The Need for Female Roles (Why We Want Skeeter)

[bazooka_beak]

After having read the "Family Reunion" issues of the Muppet Show series today, I am now ITCHING for Skeeter to join the crew. She fit in great and added a touch of humor that had me rolling on the floor (not literally). It felt perfect to see them all together again, even if - for some strange reason - they kept calling her "whatshername" and "Scooter's sister" :/ Going by that canon they friggen grew up together, they really wouldn't remember her name?

 

[Drtooth]

After having read the "Family Reunion" issues of the Muppet Show series today, I am now ITCHING for Skeeter to join the crew. She fit in great and added a touch of humor that had me rolling on the floor (not literally). It felt perfect to see them all together again, even if - for some strange reason - they kept calling her "whatshername" and "Scooter's sister" :/ Going by that canon they friggen grew up together, they really wouldn't remember her name?

It was a very complicated explanation. If I can piece together the interviews, they had some odd communication problem with the Muppet Studio people, and they thought they had permission to use the character, BUT she couldn't be mentioned by name. Now, this is what I believe. They cleared that up right away, but Roger decided it was a good gag to milk. And reading all of Roger's Muppet comics up to that point, he has a bizarre sense of humor that works perfect for the subjects at hand.

After finally reading the last issue, I came to the conclusion that we had something close to this exchange.

"Hey... uh, we said you could use Skeeter. So why aren't you mentioning her by name?"

"well, we heard that we couldn't."

"Why would we only let you show her without mentioning her name? Disney owns ALL the Muppet show properties, including Muppet Babies. When you go outside Disney's ownership, say Sesame Street or Fraggle Rock, then we'd have to stop you. So you can indeed call her by name in the second issue of this arc."

"Hmmm.... I have other plans. This confused us, but what would REALLY be funny is if we confuse the readers. Say, some of them would think that something is up with Skeeter's appearance. And that there's some odd little bit that will drive them crazy... and at the end, we mention her by name anyway, like we intended on using it the whole time."

 

[minor muppetz]

It was a very complicated explanation. If I can piece together the interviews, they had some odd communication problem with the Muppet Studio people, and they thought they had permission to use the character, BUT she couldn't be mentioned by name. Now, this is what I believe. They cleared that up right away, but Roger decided it was a good gag to milk. And reading all of Roger's Muppet comics up to that point, he has a bizarre sense of humor that works perfect for the subjects at hand.

After finally reading the last issue, I came to the conclusion that we had something close to this exchange.

"Hey... uh, we said you could use Skeeter. So why aren't you mentioning her by name?"

"well, we heard that we couldn't."

"Why would we only let you show her without mentioning her name? Disney owns ALL the Muppet show properties, including Muppet Babies. When you go outside Disney's ownership, say Sesame Street or Fraggle Rock, then we'd have to stop you. So you can indeed call her by name in the second issue of this arc."

"Hmmm.... I have other plans. This confused us, but what would REALLY be funny is if we confuse the readers. Say, some of them would think that something is up with Skeeter's appearance. And that there's some odd little bit that will drive them crazy... and at the end, we mention her by name anyway, like we intended on using it the whole time."

The first I heard about Skeeter not being referred to by name was in a Tough Pigs post, and then when it was asked in a Tough Pigs interview. I wonder, if Ryan at Tough Pigs hadn't picked up on that and asked about it in the interview, I wonder if the majority of us would have noticed that she wasn't mentioned by name in the first few issues. It seems they don't do any teasers or gags until issue 3 when Robin almost asks what Skeet'ers name is.

Also, those comics seem to take ona continuity where they all knew Skeeter as a child, but Fozzie's mom didn't. That seemed a little weird.

 

[beaker]

Also, those comics seem to take ona continuity where they all knew Skeeter as a child, but Fozzie's mom didn't. That seemed a little weird.

I honestly do not know what is up with the Muppets watching home movies of themselves in MFC, as it seems to go against the real history of the Muppets(in Muppet canon) Henceforth, Skeeter being introduced into the Muppet fold proper(in puppet form) could be explained away as simply Scooter's younger sister coming to visit. That's it. I personally don't see Muppet Babies as canon, and in MTM we see the nursery scene simply as Piggy's wishful thinking. So again, when they see home movies of themselves as babies in MFC, it strikes me as quite odd.

