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Hubba-Wha?! Episode 311 – Finale: The Magic Store
[Clip from The Muppet Movie plays]
[“The Magic Store” music plays]
KERMIT: (singing) It starts when we’re kids. A show-off at school. Making faces at friends. You’re a clown a fool. Doing prat-falls and bird calls and bad imitations. Ignoring your homework. Is that dedication? You work to the mirror. You’re getting standing ovations.
[Clip ends]
[Hubba-Wha?! intro theme music plays]
[Music ends]
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 folks, we’ve come to the end of another one. That’s right. This is the last episode of the season. Sure, I had to take some time away to get married but I think we can all agree that we had some incredible episodes this season. I sure hope you all enjoyed them.
Now, here’s the deal. Not only is this the last (in echo sounding voice) Hubba-Wha?! (in normal voice) episode of the season, it’s also going to be the last (in echo sounding voice) Hubba-Wha?! (in normal voice) episode for a while. I’m going to be putting the series on hold for even longer than usual so I can work on another Muppet podcast idea that I have. But I promise (in echo sounding voice) Hubba-Wha?! (in normal voice) cannot die. It will not die. But it’s going to be hibernating for a bit.
But that means that we’re going to go out on a bang.
[Clip from The Muppet Show plays]
CRAZY HARRY: [laughs] Did somebody say bang?
WALDORF: No!
[Muffled thunk sound]
CRAZY HARRY: Well, you can’t win ‘em all.
[Clip ends]
BECCA: That’s right. Today’s episode is a finale so big I can only call it Finale/The Magic Store. Like that famous final song from The Muppet Movie, I’ve invited as many friends as possible to help me out. That’s right. We have three contestants this episode. But also some other special guests?
Oh, you’re in for a treat that I’m not gonna reveal just yet. Also a warning to our contestants and our audience at home. This is the hardest episode we’ve ever had. We’re gonna have some fun with it and learn a lot. But do not be disappointed or surprised if answering these questions is harder than before.
Before I elaborate on all these tantalizing details, let’s meet our contestants. Like I said, we have three contestants this week and all of them are Muppet Wiki admins. After all, who knows more about the Muppets than the folks behind Muppet Wiki?
Hey, while I’m teasing what’s coming, did I use Muppet Wiki to write these questions? No. For most of them, I did not. And you’re going to find out a little bit more about that soon, too. As always, we have to start by meeting our contestants in our first game (in echo sounding voice) To Tell a Face.
(in normal voice) Contestants, you’re going to buzz in to answer some questions about yourself. Whoever buzzes in first will get introduced first.
Ready? Go.
[Buzz in ding]
BECCA: All right, our first contestant to buzz in was Scott. So let’s start with you. Scott, what’s your name?
SCOTT HANSON: My name is Scott Hanson.
BECCA: And Scott, what pronouns should we use for you?
SCOTT: He/him.
BECCA: All right. Great. Scott, now you’ve been on this show before, although it was a while ago. And of course, you’re a long time fixture of the Muppet fan community. Do you want to tell us quickly though, because it has been a while since you’ve been on the show. Do you want to tell us quickly what’s your history with the Muppets?
SCOTT: Sure. Yeah. Like a lot of us, I grew up with the Muppets. Forgot about them a little bit toward the end of my teenage years. When my daughter was born, I got back into them as an adult fan. I soon started helping out Danny Horn running ToughPigs.com. Doing a lot of technical and visual stuff for the site. And then together we started Muppet Wiki in December of 2005.
BECCA: All right. And that’s true. And you still are one of the Muppet Wiki admins. And you run the Muppet Wiki Twitter account and Instagram. Is there an Instagram?
SCOTT: There is. Yeah. Social media is a bit of a mess right now.
BECCA: Yeah.
SCOTT: So I haven’t been super active there. But yeah, in theory.
BECCA: But yeah, no. So that’s where folks at home will know you from. And, you know, listen, this episode is both a celebration of (in echo sounding voice) Hubba-Wha?! (in normal voice) but also a celebration of Muppet Wiki. So I got to ask Scott, what are you proudest of on Muppet Wiki?
