employees, other Henson productions and other pieces of inside information.

Sesame Street

 * In Episode 1708, most of the names yelled out during the mail call are the same as the Sesame Street staff.
 * In Episode 1710. the Echo Rock award for best letter writer went to a kid name Norman Stiles.
 * In Episode 3723, Bob tells Renata Scottie that he will get her in touch with a certain dog piano player he knows.
 * In episode 3970, Rosita and Baby Bear find the spinning part of a pinwheel. As they try to think of what it could be, Baby Bear puts in on his neck, thinking it may be a bow tie, and says "Wocka Wocka". Fozzie Bear's catchphrase.
 * In Episode 4048, Baby Bear walks along Sesame Street reciting a grocery list: "A loaf of bread, a container of milk, and a stick of butter." Later, in Episode 4119, Gordon is buying the same items at Hooper's Store.
 * The Street We Live On is essentially a one-hour self-referential special made explicitly to showcase an inner examination of Sesame Street from Elmo's point of view.
 * In Episode 4088, Action Elephant is interrupting Maria from reading her book entitled, The Monsters of Venice.
 * In Episode 4117, Maria is fixing a toaster belonging to Frank Oz.
 * In Episode 4142, Baby Bear appears with Abby Cadabby in a sketch singing the chorus of "I in the Sky" under his breath as he draws a capital I.
 * Season 40 features at least one hidden gem on nearly every episode.
 * The names in the song "J Friends" are names of people behind the scenes: Joe (Raposo), Jane (Henson), Jim (Henson) and Joan (Ganz Cooney).
 * Ernie brings home a puppy; Bert suggests calling it Jim, or Norman.
 * There are a number of scenes where a framed picture of Joe Raposo is used as decoration. Most notably, it hangs on the wall in Don Music's apartment, and in the home video Count it Higher: Great Music Videos from Sesame Street, Count von Count has a picture of Joe Raposo on top of his television.
 * In Three Bears and a New Baby, Papa Bear reads from a book of bear names when trying to come up with a name for their new baby. One of those listed is Fozzie Bear.
 * Sesame Street News Flash: Old MacDonald: In this skit from the mid-1980s, Kermit begins by talking to a pig on the farm. "You remind me of somebody, I just can't figure out who."
 * A sketch with a lavender Anything Muppet, a set of teeth and a brush (pictured) features a framed photo of Miss Piggy on the wall. Another old west sketch features the same photo on the wall.
 * When Kermit directed Forgetful Jones in "Oklahoma!," Frank Biondo's name appears as the cameraman on the clapboard.
 * Similarly, in an Alphabet Chat sketch about the letter O, Jon Stone's name appears on the clapboard as director.
 * On their way to Earth, The Martians encounter three "pigs in space" wearing spacesuits.
 * The segment "Worms in Space" featured a voice-over introduced by Jerry Nelson in the same way he used to introduce "Pigs in Space" on The Muppet Show.
 * In the book The Exciting Adventures of Super Grover, during the scene where they put on the play of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Bert wears a bear costume that somewhat resembles Fozzie Bear, complete with orange fur and a porkpie hat.
 * In the skit "Numberella," party guests can be heard using the words "rev" and "flooper." Both of these words are Doozer slang.
 * In the Monsterpiece Theater sketch "Upstairs, Downstairs," a picture of Dr. Teeth can be seen on the wall.
 * At the beginning of the Detective Grover sketch, photos of Dr. Teeth and Roosevelt Franklin's Mother can be seen by the bookshelf.
 * In The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland, two Fraggle Rock books can be seen on Elmo's shelf: What's a Fraggle? and Traveling Matt's Adventures in Outer Space.
 * In Elmo's World: Bugs, Elmo says a ladybug is going to be late for the Ladybugs' Picnic.
 * "Ladybugs' Picnic" also briefly plays on a tape player in the Jane Tuesday segment "The Case of the Letter L."
 * Don Music attempts his own remake of the "Sesame Street Theme Song."
 * In "The Addition Game", Guy Smiley introduces a contestant as Mrs. Frances Oznowitz, a Lavendar AM woman (Frank Oz).
 * In "Alone in a Swamp", Oscar and Grundgetta pass a sunken boat named "Ol' Victor D.".
 * In The Best of Kermit on Sesame Street, Grover mentions that among the people Kermit would like to thank for his award is "someone called Jim".
 * In the storybook Don't Forget the Oatmeal!, there is an issue of Sesame Street Magazine with Bert and Ernie on the cover, as Bert and Ernie are checking out. Among the other magazines is an issue of "Stars" with Miss Piggy on the cover. Rubber Duckie can also been seen on the cover of a box of "Rub-A-Dub" soap pads in the grocery store.
 * At the end of Elmo's World: Skin, a chameleon asks Elmo if he can play "The Rainbow Connection" on his piano.
 * At the beginning of "The Ten Commandments of Health", an alert for Dr. Stone is heard over the loud speaker.
 * When Bob and Big Bird sing "The Phone Book Alphabet", they mention the names Epstein, Napoli, Myhrum, Singer, and Stone.
 * The names Big Bird lists when he sings "What's Your Name?" in Episode 1446 include two producers, the director, and five writers from Season 12: "Lisa, Jon, or Dulcy; Emily or Ray; Judy, Sara, Norman".

