Click here for original audio.
Transcription provided by Katilyn Miller.
Hubba-Wha?! Episode 309 – Party Like It’s 1999
[Clip from Elmo in Grouchland plays]
[birds cawing]
ELMO: Elmo doesn’t think he’s on Sesame Street anymore. Mm-mm.
[Door opens]
BROWN GROUCH: Hey, Red. You’re in Grouchland.
BROWN GROUCH 2: Which just happens to be the greatest place on Earth!
FEMALE GROUCH: A place where you can kick off your shoes and… [sniffs] smell your stinky socks!
BROWN
GROUCH: Oh, no. I think I feel a song coming on.
ALL
GROUCHES: Yuck!
[Clip ends]
[Hubba-Wha?! Theme music intro plays]
BECCA PETUNIA: Welcome to (in echo sounding voice) Hubba-Wha?! (in normal voice) a muppet quiz show brought to you by ToughPigs.com. It’s your favorite quiz show that’s not like the others. Here, Muppet fans, Muppet professionals and everyone in between competes for fabulous prizes and to see who’s this week’s Toughest Pig. I’m your host Becca Petunia of ToughPigs.com.
And tonight, we’re going to party like it’s 1999. That’s right. Today’s episode is all about the year 1999. You know, throughout history, most years see the release of zero theatrical Muppet movies. And yet 1999 is an outlier because there were two theatrical Muppet movies released this year. Both Muppets from Space and The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland, and yes, I have to use the full title at least once, came out in 1999.
You know, it’s been said by some, not by ToughPigs’ own Anthony Strand, but by some, that 1999 was the best year ever for movies. Or at least the year that really changed the course of what today’s cinema would look like.
And I was doing some reading and it turns out that that’s entirely because of Muppets from Space and The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland.
[Anthony laughs]
BECCA: Because these movies were massive critical and box office successes and I’m sure that that’s true. And you guys don’t need to look it up. I’m sure it’s true.
So today I’ve planned an entire episode of questions about what the Muppets were up to in 1999. Now, I was alive in 1999, but I was only eight in 1999 so I don’t remember it perfectly. So I had to head to Muppet Wiki to learn what I needed to help write the questions for this episode. Plus, because we’re talking about a year of great movies, I turned to IMDb and to Box Office Mojo. So, speaking of, let’s agree to play fair today. Please don’t look at Muppet Wiki or any other resource during this game. Anyone who breaks this rule will be imprisoned in the COVNET facility for scientific testing.
Anyway, before we hop in the old time machine, let’s meet our guests. As always, we’re going to play our first game (in echo sounding voice) To Tell a Face. (in normal voice) Contestants, buzz in to answer some questions about yourself. Whoever buzzes in first will get introduced first.
Ready? Go.
[Buzz in ding]
BECCA: All right, that is ToughPig’s own Anthony Strand. Anthony, what’s your name?
ANTHONY STRAND: Anthony Strand.
BECCA: ToughPig’s own Anthony Strand?
ANTHONY: Sure, that’s my title but we can say it’s my name, sure.
BECCA: [laughs] So, Anthony, everybody knows you. Certainly everyone listening to this podcast knows you. You’re a long-time writer for ToughPigs. You co-host ToughPigs’ flagship podcast Movin’ Right Along: a Muppet movie podcast brought to you by ToughPigs.com.
ANTHONY: [laughs] It’s true. I do.
BECCA: Which is a fabulous podcast, and is basically, easily in my top two favorite podcasts.
ANTHONY: Oh good. It’s in my top… I don’t know…53?
BECCA: Okay, I’ll keep that in mind. So the point I’m making is everybody knows your history with the Muppets. Everybody listening knows your history with the Muppets and if they don’t, there’s hours and hours of stuff they can listen to that’ll explore that. I know all about how you first watched the Muppets on reruns on Nickelodeon at your grandmother’s house and the rest is history.
ANTHONY: (laughing) It’s true.
BECCA: So I’m not going to ask you your history with the Muppets and instead I’m going to ask you a simple question. Anthony, do you wake up in the morning mean and grumpy and do you frown at everybody that you see? And Anthony, do you like your oatmeal nice and cold and lumpy?
ANTHONY: (in normal voice) Sure. But I don’t understand that reference. I think it’s something about Bert. I don’t know it.
BECCA: No.
ANTHONY: Is it from Elmo in Grouchland opening song?
BECCA: No, no.
ANTHONY: What is it? I don’t know it.
BECCA: So Anthony, this is a classic Oscar the Grouch song.
ANTHONY: Okay.
BECCA: This is like an Oscar the Grouch song from the 70s.
ANTHONY: I believe you.
BECCA: This is like when we had that long conversation on the group chat about the fact that I thought that “Counting Is Wonderful” was like the most classic Count song ever and you’d never heard it. Anyway, it’s called “The Grouch Song.”
ANTHONY: I don’t know it.
BECCA: Caroll Spinney sings it.
ANTHONY: (laughing) Caroll Spinney sings it.
[Becca laughs]
ANTHONY: (In normal voice) You already said it’s a classic Oscar the Grouch song from the 70s. And now, as though this was additional information, you added, “Caroll Spinney sings it.”
BECCA: Well, it is worth noting that on the Elmo in Grouchland CD, but not in the movie, there is a bonus version of it that is sung by Oscar, Elmo and Grizzy.
ANTHONY: Oh, nice.
BECCA: So, you know, keep that in mind.
ANTHONY: I truly thought you were going to say, “Sung by Mandy Patinkin.” I really did.
BECCA: I wish.
PATRICK COTNOIR: Can you imagine?
ANTHONY: It’d be great. It’d be great. I’m sorry. I really am sorry to ruin the bit. I didn’t know it.
BECCA: Okay, okay, okay, that’s fine. There’s no questions about it because it technically wasn’t in the movie. You’re fine. And Anthony, my third question for you is…Actually you didn’t answer, do you wake up in the morning mean and grumpy and frown at everybody that you see?
ANTHONY: Only on Thursdays.
BECCA: Okay, that’s fair. And Anthony, my last question for you is, did you see either of these movies in theaters in 1999?
ANTHONY: No. I did not see either of them in theaters. I was 14 years old and I broke my leg in June, the same month that Muppets from Space came out. And so I had a broken leg at the time and so I couldn’t go see it at the movie theater. And Elmo in Grouchland, I don’t know. I wasn’t gonna go see that at the theater.
BECCA: Certainly not when you’re 14.
ANTHONY: Not when I’m 14. Exactly. Like I think even if I’d been like 19, I probably would have or something, you know?
BECCA: Fourteen is the exact age where you are not going to go see a Sesame Street movie in public.
ANTHONY: Exactly.
BECCA: I will say, I am pretty sure I saw Muppets from Space in theaters. I know I did not see Elmo in Grouchland in theaters.
ANTHONY: No one did. No one did.
BECCA: Well, we’ll get there. I mean, hold on…Wait, well, by my count, everyone did. And it’s the most successful blockbuster movie of all time.
ANTHONY: [laughs] Uh-huh. Uh-huh.
BECCA: That’s what I read. But anyway, thank you so much, Anthony, for all of those questions and whether or not you’ve heard the classic Caroll Spinney number, “The Grouch Song.”
ANTHONY: I’m certainly going to look it up now.
BECCA: You should. It’s great.
ANTHONY: Sure
BECCA: But you still earn yourself 20 points. Let’s move on to our second guest. Second guest, what is your name?
PATRICK: My name is Patrick Cotnoir and I’m hoping to earn myself 30 points in this opening segment.
BECCA: Oh well, maybe you will. Patrick, you know, you aren’t as regular of a fixture on ToughPigs, so I’m going to ask you first of all I’m going to ask you for our audience, what is it that you do?
PATRICK: Great question.
BECCA: [laughs] Patrick, can you answer that question for me? Because I’m honestly, what do you do? I don’t know if I know.
PATRICK: Yeah, Becca, I’m a producer. I’m a talent booker. I’m a co-host. I work in the comedy world. I do a show called the George Lucas Talk Show with Connor Ratliff and Griffin Newman. I produce a show called Asssscat out at UCB theater in Los Angeles. I book a bunch of podcasts. I work on the Chris Gethard show. I interned at Sesame Street. I sort of, you know, bop around for whoever will give me money, you know?
And I’m hoping to earn 30 points in this opening segment.
[Anthony laughs]
BECCA: Okay, okay, okay. Well, we’re getting close. And how about the Muppets? What’s your history with them? You hear about those guys? The Muppets?
PATRICK: I have heard about them. It would be…this would be tough. This would be a tough show for me to be on if I was like, oh, I don’t know those guys, you know?
[Becca laughs]
PATRICK: No, I was a big Muppet kid growing up. My aunt was very into the Muppets when she was a child and my grandma and grandpa had saved all of her stuff. So I had books and I had toys and I had, you know, VHS tapes from when she was a kid. So the first thing I really remember seeing was either The Muppet Movie or a VHS of the Vincent Price/Alice Cooper episodes of The Muppet Show. There’s like a Halloween VHS. And I just watched those over and over and over again. But they had all those puppets that came out in the 70s. The mass-produced, you know, Miss Piggy and Animal and Rowlf and all those. So I used to play with those a lot as a kid and just never grew out of it.
A couple weeks ago, listeners aren’t able to see this, I finally got a Palisades Kermit. Just the regular Kermit. I never had the naked one. Yeah, so I opened it up. I have a Fozzie and a Scooter and I haven’t been able to open them because I know that once I open them there will be no other ones for me to open in the future and that makes me very sad.
BECCA: You can kind of see, it’s hard but I’m pointing with my pencil eraser at Lew Zealand and Uncle Deadly.
PATRICK: I mean, the kings.
BECCA: Who are over here. You can kind of see.
PATRICK: Listeners, you can’t see this but the Pigs in Space playset is up on a bookshelf behind me.
BECCA: Oh wow, I can see that.
PATRICK: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
ANTHONY: And listeners you can’t see this, but right over there, you guys can’t see it either, but right over there, it’s on my shelf, my VHS shelf, I got Statler and Waldorf sitting in their chairs. Right next to the VHS table, Meet Me in St. Louis.
BECCA: They probably, you know, I bet they would like that movie though.
ANTHONY: They probably would. Yeah, it’s appropriate actually. You know what’s funny is I actually have Grumpy Old Men and Grumpier Old Men on tape. I really should put them next to that, one of those, between the two of them.
BECCA: Didn’t you… We’ll get into that. Was gonna say. And Patrick, did you see either of these movies in theaters in 1999?
PATRICK: Now, look, I hate to one up both of you, but I saw both of these in theaters in 1999. I was trying to remember while you were talking. I know I saw Elmo in Grouchland playing in a movie theater. I don’t know if it was first run or if it was like a summer movie program thing they were doing, where they would like re-release kids movies to, I don’t know, if you read five books, you got a movie ticket or something like that. But I know I saw it in a movie theater within 1999 or 2000. It was within that first year. Because I’m a little bit, the tiniest bit, younger than you guys. So I was still too old but was happy to see it.
I do remember though, I was thinking about this. I grew up in the town where the North American headquarters for Lego was. And we were at like a Lego block party thing. And they were sponsoring a car. It was like an SUV and it had a DVD player inside. Like you could watch DVDs. It would flip down from the screen. It was like super early for that kind of thing, so it’s really crazy that that existed. And I remember they were playing Muppets from Space on the DVD player in there. And I was so excited because I was like, “Mom, I want this car so we can watch the Muppets from Space.” And I didn’t care about the car at all. I just wanted to watch Muppets from Space.
BECCA: And so you also saw Muppets from Space in theaters.
PATRICK: Yeah, yeah, yeah. For sure. Look maybe we’ll get into this later, love Muppets from Space. Easily top tier Muppet movie for me. Yeah.
BECCA: You’re in good company. I feel like, of the ToughPigs, Anthony and I may be the ones who like Muppets from Space the most.
ANTHONY: I think that’s right. I think that’s right. Yeah.
PATRICK: Muppets from Space could be my second favorite Muppets movie, probably, my third favorite.
BECCA: Okay.
PATRICK: I understand that that’s crazy. My ranking is wild.
ANTHONY: It’s like a solid five or six for me.
