Favorite little moments and details

[Borples]

There's so much going on in Fraggle Rock. The wonderful people who made the show had four seasons to really explore the Fraggles and their world. I wanted a thread where we can mention the little things that caught our notice--either tiny character/puppetry moments, little throwaway lines, blink-and-you'll-miss it details in the scenery--you know, the good stuff!

I'll start out with one I caught yesterday. In 'Boober Rock,' when Boober tells Wembley, "You are a Fraggle who likes to . . . run around yelling 'squeet squeet squat squat.'" Wembley starts to do this little dance, like he just can't help himself. It's adorable.

Anyone else?

 

[charlietheowl]

I have two little moments I can think of off the top of my head, and they both involve little asides from Boober. I love when in Doomsday Soup, after Red explains that his soup can make Fraggles invisible, he says "that's fine if you want an alternative lifestyle". There's something so formal about that phrase that makes me laugh.

And in Uncle Matt's Discovery, when the gang is waiting for Matt to come home, Boober describes the cabbage cake icing as being "aged in small oaken casks" and does this little tiny hand motion to show how small the casks are. Boober, the food snob.

 

[Slackbot]

There are so many little moments in Fraggle Rock that make the characters that much more vivid. One that comes to mind is in Doomsday Soup, when Gobo meets Mokey, Red, and Boober, who had been planning a picnic outside. Gobo greets Mokey and Red, and after an uncomfortable pause Boober says reproachfully "Hi, Boober."

There's some wonderful Boober-Wembley interplay in Scared Silly. Boober leans on Wembley right before telling him it's in the timing, he kisses Wembley on the cheek just to annoy him, and he makes his own "tink-tink-tink" sound effects when sneaking around (which I think is a SST reference, but it's been too long since I watched the show to be sure). It's like Sidebottom is lurking just below the surface in that episode.

 

[PanthraDion]

Well, in Marooned, when Red and Boober are first trapped, Boober does this little hand motion on the rock next to himself as he is talking to Red. That's really the only one that I can think of off hand right now.

 

[charlietheowl]

There's some wonderful Boober-Wembley interplay in Scared Silly. Boober leans on Wembley right before telling him it's in the timing, he kisses Wembley on the cheek just to annoy him

"It's all in the timing."

 

[bandit]

Ohhh jeeze! Fraggle rock is littered with these moments and touches. That's what I think makes it such a stand out show. I can think of dozens of little double takes or snout wrinkles that crack me up. (Red wrinkling her nose during Wembly's song in Wembly's Wonderful Whoopie Water cause he sings 'I believe in love!' and leans into her. She looks aghast.) It adds personality and realism to each one of these little guys. Okay....here are a couple.
This is a teeny tiny detail but, in the Lost Treasure of the Fraggles when Red and Gobo crash through the wall and are just awestruck by this cave tunnel they've discovered, one of those cave spiders suddenly skitters infront of Red and she does this yelp thing. Gobo laughs but she watches it skitter away and gives this shuddering cry of disgust. It's small but it's SO true!
Another is in the Secret Society of the Poobahs when the gang (sans Boober) is singing 'Keep on Smilin' and Mokey keeps ineffectually trying to interject. There's a moment where it's obvious they are just going to sing and in her frustration, she just waves a hand at them as if to say 'Would you just -look- at this?' It's priceless!

 

[Oscarfan]

Boober's dance in "Music Makes Us Real" from "Mokey and the Minstrels"; I love it.

 

[Borples]

(Red wrinkling her nose during Wembly's song in Wembly's Wonderful Whoopie Water cause he sings 'I believe in love!' and leans into her. She looks aghast.)

That's one of my absolute favorites. He sidles up to her, and she's like, "...yech." I also enjoy that, throughout that entire song, she and Gobo are looking at Wembley like he's completely lost his marbles.

And in Uncle Matt's Discovery, when the gang is waiting for Matt to come home, Boober describes the cabbage cake icing as being "aged in small oaken casks" and does this little tiny hand motion to show how small the casks are. Boober, the food snob.

Ha! I'd forgotten about the oaken casks. And then he has his little connoisseur moment in Wembley's Wonderful Whoopie Water. "An amusing little drink..." He really IS a food snob. Maybe that's why nobody else likes the Doozer stick stewwww. They're just not sophisticated enough to appreciate it.

Well, in Marooned, when Red and Boober are first trapped, Boober does this little hand motion on the rock next to himself as he is talking to Red. That's really the only one that I can think of off hand right now.

Great one, it's a classic. Dave even talks about it in the DVD extras. Apparently, he moved some of the crew to tears. I also love at the end of that ep, after they've been rescued and all of the Fraggles are dancing and singing around Boober, he throws his head back and laughs for joy. It's beautiful.

There's some wonderful Boober-Wembley interplay in Scared Silly. Boober leans on Wembley right before telling him it's in the timing, he kisses Wembley on the cheek just to annoy him, and he makes his own "tink-tink-tink" sound effects when sneaking around (which I think is a SST reference, but it's been too long since I watched the show to be sure). It's like Sidebottom is lurking just below the surface in that episode.

Another classic! I could watch Boober and Wembley interact all day. As a matter of fact, I think I might have done.

How about Mokey using her baloobius as a paintbrush in 'I Want To Be You'? (note: I always thought it was "beluvious" or similar, but I trust the wiki.)

 

[bandit]

Oh oh! Speaking of painbrushes! In "A Brush With Jealousy" the scene where Mokey is showing off her painting and the brush begins to lose control....The way the Red and Peddly lurch back away from her as she swings the brush their way is hilarious! I love it.

And yeah! The bit in "Marooned" is great. Boober's got some great little moments like that too. He's pretty funny.

 

[AlittleMayhem]

I'm very VERY new to Fraggle Rock (I was born way too late to watch it) but I have seen a few episodes and I like it so far. It has a certain sweet and mystical feeling about it that you don't see in Sesame Street or The Muppets. I love the Fraggles' naivety towards what little they know of the human world and their culture, while goofy, is utterly fascinating. And the songs are great, too.

As for little moments...hmm, I'd say the character introductions for Gobo's friends in the first episode. Watching these characters within a few seconds, I knew Boober was the worry-wart, Wembley was the excitable one, Red was the tomboy and Mokey was the dreamer. Their interactions were just perfect, you can really tell that they've known each other for a long time the first time you see them. That, for me, is a sign of great story-telling.