The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence

 * At one point, a picture of Big Bird is shown hanging on the wall.
 * In "At the Dance", Rowlf mentions he used to be a big star with Jimmy Dean: no one remembers him anymore.
 * In another part of the same sketch, Kermit mentions he works in an educational childrens' show.

The Muppet Show

 * Episode 108: In the Telephone Pole Bit, Fozzie names himself Mike Oznowiczky; Mike Oznowicz was Frank Oz' father.
 * Episode 119: Sheriff David Goelz is mentioned in Muppet News Flash. (However, the Season 1 DVD subtitles translate his name as Sheriff David Coles.)
 * Episode 215: Lou Rawls: During Lou Rawls' performance of "Bye Bye Blackbird", Lou mentions several kinds of birds, and jokingly lists Big Bird.
 * Episode 306: Jean Stapleton: There is sign backstage which reads: "NOTICE -- TRY-OUTS FOR DANCING PIGEONS Must be able to do the buck and wing -- Contact Bert of S.S." and a telephone number.
 * Episode 313: Muppet News Flash mentions Mr. and Mrs. Lazer attempting to break the record for overhand refrigerator throwing.
 * Episode 419: Muppet News Flash features a story on the crocodile god Rezal-evad-gib, which is "Big Dave Lazer" spelled backwards.
 * Episode 509: Muppet News Flash mentions French designer David Lazeur.
 * Episode 513: Tony Randall recites several magic words, which turn out to be Muppeteer names spelled backwards: Evets Erimtihw, Noslen Yrrej, Tnuh Drahcir, Zleog Evad, Oznog and, once again, Rezal Evad Gib.

The Muppet Movie

 * The opening scenes feature Bernie the Agent (Bernie Brillstein).
 * Kermit and the gang audition for Lew Lord (Lord Lew Grade).
 * When driving to Hollywood, Kermit and Fozzie encounter Big Bird, who is walking to New York City with dreams of breaking into public television. Later in the film, a picture of Big Bird can be seen in the Electric Mayhem Bus.

Fraggle Rock

 * In the first episode, Doc receives a letter from Caroly.
 * In "Don't Cry Over Spilt Milk," Doc receives a letter from Kermit.
 * In "All Work and No Play," Doc receives a letter from Duncan.
 * In "Red's Club," Doc and Sprocket are compiling a list of dogs to be in Sprocket's club; one of the names mentioned is Rowlf.
 * The Traveling Matt sequence in "Boober's Dream" includes a clip from The Dark Crystal.
 * The Traveling Matt sequence in "Sir Hubris and the Gorgs" shows children dressed as Kermit and Miss Piggy for Halloween.
 * In "Junior Sells the Farm", Doc orders the Clark-McElcheran Dog Feeder, referring to the show's two special effect gurus: George Clark and Tim McElcheran.
 * The Traveling Matt sequence in "A Cave of One's Own" features Bert and Oscar the Grouch plush dolls in the playroom of two little girls.
 * In "The Cavern of Lost Dreams," Sprocket does an imitation of The Swedish Chef while inventing a cereal -- complete with theme song hum and "Bork bork!"
 * A UK Traveling Matt postcard has Matt going up to a suit of armor. Believing it to be a live Silly Creature, he goes up to it and addresses it as "Henson".

Shalom Sesame

 * In an animated segment of "Here is Your Life" for an olive oil jug currently living in a museum, a picture from Ernie and Bert's trip to Egypt can be seen on the wall.