PATRICK: Still not bad.
ANTHONY: Depending on how I feel about the 2011 movie that day.
PATRICK: Sure sure. I think this is the movie I’d want to rewatch more than a lot of them though, which I also understand is crazy.
ANTHONY: It goes down really easy. It’s so short. It’s the shortest one.
BECCA: sO fun fact, and see, I knew we would get off topic… but that’s what I got into when I invited you two. And this isn’t really off topic, but like off-script is I guess what I mean.
PATRICK: Sure.
BECCA: But when I was a kid, Muppets from Space was the movie I would watch when I was sick. So whenever I was home sick from school, I would put on Muppets from Space. So I’ve seen this movie possibly more than any other Muppet movie.
PATRICK: I love that. I love that. That’s a good choice. I think you made the right choice.
BECCA: Yeah but we’ll talk all about our love or… it’s us on the show…Our love of Muppets from Space.
ANTHONY: I think that’s right. Yeah.
PATRICK: Yeah.
BECCA: We’ll talk about our love for Muppets from Space. And of course, audience’s love for Muppets from Space, the biggest blockbuster of the year 1999. Because yeah, I was looking at a book and it said that the biggest blockbuster of 1999 was a movie about space. And so I didn’t even read the next sentence. I just knew what it had to be talking about.
ANTHONY: Because you said Lost in Space came out in 1998.
[All laugh]
ANTHONY: That’s what happened.
PATRICK: And Attack of the Clones came out in 2002.
ANTHONY: Couldn’t be that.
PATRICK: Couldn’t be that.
BECCA: I thought maybe it was Galaxy Quest but I was like, no, no. Anyway, the point is Patrick, you have earned 20 points but you know what? You’re going for 30 and I forgot to ask another question that I’ve been asking this season.
So both of you, we’ll start with Patrick. Patrick, what pronouns should we use for you on the show?
PATRICK: You can use he/him for me.
BECCA: Okay and Anthony, how about you?
ANTHONY: I too, am a he/him boy.
BECCA: Okay, so you guys both get 10 extra points, bringing you to 30 points.
[Patrick and Anthony laugh]
BECCA: You’d think I’d remember that I added that to my script and yet here we are.
All right, well anyway, now that we’ve met our guests, let’s go back to 1999. Picture yourself in 1999. Bill Clinton is in office. You just rented Donkey Kong 64 from Blockbuster. And of course, the talk of the town are those massive blockbuster smash hits Muppets from Space and The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland. That’s all the town was talking about in 1999.
[Patrick laughs]
BECCA: So let’s relive this conversation in our first game (in echo sounding voice) Can you guess? (in normal voice) In this round, I’ll ask you a grab bag of questions about the Muppets’ two 1999 theatrical films. You’ll buzz in to answer them. It’s basically just how trivia games work. I don’t know. I didn’t need to do anything fancy here. Each of these questions is going to be worth two points. Buzz in to answer but please wait until I finish reading the questions so our friends at home can be nostalgic with us.
Ready?
ANTHONY: Yeah.
BECCA: Let’s go.
[Clip from Muppets from Space plays]
[Beep]
K. EDGAR
SINGER: Rentro.
RENTRO: Yes, sir?
K. EDGAR
SINGER: The remote.
RENTRO: The goat?
K. EDGAR
SINGER: The remote.
RENTRO: The remote. The remote. I thought he said, “The goat.”
[Clip ends]
BECCA: All right, so this question I had to ask because ToughPigs founder Danny Horn said that I had to ask it. What is the name of the character that Bobo plays in Muppets from Space?
[Clock ticking sound]
[Buzz in ding]
BECCA: Anthony.
ANTHONY: Rentro.
BECCA: It is Rentro. To this day, I don’t understand why. And Anthony, I can’t wait until you get to this on Movin’ Right Along because I hope that you will find the answer.
ANTHONY: I hope we can. I hope we can. Yeah.
BECCA: Question two. Elmo’s unwillingness to share which of his belongings forms the main conflict of Elmo in Grouchland?
[Clock ticking sound]
[Buzz in ding]
BECCA: Patrick.
PATRICK: His blanket.
BECCA: It is his blanket. It’s Elmo’s best friend as he says in the opening song to Elmo in Grouchland.
PATRICK: Can I also say, when you were reading those lyrics to the Oscar song, Anthony asked, “Is that from Elmo in Grouchland?” And I nodded vigorously. I watched the movie yesterday.
[Becca and Anthony laugh]
ANTHONY: I’ll admit that I did not rewatch either. I should have.
BECCA: It’s not in the movie, it’s on the CD. It’s on the CD. And I have to say… See here I go again, but that song, it’s kind of weird that Elmo is singing it. But the concept is like Elmo is trying to learn how to be a grouch. And it’s so cute because the song ends and Elmo tries to do Oscar’s laugh and say, “Have a rotten day.” And then Oscar laughs and goes, “Now that’s my boy.” And I just love this idea of Oscar having like a weird paternal side towards Elmo. I don’t know. I always found that very cute.
PATRICK: That’s very funny. That’s the sequel.
BECCA: Yeah.
PATRICK: Louie’s out.
BECCA: Yeah, we’re getting rid of Louie. Question three. Which classic Muppet Show character made his first appearance in Muppets from Space since 1991’s Muppet*Vision 3D, after eight years of neither silent nor speaking appearances.
[Clock ticking sound]
[Buzz in ding]
BECCA: I think Patrick buzzed in. Patrick?
PATRICK: Scooter.
BECCA: It is Scooter. Correct. Here’s a fun question. Where does Scooter appear on Muppets Tonight?
[Clock ticking sound]
[Buzz in ding]
BECCA: Anthony.
ANTHONY: Is he a photograph in like the green room?
BECCA: Yeah. He’s a photograph in the green room or just on the wall of the studio somewhere.
ANTHONY: Sure. That makes sense.
BECCA: Yeah, but no, didn’t even appear in the background Treasure Island, Muppet Christmas Carol and then he’s in this movie.
Question four. What is the name of the tabloid style alien TV show that Gonzo and Piggy appear on?
[Clock ticking sound]
[Buzz in ding]
BECCA: Anthony.
ANTHONY: UFO Mania.
BECCA: It is UFO Mania. Correct.
ANTHONY: My favorite show.
PATRICK: Is it still on?
ANTHONY: Yeah, I’ve seen every episode. 25 seasons.
PATRICK: Is Shelley still there?
[Becca laughs]
ANTHONY: Yeah, Shelley Snipes is still the host. [laughs]
BECCA: She’s doing well.
PATRICK: They got rid of Rob Schneider.
ANTHONY: Exactly.
BECCA: Question five. Though we always just call him Mandy Patinkin, what is the name of the villain of Elmo in Grouchland who, of course, was played by Mandy Patinkin?
[Clock ticking sound]
[Buzz in ding]
BECCA: Patrick.
PATRICK: Huxley.
BECCA: It is Huxley. Mean old Huxley.
PATRICK: Can I bring something up I thought of while I was watching this movie? I watched this movie and I was just like, “What’s Huxley’s deal?” He’s just a guy who lives in Grouchland. And like sort of has the mentality of a child.
BECCA: Correct.
PATRICK: Okay, great.
ANTHONY: [laughs] That’s it!
PATRICK: I was just thinking about it in real life and I was like, how did he get there? I want the origin story. What is Huxley’s deal?
ANTHONY: You should pitch a comic.
PATRICK: Wait, I have a great origin story for him. He’s one of the kids from the early seasons of Sesame Street who accidentally fell down Oscar’s can.
ANTHONY: Oh, there you go. There you go.
PATRICK: I think that’s fun.
ANTHONY: I think you should pitch that comic and write it.
BECCA: Well, listen. All right. Wasn’t there a script for the Sesame Street movie? The third Sesame Street movie that was about how Anne Hathaway was one of the kids from season one of Sesame Street returning to Sesame Street.
PATRICK: Oh, I didn’t know that was the pitch.
BECCA: That was at one point one of the pitches.
PATRICK: Interesting. Interesting.
ANTHONY: Anne Hathaway, a person who’s like born in 1981.
BECCA: Correct.
ANTHONY: Was going to be from season one of Sesame Street.
BECCA: Correct.
PATRICK: Well, the movie took place in ‘83.
[Becca laughs]
ANTHONY: There you go. There you go. Yeah.
PATRICK: David’s back. Everyone’s back. The hot dog guy. Kermit Love, the hot dog guy. All of them.
[All laugh]
ANTHONY: Great. Great. Please.
BECCA: Question six. In Grouchland, it’s against the law to use shampoo. As a result, what do the grouches use to wash themselves?
[Clock ticking sound]
[Buzz in ding]
BECCA: Patrick.
PATRICK: I’m gonna say mud.
BECCA: It is not mud. Anthony, do you know?
ANTHONY: Is it real poo?
BECCA: No, that’s funny. But that’s not really a Sesame Street joke.
ANTHONY: Not at all. Of course not.
BECCA: It’s funny. It’s cheese is the correct answer. Cheese.
ANTHONY: Reminder though, Becca. That is literally a Muppet Show joke. It’s wig racing. Richard Hunt’s character says, “I don’t use shampoo to clean my wigs. I only use real poo.”
BECCA: I don’t remember that. Wow.
PATRICK: Who says that?
ANTHONY: he’s like in, it’s a Muppet sports segment and it’s Richard Hunt as like the wig trainer in wig racing.
PATRICK: Huh. Weird.
ANTHONY: Yeah.
BECCA: I mean it’s a funny joke.
ANTHONY: Yeah.
BECCA: Hey, and also speaking of laws in Grouchland, some of your favorite Sesame Street characters get thrown into jail during the plot of Elmo in Grouchland. What crime do they commit?
[Clock ticking sound]
[Buzz in ding]
BECCA: Anthony.
ANTHONY: It’s like saying hello or something like that.
BECCA: Close, but no.
ANTHONY: Okay.
BECCA: Patrick, do you remember? You watched the movie yesterday.
PATRICK: I watched the movie yesterday. Is it smiling?
BECCA: It is not smiling. It is asking a police officer for help.
PATRICK: I mean, look, Sesame Street reflecting the reality of life as always.
BECCA: (laughing) Question eight. (in normal voice) Kirk Thatcher wrote a similar script to Muppets from Space except his involved Muppets actually going to space. What merchandise was released themed around this script?
[Clock ticking sound]
[Buzz in ding]
BECCA: Patrick, by a hair.
PATRICK: The Welch’s grape jelly jars.
BECCA: It is Welch’s jelly jars. Correct.
ANTHONY: Yeah.
BECCA: We had those when I was a kid.
ANTHONY: I had one of them. I had the Animal one.
BECCA: I think we may have had all of them.
PATRICK: I was at lunch with my friend Brian Lynch the other day and this came up in conversation. And we were both trying to do best offer on Ebay postings for full set of them. And both of us were like, we don’t need these, we don’t have space for them. But we want them.
ANTHONY: Sure.
PATRICK: And I don’t think either of us won.
BECCA: They are pretty cool. Question nine. Gonzo receives a message from his alien brethren in his breakfast cereal, Kap’n Alphabet. Which Muppet character appears on the cereal box?
[Clock ticking sound]
[Buzz in ding]
BECCA: Patrick.
PATRICK: Mr. Poodlepants.
BECCA: It is Mr. Poodlepants. So this is honestly something I never realized until writing these questions.
PATRICK: I never did until you asked the question. I never thought about it.
BECCA: according to Muppet Wiki, it is Mr. Poodlepants. And according to Steve Whitmire, he filmed a scene with Mr. Poodlepants as Kap’n Alphabet who was going to appear in COVNET. It’s on Muppet Wiki.
PATRICK: Oh, he was gonna appear in COVNET?
BECCA: Correct. No explanation of how that makes sense.
PATRICK: Okay. Do you guys know Ken Plume?
ANTHONY: Yeah, sure. Of course.
PATRICK: He used to write articles. He has the cereal box.
BECCA: No kidding.
ANTHONY: Does he really? That rules.
PATRICK: He has the cereal box which is very cool.
ANTHONY: That’s great.
PATRICK: Yeah.
