| Fraggle Rock | |
| Air Date | February 20, 1984 |
| Written by | Jerry Juhl |
| Director | Jim Henson |
Cotterpin gets in trouble with her parents for not studying.
Red tries to find common ground with Cotterpin.
It's time for young Cotterpin Doozer to wear her helmet and build like all the other Doozers, but the maverick Cotterpin would rather draw and play than work. Adopting Red Fraggle as her new hero, Cotterpin leaves the Doozers behind and decides to become one of the Fraggles instead.
Meanwhile, Sprocket tries to see what it's like to be a horse.
Fraggle Facts[]
- The Doozers live in an ordered society centered in one cave in Fraggle Rock. The only apparent ruler in their society is the Architect, who directs the most important aspect of their lives -- their Doozer-construction building.
- The Doozers have a legend about "the Doozer who didn't," the moral being that Doozers who refuse to work will turn into Fraggles. This story was published as the Fraggle Rock book The Legend of the Doozer Who Didn't.
- The Architect mentions previous Doozers who did not take the helmet. They were Old Man Pipe Wrench Doozer, Disk Drive Doozer, Putty Knife Doozer, who was most contrary, and himself.
- It is also revealed in this episode that Doozers undergo a special ceremony when they become workers. This ceremony is mostly made up of a song. The Architect delivers the vows, and the young Doozers taking the helmets must promise to keep those vows, and then the older Doozers renew their vows.
Notes[]
- Mokey Fraggle and Boober Fraggle do not appear in this episode.
- While individual Doozers had been featured in earlier episodes, this is the first to focus entirely on Doozer society. Flange and Wingnut Doozer were seen in "The Great Radish Famine," and this episode introduces their daughter Cotterpin, who will become the most prominent Doozer in the series. This episode also introduces the Architect and Cotterpin's friend, Wrench. It's also the first time that we see the Doozer home cave, and there's a long, loving first look at it, a shot clearly designed to show off the new set.
- Fraggle Rock's overall vision was to promote peace and cultural understanding for all people, and this episode is another important step in achieving that vision. The Gorgs are already well-established as threatening but also lovable and misunderstood; they are only dangerous because they're so chuckle-headed that they can't communicate with the Fraggles. By this point in the second season, the Doozers are still seen as alien creatures that the Fraggles can't understand or identify with, and this episode finally begins to show the Rock from the Doozers' point of view. However, it's interesting to note that the Doozer the audience is invited to identify with is a renegade from Doozer culture, and the qualities that make her endearing and interesting are the Fraggle-like tendencies that make her un-Doozerish. It isn't until a few episodes later in "The Doozer Contest" that we see an episode that takes place within normal Doozer culture.
- There's another affectionate backstage reference in this episode -- When Doc brings the mail in, he exclaims happily, "Oh, another letter from Duncan." Duncan Kenworthy, the original Fraggle Rock producer, left the show after the first block of twelve episodes.
- "The Way I've Got to Go" is sung to the same tune as "Kick a Stone" from the earlier episode "Don't Cry Over Spilt Milk."
- The Traveling Matt segment shows him at the Undercurrent arcade in Toronto playing video games of the era, most notably the game Space Invaders.
- In the teleplay for this episode, writer Jerry Juhl describes Doozer wardrobe on the morning of Cotterpin's helmet ceremony: "The female Doozers all wear little flowered hats and the men are in bowlers. Otherwise they are nude. This, apparently, is formal attire for state and religious occasions."
Supporting cast[]
- Cotterpin Doozer (Kathryn Mullen)
- Architect Doozer (Jerry Nelson)
- Wrench Doozer (Dave Goelz)
- Flange Doozer (Steve Whitmire)
- Wingnut Doozer (Karen Prell)
Songs[]
Video releases[]
- All Work and All Play (VHS) (HBO Video, 1986)
- Fraggle Fun and Doozer Doings (Jim Henson Video, 1993) -- original closing credits cut
- Live by the Rule of the Rock (HIT!, 2005) -- DVD only
- Fraggle Rock: Complete Second Season (HIT!, 2006)
- Fraggle Rock: Complete Series Collection (HIT!, 2008)
Book adaptations[]
- As "The Doozer Who Wanted To Be A Fraggle" (issue #4 of Marvel's Fraggle Rock comic book series)
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