Why We Love Scooter

[TravellingMatt]

It's about time the go-fer got his due. We've made these threads for Kermit, Fozzie, Gonzo and Rowlf.

I think Scooter has a bit of a universality to him because in a way, we all know a Scooter or have met one in our lives. The new kid at your job who tries really hard to please everybody just so he can get his foot in the door? That's Scooter for you right there. Jerry Nelson himself said that Scooter was an extension of his performer for so many years, Richard Hunt. In the interview on this space, Jerry said that Richard was like a bright-eyed, bouncy puppy, because he was so young when he started out with Henson and really wanted to make a big impression. (And he did.) Scooter was just a young stagestruck kid who wanted to get into showbiz any way possible, even resorting to using his uncle (or rather, the fact that his uncle owned the Muppet Theatre) so he could get onstage once in a while. Scooter has a determination to him that one can't help but admire.

I also liked Scooter's relationship with several of the other Muppets, namely Kermit and Floyd.

Scooter and Kermit have a typical relationship. While they're not best friends, they are close. Scooter drives Kermit nuts sometimes (usually after mentioning his uncle), but Kermit acknowledges Scooter's desire to perform and lets him do so regardless (see the Mark Hamill episode). The amount of time Scooter spent driving Kermit up a wall was matched only by the amount of respect he had for Kermit. Scooter looked up to Kermit, mainly because the frog gave him his big break and because he was a performer and the host of the entire Muppet Show, among other things. It should be noted that the two of them also interacted quite well when they presented an award together at the Oscars in 1986 or thereabouts. (Scooter FINALLY gets to share a stage with the frog!)

The other Muppet Scooter had a great relationship with was Sgt. Floyd Pepper. I like to think that Scooter looked up to Floyd as if he was an older brother, and Scooter would do anything so he could hang around Floyd and his hip musician friends for just a little longer, such as serving as the Electric Mayhem's road manager (and sometimes percussionist), however their true chemistry was shown in the Mummenschanz episode of The Muppet Show in the show's opening number, "Mr. Bass Man". Not only is this a classic vocal performance and another example of how Jerry Nelson and Richard Hunt's characters interacted so well, but a true reflection of the camaraderie between Scooter and Floyd. Floyd is trying to sing a song, and instead of brushing Scooter off, teaches him how to sing like he does, and at the end, they sing together with pleasant results, and Scooter emits a high-pitched "YEAH!" at song's end, as if to say "I did it! I got in good with Floyd!".

So to all the kids who want to make it in show business, look no further for a role model than Scooter, our favorite go-fer. He finally did get his big break...when he was deleted from the Muppet profiles on one of the Muppet sites, popular demand got him reinstated (despite the fact that there was no permanent replacement to perform him after Richard Hunt's untimely passing). He truly has achieved the status as a performer that he wanted...and he didn't have to get his uncle to help him this time! Congrats, Scooter! Hopefully now YOU can get someone to go-fer YOUR stuff!

 

[Fozzie Bear]

And there ya have it folks! Nothing left for ME to say, LOL!

I agree totally so,

"What he said!"

FOZ

 

[frogboy4]

Ditto!

 

[Daffyfan4ever]

Reply

I have to agree with most of what was said here. He's sort of an all around nice-guy. Sure, he uses the fact that his uncle owns the theater to get his way all the time, but other than that... Actually, I haven't seen much interaction between Scooter and Floyd. I heard the Mr. Bassman number on the "Animal's Bandstand" site. Floyd wasn't really himself there (with the lower voice and everything). Anyway, it's too bad Scooter hasn't been seen much since Richard Hunt's death. I would liked to have seen him in later productions.

 

[Thijs]

Seeing Scooter always makes me sad, knowing that Hunt died 10 years ago. Jim Henson had two big chars, kermit and Rowlf, but Scooter IS Richard Hunt, so much.

Two things haven`t been mentioned yet. Scooter is a great singer. I love his songs, especially Mr. Bassman and Dancing Bear.
Second, his relation with Fozzie and Gonzo. For Fozzie, Scooter is his try-out victim, altough Scooter never gets his jokes. Scooter is the only one understands Gonzo`s acts, or is pretending to do so.

And of course he makes me laugh a lot. Sometimes he is so stupid (asking a cow "who do you belong too? ). And that makes him so sweet. But can he be trusted? No he can`t, but when you really need him, he is there for you.