BECCA: Yeah, if you look at it, it is Mr. Poodlepants with a different wig. I never thought about it before writing these questions, but Muppet Wiki has trivia on it.
ANTHONY: I always think about Mr. Poodlepants.
BECCA: Question 10. Hey, for question 10, we’re going to play a mini–
[Clip from Sesame Street plays]
ANNOUNCER: Beat the Time.
[sound effects]
[Clip ends]
BECCA: So we’ll go back and forth, starting with Anthony. Anthony, starting with you, back and forth, name as many of Rizzo’s fellow lab rats as you can.
ANTHONY: Bubba.
BECCA: Bubba is one of them. All right. Patrick, can you name another?
PATRICK: The Birdman.
BECCA: The Birdman is another one of them. Anthony.
ANTHONY: Those are the two I can remember. So I’ll say Shakes.
BECCA: Shakes is correct.
ANTHONY: I couldn’t remember if that was his name.
PATRICK: Is there only one more?
BECCA: No, there are five total.
PATRICK: Oh no. Uh, Fast Eddie?
BECCA: Fast Eddie is one of them.
[Anthony laughs]
PATRICK: I can’t believe I remembered that.
BECCA: And there is one more.
ANTHONY: And it’s Masterson.
BECCA: It is not Masterson. Good guess. Patrick, any idea?
PATRICK: I don’t know.
BECCA: It’s Troy. I have no memory that.
ANTHONY: (laughing) Troy.
BECCA: No memory of there being a rat named Troy, but Muppet Wiki says there is. I should say–
ANTHONY: (singing) Troy and Rizzo in the morning.
BECCA: [laughs] I did not rewatch Muppets from Space to write these questions.
[Anthony laughs]
BECCA: I knew the movie so well and I knew I had Muppet Wiki.
ANTHONY: You didn’t know Troy. You didn’t know Troy, Becca.
BECCA: I had Muppet Wiki.
ANTHONY: Troy Becca. [laughs]
BECCA: I checked Muppet Wiki for that.
PATRICK: I also want to be clear, I did watch the movie today. I do not remember a rat named Troy. I just wanted to put that out.
BECCA: He’s the one who is lifting weights.
ANTHONY: Okay.
PATRICK: Sure.
BECCA: And for the last question in this round, we are going to play a mini–
[Clip from Sesame Street plays]
GUY
SMILEY: Triangle Is Right!
[Clip ends]
BECCA: So there’’s three answers to this one. Buzz in, and you can name as many as you can, but your opponent will be able to steal.
The three inventions Bunsen and Beaker give the Muppets to break into COVNET.
[Buzz in ding]
BECCA: Anthony.
ANTHONY: It’s like invisibility cream.
BECCA: Mmhmm.
ANTHONY: Mind control spray.
BECCA: Mmhmm.
ANTHONY: And door in the jar.
BECCA: Correct on all of them. Nice work.
ANTHONY: And the door in a jar kind of looks like 123 Sesame.
BECCA: It absolutely does.
PATRICK: And the CG of the stuff going up against the door, the wall looks fantastic. And no one should ever question it.
BECCA: Flawless. Remember, this is the same year that The Phantom Menace came out.
ANTHONY: Yeah, it looks like Boss Nass.
BECCA: Yeah, maybe that.
PATRICK: I was gonna go for some Sebulba.
ANTHONY: [laughs] Sure.
BECCA: Yeah, you definitely can’t see them. But I have my Boss Nass and Jar Jar and… [snaps fingers] …one of the pod racers. I can’t believe I’m forgetting which pod racer.
PATRICK: Ody Mandrell?
BECCA: It is not Ody Mandrell.
PATRICK: Mawhonic?
BECCA: No.
PATRICK: Is it Teemto Pagalies?
BECCA: It’s the one…
PATRICK: Is it Ben Quadinaros?
[Anthony laughs]
BECCA: It’s not. I wish it was.
PATRICK: Is it Anakin Skywalker?
[Anthony laughs]
BECCA: Okay. Well, I’d remember if it was Anakin.
PATRICK: Is it Sebulba?
BECCA: No, I’d remember that one too.
ANTHONY: She said Sebulba.
PATRICK: Is it…Let me guess this. I really want to get this. Is it… God, who’s left? Is it the one who goes [makes whining droning sound] and then hits the rock?
BECCA: It’s the little one with really long arms, but who isn’t Sebulba?
PATRICK: Oh, yeah, I don’t remember who it is. Oh, oh! Yeah, I don’t remember who it is.
BECCA: Well, here’s why I’m embarrassed. I have to Commtech chip on my keychain for my house keys.
PATRICK: Uh-huh.
BECCA: So in theory, I see the character’s name every day.
PATRICK: Sure.
BECCA: And in practice, I do not remember.
PATRICK: Gasgano.
BECCA: That’s his name. Gasgano.
ANTHONY: I have one Star Wars action figure. I own one. It was a gift from my Movin’ Right Along co-host, Ryan Roe.
BECCA: Mmhmm. I know him.
ANTHONY: It is Dexter Jetster.
BECCA: Good choice. Good choice.
PATRICK: Good figure.
ANTHONY: It is.
BECCA: Yeah. No, these were all a gift from my sister. You know, found for a buck at a thrift store type thing.
ANTHONY: Sure.
BECCA: Like nobody wants Gasgano. Anyway, clearly as evidenced by the Gasgano on my shelf over there, we haven’t left 1999 yet. And neither have the Muppets. Because again, it was a huge year for them. Two new smash hit movies, 30 years of Sesame Street, Muppets Tonight not on TV. What a wonderful year for the Muppets (laughing) it was. I can’t even say that with a straight face.
PATRICK: Some might have been in repeats by then.
ANTHONY: Yeah it was on the Disney channel by then.
PATRICK: It was on Disney channel.
BECCA: (in normal voice) Okay. Okay.
PATRICK: New episodes of Muppets Tonight not being produced.
BECCA: No. So that’s why we’re going to play a new game called (in echo sounding voice) 99 Pieces of Cheese on the Wall.
(in normal voice) It’s a game where I ask you trivia questions about the year 1999. I don’t think I can ever use this game again in any other episode.
[Anthony and Patrick laugh]
BECCA: It’s not my most versatile game. Each of these questions will be worth two points. Again, wait until I finish reading them to buzz in.
Here we go.
[Clip from Muppets from Space plays]
RENTRO: Oh, uh, problem there, sir. You remember those parking tickets you asked me to take care of for you? And I said that…
K. EDGAR
SINGER: Oh, just say it.
RENTRO: Car’s impounded.
[music]
RENTRO: Oh, We can take my company car.
K. EDGAR
SINGER: Fine.
RENTRO: Great.
[car sounds]
RENTRO: (singnig) 66 bottles of beer on the wall. 66 bottles of beer.
K. EDGAR
SINGER: Excuse me.
RENTRO: You take one down.
K. EDGAR
SINGER: Excuse me! Can this thing go any faster?
RENTRO: (in normal voice) I’m going 30.
[horn honks]
RENTRO: (yelling) Hey, you want to slow down there buddy! (in normal voice) A lot of traffic tonight, sir. Safety first.
[Clip ends]
BECCA: Question one. In 1999, season 1 of this acclaimed Henson TV show premiered on the Syfy network.
[Clock ticking sound]
[Buzz in ding]
BECCA: Anthony.
ANTHONY: Farscape.
BECCA: It is Farscape. Question two. Sesame Workshop’s co-owned television channel premiered at the start of the year. What was it called?
[Clock ticking sound]
[Buzz in ding]
BECCA: Patrick.
PATRICK: Is it Noggin?
BECCA: It is Noggin. Correct. Question three. This 80s Jim Henson series had its first VHS releases in 1999.
[Clock ticking sound]
[Buzz in ding]
BECCA: Anthony.
ANTHONY: The Storyteller?
BECCA: It is The Storyteller. Correct. Question four. In an episode of Bear in the Big Blue House from this year, which of Bear’s friends form a secret society called the Toileteers?
[Clock ticking sound]
[Buzz in ding]
BECCA: Patrick.
PATRICK: Is it Pip and pop?
BECCA: It is Pip and Pop. Correct.
[Anthony laughs]
BECCA: Fun fact about that episode that I have to say here because lord knows when else I’m going to get to say it. Mitchell Kriegman, creator of Bear in the Big Blue House said that that episode was created during a point at which Bear in the Big Blue House was so respected by Disney that he could get away with murder.
[Patrick laughs]
BECCA: He wrote the episode. Disney said that he could not air it and he said this is educationally relevant. Got educators to back him up and Disney was forced to air the toileteers episode of Bear in the Big Blue House which they did not want to air.
PATRICK: Oh, that’s so funny.
BECCA: Question five. Sesame Street’s 30th season ended in 1999. This was the final season of credited work for which Sesame Street crew member?
[Clock ticking sound]
[Buzz in ding]
BECCA: Anthony.
ANTHONY: Jon Stone.
BECCA: It’s not Jon Stone.
ANTHONY: I think. I think I know who it is.
BECCA: Patrick, do you know? I don’t know if I know. Oh, Joe Raposo?
BECCA: It’s not Joe Raposo. Anthony, do you know?
ANTHONY: Is it Jeff Moss?
BECCA: It is Jeff Moss.
ANTHONY: Yes. I realized as soon as I said.
BECCA: Yeah, he died around this time.
ANTHONY: Right.
BECCA: Question six. In January 1999, we met the most infamous Sesame Street character of all. Who is this new character, who holds the honor of being the only recurring Sesame Street character that Elmo actively dislikes.
[Clock ticking sound]
[Buzz in ding]
BECCA: Patrick.
PATRICK: Rocco.
BECCA: It is Rocco the Rock. First appearance, January 1999. Question seven. In the TV special CinderElmo, this golden globe-winner played the role of Princess Charming.
[Clock ticking sound]
[Buzz in ding]
BECCA: Anthony.
ANTHONY: Keri Russell.
BECCA: It is Keri Russell. Correct.
ANTHONY: Star Wars episode 9 star Keri Russell.
BECCA: Correct.
PATRICK: Show some respect. Zorii Bliss.
ANTHONY: Oh, sorry. Saw it once.
BECCA: Would you believe I still haven’t seen it?
ANTHONY: That’s fine.
BECCA: (laughing) Yes, I know.
PATRICK: No comment.
[Becca and Anthony laugh]
BECCA: Listen, this is not a Star Wars podcast, even though I was just talking about Gasgano. Question eight. 1999 was truly Elmo’s year. He appeared singing “Do You Hear What I Hear” on this celebrity’s Christmas album.
[Clock ticking sound]
[Buzz in ding]
BECCA: Patrick.
PATRICK: Rosie O’Donnell!
BECCA: It is Rosie O’Donnell. Correct. Patrick, did you actually know that or was that a guess?
PATRICK: You know I had that CD.
[Becca laughs]
PATRICK: Come on.
BECCA: Oh, Patrick.
PATRICK: Also featuring Billy Joel.
[Becca and Anthony laugh]
BECCA: Patrick, you truly are in a league of your own. Question nine. In the 1999 book The Muppets Mixed Up Christmas, Piggy can’t find her Christmas decorations. Things get even worse when her friends try to help because they can only find…?
[Clock ticking sound]
[Buzz in ding]
BECCA: Anthony.
ANTHONY: Her extensive wardrobe.
BECCA: [Laughs] No. What? You don’t know this one? Patrick?
PATRICK: Five million dollars in a paper bag on the side of the road.
[Becca and Anthony laugh]
ANTHONY: I’m actually going to take issue with the question. Because the question was “Miss Piggy’s friends help her.” Miss Piggy doesn’t have any friends. Famously she hates everyone but herself and Kermit who she only likes for sexual purposes. She has no friends and she never has
[Becca laughs]
PATRICK: I do think I know what it is.
BECCA: Okay, so hold on. I can throw this out and give neither of you points which is what I was going to do, anyway. Patrick, do you have a guess?
PATRICK: Rosie O’Donnell!
[Anthony and Becca laugh]
BECCA: Oh, Patrick, you truly are in a league of your own.
PATRICK: There’s no crying at the mixed-up Christmas.
[All laugh]
ANTHONY: Betty Rubble is here.
BECCA: Yeah, the problem is, I can only think of one Rosie O’Donnell movie.
