outside the family...

[minor muppetz]

Many fans see the Muppets as being like a close family. The writer of Muppet Robin Hood mentioned this in his Tough Pigs interview, when discussing the difficulty of casting Muppets as villians. Jim Lewis also kind of commented on this in the Ask Jim Lewis thread, when asked about Fleet Scribbler.

Now, though the Muppets ar elike a big family, which characters would you consider to be "outside the family"? Characters who might be weird to see just hanging out with the Muppets.

I already mentioned Fleet Scribbler. I am unsure of JP Grosse... In a way, he should be considered family... He's Scooter's uncle, and during the 1990s it was common for him to be part of the background in various productions... But then again, he's more of the theater owner than part of the Muppets.

The Gogalala Jubilee Jugband could also fit this category. During the first season it was rare for any of them to be seen outside of their own numbers. They were rarely backstage or in front of the curtain, they were never in At the Dance or any non-Jugband contexts.

And there's also the Gorilla Television crew from The Jim Henson Hour, Zhondra, Chip and Ubu, though Chip and Zhondra have occassionally been seen in the background of later productions (though Zhndra was renamed Darcy).

 

[GonzoLover85]

What about Muppet Newsman?

Outside of his broadcasts he was rarely seen.

 

[minor muppetz]

What about Muppet Newsman?

Outside of his broadcasts he was rarely seen.

I don't know whether he'd be considered "outside" the muppet family. It was rare for him to be seen outside of a news reporting context. Outside of the opening and post-TMS productions he wasn't even just in the background very much.

But then there are quite a few characters who were rarely seen in just the background. While many were in the opening, most of their appearances were about them. They were the stars of their sketches, or a scene might be about them. Characters like Marvin Suggs and the Muppaphones, Louis Kazagger (was there some kind of Muppet conspiracy where those involved with the news had to be the center of attention?), Uncle Deadley, the talking Houses (though it would be weird seeing them in a group or crowd of Muppets), and Sam the Eagle. But I would consider most of those to be part of the "family".

Marvin Suggs seems to be more of an "outside character". Most of his appearances are his own on-stage performances, and they seem to just be gigs. He was rarely seen in the background on The Muppet Show, but after the show ended he was occassionally seen in the background. For example, he travels with the other Muppets to Fozzie's mom's house in A Muppet Family Christmas. There are quite a few characters in that special who aren't in the truck at the beginning, but are later seen in the background at the farmhouse, with no direct mention of their arrival, but Marvin Suggs was on the truck at the beginning.

 

[PurpleHonker]

The Koozebanians aren't going to leave Koozebane to hang out with Muppets. Similarily so, Dr. Strangepork and Link Hogthrob would look odd standing around in their spacesuits with a bunch of other Muppets.

 

[GonzoLeaper]

I would definitely consider Sam the Eagle to be part of the Muppet family. Maybe on Uncle Deadly and some others. But even so, there's no reason why they couldn't hang out with them. If the Christmas celebration at Fozzie's mom's house had so many "outsiders" there- maybe it was the kind of thing that Kermit invited all the regular acts at The Muppet Show to come out to. Thus, Marvin Suggs and the Muppaphones hitched a ride and perhaps others showed up later on their own.
Of course, that's from a storywise standpoint. From a reality standpoint, I suppose popular Muppets (either to the audience or maybe just to the Muppeteers personally) were used to be filler and/or background characters. And probably give some of the fans somewhere a thrill in seeing one of their favorites included.