Little things we've noticed

[clipjj27]

I saw the "Jazzy Triangle" segment just now, and I seem to sort of recognize the voice of the triangle. Was the triangle voiced by Casey Kasem? The triangle's voice sounds sort of like Casey, who did a number of animated segments in the first two seasons, and if I remember correctly, the ":Jazzy Triangle" segment was likely first aired in Season 1 or 2 - when Casey Kasem was actively doing new segments.

I could be wrong, but I think somebody posted in a YouTube comment that the triangle was voiced by Buddy Hackett. Again, just going by what I think I remember 'off the top of my head.'

 

[minor muppetz]

Recently, it was discovered that the little monster in the first season “here and there” sketch was named Billy. Until recently, he had been listed on the wiki as Baby Monster.

the name Billy was also used for the little monster in the remake with Grover and Herry. I guess maybe that’s why he was named Billy there (and hey, in the original, Cookie Monster was called Harry, maybe that’s why Herry was in the remake!). And Billy Monster was named Baby Monster in a couple of scripts (but never referred to as such in dialogue).

 

[TimzUneeverse]

Today, the wiki released screencaps for show 1656, and for the "picture shape find" scene, it uses the same picture that was used in show 1914. I wonder if the Sesame producers were running out of ideas which led them to using the same picture for a newer episode.

Coincidentally, both episodes aired in March.

 

[minor muppetz]

For the Sesame Street version of "Mahna Mahna", Bip Bipodotta (if we want to consider him that character for the song) looked and sounded less like Mahna Mahna than he would in all future appearances. The Sesame version came first, just a little before the more famous rendition of the routine. But it is interesting that they would later have a character resembling Mahna Mahna for a select number of songs.

The biggest similarities between 1969 Bip Bipodotta and later ones are the biggest differences between him and Mahna Mahna. The hair is most similar to the three, even if it is brown in the first bit. The first one dressed completely different (in a stripped shirt as opposed to a furry green outfit), had regular eyes, and had eyebrows. When Bip appeared later on, he would have visible eyes and those eyebrows for his nest two appearances, before they dressed him in sunglasses (with no blinking ability). And in the 1969 segment, his voice is a lot lower than both Mahna Mahna's and the later Bip Bipodotta.

Considering the first season commonly used puppets that already existed, it's a wonder they didn't just use the same Mahna Mahna puppet that would be used on The Ed Sullivan Show.

The first season had two bits that were part of Silly Song Time - "Before and After" and "Up and Down". Silly Song Time appeared a third time in the second season, for a remake of "Before and After". While referred to as "Silly Song Time", I don't think the lyrics are really silly. It's the cut-aways that are silly or unusual, but nothing to do with the lyrics.

I wonder if "Surprise" was originally meant to be part of Silly Song Time and then wasn't. The various cut-aways to various locations and honorary short bits, along with the music stopping as these scenes happen, goes well with the remake of Before and After. I also wanted to point out that "Surprise" is sung by a group of hippies/Monotones precursors, like both versions of "Before and After", but "Up and Down" does not feature hippies.

For a while I have wondered if there should be a Silly Song Time page on the wiki, but now I wonder if there should be a page for Muppet songs that had cut-aways to other locations and such (that could have easily been their own unrelated bits). I don't know what one would call such a page. It also seems like there are some segments with "quickies" in the title, which seem to focus on a subject but cut to different characters, showing scenes on the street as well as scenes on a limbo set or other sets. Of course the many celebrity montages do this kind of thing as well.

 

[LittleJerry92]

To be fair, the regular Mahana Mahna didn’t exactly have a consistent voice when you compare the puppet appearing with shorter hair to later appearances with longer. And I’m fairly certain “Surprise” was just meant to be a regular stand-alone song that just happened to have cutaways, no different than the “Yucky/wonderful” song. I think the only reason “Before and After” was remade was to rid of the Buddy cutaways (though admittedly I was a little disappointed to see the opening was so rushed in the remake).

 

[LittleJerry92]

Okay wow, I thought I had posted this comment in this thread…. Whoops.