PATRICK: Harriet the Spy.
ANTHONY: Yeah, and it’s Wide Awake, M. Night Shyamalan debut.
BECCA: Which we all definitely watched.
ANTHONY: Everyone saw Wide Awake when she plays a nun.
[Patrick laughs]
BECCA: Anyway, the answer is, as you’d know if you looked at the cover…
[Anthony laughs]
BECCA: The answer is, as you’d know if you looked at the cover of (laughing) The Muppets Mixed Up Christmas. I don’t know why this is funny to me. (in normal voice) The answer is, as you know, if you looked at the cover of The Muppets Mixed Up Christmas, the answer is decorations for all the other holidays.
[All laugh]
ANTHONY: That’s why it’s mixed-up.
BECCA: Yes.
ANTHONY: Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler’s overwhelmed by how mixed up this is.
[Becca laughs]
BECCA: The final question in this truly, truly, I have no idea what’s going on in this round. Another Christmas book from the same year, A Very Muppet Christmas contains Muppet-themed parody lyrics for classic Christmas carols. The Statler and Waldorf song is a parody of “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” and it is called “Please Rest Ye…?”
[Clock ticking sound]
[Buzz in ding]
BECCA: Wait, Patrick. Did you?
PATRICK: I did. I did. Sorry.
BECCA: I think that was you. Yeah. Do you know the answer?
PATRICK: Isn’t it… Is it grumpy gentleman?
BECCA: It is grumpy gentlemen.
PATRICK: I think I had this book. You started saying that and I was like, “Wait, I know what this is. Yeah.
BECCA: Yeah. Now I want this book and I need to record them all.
[Anthony laughs]
BECCA: Anyway, now you have some things to discuss at the next 90s themed party you go to. And hey, as long as we’re in a time machine, let’s play our favorite time-themed game…
[Clip from Sesame Street plays]
ANNOUNCER: Beat the Time!
[Sound effects]
[Clip ends]
BECCA: Idris Elba. Zooey Deschanel. Hugh Jackman. Alia Shawkat. Zach Galifinakis. Michael B. Jordan. Bobby Moynihan. What do these actors have in common?
ANTHONY: They were all on TV.
BECCA: Yes. But no, they all had their theatrical film debuts in 1999.
PATRICK: Really?
ANTHONY: Interesting. Wow.
BECCA: Yeah. Wikipedia has a list of this and it was super interesting. There was a ton. That was only some that I thought were the most surprising to me.
PATRICK: What was Bobby Moynihan in in 1999?
BECCA: I have no. How old was he in ‘99?
ANTHONY: He’d be like in his… he’d be in his early 20s, right?
BECCA: Yeah.
ANTHONY: Wasn’t he born about 1975?
PATRICK: He probably would have just been out of high school-ish. I mean now I have to look. I’m sorry.
BECCA: It’s okay. We’ll get into what the trivia is, but…
PATRICK: Yeah.
BECCA: Alia Shawkat was definitely young in 1999.
PATRICK: She must’ve been a child.
ANTHONY: Because she was on State of Grace not that long after that though. When’s that? That’s 2002?
BECCA: This is theatrical film debuts we’re talking about.
ANTHONY: 2001.
PATRICK: I feel like she was a kid in a movie like if you there’s like a…
ANTHONY: She clearly was, yeah.
BECCA: Yeah because…
PATRICK: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
BECCA: She’s like my age. So she was definitely not even a teenager at the time.
ANTHONY: No, she’s got to be older than you because Arrested Development starts in 2003. And she’s like 15, 14 there. I mean, right? She must have been born in the late 80s. ‘88. ‘89 would be my guess.
BECCA: Yeah, ‘89. So she’s two years older than I am.
PATRICK: It says he’s in something called Nine the Hard Way.
[Anthony laughs]
PATRICK: which only has him and one other man in the cast.
[Anthony laughs]
PATRICK:So I’m genuinely not sure what that is.
ANTHONY: It’s probably like some short he made in college or something, you know?
PATRICK: Yes. Yes.
BECCA: Well, listen, Wikipedia says that 1999 was Bobby Moynihan’s theatrical film debut.
PATRICK: The year of Moynihan.
BECCA: (laughing) Yeah, that’s what we called it. I remember everyone was talking about Bobby Moynihan.
[Patrick and Anthony laugh]
BECCA: (in normal voice) I said, “This man one day will appear in two separate live Muppet shows.
ANTHONY: Can we talk…as long as we are digressing talking about Bobby Moynihan, it always makes me sad that there’s no pithy clip of Bobby Moynihan on Larry King. And now it’s too late because we got Ben Schwartz getting Larry to do a Sonic voice and we got Danny Pudi, saying, “Larry, I’m on DuckTales.”
PATRICK: Yeah.
ANTHONY: And we don’t have Bobby. Moynihan, the third nephew, saying anything to Larry and it’s a tragedy.
PATRICK: I wonder if he ever met Larry. Next time I see him, I will ask him if he ever met Larry King.
ANTHONY: Let me know. Please, let me know.
PATRICK: Going to add an addendum to this podcast.
ANTHONY: It’d be great.
BECCA: Patrick, next time you see him, can you ask him about the movie he was in in 1999?
PATRICK: I was almost typing up a text message the moment you were saying it.
BECCA: And I do have to say, if you want to hear more from Bobby Moynihan on this very podcast feed, he recorded an episode with our friends Joe Hennes and Jarrod Fairclough for their podcast To Introduce Our Guest Star.
ANTHONY: He was the titular “guest star.”
BECCA: He was.
ANTHONY: Joe and Jarrod were the titular “our.” Oh, were you gonna say that? I’m sorry.
BECCA: It’s okay. I was gonna say they were the titular “to introduce,” so yours was better.
Anyway, so if Idris Elba, Zooey Deschanel, Hugh Jackman and Co all had their theatrical film, debuts in 1999, that got me thinking. Which Muppet and Sesame Street characters made their theatrical film debuts in 1999. That’s why in this round of (in echo sounding voice) Beat the Time, (in normal voice) you’ll take turns naming existing Muppet or Sesame characters who made their theatrical film debuts in Muppets from Space or The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland.
Now, be careful. I’m only counting named characters who had previously appeared on Muppet TV shows, or on the television show Sesame Street. I’m not counting new characters like Grizzy. Unnamed characters like the many alien Gonzos. Or, and this is important, the various puppets from The Animal Show like D’kembe the Gemsbok who just kept appearing in stuff in this era and technically are characters, but no one is going to guess Custer the Bison.
[Anthony laughs]
BECCA: So we are going to exclude those characters.
ANTHONY: My favorite thing about this is no one is going to guess this. But I have to make it clear that you can’t guess this.
BECCA: Because no, no, because you guys weren’t going to, but there’s somebody at home.
ANTHONY: Listening, somebody listening, right. Right, right.
BECCA: Someone wrote the article about D’kembe the Gemsbok on Muppet Wiki.
ANTHONY: It’s true. It’s true.
BECCA: So someone knows him. And let me tell you, I sat there and I said, “Oh. That explains the random Gemsbok waiting in line to see a mall Santa in the Bear in the Big Blue House Christmas special.” So I could now suddenly care more about this African antelope than any other Muppet. But I won’t.
[Anthony laughs]
BECCA: So depending on how you count it, there’s somewhere between 17 and 20 named characters from Muppet TV shows and from Sesame Street, who had not appeared in theatrical movies before appearing in either one of these films.
In classic Beat the Time fashion, we’ll go back and forth between the two of you to see who can name more. If you can’t remember one or you get the answer wrong, your opponent will have a chance to steal. So, we are going to start with Anthony. Anthony, name a Muppet or Sesame Street character who made their first film appearance in 1999.
ANTHONY: Dr. Phil van Neuter. Gotta start there.
BECCA: Dr. Phil van Neuter. Correct. Patrick.
PATRICK: I mean, starting so strong. Johnny Fiama.
BECCA: Johnny Fiama. Correct. Anthony.
ANTHONY: Sal.
BECCA: Sal Minella.
PATRICK: But–
ANTHONY: That puppet is played by Jerry Nelson in Muppet Treasure Island.
BECCA: Good point.
ANTHONY: That is not the character. It is not.
BECCA: Okay, listen. Good point. And here’s what’s funny. Here’s what’s funny. I made that distinction for some of the other characters, forgot to for Sal. Good for you for catching that, but I am going to let.
PATRICK: We just needed…We needed to have the conversation.
ANTHONY: Sure. No, no. I get it. I get it.
PATRICK: Clear the air.
BECCA: D’Kembe the Gemsbok agrees.
ANTHONY: I can just so clearly see the Sal puppet, Jerry Nelson’s voice coming out of it saying, (imitates puppet voice) “The devil himself would have to call him scum.” That ain’t Sal. Come on.
PATRICK: You pitch that a little higher and that sounds like Sal, your version of it.
ANTHONY: My version. Okay, let’s see, I’ll try to do it like Jerry Nelson, (makes noises) I can’t do it. (imitating Jerry Nelson) “The devil himself would have to call him scum.”
BECCA: That was pretty good.
ANTHONY: Okay.
BECCA: You got a whole season of that coming up.
ANTHONY: Can’t wait, that’s my favorite song in that movie.
BECCA: That’s going to actually be the theme song, right? For this season of Movin’ Right Along?
ANTHONY: You know. Good question. I don’t know. I hope so.
BECCA: Is you singing just that.
ANTHONY: [laughs] It’s going to be me singing “Love Led Us Here.”
BECCA: All right, the point is there is another character…Spoilers. There are other characters on that list who fit a similar bill to Sal.
ANTHONY: And we’re counting that or not?
BECCA: We are counting Sal. I forgot to put an asterisk next to him but I put an asterisk next to these other characters. Patrick.
PATRICK: Bobo the Bear.
BECCA: Bobo the Bear.
PATRICK: Asterisk.
BECCA: One of the ones who has those asterisks because he is in Muppets Take Manhattan, but with different eyes and not Bobo the Bear. Anthony.
ANTHONY: Right. He also does the honeypot dance in the theatrical film Mr. Willoughby’s Christmas Tree.
BECCA: Not a theatrical film.
ANTHONY: [laughs] I know.
PATRICK: I’ve never seen that.
ANTHONY: Oh it’s…you gotta see it. It’s bad really fun way. It’s like it’s a real good bad.
BECCA: I have not seen it either.
PATRICK: Great. When you start breaking it down minute by minute, I’ll come on.
ANTHONY: All right. I can’t wait. Can’t wait. No, Pepe. We didn’t say Pepe, yet.
BECCA: We did not say Pepe. Anthony is correct. Pepe. Patrick.
PATRICK: Chip.
BECCA: Chip. Correct.
ANTHONY: Oh, good one.
BECCA: Anthony?
ANTHONY: So I’ll switch tracks, Baby Bear.
BECCA: Baby Bear. Correct.
PATRICK: I mean, if we’re going for Chip, you might as well say Zondra.
BECCA: Zondra is also there. Correct.
ANTHONY: [laughs] Might as well.
PATRICK: Might as well. Get it out of the way.
BECCA: Or, at the time, Darci.
ANTHONY: Darci from Muppet Real World.
BECCA: Mmhmm. Anthony?
ANTHONY: Yeah, let’s say. I mean Zoe.
BECCA: Zoe. Correct.
ANTHONY: She’s in that movie. Yeah.
BECCA: Patrick.
PATRICK: Rosita.
BECCA: Rosita. Correct.
ANTHONY: Let’s see. So other Sesame ones. So, this might be wrong but I don’t think he’s in Follow That Bird. Mr. Johnson.
BECCA: Mr. Johnson is not in Follow That Bird. Correct. There is like a Waiter Grover scene at the beginning of Elmo in Grouchland.
ANTHONY: Right.
BECCA: Patrick.
PATRICK: Is Zippity Zap?
BECCA: Zippity… Hold on. Why don’t I have Zippity Zap on my list? Because he is definitely…
ANTHONY: He’s like on the beach. Isn’t he?
PATRICK: Yeah, yeah.
BECCA: He is definitely there. I’m gonna double check but I think I just forgot to write him down.
PATRICK: I think he’s on the beach.