 

[RedPiggy]

Well, the home movie in MFC doesn't really show the nursery. It only shows one corner of a rather nondescript room and a Christmas tree with presents under it. You can't really tell they're in the iconic nursery. The room seems like something you would see mid-20th century. The movies (why "movies" when they only show one clip?) are from Emily's attic, right?

I think MFC has a kind of new canon where the Muppet Babies perhaps visit the parents' homes during holidays (and this particular time they were at Fozzie's mom's house). This way they can grow up "apart" but yet still have some time together. And remember that only Rowlf sounds like he remembers anything about it. Everyone else's comments (like Gonzo's) make it sound like they didn't realize these home movies were here and they don't remember their toddlerhood. I have lots of home movies where I don't recall some of what happened in them.

 

[beaker]

Well, the home movie in MFC doesn't really show the nursery. It only shows one corner of a rather nondescript room and a Christmas tree with presents under it. You can't really tell they're in the iconic nursery. The room seems like something you would see mid-20th century. The movies (why "movies" when they only show one clip?) are from Emily's attic, right?

I think MFC has a kind of new canon where the Muppet Babies perhaps visit the parents' homes during holidays (and this particular time they were at Fozzie's mom's house). This way they can grow up "apart" but yet still have some time together. And remember that only Rowlf sounds like he remembers anything about it. Everyone else's comments (like Gonzo's) make it sound like they didn't realize these home movies were here and they don't remember their toddlerhood. I have lots of home movies where I don't recall some of what happened in them.

I hear ya, I just always considered there to be two distinct Muppet canon or continuity. One being the real world, where all the Muppets are simply actors and go on talk shows to promote upcoming stuff or do appearances. And then the other canon being the generally accepted arc and origins of things despite there not being a cohesive continuation from one project or film to the next. (Say, TMM, GMC and MTM each are their own separate continuity) Gonzo might be an "alien" in MFS but only within that movie. So with that, it seemed to be the general theme was that the Muppets came together separately from looking for theater work. Kermit came from the swamp, Fozzie went on the road doing standup, etc. (hence why them knowing eachother as toddlers seems odd to me)

 

[RedPiggy]

Well, I've noticed the Muppet folk bringing in bits and pieces of Muppet Babies over the years. MFS didn't introduce Gonzo as an alien. This was a major theme of Baby Gonzo. Super Gonzo is just one variation of the theme. Look how many times his imaginary worlds tend to be in space or on different planets. He also seems to be the one most associated with the magical closet gag, where it opens up onto different worlds (via clips). Letters to Santa gets Scooter his computer back. The comics are using lots of stories done on Muppet Babies. Animal befriended a bunny and has become a more sensitive ADHD fanatic, LOL.

I've always kinda considered TMM and MTM to be at least a highly similar universe if not the latter being a sequel to the other, with the Muppets originally going to Hollywood to make it big, but then end up in NY and decide to go to college and try Theater. GMC is obviously more like a movie-long sketch ... a stand-alone story. While I still feel that they are not "the truth" (since Kermit outright admits TMM is only sorta kinda true), I imagine it, like you said, has some elements vital to the characterization. It's not just Muppet Babies that messes with your head. Kermit's from the swamp (apparently near Disney World), I don't know enough about Sam & Friends to comment, but he has a house around Sesame Street that seems like a comfortable middle-class house, so where does Hollywood come into it? Actually, despite TMM, most of the action takes place in NY. It's more like TMM is the story of making that particular movie, not an actual origin tale. I'm not arguing that Muppet Babies is canon, only that elements from it are just as reasonable as other elements. You can be with other kids as a toddler and not really care about those people in your thirties. If I saw old classmates from elementary school ... I'd have to be reminded who they are. If there were long periods of time apart ... and, we're assuming everyone just forgot. It's also possible that they just don't bring up their childhoods (let's face it ... when you're roughly ageless, why bring up signs you age?).

