So, what do we call Gonzo now?

[Gonzo's Hobbit]

I was just curious about what people think Gonzo should be referred to as now. It seems that traditionally he's always been referred to as a "whatever" (references in Muppets Take Manhattan, Treasure Island and Muppets from Space). However, now that we all know he's an alien, are we supposed to call him an alien?

Personally, I know he's an alien but he's been called a whatever so much that it seems wierd to call him anything else.

Thoughts?

 

[D'Snowth]

Not exactly sure myself.

Also, I kind of try to avoid calling him an alien myself, because in spite of that fact that it is revealed that he's an alien in MFS, in an old interview with Jim I read several years ago, he said that Gonzo was intended to be just another Muppet monster (if I recall correctly, he said the original Gonzo was completed in a little over three hours).

 

[Gonzo's Hobbit]

Huh, I had never that before. That's interesting. They always seem to want to explore what Gonzo is in a bunch of the movies, including The Muppet Movie. I kinda like that though. It gave them a chance to explore the character a little more which has been fun.

 

[Super Scooter]

Productions since Muppets from Space refer to Gonzo as a "whatever". In the special features created for the 50th anniversary DVDs, he's called a whatever rather than an alien. He's not officially recognized as an alien anymore, and I agree with that 100% because of what D'Snowth said, and because Jerry Juhl's original vision for Muppets from Space did not have him as an alien.

 

[dwmckim]

Gonzo was indeed carved by Jim and meant to be a Muppet monster at first - specifically one of the Frackles (they were made for the 1970 Great Santa Claus Switch special where most of the Muppets that would become Muppet Show monsters originated including Thog, Droop, Boppity, Gloat, Miss Kitty and more). Once they started The Muppet Show they dropped the monster/frackle idea and he just became this weird unidentifiable creature.

Personally, i don't feel the revelation of Gonzo being an alien in MFS changes his "whatever" status. They never did find out the name of Gonzo's species or name of his planet so no one here on earth still quite know what he is. "Alien" just means he came from somewhere besides Earth - that just tells us "where" (and even then we don't know - we only know where he *didn't* come from) not "what". He still remains a "Whatever" - an alien whatever, but still a Whatever.

 

[D'Snowth]

and because Jerry Juhl's original vision for Muppets from Space did not have him as an alien.

Exactly. Next to Jim himself, Jerry Juhl is who made the Muppets the Muppets.

 

[GonzoLeaper]

I just call Gonzo Gonzo.

 

[PurpleHonker]

I think he is, and will always be, a "whatever". This does not mean I promote the idea of classifying based on species. As GonzoLeaper put so well, he is just Gonzo.
We know him, we love him, and life wouldn't be the same without him.

 

[Gelfling Girl]

*very bad Shakespearian fake accent* Alas, a Gonzo by any other name would still be a weirdo as much.

 

[D'Snowth]

*very bad Shakespearian fake accent* Alas, a Gonzo by any other name would still be a weirdo as much.

I don't blame Gonzo and his clones to be concerned over that last quote there. : p