BECCA: Yep. So I will definitely give you a point for Zippity Zap. Anthony.
ANTHONY: Let’s see. Not Telly because he’s in Follow That Bird.
BECCA: He sure is.
ANTHONY: Pretty prominently.
BECCA: He was a fairly new character for Follow That Bird.
ANTHONY: Right, right. Yeah, yeah. Elmo’s in Follow That Bird very briefly. So it’s not Elmo.
BECCA: That’s why we can put him on the DVD box, Anthony.
ANTHONY: That’s right. That’s right. I’m trying to think. Is like Roxie Marie in it?
BECCA: Roxie Marie is not in it. I’m sorry.
ANTHONY: She’s not? Okay.
BECCA: So we’re gonna go back to Patrick.
PATRICK: I think his name is Carter.
BECCA: His name is Carter.
ANTHONY: [laughs] Yeah, he’s brushing his teeth.
BECCA: Listen, listen, Carter is one of the other ones I have the two asterisks because Carter was the female Geri and the Atrics member who sings “Days Go Passing into Years” in the wedding scene of Muppets Take Manhattan.
PATRICK: I don’t think I knew that. Wow.
BECCA: Yeah, it’s repurposed.
PATRICK: Sure.
ANTHONY: Yeah.
PATRICK: I wonder if Carter still exists. Probably not.
BECCA: He does.
ANTHONY: We should clarify that we are talking about Howard Tubman’s butler here.
BECCA: Patrick, he’s a woman again in Haunted Mansion.
PATRICK: Oh, interesting.
BECCA: And is listed in the credits as Miss Cartier.
PATRICK: Do you think they rebuilt him? That just feels like so long for that puppet to exist.
BECCA: I have no idea and I don’t know why. Again, and this is me saying this. I don’t know why they keep changing the gender. Anthony. We’re going back to you.
ANTHONY: Okay, I’m trying to think of, I’m sure there’s like someone we… Is Grungetta in it?
BECCA: Grungetta is not but she is in Follow That Bird.
ANTHONY: She is. Sure. Okay.
BECCA: She’s with Luis and Bob at Mr. Hooper’s.
ANTHONY: Oh sure. Yeah, yeah.
BECCA: Holding down the fort.
ANTHONY: Right.
BECCA: At least, I’m pretty sure.
ANTHONY: I think that’s right.
BECCA: I think I’m right. Right. Anyway, Patrick, do you have another guess?
PATRICK: Is Stinky in it?
BECCA: Stinky is not in it.
ANTHONY: Okay. Horatio the Elephant.
BECCA: Horatio the Elephant, not in it. So I think we’re going to have to call it here.
PATRICK: Yeah, I think so.
BECCA: Characters you were missing. We will start with the characters from Muppets from Space. Clifford.
PATRICK: Oh.
ANTHONY: Oh sure. Of course. Wow!
[Becca laughs]
ANTHONY: Wooow!
PATRICK: He tries to hook up with Tom Cruise’s ex-wife.
BECCA: (laughing) It’s true.
ANTHONY: He does. Tom Cruise’s future ex-wife.
BECCA: Future ex-wife. Yeah. (in normal voice) Absolutely.
PATRICK: Her name is Katie Holmes. I don’t want to get backlash for only referring to her as Tom Cruise’s ex-wife. She’s a very talented actress. Should have stayed with the Batman movies. It was a mistake. She’s much better than Maggie Gyllenhaal is in those movies. Sorry.
BECCA: She’s also just pretty good in other stuff too. But yes.
PATRICK: 100%.
BECCA: Listen. It was funnier the way that you delivered the line.
ANTHONY: I liked it when she sang “On My Own” at the talent show.
BECCA: I would have counted.
ANTHONY: Was I the only one who watched Dawson’s Creek?
BECCA: Correct.
PATRICK: Yes.
BECCA: See it’s because we’re younger.
ANTHONY: I’m older. I’m so much older than both of you. Yeah.
PATRICK: This movie is the most exposure to Dawson’s Creek I’ve ever had.
[Anthony laughs]
PATRICK: This is the most I’ve ever seen those characters talk.
ANTHONY: My brother was like all in on Dawson’s Creek. So like I was in the room. I enjoyed it, but Chris was like, he was all about it.
ANTHONY: It’s one of those things. Like you’re six years older than me. And like, that’s a huge difference when Dawson’s Creek is on air.
ANTHONY: Right. Yeah, yeah. I was 13 when it premiered.
BECCA: And it’s the kind of thing that I didn’t go back. You know what I mean?
ANTHONY: Of course not. Yeah. Right.
BECCA: There’s other stuff that like, oh yeah, I didn’t watch in 1999 that like I watched now and I think is good. I have no desire to do that for Dawson’s Creek.
ANTHONY: All right, well Joey sang “On My Own” at the talent show and she nailed it.
BECCA: Okay.
ANTHONY: All right.
BECCA: That’s a tough song to sing.
ANTHONY: It is! That’s the thing. That’s the thing.
BECCA: I’ve gone back and watched Le Mis. So I know that.
ANTHONY: Sure.
BECCA: And then I would have counted. Although this is what I mean when I said like 17 or 20. I would have counted Andy and Randy Pig and Mr. Poodlepants, because they are like.
ANTHONY: They’re in photographs.
BECCA: They appear in photographs. So if you really wanted to argue, I would have counted that.
ANTHONY: Sure.
BECCA: From Sesame Street, I would have counted, if you really wanted to fight me, the Dingers. I don’t consider them to be named characters but they are not in Follow That Bird. They are only in Elmo in Grouchland. But also would have counted because I never said it had to be Sesame Street Muppets, Gina and Ruthie.
PATRICK: I was gonna say.
ANTHONY: I was thinking about Gina. I forgot about Ruthie.
PATRICK: Me too. Me too.
BECCA: I never said it had to be Muppets. So that’s kind of a trick question. Here’s a fun question that I learned from Muppet Wiki. What is Gina’s last name?
ANTHONY: I knew this at some point.
PATRICK: I don’t know.
BECCA: Apparently it’s Dr. Gina Jefferson.
ANTHONY: Oh, that sounds familiar. Yeah.
PATRICK: Her family had that sitcom. She was the kid on The Jeffersons. Right?
BECCA: Yeah. That’s what it was about.
ANTHONY: Yeah.
PATRICK: She’s moving on up to Sesame Street.
ANTHONY: Yeah, she’s Lionel’s little sister.
BECCA: Anyway, hold on. Let me just calculate the points you each scored.
PATRICK: Oh, I thought you were calculating the edit point for that joke.
BECCA: Yeah, just to edit that out. Oh, I don’t, listen. There’s no joke too stupid for me.
ANTHONY: Yeah, her dad was Earl Sinclair’s boss.
[All laugh]
BECCA: All right. And, Listen, we can all agree there’s no bigger celebrity than Dr. Gina Jefferson. But I think we have to give credit to some other folks in our final regular trivia game. That’s right, it’s time for our favorite celebrity game, and certainly both of your favorite celebrity game, (in echo sounding voice) Mystery Guest.
(in normal voice) You know, like I said before, some people consider 1999 to be one of the most important years for movies. And truly, there were some wild blockbusters this year. Now this may surprise you but neither Muppets from Space nor Elmo in Grouchland cracked the top 12 highest grossing movies for the year.
I haven’t checked. But I think that they’re number 13 and number 14 respectively.
PATRICK: Wow.
BECCA: Yeah, I think so. I haven’t checked.
PATRICK: That’s not bad.
BECCA: Yeah.
PATRICK: If that’s true.
ANTHONY: Well, that’s not true.
BECCA: [laughs] Shh. Shh.
[Anthony laughs]
PATRICK: Let me live in this reality.
BECCA: I’m doing a bit.
ANTHONY: Let me live in the reality where Muppets from Space was number 13 highest grosser for the year.
[All laugh]
ANTHONY: Let me have that.
BECCA: Well, anyway, while the top 12 movies didn’t have any Muppets in them, they do feature celebrities with Muppet connections. So in this round, I’m going to describe a time a celebrity worked with the Muppets, with Sesame Street or with Henson. You’ll buzz in and identify the celebrity. Answer correctly to earn two points.
Here’s the thing. All of these celebrities had a major role in one of the 12 highest grossing movies of 1999. So you will also get a bonus point if you identify the blockbuster film from 1999 that this celebrity appeared in.
I have shuffled the order around. So no, the first question is not going to be about the number 12 or number one film. Anyway, it’ll make sense as we go. Are you ready?
[Clip from Muppets from Space plays]
MARTIN: Now that is TV. The phones are lighting up like Vegas. What power? What heat? You’re a hit!
MISS
PIGGY: Oh, thank you. Thank you.
MARTIN: Not you. Him.
GONZO: Me?
MARTIN: Gonzo. You’ve got it.
RIZZO: Sure wish we could find a cure for it.
[Clip ends]
BECCA: All right, question one. Two years earlier, he played the lead in a film with Creature Shop effects namely the hilarious George of the Jungle.
[Clock ticking sound]
[Buzz in ding]
BECCA: Anthony.
ANTHONY: It’s Brendan Fraser. And it’s The Mummy.
BECCA: It is Brenton Fraser and his 1999 blockbuster was The Mummy. Question two. In 1999’s Muppet parody calendar, Miss Piggy appeared on a parody poster for one of this actress’s most famous films. Namely Piggy Woman.
[Clock ticking sound]
[Buzz in ding]
BECCA: Anthony, again, by a second. Anthony?
ANTHONY: It’s Julia Roberts.
BECCA: Mmhmm.
ANTHONY: Piggy Woman star Julia Roberts.
BECCA: It is Piggy Woman star.
ANTHONY: It’s Notting Hill?
BECCA: It has not.
ANTHONY: Is Notting Hill in the top?
BECCA: It is not Notting Hill. Not Notting Hill. Patrick, can you steal?
PATRICK: Is it Gary Marshall’s own Runaway Bride?
BECCA: It is Gary Marshall’s own Runaway Bride.
ANTHONY: Wow.
PATRICK: Yep.
ANTHONY: I guess so yeah. I’m surprised that was the bigger hit of the two, honestly.
BECCA: I mean, again, I just looked this up on–
ANTHONY: People were so excited to see Gere and Roberts back together again.
BECCA: Question three. Alongside Bobo the Bear, he played an angry airport security guard named Officer Meany in letters to Santa.
[Clock ticking sound]
[Buzz in ding]
BECCA: Patrick.
PATRICK: Nathan Lane.
BECCA: It is Nathan Lane.
PATRICK: I don’t think I know the movie though.
BECCA: Anthony, any guess.
ANTHONY: 1999?
BECCA: Mmhmm. I will tell you he is not the lead.
ANTHONY: The Lion King is much earlier. Nathan Lane. I can’t even think of anything. Producers is later.
BECCA: Here’s a clue.
PATRICK: Lion King 1 and 1/2 is later.
ANTHONY: Yeah. Lion King 1 and 1/2. What a great movie. Birdcage is earlier. That’s like ‘96, right?
BECCA: Here’s a clue: The sequel to this movie featured–
ANTHONY: Oh, it’s Stuart Little!
BECCA: It is Stuart Little, Anthony. You got it.
ANTHONY: He plays the cat.
BECCA: He does play the cat.
PATRICK: Written by Rosie O’Donnell’s friend.
ANTHONY: M. Night. Yeah.
BECCA: Him and Elmo. Question Four. He guest starred on Sesame Street as one of his famous characters, helping Telly create the totally excellent video show, Telly’s Town.
[Clock ticking sound]
[Buzz in ding]
BECCA: Anthony.
ANTHONY: So that’s Mike Myers.
BECCA: That is Mike Myers.
ANTHONY: And it’s Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me.
BECCA: Correct.
ANTHONY: A movie that made something like four times as much as the original.
BECCA: Correct. That one is in the top 12.
ANTHONY: Yeah, it was massive.
BECCA: Question five. Since he also had another ABC show at the same time as the Muppet sitcom, he appeared in the second episode, “Hostile Makeover,” to torment Kermit on the ABC Lot.
[Clock ticking sound]
[Buzz in ding]
BECCA: Anthony.
ANTHONY: It’s Laurence Fishburne.
BECCA: It is Laurence Fishburn. Anthony, the movie?
