Synopsis: Someone is stealing Red’s radish bars while she sleeps. She investigates to find the culprit and takes them to justice. But not like that.
Many of you may be thinking that you remember this episode fondly. It’s the one where Inspector Red goes before the Hall of Justice to make false accusations and learns not to jump to conclusions until she has all the information. Well, unfortunately, I’m here to tell you that it’s not that one. In fact, those aren’t one episode at all and neither of them are “Red-Handed and the Invisible Thief.” One is a first season episode: “I Don’t Care” and one is from the yet-to-be-reviewed season five, “Inspector Red.” That’s right. Inspector Red, the icon, doesn’t show up until the last season.
So what does this episode have if not these memorable moments? Instead of investigating the missing Fraggle horn, Red investigates her missing radish bars, which she presumes were stolen. She approaches possibly every Fraggle in the rock and asks them to swear on her trophy that they didn’t steal the bars. For a few of the residents, she outright accuses them of the misdeed. After setting a few traps that lose even more radish bars (this time Mokey and Wembley’s) she concludes that Mokey must be the perpetrator of the crime.
Red brings the matter before the Omnipotent, Venerable and Eminent Council of Sages (A shame this didn’t make a comeback in Back to the Rock, it really rolls off the tongue.), a group that appears to be similar to the Hall of Justice in that they have a fun song to begin meetings and supposedly help with disputes that take place in the Rock. But don’t forget that since the council is a Fraggle institution, they must also be very silly. They clap their feet, really like to each lunch and, in the end, don’t provide the structure or consequences that this episode needs in order for it to come together, feel satisfying or stick in the brain for 40 years.
The two episodes I referenced earlier are more well-remembered because the aspects that they share with this episode are used to greater and more lasting effect. We remember the Hall of Justice because all the Fraggles are participants in it. They contribute to it, giving it understood rules and expectations and making it useful to the situation. We remember the investigations of Inspector Red because she wears a fabulous outfit, and she talks to people as characters with motivations that very well might drive them to commit theft. There’s tension and stakes. In “Red-Handed and the Invisible Thief,” however, it’s fairly obvious from the beginning that Red’s assumptions are going to be wrong at every turn.
And that point is why more people need to remember this episode.
A couple of years ago, Ryan Roe wrote an article for ToughPigs called Rowlf the Dog Is the Worst Muppet: It’s Time to Admit the Truth. He wrote this article because a common issue he sees when monitoring the ToughPigs social media is that people prefer to interact and comment even when they’ve only read the article’s headline. These people are so eager to have all the answers that they contribute without first taking the time to get to know the situation as it’s laid out. And while usually (obviously not in Ryan’s article) a good headline will tell you the purpose of the article as well as some salient information if it’s breaking news, (no clicking necessary) the likelihood that someone is able to contribute to a meaningful discussion without reading the article is incredibly low.
And while Ryan’s article is silly and meant to bring smiles, how many times on social media or in family discussions that delve into politics and global concerns do people jump in with their opinions-framed-as-facts only to cause harm to those around them, spread misinformation or as an excuse to make themselves to center of attention? The answer is entirely too many. So let’s spoil the ending of this episode for all of those conclusion-jumpers out there. The thief was Red herself. So maybe reflect on your motivations before jumping into a conversation without further context.
Strongest Moment – Despite the silliness of the Eminent Council of Sages and the initial reaction from Venerable Sage Hambo to declare the whole thing an open and shut case, I do appreciate that V.S. Lambo brings the whole thing back to reality. He speaks in clear language about how serious it is to accuse someone without proof and puts direct questions to Red. This leaves no doubt for viewers that even though Red is one of the heroes of the show, she is not making good decisions in this episode.
Weakest Moment – Uncle Traveling Matt gets a free watch… and then proceeds to run into walls because he thinks the watch hands are signposts. I guess this was meant to reflect on the overall story by saying that if your experiments don’t confirm your theory, you should throw out the theory and start over.
MVF (Most Valuable Fraggle) – Giving this one to Mokey, a really good friend in this episode. She helps Red with her plans, tries to make her feel better by giving her a gift, defends Red to Lanford and doesn’t let Red get away with treating her poorly. And at the end Mokey forgives Red despite the rash accusations.
First Appearance Of… – Venerable Sages Lambo, Hambo and unnamed third Sage who wear silly jester hats and outfits, scream about lunch then are never seen again.
Musical Highlight – While “Sweet, Sweet Little Treat” and “The Hum Song (Hold Each Other’s Noses)” are both fun and ear-wormy, I want to bring attention to the background music. While these interstitial sounds have been used before in other episodes, and probably to similarly great effect, in this episode they are absolutely key to setting the mood before anything even happens. As we descend into the Rock after the opening Doc and Sprocket bit, the music is calm, but slightly eerie, portending the scream that’s about to wake everyone up.
Coolest Puppetry Effect – There are a lot of bits with Fraggles popping up in fun places. From using the remote controlled Red in a long perspective shot, to shoving Gobo into a rock to hide from the possible thief, the puppeteers and writers were really having fun with the show at this point.
Darkest Moment – Read these lyrics from “The Hum Song:” “Well we got ourselves a problem that just won’t quit/and we haven’t got a clue what to do with it/do we cover up our eyes with our hands and think of death’s cruel sting/Oh no” And this is an upbeat song.
Fraggle Lore – The Omnipotent, Venerable and Eminent Council of Sages appears to be a group of Fraggles who were formed to ferret out evil and wrongdoing within the Fraggle community. And I guess they did a really good job of it, because they seem confused when Red comes to them with a problem that would be a big deal if true.
Obscure Character Watch – One of the singing clams from Uncle Matt Comes Home returns to help sing “Sweet, Sweet Little Treat.”
One More Thing… – Boober: “Sweets rot your teeth.” What teeth, Boober?
Okay, One More Thing… – I’m going to put the conspiracy theory out there that Pokemon stole the idea for the legendary Pokemon Zacian from Sprocket in this episode.
Click here to think of death’s cruel sting on the ToughPigs discord!
by Katilyn Miller – KTLyn@ToughPigs.com
