Episode 223: Boober's Quiet Day

Fraggle Rock
Air Date	June 4, 1984
Written by	Jerry Juhl
Director	Eric Till

Boober plans to have a nice quiet day by himself, but then he's visited by his silly dream alter-ego Sidebottom following various interruptions by the other Fraggles. At Sidebottom's urging, Boober lies to his friends in order to spend the day alone, but his lies build on each other -- and Boober is stuck impersonating the Old Gypsy Lady.

Meanwhile, Doc tries to spend the day without Sprocket who is away most of the day for his flea bath at the vet.

Fraggle Facts

• The Old Gypsy Lady is another Fraggle who travels through the caves in Fraggle Rock, like Cantus the Minstrel. The Gypsy Lady's appearance in a particular Fraggle settlement is a cause for great celebration, and she wanders so far that the young Fraggles in this group have never met her before.

Notes

• This is Sidebottom's second appearance in Boober's life (he seems to have gotten a haircut), and the first one outside of his dreams. It's also the first appearance in which Tosh Fraggle, a minor, recurring Fraggle friend, is named. She previously appeared in episodes Red's Club and Manny's Land of Carpets as a background character.

• In the Ask Henson.com web column, Dave Goelz cited this episode as his most challenging Muppet performance:

“There was an episode of Fraggle Rock called "Boober's Quiet Day" in which I played Boober, his alter ego Sidebottom, and Boober disguised as the Old Gypsy Lady. We used ultimate to allow me to perform two characters on the screen at once. I performed the first character in the set, leaving pauses for the second character's lines. Then I performed the second character in front of a blue screen and it was matted into the picture. I choreographed the movements to give the illusion that both characters could move freely in the set. The episode was especially challenging for two other reasons: first, it was written as a farce and the plot was complicated; second, it was about Boober trying to integrate the two sides of his personality, and everything in the show had to support that growth.”

• The lyrics for this episode were written by B.P. Nichol, rather than the usual lyricist Dennis Lee.

International versions

• UK version: Sprocket is spending his day with Marjorie Tibbs, the vet for his annual check-up. The Captain receives a call from Marjorie that Sprocket is refusing to eat his food, and may be ill. The Captain becomes concerned and starts to reminisce about when Sprocket was a puppy. In Uncle Matt's postcard, Matt visits a library and tries to liven the place up a bit, first with conversation, then by performing his famous happy radish dance. (this segment is used in the Canadian version of Episode 410: Red's Blue Dragon) Marjorie Tibbs calls the Captain again to tell him she left Sprocket's kennel open by mistake and he's disappeared. Sprocket has found his way back to the Lighthouse all on his own.

Supporting cast

• Sidebottom (Dave Goelz)
• The Old Gypsy Lady (Kathy Mullen)
• Tosh Fraggle (Trish Leeper)
• Beastie (Karen Prell)
• Storyteller Fraggle (Terry Angus)
• Lanford (Rob Mills)

Songs

• "The Gypsy Song (I Sniff the Rose)"

Video releases

• Boober's Quiet Day (VHS) (HBO Video, 1986)
• Fraggle Rock: Complete Second Season (HIT!, 2006)
• Fraggle Rock: Complete Series Collection (HIT!, 2008)

International episode titles

• France: "Le Jour tranquille de Boubeur" (The peaceful day of Boober)
• Germany: "Boober's Ruhiger Tag"
• Poland: "Cichy i spokojny dzień" (Quiet and peaceful day)
• Spain: "El día tranquilo de Bombo" (A quiet day for Boober)

German title

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