Follow That Bird

 * The plane Big Bird rides on is called the CTW 1138.
 * During the credit crawl at the end of the film, the The Count refers to Joan Ganz Cooney as "Mom," a reference to Cooney's role as co-founder of The Children's Television Workshop.

The Muppets Take Manhattan

 * Two of the dogs in Rowlf's pet shelter are named Jim and Frank (although they were played by Dave Goelz and Karen Prell).
 * Baby Rowlf has a plush doll of Big Bird.

Muppet Babies

 * In "Close Encounters of the Frog Kind," a brief shot from The Muppet Movie, of Kermit's legs exiting Bunsen's laboratory, is used during the Western scene between Baby Kermit and Baby Gonzo.


 * In "Once Upon an Egg Timer," when Baby Skeeter as a police officer is chasing after Baby Piggy for taking Baby Rowlf's voice, she calls on the radio for a roadblock on Henson and Frith Street.


 * As the curtain rises on Baby Piggy in "Musical Muppets," the college auditorium audience scene from the beginning of The Muppets Take Manhattan is used as a backdrop for the animated characters.


 * In "When You Wish Upon a Muppet", after Baby Kermit wishes that the Muppets stay together and make movies and TV shows when they grow up, a clip from The Great Muppet Caper is shown.


 * In "The Daily Muppet," a clip featuring Oscar the Grouch is shown during the title song.


 * In "Fine Feathered Enemies" when Scooter and Skeeter get angry with each other and "divorce" each other from being siblings, they are told to become the siblings of two other people. They turn out to be two Skeksis from The Dark Crystal (SkekAyuk and SkekEkt), who flee from them. This shot was originally used in The Dark Crystal, when the two Skeksis scream in horror and run from Kira.


 * "The Incredible Shrinking Weirdo" features a scene where a live-action adult Kermit interacts with an animated Baby Gonzo. A clip from The Muppet Show (Episode 223: John Cleese) was used, with Frank Welker dubbing new lines for Kermit and with Baby Gonzo matted into the scene. This fantasy sequence also featured a shot of the audience that was frequently used on The Muppet Show.


 * At the beginning of "This Little Piggy Went to Hollywood", the babies watch a TV special on Hollywood that showcased still photo of stars including Bert and Ernie, as well as a photo of Jim Henson.


 * In "Muppets Not Included," a live-action Dr. Teeth appears as one of the hundred of celebrities in Baby Piggy's game show, "Celebrity Circles."


 * In "Bug-Busting Babies" the babies become bug exterminators and set out to recruit members for the team. Their first recruit is Kermit the Frog, who they find working at a diner off of Sesame Street.


 * In "Babes in Troyland," features clips from Labyrinth and The StoryTeller: Greek Myths. During the Minotaur's maze, scene clips include the Illusionary maze and the Labyrinth.


 * In "Muppet Babies: The Next Generation", when the other babies think that Baby Rowlf is playing charades, one of Piggy's guesses is "The Muppets Clean Manhattan".


 * "Gonzee's Playhouse Channel" features a parody of Sesame Street, called "Sesame Seed Boulevard". Highlights include Baby Kermit's attempts to teach viewers about the letter B, Baby Fozzie in the role of "Big Joke", Baby Animal appearing in a trashcan like Oscar the Grouch, and Kermit and Baby Scooter using paper bags in the roles of Kert and Bernie.


 * In "Get Me to the Perch on Time," as Baby Kermit and Piggy fly in a plane, they pass Mount Rushmore, as seen in The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence, with dubbed dialog. Later, Gonzo and Fozzie are trying to find a missing penguin in the arctic. They decide to put his picture up on their blimp board, but Fozzie includes an image of Big Bird instead.


 * "Nice to Have Gnome You" features clips from both Labyrinth and The Witches. Several of the Babies appear as characters from Labyrinth, intercut with footage of the actual Creatures, including Baby Gonzo as Hoggle, Animal as Ludo, and Scooter as The Worm.

Little Muppet Monsters

 * The door to the basement has a picture of the cast from Pigs in Space.

The Jim Henson Hour

 * When Digit has a case of "the reruns" in Episode 101: Science Fiction and strings together a number of television catch phrases, one of the sentence fragments he utters is "Today's show is brought to you by the letter--", a reference to the sponsor letters on Sesame Street.

