A case of red herrings on Muppets Tonight
A red herring is a literary, dramatic, or rhetorical device which serves to mislead the audience or protagonists, coined from an anecdote about using a smoked herring (which thus would have a red color) to throw hunting dogs off the scent of their actual quarry. The concept is particularly associated with mystery fiction, as well as spy thrillers, serials or horror movies with masked masterminds or killers. The term is sometimes used for other dramatic or textual forms (from stage illusions to advertising methods) which rely on misdirection or distraction.
A red herring can be a character (an overly suspicious person, an obvious imposter, escaped criminals or lunatics, or any suspect not the culprit), any false clue (airtight alibi, multiple weapons, initials on clothing), or an event (a secondary crime such as a theft or financial fraud, supernatural legends or perceived happenings). Agatha Christie and other Golden Age mystery authors made particular use of them.
References[]
- In the Sesame Street "Mysterious Theater" segments, Sherlock Hemlock was typically distracted by rhyming red herrings while Watson solved the mystery.
- The one-shot "Classic Theater of Whales" sketch from Muppets Tonight episode 206 is titled "Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Red Herring" (since Holmes is a whale, it's a literal case of herring).
- For Sam the Eagle in Muppets Most Wanted, the Muppets troupe are themselves a red herring to distract from the crimes of Constantine and The Lemur.
Red herring gallery[]
