why were there three gordons?

[BEAR]

I agree. I was taken in for a second, but the more I thought about it, the less believable it sounds. Was there ever really an explanation of how he changed though? Or did they just put the other guys on without anybody making a mention of that.

Also I realize that Gordon's not the only character that was played by more than one actor. (Ex: Miles, Gabi, Mr. Hanford) But there is quite a difference in the appearance of the Matt Robinson Gordon and the Roscoe Orman Gordon. You'd think they'd make some mention of why his appearance changed so children watching would understand.

In fact, did they ever explain why Oscar's fur changed from orange to green or how Big Bird's appearance changed? Thought I'd ask about those things while we were on the subject.

What would they say, Gordon had plastic surgury? And sure, Big Bird has changed his look a little but he still looks like Big Bird either way, he doesnt look like a completely different person.

 

[BEAR]

I don't think there are too many differences. hal Miller pretty much looks like matt Robinson without a mustache, and Roscoe orman looks like matt Robinson without hair. For the third gordon, they could have used the replacement as an opportunity to talk about being bald.



I think I have read that it was explained that oscar went on vacation to the swamp and it was so muddy that his fur changed overnight. I don't think the secodn Big Bird looks too different from the original, so it probably didn't need to be mentioned. I think his personality was just changed, but he had the same basic look, and isn't too different from the various ways that ernie, bert, cookie monster, grover (not counting the green grover), herry or elmos looks have changed.

Elmo hasn't really changed. He just looks a little bigger now. He has "Grown up" in a way. But he still looks the same.

 

[minor muppetz]

Elmo hasn't really changed. He just looks a little bigger now. He has "Grown up" in a way. But he still looks the same.

I was referring to the minor changes in these characters, like how most of the monsters had had longer or shorter fur at times, or how their fur has sometimes been a little brighter or darker.

 

[BEAR]

I was referring to the minor changes in these characters, like how most of the monsters had had longer or shorter fur at times, or how their fur has sometimes been a little brighter or darker.

Gotcha!

 

[Censored]

I have to disagree about Hal Miller looking like Matt Robinson. I don't think Hal Miller looked anything like Robinson with or without a mustache. At the age of five, I knew immediately that Hal Miller was a "new Gordon." Miller certainly didn't look like Orman either. On the other hand, I do think Roscoe Orman looks similar to Matt Robinson. When Orman came on the show, I thought (for a very long time) that he was the "original Gordon" come back with a bald head. Hal Miller seemed to be the most different of the three Gordons.

 

[Censored]

It's not that unusual to have different actors playing the same characters on a television show with no explanation. Soap Operas do it all the time. Several sitcoms have done it as well, such as the famous change of Darrins on Bewitched, two Marilyns on the Munsters, two Chris Partridges on the Partridge Family and many other examples. Personally, I never thought that a change of actor always needed an explanation. It takes a little while to get used to, but then the new actor becomes the character. On Sesame Street, they probably figured that this was particularly non-problematic since new kids were always starting to watch the show while older kids (supposedly) stopped.

 

[Censored]

I was referring to the minor changes in these characters, like how most of the monsters had had longer or shorter fur at times, or how their fur has sometimes been a little brighter or darker.

I know. I've often wondered why they felt it was necessary to change the muppets' looks so often. Granted, eventually, the material would wear out and need to be replaced, but they always changed their looks too. Ernie and Bert have gone through numerous changes throughout the years; the changes were gradual and small, but after it was done, if you compare their look today with their look in 1969, they could almost pass for different characters. Herry Monster went though several changes too. I wonder how they decide that a nose is going to be shortened, color changed, etc. and why.

 

[mikebennidict]

huuum. haven't noticed to much differences in E&B except Ernie had a different shirt the 1st season.

 

[BEAR]

huuum. haven't noticed to much differences in E&B except Ernie had a different shirt the 1st season.

It was in the faces basically. Ernie's look didn't change quite like Bert's. Fine an old picture of Bert and hold it up to a picture of a current one. You'll see a difference. I think he might of been a little taller, but basically his face was more "pliable" and expressive then. His eyebrows might have been a little less maintained too.
As far as Ernie goes, I see a lighter orange in the current, and I think the original Ernie was a little more grinny.

 

[minor muppetz]

I know. I've often wondered why they felt it was necessary to change the muppets' looks so often. Granted, eventually, the material would wear out and need to be replaced, but they always changed their looks too. Ernie and Bert have gone through numerous changes throughout the years; the changes were gradual and small, but after it was done, if you compare their look today with their look in 1969, they could almost pass for different characters. Herry Monster went though several changes too. I wonder how they decide that a nose is going to be shortened, color changed, etc. and why.

Whenever the puppet builders rebuild characters, I wonder if they even try to make them look as close to the previous versions as possible. I think that the most obvious changes (like how orange oscar became green oscar, or gonzos appearance change between the first and second season of The muppet Show) were done on purpose. There was an interview with Jim Henson where Jim Henson said that it is really hard to duplicate a character that has already been made. I wonder if the anything muppets have consistant looks.

I wonder why it is easy for the looks to match when the muppets are in full-body shots. The puppets usually don't havew legs in close-up shots, and they are rebuilt whenever full-body shots are needed, but i think they look the same throughout those productions (for example, most of the main muppets are seen in full-body shots in The Great Muppet Caper, but I don't notice any change in appearance between the close-up shots and the full-body shots).

Oddly enough, with the exceptions of the orang eoscar and the first green oscar (which was shaggier), I can't seem to tell any differences between any of the oscar puppets. Is it really easy to remake oscar?