Ghost of Faffner Hall

 * In "Improvised Music", a Muppet director wears a necklace with a miniature Kermit dangling from it.
 * In "Notation: The Sign That Gets the Sound, a nursery set is decorated in with Muppet Babies wallpaper.

The Muppets at Walt Disney World

 * When Miss Piggy takes control of the army tank in the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular, Kermit calls "How are we going to explain this to Big Bird?"

Dinosaurs

 * In "Family Challenge", the credits for the Dinosaur TV show Pangea's Funniest Home Injuries lists Polly Smith, BC. as head of wardrobe, David A. Caplan and Brian Lapan as Executive Producers, and Tim Doyle as Term Writer.
 * In "Georgie Must Die," Roy Hess uses "Bob Young" as a fake name. Later, on Georgie's set, a street sign reads "Says Me Street."

Good Morning America

 * In the "Pop Psychology" sketch, Behemoth's inner child babbles "Mama. Mama. Bert and Ernie!"

The Muppet Christmas Carol

 * Amidst the shops in Victorian London, one sign reads "Duncan & Kenworthy, Booksellers."
 * There is a store called "Micklewhite." Michael Caine's real name is Maurice Micklewhite.
 * Another sign, on a haberdashery near the end of the film, says "Statler & Waldorf."
 * Louise (chicken) was named in an adlib by Dave Goelz after fellow Muppeteer Louise Gold, who had been assisting him with Gonzo.
 * Although part of the gag reel, there is a scene where Gonzo and Rizzo are sitting on the shelf with the busts. Rizzo takes one look at the bust of Shakespeare and exclaims, "Hey! It's Frank Oz!". Gonzo adds, "They coated him with plaster! Frank, speak to us!"

The Animal Show

 * In Spoonbill & Salmon, Stinky and Jake interview Yorick the Salmon, who not only shares the same name as a previous Muppet character, but notes that one of the fish in the video he brings is one of his "salmon friends".
 * In Colobus Monkey & Flying Squirrel, during the "Animal Awards", Armstrong the Chicken Hawk gives a shout-out to his friend Jim Lewis.

Muppet Classic Theater

 * During the song Gotta Get That Name, two of the names that are used include Ernie and Fozzie.

Muppets Tonight

 * Episode 105 opens with a shot of a newspaper, featuring an ad for Muppet Treasure Island.
 * When Bobo the Bear puts The Mad Bomber on hold in episode 107, an audio clip of Kermit singing "The Rainbow Connection" can be heard.
 * In Episode 107. when Gonzo suggests putting on an episode of Muppet Babies, he carries the Muppet Babies video "Explore With Us".

Big Bag

 * In The Birthday Blah, when Chelli finds out it is Sofie's birthday, he plans to throw her a party because he says that a birthday without a party is like Bert without that orange guy.

Muppets from Space

 * According to the book Muppets From Space: The Making of Muppet Movie Magic, the "door in a jar" provided by Muppet Labs was intended to be a replica of the front door of 123 Sesame Street. As realized, there are several differences. 123 Sesame Street's stoop has 6 steps and the "door in a jar" had 7, and the window above the door differs from the Sesame design. The "door in a jar" was also red whereas 123 Sesame Street's door was green (the door of 123 Sesame was red for a period of time but that did not happen until 3 years after Muppets From Space was released). However, the door is a replica of the the door used in The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland, which was filmed concurrently with Muppets From Space.
 * The newspaper that Kermit reads during the breakfast scene is called the "Hensonville News Observer".

Farscape

 * In "Thanks for Sharing," Crichton names several alien villains. Among them are the Skeksis.
 * In "Kansas," Aeryn tries to learn to speak English by watching Sesame Street -- specifically, the Muppet & Kid Moment in which Kermit and Joey say the alphabet and she keeps adding "Cookie Monster!"
 * In Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars, John Crichton comments that he's being chased by The Electric Mayhem.

Kermit's Swamp Years

 * There are several behind-the-scenes references in the pet store, including Muppet performer names and an ad for "Salmon Friends" (Sam and Friends) fish food.
 * Mr. Wilson's license plate is JMH-924 -- James Maury Henson, September 24 (his birthday).
 * Wilson also has an Animal keychain on his truck keys.
 * When Kermit speaks to the star from the swamp, he says, "You called my name," a reference to the lyric from "The Rainbow Connection."
 * The Hartis movie theater is name after Muppet builder Paul Hartis, who was heavily involved with this film.
 * In the bloopers, Kermit messes up his line in the opening scene, and does a Swedish Chef imitation.