On the subject of the pre-Monotone hippies though, I am curious to know if the Grover exit segment was filmed before “The Word” because it seemed like earlier season 2 segments with those characters had the dashiki-wearing hippie with wild black hair (regardless if he may have been lavender in “Surprise!”) then switched up to the moppy red hair that would become Jerry’s trademark hair, or if that skit was filmed after that song and it was just a case of going back to black for one last time before the red hair became the permanent one.

 

[minor muppetz]

When Jerry Nelson was interviewed for Toughpigs, he said that he stopped performing Snuffy because he was a major character on the street and Nelson was spending a lot of time in England doing Sesame Street (though there is the fact that Richard Hunt performed the puppetry for one season and would have to balance The Muppet Show and Sesame Street, and Michael Earl has said that he lip synced to Jerry Nelson live on set). For years it had been reported that Michael Earl was heard as Snuffy for two seasons, and recently the wiki has noted that it was actually just season 12 where Michael Earl was heard as Snuffy.

I wonder if that makes more sense, that Earl would start doing the voice and puppetry for the season when most of the main classic performers were not really on the set that much for new material, especially street scenes.

Actually, during seasons 10, 11, and 12, a number of Jerry Nelson's more minor street characters were recast to other performers. Both Michael Earl and Brian Meehl performed Sam the Robot in season 10 (Sam hadn't appeared for a season or two), Michael Earl took over as the silent Slimy and as Poco Loco (who had not apepared for two seasons), and Brian Meehl started performing the Mud Man (I should check, but I think Meehl's performances as the character came after Michael Earl left, at that point it seems Jerry Nelson was on the show more often again). I think Richard Hunt also performed Tough Eddie in one episode from this time.

It seems there have been a lot of characters with a consistent performer to have other performers do them for an appearance or two, often really minor characters who made sporatic appearances, but some seem to have been more consistently used as well. Clementine just changed performers a few times, it seems like a few people filled in for Goldilocks when Camille Bonora was doing the character and then others took over after she left, Dolly Parton was first voiced by a singer before Fran Brill took over but occasionally others have filled in, the generic Countess has had a number of performers along with Camille Bonora and Fran Brill. In addition to the ones I mentioned doing Sam, Caroll Spinney performed him at least once. I wonder if the wiki should have a sandbox page for these kinds of one-episode recasts, though I don't know what kind of title to use.

 

[YellowYahooey]

I checked out Muppet Wiki over a period of time, and discovered a familiar pattern regarding the "Scanimate kids intro".

I discovered that "Scanimate kids intro" was likely a lead-in into segments in which there is at least one kid or person with a disability of some form. One of the girls in said intro appeared to have Down's syndrome. Said intro led into inserts, street scenes, and muppet and kid moments. Among the segments that such intro led into were ones involving Jason (from the "D for Doggie" sketch on the Season 10 premiere) and Ernie doing their "10-Q" bit (didn't Jason have Down's syndrome?), kids performing stretching exercises with an off-camera male voiceover from Episode 1708 (were at least one of the kids disabled?), kids with intellectual disabilities performing gymnastics at a Co-op camp, and the film segment involving wheelchair races at a Special Olympics competition.

Please correct me on this matter if need be.

 

[dvakman]

Yes, I picked up on that pattern as well.

 

[Jared DiCarlo]

I checked out Muppet Wiki over a period of time, and discovered a familiar pattern regarding the "Scanimate kids intro".

I discovered that "Scanimate kids intro" was likely a lead-in into segments in which there is at least one kid or person with a disability of some form. One of the girls in said intro appeared to have Down's syndrome. Said intro led into inserts, street scenes, and muppet and kid moments. Among the segments that such intro led into were ones involving Jason (from the "D for Doggie" sketch on the Season 10 premiere) and Ernie doing their "10-Q" bit (didn't Jason have Down's syndrome?), kids performing stretching exercises with an off-camera male voiceover from Episode 1708 (were at least one of the kids disabled?), kids with intellectual disabilities performing gymnastics at a Co-op camp, and the film segment involving wheelchair races at a Special Olympics competition.

Please correct me on this matter if need be.

That was indeed the intention. Here’s what Muppet Wiki has to say:
“The curriculum for Season 7 focuses on children with learning disabilities through segments based on research by the Joseph P. Kennedy Foundation. The segments will be presented each Wednesday during the first 20 minutes of the program focus on physical activities mixed with some simple cognitive skills.”