SCOTT: The editors. Yeah. Yeah, the folks who come together to work on something in the spirit of community to just build a better thing, you know? Like, anybody can start their own website. Anybody can start their own, I mean, I don’t know. Does anybody do a blog anymore? We used to say blog.
BECCA: [laughs] ToughPigs is a blog.
SCOTT: Sure. Okay, yeah. Yeah, I guess blog. Anyway.
BECCA: We started it 23 years ago, but ToughPigs is a blog. [laughs]
SCOTT: Sure. Okay, yeah, so I guess my point is that, you know, anybody can. ToughPigs is an exception to what I’m about to say in that, you know, ToughPigs is a group of people who come together to do something. In a similar vein Muppet Wiki is made up of a number of editors. Hundreds of editors over the years who’ve come together to build a better thing. That one individual person could not have done alone. So that’s what I’m most proud of.
BECCA: That’s a really great answer and for that really great answer I am going to award you 20 points.
SCOTT: Sweet.
BECCA: Alright. Actually, you know what? I should probably write that down and not try to remember how many points you each have. Okay, now the next person to buzz in was Tony. So Tony, what is your name?
TONY WHITAKER: I am Baby Bobby’s grandmother–No no no, no. Tony Whitaker.
BECCA: All right Tony, what pronouns should we use for you today?
TONY: He/him.
BECCA: All right. Great. And Tony, this is actually your first time on a ToughPig’s podcast and, correct me if I’m wrong, your second time on a podcast.
TONY: Yep, the first time was for Mike Westfall’s Advent Calendar House.
BECCA: It was a great episode of Advent Calendar House.
TONY: We were talking about The Great Santa Claus Switch that was with Tori. [Schmidt]
BECCA: Correct. And so, in other words you need to tell us, what is your history with the Muppets?
TONY: Well, I guess like for most people it would be for Sesame Street first. And guess it was through the show and some hand-me-down toys from my sisters. Just growing up with that and realizing that, you know, there’s just something special that connected. There’s something special about Sesame Street that just connected to me. And over time, I just learned more about the Muppets, and after Sesame Street came stuff like The Fraggle Rock VHSes from HBO. The HBO VHSes.
And eventually I found all these books and stuff like Jim Henson: The Works, Of Muppets and Men. I learned more about these people. Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, Louise Gold, etc. And I don’t know. Nobody’s really asked me about this. [laughs]
BECCA: [laughs] Well, you know, it seems like it’s always been a part of your life and something that you’ve found interesting in a lot of different ways. And one of the ways that it is a part of your life and that you do find it interesting is, like I said, you are an admin of Muppet Wiki, correct?
TONY: Mmhmm.
BECCA: Okay.
TONY: Yeah. I joined about a year and a half ago.
BECCA: And what is your proudest accomplishment there?
TONY: What Scott said, but I don’t know, make it more fancy. [laughs]
BECCA: Okay, so fancier than Scott’s. Great.
TONY: No, no. Recently we did get to finish the Sesame Street episode guides.
BECCA: Yeah, I was hoping one of you would mention that because that’s something that I wanted to call out here on the air. Although at this point, and certainly when everybody listens to this, it’ll have been a while ago. When did you guys?
SHANE KEATING: It’s old news, Becca.
BECCA: When did you finish? Was it September?
SHANE: It was November.
BECCA: Oh well it’s not that old news then.
SHANE: Or October.
BECCA: [laughs] So it happened pretty recently and that’s good because when this episode is coming out it’ll have been X days since then. But the point is, it’s an incredible feat and something I know when Muppet Wiki first started, I genuinely never thought would happen. You know, as a long time, avid Muppet Wiki reader, I joke that I read every article on Muppet Wiki and I never thought it would happen. And now, there is an episode guide for every episode of Sesame Street. Except like the 10 lost episodes. And even those, you’ve got some stuff for. So, it’s incredible.
SHANE: There’s like 50 something missing.
BECCA: Well then I guess it’s not that exciting of a feat after all.
[All laugh]
TONY: I forget who you said it, but there’s like, 0.01 percent of episodes not found.