Muppet Action Figures

 * The regular variant of Sam the Eagle Action Figure Series 8 by Palisades Toys includes a book titled "Standards and Practices - The code of Ethics and The Standards of Professional Conduct, 118th Edition". Inside the book is the "Nudity" speech from episode 206 and The Muppet Show 2 album.
 * The "shifty-eyed" variant of Sam the Eagle Action Figure Series 8 by Palisades Toys includes a book titled Strategies for the All-American Campaign: Sam the Eagle 2004. Inside the book is a list of "Important people to mention in speeche" (sic). The list includes Wayne and Wanda.

It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie

 * The Italian restaurant to the right of the Muppet Theater is called "Barretta."

MirrorMask

 * One of the books that fly off the library shelves is entitled "Muppets in Space."

The Muppets' Wizard of Oz

 * Scarecrow Kermit asks the Wizard if he is related to Frank Oz.
 * The call of the Galley-oh-hoop-hoop can be heard edited into the soundtrack as part of the noises of the forest.
 * Toto calls The Emerald City Guard "Big Bird".

Plaza Sésamo

 * In Episode 835, during Maria's song about hands, scenes of kids drawing are shown. Some kids are seen drawing Plaza Sésamo characters, including Kermit the Frog.
 * In Episode 885, Pancho's radio studio is covered with various posters featuring the Sesame Street characters and the book "Elmo's World: Music!".
 * In various episodes, official Plaza Sésamo party supplies are seen being used by the characters.
 * Also in assorted episodes, a photo of Big Bird is used as a stamp on various letters and packages (including a letter sent to Abelardo by Big Bird himself).
 * In one episode, La Abuela reads "C is for Cooking: Recipes from the Street", but with a modified, Spanish cover.
 * Images of the Sesame Street characters are seen all over the plaza, such as on magazine covers, newspapers and posters.
 * In a healthy tip closing insert, Mauricio Barcelata and a parrot show Pancho pictures of people who keep their hair neat. A picture of Roosevelt Franklin is used.

Sesame Beginnings

 * In "Moving Together" during "Buggy Baby Boogie," a framed picture of Ethel Mermaid is used as a decorative in Cookie Monster's Grandma's house.
 * During "Swing Baby Swing," Louie has two framed pictures of the two Alphabeats on his shelf.

Unstable Fables

 * In the closing credits for 3 Pigs and a Baby, with producer's names on a space-themed mobile, Lisa Henson's name was attached to model of the Swinetrek from The Muppet Show's Pigs in Space.

Sid the Science Kid

 * Arnie, Sid's stuffed dinosaur, is similar in design to Dog from Living with Dinosaurs (albeit much larger and with a horn on his nose).
 * In the episode "Sid's Amazing Lungs", Gerald pretends to be various characters during playtime; when pretending to be a baby he looks directly into the camera and exclaims "I'm a baby, gotta love me!" with the same style and tone as the baby on Dinosaurs.

A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa

 * An announcement for a Francis Oznowicz is heard over the airport intercom. This was similarly done over an airport intercom in Into the Night. Later in the same scene, Jerry Nelson's name is called.

Pajanimals

 * Squacky has a copy of It's Not Easy Being Green on his bedside table.

Emmet Otter musical

 * While sifting through a box of old objects, Jane's dad pulls out an old Elmo doll.
 * A piano and guitar amp are branded as "Henson" manufactured.

Disney Xtreme Digital

 * In the bottom right corner of the main stage, among a box and other clutter, sits the original version of Ernie's Rubber Duckie.

Muppet Peter Pan

 * The "C" cover features toys in the background resembling Beaker, Fozzie Bear, Animal, Bert, and Ernie.

Muppet Robin Hood

 * In issue 2, when the Muppets dress as monsters, Rizzo comments that "the Langridge book" can hear their roars.
 * In issue #4, when the Muppets try to find where the narration is coming from, Robin the Frog suggests that maybe it's from a wormhole in an alternate universe where they are pirates or lost boys and Robin Hood can fly.

Muppet King Arthur

 * The Dave Álvarez cover for issues #1 and #2 depict Delbert the La Choy Dragon on Kermit's shield.
 * Leroy, Rover Joe, T.R. and Catgut are seen insulting King Arthur along with Sam.