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Gorgon Heap
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I had a fan theory rolling around in my head.
I thought it odd that, on "Muppets Tonight", they made Zelda Rose mother to Dr. Phil Van Neuter despite the fact that she bears such a strong resemblance to Beaker. That got me to thinking, if she has one son who's a scientist, but she herself looks so much like another scientist, could she be mother to BOTH by different marriages?
She appeared onstage mostly in Season One, mostly in "At the Dance" but also in the library "Blue Danube" sketch (where apparently, she was called "Ms. Muncho" -- likely a nod to her having been built out of Fred, the Muppet spokesman for Munchos -- but her perhaps canonically her maiden name? This was on Muppet Wiki but is not there now, not sure where the info originally came from or where it went.) She appeared very little after Season One, being relegated mostly to the audience thereafter, outside of her namesake appearance with her singing owl -- the week after Beaker made his debut! Perhaps in Season One, she was performing and making showbiz connection (and perhaps also making ends meet following a divorce?) to secure her older son a job on the show, and came around to do a spot on the show the following week -- after a three-month engagement at the Desert Springs, Vermont Humane Society -- to see how he was doing.
With two sons interested in science and performing, perhaps both of their fathers were scientists. Zelda Rose could also have been a scientist -- ornithologist, perhaps? -- putting herself through school performing in clubs. If she was a "Ms." as Ms. Muncho in the library sketch, then Rose might have been a stage name, possibly her original married name, which would make Beaker's father Dr. Rose and Beaker likely a nickname, with his real name probably being something like Bernie Rose.
Beaker was likely a rather shy child, but I think still would've been a good big brother to rambunctious little Phil, sharing their love of science, with Phil's early experiments likely blowing up his hapless older brother. Striking out on his own might have been a good way to stay out of harm's way... if he hadn't ended up with more of the same in Dr. Honeydew!
As Beaker worked on "The Muppet Show", young Phil started to come of age, finally visiting the show toward the end of its run and meeting his future working partner (and briefly brother-in-law) Mulch. With "The Muppet Show" ending and Mulch needing a new gig just as Phil was ready to strike out on his own, they hit it off and started making plans to go into business together, whether it be science, show, or both as it turned out!
While we've never seen Beaker & Phil interacting, maybe someday we'll get a glimpse into any connection addressing any possible family connections, what with Beaker looking so much more like Phil's mother than Phil does (I guess he takes after his father!)
I thought it odd that, on "Muppets Tonight", they made Zelda Rose mother to Dr. Phil Van Neuter despite the fact that she bears such a strong resemblance to Beaker. That got me to thinking, if she has one son who's a scientist, but she herself looks so much like another scientist, could she be mother to BOTH by different marriages?
She appeared onstage mostly in Season One, mostly in "At the Dance" but also in the library "Blue Danube" sketch (where apparently, she was called "Ms. Muncho" -- likely a nod to her having been built out of Fred, the Muppet spokesman for Munchos -- but her perhaps canonically her maiden name? This was on Muppet Wiki but is not there now, not sure where the info originally came from or where it went.) She appeared very little after Season One, being relegated mostly to the audience thereafter, outside of her namesake appearance with her singing owl -- the week after Beaker made his debut! Perhaps in Season One, she was performing and making showbiz connection (and perhaps also making ends meet following a divorce?) to secure her older son a job on the show, and came around to do a spot on the show the following week -- after a three-month engagement at the Desert Springs, Vermont Humane Society -- to see how he was doing.
With two sons interested in science and performing, perhaps both of their fathers were scientists. Zelda Rose could also have been a scientist -- ornithologist, perhaps? -- putting herself through school performing in clubs. If she was a "Ms." as Ms. Muncho in the library sketch, then Rose might have been a stage name, possibly her original married name, which would make Beaker's father Dr. Rose and Beaker likely a nickname, with his real name probably being something like Bernie Rose.
Beaker was likely a rather shy child, but I think still would've been a good big brother to rambunctious little Phil, sharing their love of science, with Phil's early experiments likely blowing up his hapless older brother. Striking out on his own might have been a good way to stay out of harm's way... if he hadn't ended up with more of the same in Dr. Honeydew!
As Beaker worked on "The Muppet Show", young Phil started to come of age, finally visiting the show toward the end of its run and meeting his future working partner (and briefly brother-in-law) Mulch. With "The Muppet Show" ending and Mulch needing a new gig just as Phil was ready to strike out on his own, they hit it off and started making plans to go into business together, whether it be science, show, or both as it turned out!
While we've never seen Beaker & Phil interacting, maybe someday we'll get a glimpse into any connection addressing any possible family connections, what with Beaker looking so much more like Phil's mother than Phil does (I guess he takes after his father!)