Writing this makes me realise that Scooter is my all time favourite muppet.

 

[monkeymuppet]

TravellingMatt

That is exactly why I like Scooter. He's a lot like me. I'm a "young stagestruck kid". I'd love to be a P.A. aka "gofer" just like him and work my way to the top. My favorite song that he sings is Six String Orchestra. What a lovely voice. Love ya Scooter!

 

[Skeeter Muppet]

Matt...

THANK YOU!

You just took the words right out of my mouth (and phrased them a whole lot better than I could ever have, too!).

Scooter really WAS like an extension of Hunt, to me, both on and off camera. I remember a passage in Of Muppets and Men in the "Jerry, Richard and Dave" chapter. Often Richard would entertain his coworkers backstage, and if they weren't paying attention, he'd talk to whatever character he had on his arm at the time. Then followed a small conversation between Richard and Scooter, with Scooter gushing about how great he thought the show was. Then Jerry Juhl would walk by, and Scooter would "stage whisper" to Richard a compliment about Juhl. And just reading about that made me smile (heck, thinking about it has got me giggling again).

I'd also like to second (or would that be third? Or...fourth?) the thing about Scooter's singing. Muppets and Men cited Jerry Nelson and Richard Hunt as the best singers of the group (at the time the book was written), and anyone who's heard Floyd and Janice jammin' would agree with that. Richard put his all into his characters, it seemed, when they were just speaking and when they were singing. My favorite song that Scooter has sung isn't one of his upbeat ones, but "The Peace Carol," the song that he sang with John Denver on that particular Christmas album. It was a more mellow, introspective piece, but like everything else Scooter has sung, it just seemed to fit his character.

That having been said, Scooter's verse in "Saying Goodbye" from MTM seems really poigniant and ironic now considering it was the last Muppet feature film that Scooter (and Richard) was a part of. It's good to see Scooter back, hopefully for good now that Brian Henson appears to be his new permanent performer. Although truthfully, there'll be no one else like Richard Hunt.

-Kim

 

[Gonzo]

This thread's a GREAT idea!

Growing up, Scooter was always my LEAST favorite character--he wasn't as visual, as funny, wacky, or scary as the other characters, and rarely got his turn to shine. It's only been in the last decade or so that I've seen how great the character was, and how much he's missed in the more recent productions. There's a definite sweetness about him (and sometimes a sarcasm) that the other characters don't quite have.

I also love his little "eager arm swing thing" he'd do, when he'd say something like "that's a SWELL idea!" Sometimes I do it too.

And although he's still not my FAVORITE, I do miss him, and love those rare moments when he did get to shine. My favorite perfomances include the ones that have already been mentioned (especially Simon Smith and his Dancing Bear and Six String Orchestra), but also his side performances in things like the Lynda Carter and Paul Simon episodes.

He's a great guy, and I hope he's included in other future productions, like he was so nicely in "IAVMMMCMCMCMMCMM"


Quinnnnnnnnnnn

 

[TravellingMatt]

Kim...

Ditto on "The Peace Carol". Every time I hear that I think about what a great voice Richard had. I like to think that it was more Richard singing that song than Scooter. But then again, since Scooter was an extension of Richard...

Scooter (and Richard) had boundless energy when it came to performing. Even during the more serious songs (such as "Silent Night" on the John Denver/Muppets disc), his "Merry Christmas, everybody!" at the end of the song was still energetic despite the fact that it wasn't an uptempo number.

 

[WiGgY]

Scooter has grown on me as well. The more muppet productions I watch, the more I like Scooter. When the latest muppet christams special was one and I saw Scooter saying the "The ham is jammed" I thought for a second that maybe Richard had pre redorded some sayings or something. There were many moments in that special where I thought certain characters were being done by their original performers. I looks like Scooter is back and I am glad. I hope Brian can capture the same Scooterness the Richard had. Does anyone know if Brian can sing? I hope so lol. I miss Richard's main characters. I think they are what were missing from Muppets Tonight and various other productions. Beaker was replaced, but I mean Beaker come on. Not to take credit away from Steve but I could do Beaker. Scooter is much harder to replace and Brian is doing great from what I've seen. I don't know about Janice. Janice was so Janice like! The voice seems like it would be easy but it's really not. Brian did an ok job but I think someone could do a better one. The accent really needs work.