ANTHONY: It’s The Matrix of course.
BECCA: It is, of course, The Matrix.
PATRICK: I know this sounds like the most basic complaint ever, but my letters are not sending.
[Becca laughs]
PATRICK: I have to hit it like four times for it to go. Okay, we’re gonna try this again.
BECCA: Okay, okay. Question six, prior to appearing in this film, This character appeared in a variety of computer generated inserts for Sesame Street.
[Clock ticking sound]
[Buzz in ding]
BECCA: Anthony.
ANTHONY: Hey, Arnold. [laughs]
BECCA: It is not Hey, Arnold.
ANTHONY: I don’t know what it is. Because we’ve been saying actors and now you said, “This character.”
BECCA: I know.
ANTHONY: So this feels like it’s from a different game.
PATRICK: It’s not Stephen Root as Milton from Office Space?
[Anthony laughs]
BECCA: It’s not Stephen Root as Milton from Office Space. The correct answer is Luxo Jr.
PATRICK: Oh.
ANTHONY: As in Toy Story. As in the Luxo Jr. short.
BECCA: As in Toy Story 2. Question seven. He appeared on Sesame Street to sing the Emmy nominated song about Elmo where he played guitar and comedically struggled to find words that rhyme with Elmo.
[Clock ticking sound]
[Buzz in ding]
BECCA: Anthony.
ANTHONY: Adam Sandler.
BECCA: That is Adam Sandler. From the movie…?
ANTHONY: 1999. Is it Little Nicky? No.
BECCA: It is not Little Nicky. Patrick?
ANTHONY: Came out in 1999.
PATRICK: Is it Big Daddy?
BECCA: It is Big Daddy.
ANTHONY: That makes more sense.
BECCA: You had the wrong size.
ANTHONY: I had the wrong size. [laughs]
BECCA: You were thinking of a little Nicky.
[Anthony laughs]
PATRICK: Also Anthony, it’s real cute that you thought Little Nicky was in the top 12 of the year.
[Becca laughs]
ANTHONY: No, I knew it wasn’t. That’s why I said, “Is it Little Nicky? No.” Because it couldn’t. Like, no way, man. Like that movie was like, not a hit, right? That’s his first like not hit, right?
BECCA: Even I know that was a flop.
ANTHONY: Yeah. But, I don’t know about this crazy other list you’re looking at, Becca? I don’t know.
BECCA: Yeah.
ANTHONY: For all I know, Little Nicky is number seven on that list. I went to high school with this kid named Josh Chojnacki [pronounced “Shuh-neck-ee”] who used to call himself Little Necky after that movie came out.
[Patrick laughs]
ANTHONY: That’s true.
BECCA: Question eight. She did ballet on Sesame Street while dressed as an elephant.
[Clock ticking sound]
[Buzz in ding]
BECCA: Patrick.
PATRICK: Natalie Portman.
BECCA: It is Natalie Portman.
PATRICK: From Star Wars: Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace.
BECCA: Mmhmm.
PATRICK: Famous friend of Gasgano.
[All laugh]
PATRICK: Hey, do you think they met? Do you think Queen Amidala ever met Gasgano?
ANTHONY: I don’t know. Well, he probably came to the wedding. All those pod racers were at the wedding. Come on.
PATRICK: I would love it if they’re getting married by the lake in Naboo. And the only thing is the camera was not turned around to see Mawhonic and Gasgano.
[Becca and Anthony laugh]
BECCA: Yeah. Wait a minute, Anthony, we know for a fact that only two people were at the wedding.
ANTHONY: [laughs] I know. I know.
BECCA: They were robots. Good friends, Muppet Show guest star and Sesame Street guest star C3PO and R2D2.
ANTHONY: That’s true. Those guys were on that. Yeah. Saw ‘em on that one.
BECCA: Anyway. Question nine. Three years later, he would voice the Creature Shop character Beary Barrington in the greatest film ever released, The Country Bears.
[Clock ticking sound]
[Buzz in ding]
BECCA: Patrick.
PATRICK: Sorry. I hit it so many times because it wasn’t going through. That is Haley Joel Osment.
BECCA: It is.
PATRICK: In, friend of Rosie O’Donnell, M. Night Shyamalan’s The Sixth Sense.
BECCA: True.
ANTHONY: It happened.
PATRICK: Yeah. I talked about that movie a couple nights ago at Asssscat at UCB, the show I do, because the woman who did monologues was this woman named Misty Rosas who plays Kuiil on The Mandalorian, the Ugnaught from season 1. Because she is the in-suit performer for Beary Barrington.
BECCA: No kidding.
ANTHONY: Oh, is that right?
PATRICK: Yeah.
ANTHONY: Cool. Cool. And Haley Joel Osment also went on to create Doze Apples, a craft hard cider.
PATRICK: Really?
ANTHONY: No, it’s on What We Do in the Shadows.
PATRICK: Oh.
ANTHONY: He was the creator of Doze Apples. All right. Anyway.
BECCA: Worth noting. And this will be, I know Anthony knows this but I don’t know if Patrick does. I am obsessed with the movie The Country Bears. I genuinely love it. I just got married a month ago.
PATRICK: Congrats.
BECCA: Thank you. And the last song at our wedding was “Straight To the Heart of Love.” We all danced and sang along to “Straight To the Heart of Love.”
PATRICK: Amazing.
BECCA: People were waving their phones in the air like lighters.
PATRICK: Amazing.
BECCA: It was truly, truly an amazing experience.
PATRICK: That’s great. I love that. Fun, weird movie.
BECCA: Yeah. Anyway.
ANTHONY: Agreed.
BECCA: Question 10. In the open and close episode of Elmo’s World, Elmo’s TV announces that coming up next is the film “Closed Encounters of the Third Kind,” starring this appropriately named actress.
[Clock ticking sound]
[Buzz in ding]
BECCA: Anthony.
ANTHONY: Glenn Close.
BECCA: It is Glenn Close.
ANTHONY: 1999 though. Oh, Tarzan.
BECCA: It is Tarzan.
ANTHONY: She’s Tarzan’s mom. Yeah.
BECCA: She is Tarzan’s mom.
ANTHONY: Kala is going to be his mother now.
BECCA: I couldn’t do Rosie O’Donnell. That would have been too obvious and believe it or not the others don’t seem to have any connections. I couldn’t find a Minnie Driver.
ANTHONY: Wayne Knight never worked with the Muppets?
PATRICK: What’s Wayne Knight in?
BECCA: He’s in Tarzan.
PATRICK: That’s right.
ANTHONY: He’s the elephant. He’s the elephant in Tarzan. But then, maybe he doesn’t. He just seems like someone who would’ve crossed paths with them at some point.
PATRICK: I don’t think he did.
BECCA: I don’t think Wayne Knight does.
ANTHONY: Yeah. Lance Henrikson either. Yeah, who plays Tarzan’s stepdad who hates him. Yeah.
PATRICK: Huge year for Clayton performer Brian Blessed who also played Boss Nass.
ANTHONY: Boss Nass, yeah.
PATRICK: In Star Wars: Episode 1 – Phantom Menace.
ANTHONY: Right. Yeah, yeah.
BECCA: But doesn’t seem to have a Muppet connection.
ANTHONY: He was on Doctor Who. He has that going for him.
BECCA: We talked about Rosie O’Donnell too much so I had to skip Terk.
ANTHONY: Right. Yeah, yeah. Sure. She was trashing the camp.
BECCA: Pepe the King Prawn appeared on a Christmas episode of her short-lived talk show where he was fascinated by the, uh, wreath pattern on this, uh, talk show host’s, uh, chest.
[Clock ticking sound]
[Buzz in ding]
ANTHONY: I think Patrick buzzed in. I didn’t.
BECCA: Did you?
PATRICK: I did. I did.
BECCA: I’m sorry.
PATRICK: That was me. Sorry. Is it Bonnie Hunt?
BECCA: It is Bonnie Hunt. Patrick I was genuinely wondering if you were the one who put that clip on Youtube.
PATRICK: It was not.
BECCA: Okay.
PATRICK: It usually is me but it’s not in this case.
BECCA: Yeah.
PATRICK: Toy Story 2?
BECCA: She’s not in Toy Story 2. But you do get two points. Anthony, what was the Bonnie Hunt blockbuster of 1999?
ANTHONY: 1999? I don’t know. I can’t think of it because Jerry Maguire is earlier.
BECCA: Correct.
ANTHONY: Obviously, which was a big hit. Um, 1999…Bonnie Hunt… Is it an animated movie?
BECCA: It is not an animated movie.
ANTHONY: It’s not Beethoven.
BECCA: That’s earlier too.
ANTHONY: It’s not Rain Man.
BECCA: I should note I have a Beethoven. I don’t think you can see him, but I have Beethoven on my shelf over there.
ANTHONY: That’s 80s robot.
BECCA: Anyway, no idea? The answer is The Green Mile.
ANTHONY: Oh yeah, sure. Huh.
PATRICK: I don’t even remember her being in that but I believe you.
BECCA: Weirdly enough not a lot of Tom Hanks connections with the Muppets.
ANTHONY: Yeah. Right, right.
PATRICK: Which feels like there should be.
ANTHONY: Yeah. He’s definitely one of those guys. He’s one of those guys who, until recently Weird Al was one of them. He was like that.
PATRICK: Yeah. Yeah.
BECCA: And the last question. I do not believe any actors in the 10th highest grossing film of 1999 ever worked with the Muppets. But you should know that the state where it takes place is the same state where Jim Henson went to college and where Kevin Clash was born. What state?
[Clock ticking sound]
[Buzz in ding]
BECCA: Anthony.
ANTHONY: Maryland.
BECCA: It is Maryland. Anthony, what was the 10th highest grossing film of 1999 that took place in Maryland and features no actors with Muppet connections?
ANTHONY: Took place in Maryland.
BECCA: Not a single actor with a Muppet connection.
ANTHONY: It’s a Baltimore movie. I didn’t know David Simon wrote the 10th highest grossing movie of 1999.
[Becca laughs]
PATRICK: I was gonna say it’s The Wire season one.
ANTHONY: Yeah. Right. Yeah, yeah.
PATRICK: That was my joke.
BECCA: Some of them had to have been…some of The Wire cast crossed over.
ANTHONY: Yeah, Michael B. Jordan ever work with Muppets. Seems like he would have. He’s very prominent in season one of The Wire.
BECCA: That’s true. Yes, and this was his first film debut this year.
ANTHONY: He’s in this movie?
BECCA: No.
ANTHONY: Oh, just this was his film debut. 1999, is it… No. He Got Game just takes place at State College. I don’t know. I don’t know what it is.
BECCA: Fun fact, I love this movie. Patrick?
PATRICK: I have no idea.
BECCA: I am talking, of course, about The Blair Witch Project.
ANTHONY: Oh sure. I’ve never seen it. You could have given me a million years and I never would have come up with it.
PATRICK: Yeah.
BECCA: It’s the only time ever that a blockbuster has been released without like a single celebrity in it.
ANTHONY: Right. Yeah. Yeah.
PATRICK: I would not have known that took place in Baltimore either.
BECCA: Anyway, these tenuous Muppet connections are exactly why these movies all did so well AT the box office. And speaking of, you know, you guys got me thinking maybe Muppets from Space and Elmo in Grouchland didn’t do so great at the box office. So while I look that up, why don’t we play a quick round of the (echo sounding voice) Anything in the World Prize Game?
(in normal voice) As you know, in this round, you two will be able to ask me anything in the world, literally, about the Muppets in 1999. Or just about 1999. I wasn’t very clear in my directions. So honestly, this is going to be weird. As always, if you stump me, you will earn 15 points.
Anyway, it’s a really close game, unsurprisingly. Right now, before we enter our Anything in the World Prize Game, Anthony you have 76 points. Patrick, you have 73 points.
[Anthony and Patrick make sounds of surprise and amazement]
ANTHONY: That rules.
BECCA: It’s a close game. So Patrick, why don’t you ask me your question first.
PATRICK: Yeah, so I’m only going to ask you one. I do have four questions.
[Becca laughs]
PATRICK: And I want you to answer the other three once we’re done. They don’t have to count for anything.
