Little things we've noticed

[Mary Louise]

I saw that "Classic Sesame Street" has a thread called "Little Things We've Noticed." Well, how about one for "Classic Muppets"?

Here's one for a starter: the UK bit on the Carol Channing episode of the Muppet Show. Floyd, on guitar, and Beauregard, on harmonica, play "Wave" for some penguins. Partway through the number, Beau's harmonica seems to have grown to twice its former length!

 

[minor muppetz]

Thank you for starting a Muppet equivilient. I've been wanting to mention some little things I've noticed in Muppet productions recently.

Something that I noticed long before I joined the forum but had forgotten about until last week was at the end of the "You Can't Take No For an Answer" number in MTM there is a human actor sleeping in one of the bottom lockers (he sort of looked like Steve Whitmire).

Also regarding that number in MTM, and I've commented on this elsewhere, during the scene in the montage where the Muppets stop by Bernard Crawford's office and his secretary just laughs and shakes her head in rejection it looks like she actually kept the script regardless. That would explain how Ronnie obtained the script, but I wonder if she just kept it to consider giving to Bernard expecting him to reject.

I was watching the Madeline Kahn episode recently, and noticed that there seems to be a hole in Gonzo's tux, near the color. I guess that was there for that trick at the end when several clothes get pulled out of Gonzo's pocket.

 

[minor muppetz]

In the Kaye Ballard episode, the band (especially Floyd) express their dislike for the theme song... Yet does anybody else think it's odd how most of the band wears purple tuxedos? Somehow I'd expect Floyd and Animal to be the types that wouldn't want to wear purple tuxedos (black tuxes, sure, but purple?), or to even be in an orchestra (I wonder how we'd all feel if the whole orchestra was a seperate band). Out of the whole orchestra I think Rowlf would look the most appropriate in a tuxedo... and yet he's the only one who didn't wear a tux in the orchestra. In fact I don't think Rowlf ever wore a full tuxedo until after TMS ended. The few times he wore anything similar he just wore a black tie and white flap/vest/whatever it's called.

And in the Rudolph Nureya episode, it seems they didn't want to make full tuxedos for any of the live-hand characters. Sam wore a sleeveless tuxedo (and Sam doesn't seem like the kind of person who'd wear a tux like that), while Rowlf and Fozzie were outfitted in the black bow ties and white vest. Though Mahna Mahna's tuxedo attire was also the same as theirs.

Whenever Scooter brings up his uncle who owns the thearer, he only refers to him as "my uncle who owns the theater", but when JP Grosse is around, he refers to him by name. In the Jaye P. Morgan episode he refers to him as "my uncle, JP Grosse, the man who owns this theater". So he didn't just say "My uncle who owns the theater is here".

In most cases where Scooter brings up his uncle who owns the theater, it seems like he doesn't realise he gets his way just by mentioning him. Though by the Jaye P. Morgan episode it seems like he has finally realised this, when he worns Kermit. In fact in that episode Kermit didn't seem to have a problem with telling Scooter how he doesn't like it when JP Grosse is around. I don't know if he was too stressed to care if Scooter heard him or what.

In the Sylvester Stallone episode, Kermit gets mad because Scooter sells backstage passes. He tells Scooter that he wants to talk to him but then has to introduce Sylvester and tells him to stay there. But then Kermit waits until after Sylvester's number to have his talk with Scooter. Also, at first Scooter seems unaware of why Kermit wanted to walk to him, but somehow figured it out by the time Kermit did, giving him time to come up with an excuse for selling passes. It is interesting that he didn't just say something about his uncle.

 

[dwmckim]

Dang - i know i saw something i noticed for the first time after how many previous viewings earlier this week but don't remember right now what it specifically was!

In the first season At the Dances, you can see a hole in George's jacket - i've always wondered if that was a deliberate thing in his design or if it's an exposed armwire hole.

Always love how Marvin Suggs loses his moustache during Witch Doctor!

Love how Fozzie reprises his role as the train conductor for Gladys Knight's number (after doing the same thing for Teresa Brewer)

Animal always is a fun character to watch when he's in the background. I love how fascinated he seems to be with Kaye Ballard's tuba! And how he blinks his eyebrows in time with the music on Kris K/Rita C's closing number.

 

[bingboingcutie]

Always love how Marvin Suggs loses his moustache during Witch Doctor!

He DOES? Cool; wonder where it went.

Also regarding that number in MTM, and I've commented on this elsewhere, during the scene in the montage where the Muppets stop by Bernard Crawford's office and his secretary just laughs and shakes her head in rejection it looks like she actually kept the script regardless. That would explain how Ronnie obtained the script, but I wonder if she just kept it to consider giving to Bernard expecting him to reject.

