Forum:Eugene in Sing-Along, Dance-Along

Forums: Index > Article Content > Eugene in Sing-Along, Dance-Along

Participation in the Muppet Wiki Forums requires a full understanding of the Rules and Etiquette.

---

Our page for Eugene (Muppets Tonight) says that the puppet first appeared in 1994's Muppet Classic Theater, but I think I've spotted him in the 1988 video Sing-Along, Dance-Along, Do-Along. The video is on YouTube; he first appears at 12:15.

Do you all agree that this is the same puppet, or is it somebody else? —Danny (talk) 20:07, 5 March 2023 (UTC)

I could be wrong, but I think that's the same puppet as Mrs. Mink. - Shane (talk) 20:28, 5 March 2023 (UTC)

I was going to say the same thing about Mrs. Mink. It seems like the note implies the character rather than the physical puppet, though I don't know if the '94 mink is considered a proto-Eugene. -- Tony (talk) 20:29, 5 March 2023 (UTC)

I think the Eugene puppet dates all the way back to Emmett Otter's Jugband Christmas, as one of the audience members. If it's not the actual puppet, it's the same pattern at least. Lamango (talk) 00:43, 6 March 2023 (UTC)

Oh, and there's Maureen the Mink, which was made in 1987... It would make sense if that was the same puppet, used a year later. Is there any way to track whether this was one puppet or multiple puppets? It feels like this should be noted somewhere, that Mrs. Mink, Maureen the Mink, Eugene, the critter in Sing-Along, and possibly the Weasel from the Animal Band in Tomie DePaola are all the same or similar puppets. —Danny (talk) 04:31, 6 March 2023 (UTC)

Ah, there's already the Weasels page, which includes Eugene and the Animal Band but not the "minks". —Danny (talk) 04:32, 6 March 2023 (UTC)

Part of the issue with the Eugene page is it starts with the Muppet Classic Theater tidbit rather than when he was actually named and had a semi-consistent performer. His appearance list on the page includes Kokomo which postdates Sing-Along but predates Classic Theater. Brad started [[Sandbox:Mustelids]] to try to sort them out but wound up including Eugene as both a mink *and* a weasel because Whitmire used both terms depending on who asked him. Apart from the different more predatory weasel puppets, it looks to me like an Alligators and Crocodiles situation, where the same puppet or at least pattern was used and what it was called (if specified at all) depended on the writer or situation.

I'd say clean up Eugene to focus more on the named character and track the confirmed nameless instances that aren't a different named character (Maureen) or covered on another page, and/or move Weasels to "Weasels and Minks" per the reptile precedent and just track all the nameless/species not clear which ones there rather than on either Eugene or Maureen etc. Maybe still work in Muppet Classic Theater on Eugene, but without the actual alt.tv.muppets quotes or discussion link (there isn't even a date cited), even that looks dubious now as far as it being an intentional "we're gonna reuse this character and give him a name" thing. All that's specified on the page is that Whitmire said is responding to being asked about the mink and saying Brian Henson performed him. -- Andrew 21:24, 12 March 2023 (UTC)