BECCA: Sure. You know, that sounds like it could be, we could do it at the end, and that could be some BoCo. [Bonus Content]
PATRICK: BoCo! Okay. I’m going to ask you…Oh god, these are hard to figure out which one you won’t…Okay. Okay.
At the beginning of Muppets from Space, they are all waking up in their house. Rizzo is working out on a mouse trap. Next to him is a letterman jacket. It is a yellow letterman jacket. It is not the jacket that Rizzo was wearing during the rest of the movie. On the back of the jacket it says something. What does it say?
BECCA: You know, I don’t know. And here’s the thing. I can never even remember what it says on the back of Rizzo’s actual letterman jacket.
PATRICK: I don’t think it says anything on the back.
BECCA: No, there is at least one that does.
PATRICK: Oh, really?
BECCA: I think it’s one of those things that like, maybe I’m wrong. But either way, I don’t know. It says, “Cheese for Life.”
PATRICK: {giggles] Shockingly close.
[All laugh]
PATRICK: It says, “The Cheese Wiz Cast and Crew” and it’s like The Wiz.
BECCA: You know, that’s actually decently funny.
PATRICK: Sure.
ANTHONY: Because but also the rats, including Rizzo, did “Ease on Down the Road” on The Muppet Show season 5 .
BECCA: And the rats are the munchkins in Muppets Wizard of Oz. The best movie ever. The third highest grossing movie of all time.
ANTHONY: [laughs] A TV movie that everyone hates. Yes.
PATRICK: I do also want to point out, I was trying to find a photo of it to send to you. Oh, I did find it. Great. But there is a Burger King toy from Europe of Rizzo in the mouse trap and he is wearing the wrong jacket.
ANTHONY: He actually, Rizzo, wears that same Cheese Wiz cast party jacket in Muppet Classic Theater, which I know because we just recorded our bonus episode about it on the podcast.
BECCA: No kidding.
PATRICK: Interesting.
ANTHONY: Mmhmm.
PATRICK: Here, I’m going to send it to you.
BECCA: So, like I see the toy here.
PATRICK: This is the toy. He’s wrong.
BECCA: He is wearing his, that’s his normal like Muppets Tonight jacket.
PATRICK: Yes. Also, I was wrong. The jacket I thought was yellow. In my brain it was yellow, but it’s actually blue.
BECCA: Okay. Well, then it’s unfair and I’m not giving you points.
PATRICK: Okay. Well, then I’m giving you another question.
BECCA: It’s okay. It’s okay. I give you 15 points. Your score is now 88.
PATRICK: Great.
BECCA: Anthony, do you have a question for me?
ANTHONY: I do. So there are 16 puppeteers who are credited on both Muppets from Space and Elmo in Grouchland. Five of them are gimmes: Steve Whitmire, Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Kevin Clash and Dave Goelz. I’m not gonna let you guess those. I know that you know those.
BECCA: Well it is interesting that Dave Goelz.
ANTHONY: I know that you know Dave Goelz plays the giant chicken. I know that you know that, Becca.
BECCA: He does. He plays the giant chicken.
ANTHONY: [laughs] Famous non-Sesame Street cast member, Dave Goelz, is in Elmo in Grouchland as the giant chicken. But of the other 11, there are 11 other puppeteers besides the main characters, credited on both movies. Can you name three of them?
BECCA: Okay. Whoo. Rickey Boyd.
ANTHONY: Okay.
BECCA: Uh…Peter Linz.
ANTHONY: Okay.
BECCA: And I don’t know. Bruce…Bruce Lanoil.
ANTHONY: So you got one. Bruce Lanoil is right.
BECCA: Great. [laughs]
ANTHONY: You got one. So Bruce Lanoil and then Bill Barretta surprisingly is credited on Elmo in Grouchland.
BECCA: No kidding.
ANTHONY: Yeah, so Bill Barretta is one of them. All of the others are people I’ve never heard of, or like maybe seen names in passing. They are John Boone, Lisa Consolo, Rowell Gormon. Rob Killen, Bob Lynch, Ed May, Tim Parati, Andy Stone, and Lisa Sturz.
BECCA: Yeah, see I knew you wouldn’t be asking me this if the correct answer was like Peter Linz, Stephanie D’Abruzzo, and [laughs].
ANTHONY: Right and like those two for example, Peter worked on Muppets from Space. Stephanie worked on Elmo in Grouchland.
BECCA: Correct.
ANTHONY: But not the other one. Yeah, it’s like all of the people you would think. Your Drew Masseys. Your John Kennedys.
BECCA: Yeah.
ANTHONY: All worked on one or the other.
BECCA: Like you’re not asking me those. Yeah.
ANTHONY: Yeah.
PATRICK: I’d assume they have to be local North Carolina or wherever they filmed the movies.
ANTHONY: Yeah. So they shot Muppets from Space in Wilmington and they shot Elmo in Grouchland in Vancouver, I think.
BECCA: Probably.
PATRICK: Was it? I thought it down there too.
ANTHONY: But so that’s why I was surprised that there are like nine puppeteers that I don’t know who they are, who worked on both.
BECCA: Well, here’s something interesting about Peter.
PATRICK: They shot both of them in Wilmington.
ANTHONY: Oh, they did? Well, there you go. Then that’s why.
BECCA: Yeah, those must be locals.
PATRICK: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
ANTHONY: Okay, yeah.
BECCA: Here’s something that’s really interesting about Peter Linz and Muppets from Space that I learned from Muppet Wiki, and wanted to ask, but didn’t.
ANTHONY: Can I guess?
BECCA: Yeah.
ANTHONY: Is it that his voice is in the trailer?
BECCA: It is. Because I knew that a lot of the time the Frank Oz characters were performed by other people and then Frank dubbed the dialogue later.
ANTHONY: In the trailer he says, “My hair looks great.” And it’s Peter Linz.
BECCA: Yeah. It’s honestly not awful.
ANTHONY: It’s not bad. Yeah.
BECCA: I know I never noticed as a kid and I used to watch that trailer all the time.
ANTHONY: Right. A normal person would never notice.
BECCA: Mmhmm.
PATRICK: Yeah.
BECCA: But you can tell. Once you know, you can tell.
PATRICK: That also happens in Elmo in Grouchland. Half of Mr. Johnson’s dialogue is David Rudman.
ANTHONY: Right. Yeah, yeah.
BECCA: Correct.
PATRICK: And I was listening to it and I was like, “This sounds weird. Why does it sound weird?” And then the second half of the line is Jerry Nelson. And I’m like, what happened here?
ANTHONY: Well, they just forgot to dub part of it.
PATRICK: Yeah. Yeah.
BECCA: Yeah, there’s a couple other examples of that happening in movies from this era. I think it happens in…
ANTHONY: We just about it. As I said, we just recorded our Muppet Classic Theater episode for Movin’ Right Along. There’s a brief moment in that where Rizzo runs up to whisper in Kermit’s ear and Rizzo is Dave Goelz because they didn’t dub it.
PATRICK: Huh.
BECCA: Yes, yes. That’s one of the ones I was thinking of.
PATRICK: There’s like a Kevin Clash Statler or Waldorf in Muppets Tonight, I think.
ANTHONY: That would make sense.
PATRICK: Yeah.
ANTHONY: Also, there’s a Kevin Clash Piggy in the “Dancing in the Dark” music video. Piggy has like one or two lines at the end and it’s Kevin.
PATRICK: Weird. That’s weird.
BECCA: Well, Frank wasn’t around much at that time.
ANTHONY: Right.
BECCA: Like he basically all but quit.
ANTHONY: Yeah.
BECCA: But anyway, so Anthony, you have also earned 15 points bringing the score to Anthony 91. Patrick 88. And hold on a second. Let me just check the box office website again.
Yeah, I got bad news for you guys. Muppets from Space and Elmo in Grouchland did not do well.
PATRICK: Oh no.
[Anthony laughs]
BECCA: My whole worldview. Why did I even record this episode? These movies didn’t do well at all.
ANTHONY: Muppets from Space made like 14 million dollars or something? Right?
BECCA: Well here’s the thing.
ANTHONY: Oh, that’s gonna be the question. I’m sorry.
BECCA: Listen. Yeah, it’s almost like I was building to this as my bit.
ANTHONY: Oh no.
[Patrick laughs]
BECCA: No, it’s okay. Well, it’s still anybody’s game. Except Muppets from Space and Elmo in Grouchland. They lost, but it’s still either of your game because we are going to end with our final round, (in echo sounding voice) Say the Word.
(in normal voice) In this round, you can wager any amount of points. The winner will get those points. The loser will lose them. And, well seeing as I just learned these box office numbers, I might as well ask a little bit about that. Box Office Mojo lists the top 200 highest grossing films from 1999 in order from highest grossing to lowest grossing.
Of the two, Elmo in Grouchland and Muppets from Space, which movie ranks higher in total gross, not accounting for the film’s budget? And whichever one you say was higher, I want you to tell me what number it is on the list. So, if number one is The Phantom Menace, number two is The Sixth Sense, you are going to choose either Muppets from Space or Elmo in Grouchland, the one you think is better– er, the one you think did better, and you are going to tell me what number it is on this list.
Whoever chooses the correct movie and gets closest. I don’t expect you, you’re not going to, you know, three-pointer from downtown. You’re not going to do that. I don’t think. But whoever gets closest and gets the correct movie will win their points back. So are we clear on what we’re looking for?
PATRICK: So we’re saying what made more money and what number?
BECCA: Mmhmm.
[Clock ticking starts]
PATRICK: Okay.
BECCA: So it’s a number between 1 and 200, right? I’ll give it away. One is The Phantom Menace. Two is The Sixth Sense. And 200 is Limbo. I will say both of them are between one and 200. Neither of them did so badly that they are not on this list.
[Clock ticking stops]
BECCA: Okay. So, you both have correctly guessed that Muppets from Space did better than the film The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland. And, I did not ask you this because I can only ask you to just randomly guess so many numbers, but Muppets from Space grossed… Anthony, you want to guess?
ANTHONY: Is it 14 million?
BECCA: It is not 14 million.
ANTHONY: Okay.
BECCA: It did better than that.
PATRICK: I was gonna say 15.5.
BECCA: It is 16 million.
ANTHONY: Okay.
BECCA: 16,625,000. Grouchland: 11 million.
ANTHONY: Yeah. Wow.
PATRICK: Hmm. Okay.
BECCA: So honestly pretty similar. Now, each of you guessed that right. But the question is, how well did you think it did in the rankings?
Now I want to be clear, and I should have clarified this, and I don’t think it’s going to change either of your guesses. If it is, I’ll let you know. I’m just literally doing closest. I don’t play by closest without going over rules. Those don’t make sense. I can do subtraction. I can figure out whose number is closer.
Patrick.
PATRICK: Yes.
BECCA: What rank did you say Muppets from Space was on this list?
PATRICK: I said, 118.
BECCA: Okay. And Anthony, what ranking did you say?
ANTHONY: I said, 83.
BECCA: Patrick, you bid 50 points. Anthony, you bid 89 points. Unfortunately, for one of you, and unfortunately for the Muppets, Muppets from Space was not the 83rd highest grossing film of 1999. That was, of course, Arlington Road.
ANTHONY: Oh, with Jeff Bridges and Tim Robbins.
BECCA: I guess. I didn’t see it.
ANTHONY: Yeah. It was a Big Lebowski/Hudsucker Proxy crossover. It wasn’t.
PATRICK: I’d love that though.
ANTHONY: Sure. I wish.
BECCA: I will say it was also not 118. 118 was…Is this a return release? Because I thought this movie did better than that. Hold on. No, I guess it didn’t. 118 on the list is The Rugrats Movie.
ANTHONY: Whoa, whoa. Becca you are looking at calendar grosses not in year releases.
BECCA: Correct. That’s what I’m saying.
ANTHONY: That changes it. I think I’m a lot closer then.
BECCA: Okay, hold on. In year releases.
PATRICK: Oh wow.
BECCA: And then, you know what?
PATRICK: Ohoho.
BECCA: Hold on. Hold on. Thank you.
ANTHONY: Because I hate that about Box Office Mojo. That it defaults to calendar grosses. I hate that about it.
