I was on set for three days of the shoot. I was actually in the room just before they shot the Bunsen & Beaker shtick. There was quite a bit of fuss about the Beaker puppet. Originally they intended it to be the "steam out the ears" Beaker, but the fog machine they wanted to use just didn't have a proper hook-up to make the gag work. So at the request of Steve Whitmire, they hurriedly swapped out to the "light up eyes" Beaker. And yes... you noticed what I notice right away in the footage: Beaker's mouth was funkily askew for some reason. But I do have to say, there were about 15 production people in a creepy basement room that was maybe 12 foot by 12 foot! That included the director, the assistant director, the pyrotechnic guy for the gag, the four Muppeteers, the producer, the assistant producer, the Muppet supprt person, the sound guy... the list goes on. I finally extracted myself after the fog machine just wasn't going to work. They didn't need me in the space taking up air, you know?
I have plenty more on-set tales to tell but they'll have to be peppered through the thread... too many to just blort out all at once.
Oh, yes... and I built Gonzo's cannon.
-Gordon