 

[beaker]

Well, I've noticed the Muppet folk bringing in bits and pieces of Muppet Babies over the years. MFS didn't introduce Gonzo as an alien. This was a major theme of Baby Gonzo. Super Gonzo is just one variation of the theme. Look how many times his imaginary worlds tend to be in space or on different planets. He also seems to be the one most associated with the magical closet gag, where it opens up onto different worlds (via clips). Letters to Santa gets Scooter his computer back. The comics are using lots of stories done on Muppet Babies. Animal befriended a bunny and has become a more sensitive ADHD fanatic, LOL.

I've always kinda considered TMM and MTM to be at least a highly similar universe if not the latter being a sequel to the other, with the Muppets originally going to Hollywood to make it big, but then end up in NY and decide to go to college and try Theater. GMC is obviously more like a movie-long sketch ... a stand-alone story. While I still feel that they are not "the truth" (since Kermit outright admits TMM is only sorta kinda true), I imagine it, like you said, has some elements vital to the characterization. It's not just Muppet Babies that messes with your head. Kermit's from the swamp (apparently near Disney World), I don't know enough about Sam & Friends to comment, but he has a house around Sesame Street that seems like a comfortable middle-class house, so where does Hollywood come into it? Actually, despite TMM, most of the action takes place in NY. It's more like TMM is the story of making that particular movie, not an actual origin tale. I'm not arguing that Muppet Babies is canon, only that elements from it are just as reasonable as other elements. You can be with other kids as a toddler and not really care about those people in your thirties. If I saw old classmates from elementary school ... I'd have to be reminded who they are. If there were long periods of time apart ... and, we're assuming everyone just forgot. It's also possible that they just don't bring up their childhoods (let's face it ... when you're roughly ageless, why bring up signs you age?).

You bring up a lot of good and intriguing points!
Did the Animal/bunny thing begin on Muppet Babies? Because most of the Animal sketches on Muppets.com involve the dynamic between him and "Bunny". I never really realized the space connection with Gonzo before, or the door portal connection on MB. Nice work! Remember how in The Dark Knight film, the Joker keeps changing his origin story...yet it seems to be a take on the 1988 graphic novel "Batman: The Killing Joke"? I bring that up as it seems sometimes in classic storytelling, there is multiple origin stories...but each one may have shades of truth to it.

Youre right, MTM seems very related to TMM. They already now know eachother, are in college but go to the big apple. I saw both in theaters and just assumed that TMTM was a sequel.

Now you're getting into an interesting subject of Muppet topology. WHERE are all these places located? I've often wondered that. If Kermit's home swamp is right near Walt Disney World, we can at least pinpoint where in Florida its suppose to be. But where is Fozzie's mom's place? We can assume it's relatively close to a big mall, since Piggy gets driven there from a department store.

Where is the KMUP studio, Muppet Central studio(Muppet Television from JHH) or the classic Muppet Theater? We've been shown Kermit's "apartment" in even modern Sesame episodes(an episode of Elmo's world), however I tend to look at this as a set piece set in the Sesame set world.

I agree with the toddler thing. We know of some of the Muppets parents, like Fozzie and Animal(at least from Animal calling his mom to announce the Webby's) What confused me is the scene in TMTM where Piggy imagines a what-if scenario, yet in MFC its assumed they made films together(tho, that was edited out for all official releases thereafter...so maybe its not canon?)

And then comes the issue of Fraggle Rock and Fraggle holes. We can assume there is one in Arizona where Doc moves to, as well as under Fozzie's mom's house. But given Uncle Matt was on a 1993 episode of The Today Show with Cotterpin Doozer, as well as Sprocket seen in the 1996 film Treasure Island...and given Red's appearance at Comic Con, it seems like the Fraggle Rock continuum goes on beyond the cancellation of the show. I imagine that the land of Fraggle Rock is relatively close to the land of "Ovadare"(where Scary Scary Monsters live) http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Scary_Scary_Monsters

It does seem like the spiritual birthplace and home of the Muppets has always felt like New York City, especially in the 1970's and 1980's. I imagine a scenario of where the Muppets simply were looking for work and all ended up together. Kermit and Rowlf of course being the original dynamic, pre Kermit-Fozzie. Rowlf to me is one of the most intriguing of Muppet characters...he reminds me of say, an old blues musician who knows a lot and been around a long time...but struggles to find work(as was referenced in the recent Muppets Kitchen episode)