BECCA: Now, this is going to change our answers. This is anybody’s game now, because I don’t even know the answer now. Thank you.
PATRICK: What number did you say, Anthony?
ANTHONY: I said 83.
PATRICK: Okay.
BECCA: Whoa, this is exciting. Even I don’t know who won. You said, 83.
ANTHONY: Mmhmm.
BECCA: Doing some math. All right. Well, let’s take that again. We aren’t going to edit this out because this is too interesting.
PATRICK: Don’t. It’s good.
BECCA: Film 83 was The Bachelor, so not Muppets from Space. And film 118 was Chill Factor.
ANTHONY: The Bachelor is the remake of Buster Keaton’s Seven Chances starring Chris O’Donnell.
BECCA: Is it really?
ANTHONY: To be clear, that’s what The Bachelor is.
BECCA: Oh my god. Oh boy. And I bet it was better than the Buster Keaton version.
ANTHONY: Yeah, I’m sure. Yeah.
BECCA: Yeah. Yeah.
PATRICK: Comedy legend Chris O’Donnell.
BECCA: [laughs] Hey. Hey, that’s Robin to you.
ANTHONY: Yes.
BECCA: No. But Muppets from Space was number 95 on this list.
PATRICK: Wow.
ANTHONY: So I’m way closer then.
BECCA: Anthony is way closer.
PATRICK: Yeah.
BECCA: Swinging it around. Anthony, Anthony, by telling me to use the correct list. Because you are right. Because I was sitting here and I was saying there is no way The Rugrats Movie did that poorly.
ANTHONY: Right. Yeah. Yeah. It was a hit.
BECCA: Everyone saw it.
PATRICK: Yeah.
BECCA: So thank you. But that came out in 98.
ANTHONY: Yeah, in like November or December.
BECCA: Yeah, and it just stuck around.
ANTHONY: Yeah.
BECCA: So thank you for saving yourself here because Anthony, this is now the first actual episode of (in echo sounding voice) Hubba-Wha?! (in normal voice) you have ever won.
ANTHONY: This is my fourth appearance.
BECCA: This is your fourth appearance. Anthony, I don’t believe anyone has appeared more times than you.
ANTHONY: That’s probably true.
BECCA: Possibly Joe Hennes.
ANTHONY: I think Joe’s been on four. I think maybe.
BECCA: Possibly Joe Hennes.
ANTHONY: Yeah.
BECCA: But it’s certainly one of you two. And you two are truly two of my all-time favorite guests but Anthony, you are finally pulled through.
ANTHONY: That was the most thrilling way to win by pedantically being like, “Mmm, Becca, you’re looking at the wrong list.”
BECCA: But this is the one I wanted to look at.
ANTHONY: Right. Right.
BECCA: Again, I didn’t realize. Like I understand the difference. I just didn’t realize that it defaulted to calendar gross.
PATRICK: That’s wild.
ANTHONY: Because it’s dumb. Like it bothers me every time. That’s why I…
BECCA: Yeah, I again, I didn’t even think. But like, no, that doesn’t make any sense. Anyway, Anthony, even if I take away one point from you, you absolutely still win with a score of 180 points.
PATRICK: Wow.
BECCA: Anthony, you win. You know what, Anthony, you know what?
ANTHONY: What? What?
BECCA: So, I finished writing this episode two hours ago.
ANTHONY: Okay.
BECCA: So I haven’t had time to make a prize. So, Anthony, Anthony, you are one of my close ToughPigs pals.
ANTHONY: Mmhmm. Right back at you.
BECCA: You name a Muppet and I will draw that Muppet.
ANTHONY: All right. Do I have to let you know today? Can I think about it?
BECCA: No. You can think about it.
PATRICK: But it makes, it gives the episode a much better ending if you say what it is though.
ANTHONY: All right. Well, you know what? Let’s just call it Digit.
BECCA: Okay, I will draw you a Digit.
PATRICK: Star. Yeah.
ANTHONY: From the Jim Henson Hour. Yeah.
PATRICK: He’s not in Muppets from Space.
ANTHONY: But it kind of feels like he should be. So that’s why.
PATRICK: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
ANTHONY: I wish. I wish.
BECCA: He probably would have fit into the Joey Mazzarino script for Muppets from Space that apparently
ANTHONY: Muppets in Space.
BECCA: Well no. He also, because Kirk Thatcher’s was Muppets in Space.
ANTHONY: Oh, right.
BECCA: Joey Mazz had one that was all just sci-fi movie parodies. Because, I don’t know if you know this about Joey Mazzarino, he likes writing parodies.
ANTHONY: (laughing) I did. I did know that.
BECCA: Of existing films.
ANTHONY: I did know that. Because Digit also receives transmissions from outer space in the first episode.
BECCA: True.
PATRICK: You’re no getting any more points, Anthony.
[Becca laughs]
PATRICK: The game’s done.
[Anthony laughs]
BECCA: And that brings us down to the end of another one. And what a little wild, wild ride it’s been. Oh boy, I can’t believe that I was wrong. And then right, and then right and then wrong. And knowing how Box Office Mojo works was the secret to everything. So, because here’s the thing, Patrick was closer by the calendar gross listing. So Patrick would have been right had we not changed to the accurate listing.
So anyway, Patrick, here’s one prize I will give you. Why don’t you tell us where you can be found if you wish to be found?
PATRICK: Of course. Listen, Becca. I really appreciate you being the electoral college of this show.
[Becca and Anthony laugh]
PATRICK: You can find me on X. @Patrickcotnoir. P-A-T-R-I-C-K-C-O-T-N-O-I-R. I don’t know if anyone’s still on there but you can definitely find me there. I’m also on Instagram @C-O-T-N-O-I-R. You can watch the George Lucas Talk Show. All the episodes are online. We did an episode that’s like 20 hours long where we watched all of Muppets Tonight. Brian Henson was on. Bill Barretta was on. Kevin was on. A bunch of writers, other performers, Leslie, Paul Rudolph were on. So many people were on. It’s great. You should go watch it.
We’re also cited a bunch on Muppet Wiki because of that.
BECCA: Mmhmm.
PATRICK: And it makes me truly–I was reading an article the other day on there and I went, “Wow, that’s an interesting fact.” And I clicked on the citation and it was for my own show and I did not remember that happening.
BECCA: [laughs] Well, it was 20 hours long.
ANTHONY: Right.
PATRICK: It was 20 hours long. It’s a very long show. But it’s worth it. It’s very fun. You can, you know, there’s a bunch of crazy insane people on there that you can watch. Seth Meyers, Weird Al, Whoopi. So many Muppet-adjacent people have been on and I think you will find something that you’ll like.
We’re also going to be… I’ll give a couple ideas. I don’t know when this goes out. Do you have an idea?
BECCA: Probably December.
PATRICK: By December. Okay. Well then if it’s out before December 16th, we have a show in New York at Caveat.
BECCA: I will try to get this out before December 16th.
PATRICK: Great. No rush, either way. The first weekend of February we’ll be at San Francisco Sketchfest. San Francisco. Trying to get a Muppet-related guest. I’ll say that. We’ll see if it happens. I don’t know.
BECCA: Huxley?
PATRICK: It’s going to be Huxley. Yeah. But other shows, other live shows throughout the year. Keep an eye out. And then if you’re in the Los Angeles area, you can come see Asssscat every week, every Saturday at the UCB theater and the second and fourth Sundays of the month as well. But that’s it.
BECCA: Good stuff, Patrick.
PATRICK: Thank you.
BECCA: And Anthony, where can people find you if you want them to find you?
ANTHONY: I am once again out and about. I’ve been using Bluesky or Blueski as I usually pronounce it because it’s one word, a lot lately. And so you can follow me there @durwoodclapper.
[Becca laughs]
ANTHONY: That’s true. And I have been choosing the sensational character find of every year, starting with 1924, and I’m currently up to 1953. So if you want to see what dumb character from some random thing I enjoy the most for each calendar year.
BECCA: Honestly, that’s a terrific idea for social media.
ANTHONY: It’s fun. I’m having a good time.
BECCA: I don’t check my blueski enough. I got to be paying more attention to your listing.
ANTHONY: Yeah, it’s pretty fun. Hopefully I’m way past 1953 by the time this goes out. But that’s where I am right now. So yeah, Durwoodclapper.bsky.social.
And I’m Movin’ Right Along, a podcast that might come back sometime to talk about Muppet Treasure Island.
BECCA: I am waiting with baited breath. Listen, I know you guys, your show is a real bear to produce. Pun intended. A country bear to produce.
ANTHONY: No, it’s actually a bear with a man in his finger.
BECCA: A bear with a man in his finger to produce. But I’m so excited for it to eventually return. It’s really a special show.
ANTHONY: Do you know what happens if we don’t come back?
BECCA: The bad guys win?
ANTHONY: (imitating puppet voice and singing) The devil himself would have to call us scum.
[Becca laughs]
ANTHONY: (in normal voice) That’s all.
BECCA: And yeah, you know, speaking of ToughPigs, you can find ToughPigs at Toughpigs.com, or ToughPigs on X. Or Blueski or Facebook or Instagram. In theory on Tumblr. Although I updated the Tumblr like five times. I made a post saying I’m back and updating the Tumblr. And then I got busy and didn’t update the Tumblr anymore.
PATRICK: Are they on Hive?
BECCA: You know, technically we are on Hive.
ANTHONY: I think we’re on Hive. Yeah.
PATRICK: Threads.
BECCA: Well, we have an Instagram. So we’re on Threads by default. But, yeah. And you know where you can actually really help us is by donating to the ToughPigs Patreon where you could get even more exclusive free stuff. Like maybe some BoCo of Patrick asking me other questions about the year 1999.
We also, of course, have ToughPigs t-shirts, including a Hubba-Wha?! shirt. I made a Monster at the End of This Book shirt that I made. A Tutter Street Trumpet Company Lips t-shirt that I made. Some pride t-shirts that I made. And also shirts that people other than me made, including some Christmas shirts. ‘Tis the season or maybe ‘twas the season. We’ll see when this episode comes out. But you should check them all out on our ToughPigs Teepublic because they’re all really cool.
I’d like to thank some people for helping us out. Of course, both of our guests. Thank you so much. Thank you to Staci Rosen for writing the theme music to the show. Thank you to Richard Gomez for doing our host artwork. Thanks to Katilyn Miller for writing transcripts for the show. Thanks to Joe Hennes, the ToughPigs Muppet fan podcast executive producer. Thanks to me for writing and hosting and editing and all the other stuff for this show. Because it’s always good to thank yourself. And thanks to Rainbow for driving Bunsen and Beaker to the beach.
[Anthony laughs]
BECCA: I should have also mentioned if you want to find me on social media, technically I’m on X @Unclepetunio. But I’m going to be real with you guys. I don’t like going on X anymore. You can find me a lot more on the other social medias where I am @tallgirlpetunia. But really ToughPigs is a great place to find me.
[Sighs] So with all those thanks and with all those plugs I want to thank you at home for being with us on (echo sounding voice) Hubba-Wha?!: (in normal sounding voice) The Muppet quiz show. And as always, you know, The Blair Witch Project is a good movie. You should know that. Good night, everybody.
[Hubba-Wha?! outro music plays]
[Music ends]
[Clip from Elmo in Grouchland plays]
BERT: Ernie, Ernie.
ERNIE: What now, Bert?
BERT: Ernie, this is terrible. Elmo didn’t get his blanket back. How can it end this way? It’s so sad.
ERNIE: Oh, no, no, no. Bert. Bert. Bert. No, Bert. Listen.
BERT: Don’t “Bert” me.
ERNIE: No, it’s okay, Bert.
BERT: This is terrible.
ERNIE: The movie’s not over yet.
BERT: Oh. You mean good things could still happen?
ERNIE: Of course they can, Bert. In fact, I’m sure good things will happen, because who’d want to see a movie with a sad ending, Bert?
BERT: Titanic.
ERNIE: What?
BERT: Titanic had a sad ending.
ERNIE: No, Bert. Roll the film! Come on, Bert. Come on.
BERT: Gone With The Wind?
ERNIE: No, Bert. No.
BERT: Doctor Zhivago.
ERNIE: Shh. Quiet, Bert.
[Clip ends]