That was quite detailed, I must agree. F. Oz, T. Patchett, and J. Tarses did well piecing everything together like that. I wonder if the other muppet movies had details like that...

In most cases where Scooter brings up his uncle who owns the theater, it seems like he doesn't realise he gets his way just by mentioning him. Though by the Jaye P. Morgan episode it seems like he has finally realised this, when he worns Kermit. In fact in that episode Kermit didn't seem to have a problem with telling Scooter how he doesn't like it when JP Grosse is around. I don't know if he was too stressed to care if Scooter heard him or what.

He certainly seems to know in Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie...like when he tries to get those girls to like him when he says his uncle used to own the theater. Too bad he had the lamp shade on his head!

 

[David French]

In the Sylvester Stallone episode, Kermit gets mad because Scooter sells backstage passes. He tells Scooter that he wants to talk to him but then has to introduce Sylvester and tells him to stay there. But then Kermit waits until after Sylvester's number to have his talk with Scooter. Also, at first Scooter seems unaware of why Kermit wanted to walk to him, but somehow figured it out by the time Kermit did, giving him time to come up with an excuse for selling passes. It is interesting that he didn't just say something about his uncle.

Considering that Scooter walks around backstage counting money in front of Kermit (by accident of course), I think Scooter is only too well aware of the reason why Kermit wants to talk to him.

Love how Fozzie reprises his role as the train conductor for Gladys Knight's number (after doing the same thing for Teresa Brewer)

The Teresa Brewer is set on a paddleboat, not a train. Think the MGM musical "Show Boat".

Always love how Marvin Suggs loses his moustache during Witch Doctor!

He DOES? Cool; wonder where it went.

It simply fell to the floor; it comes unstuck during the modulation.

 

[minor muppetz]

At the end of The Great Muppet Caper, when the Muppets are on the airplane before being thrown off, I noticed that Lips is sitting with a generic rat, while Rizzo is in the other side of the room. Considering Steve Whitmire performed both Lips and Rizzo, it's a wonder they didn't have those two sit together, so Steve could perform both at once.

 

[minor muppetz]

While watching some Geri and the Atrics clips recently, I've noticed that the guitar player played guitar with her left hand, yet she was performed by the left-handed Louise Gold. This gets me wondering if Louise Gold just did the voice while somebody else did the puppetry. Of course there are other explanations I can think of; she could have performed the body right-handed for once, or she could have performed the left hand with her right hand (I have noticed quite a few instances where characters with right-handed performers moved their right hands but not their left hands), or a second performer could have done the left hand.... Unless there are behind-the-scenes photos or footage out there we may nevver know.

 

[Skekayuk]

There are probably many more instances than we know about on TMS when one performer did another's character, either because that puppeteer was needed for another of their character's, or (as I think happened with Louise, particularly during Season 2 and Season 3, she has a brilliant singing voice, but at that time wasn't too experienced as a puppeteer, so there were occassions when they might want to use her for a character, but her puppetry wasn't always actually good enough (at that time) for what the wanted the puppet to do. (Epsiode 302 - 'Carbon Paper' being the mahor example here).

I think we'll never know who was performing or why. I think the theory that Louise was doing the head and someone else was doing the left hand of the character is possible, or that someone else is puppeteering altogether, for whatever reason.
I get the impression that she always does the head with her left-hand, though.

 

[minor muppetz]

There are probably many more instances than we know about on TMS when one performer did another's character, either because that puppeteer was needed for another of their character's, or (as I think happened with Louise, particularly during Season 2 and Season 3, she has a brilliant singing voice, but at that time wasn't too experienced as a puppeteer, so there were occassions when they might want to use her for a character, but her puppetry wasn't always actually good enough (at that time) for what the wanted the puppet to do. (Epsiode 302 - 'Carbon Paper' being the mahor example here).

Of course Geri and the Atrics were introduced in season 4.

I've noticed that when Christopher Reeve was the guest, all of his on-stage acts were as sudden replacements for other characters. He replaced an injurred Gonzo for the Shakespear sketch, and replaced Rowlf in two different acts (both because of Miss Piggy). We never see Christopher Reeve do an act that was supposed to have him.

Lorretta Switt was a similar situation. Most of her on-stage bits were as a replacement for Miss Piggy. I guess her first number shouldn't really count, but they did put her on when Miss Piggy was fired and her act cancled. And then Lorretta replaced Piggy in Vets Hospital and Pigs in Space. The episode had so much backstage focus that the opening number was the only act to not feature the guest star.