SHANE: That was me. That was my math for the thing that I put up on ToughPigs.com about this accomplishment.
BECCA: Oh yeah, it’s less than one percent.
SHANE: Yeah.
BECCA: It’s far less than one percent. It’s incredible. And you can just click on a random episode number. I do this all the time and just, I don’t know, see what all of your friends were up to that week.
TONY: So much crazy stuff we found. Like Yorick on Sesame Street.
BECCA: Yorick, and I know Scott, you were talking a lot about that when you were on my show two years ago, you were talking about some of the stuff that you found. Taminella and Jim performing Oscar and stuff like that on.
TONY: (Imitating Muppet voice) What a weird stupid dog.
[Becca laughs]
SCOTT: We were pretty close to end game back then. But yeah. It’s pretty exciting that we’re pretty much done now. And to your point, Becca too, about just clicking on a random episode, if you go to the main Sesame Street episode guide, which you can find linked in the header, there are several different links you can click for how to find different. You can find random episodes by season. Random episodes by decades. So, yeah, it’s a lot of fun to poke through all that stuff.
BECCA: It really is. And you can find some great pictures and funny things you never knew. It’s amazing.
SCOTT: And for those who don’t know why it might be important to click on a random link. This is not like, you know, a series of Star Trek where there are a very low number of episodes, like around 100 or so. There are over 4500 episodes of Sesame Street. So that’s why it’s helpful to, you know, kind of poke around and not just go one through 4500.
TONY: (in normal voice) Yeah, for 29 years, 130 episodes a season.
SCOTT: Crazy.
BECCA: Shane, how many episodes total? You know.
SHANE: No, I don’t.
BECCA: [sighs] You’re letting me down, Shane.
SHANE: Whoops.
BECCA: Well Tony, you have earned 20 points.
TONY: Yes.
BECCA: And Shane has lost 10 points for not knowing the answer to that question.
TONY: Oh, it’s that kind of scoring.
BECCA: No. But Shane, I will ask you, as our third contestant, what is your name?
SHANE: Well, my name is Shane Keating.
BECCA: And Shane, what pronouns should we use for you today?
SHANE: He/him.
BECCA: All right. Great. And Shane you’ve been on my podcast a bunch and sometimes on the other actually have you been on any of the other ToughPigs podcasts or just mine.
SHANE: I have been on Movin’ Right Along.
BECCA: Okay.
SHANE: And The Great Fandom Panel.
BECCA: Okay. Then you have.
TONY: (whispering) Hey, Scott, I don’t think he can hear us but he’s the guy we gotta take down.
[Becca laughs]
SHANE: What? Just ‘cause I’m a two-time Hubba-Wha?! champion?
TONY: (still whispering) You didn’t hear that.
BECCA: It’s true. It’s true. Shane has won twice. And Shane. So I’m saying, because we all have heard from you a bunch, we all have a rough idea of your history with the Muppets. Anything you want to add about your history with the Muppets?
SHANE: I used to have Muppets on Space on tape.
BECCA: Muppets on Space?
TONY: (in normal voice) Muppets on Space?
SHANE: Yes. Muppets on Space.
BECCA: Okay. [laughs]
SHANE: Is what I said and I will stick to that.
SCOTT: Is that different from Muppets in Space and Muppets from Space?
SHANE: Yes.
BECCA: You know, it was interesting. They were gonna have all the prepositions. Muppets behind Space. Muppets of Space.
SHANE: Muppets over Space.
TONY: I wouldn’t be surprised if Disney owns all those now.
BECCA: [laughs] But Shane, you are also an admin on Muppet Wiki. And what would you say you’re proudest of on Muppet Wiki? Keeping in mind that all the good ones are taken.
SHANE: [laughs] I was gonna say I’m really proud of our page about Farley. I think that one came out really well. All you could ever need to know about Farley, his likes, his dislikes, his family.
SCOTT: I have a big update on Farley coming up, by the way. About his family. So stay tuned.
SHANE: Hubba-wha?!
SCOTT: Exactly.
BECCA: Scott, I’m thrilled. I’m thrilled. Farley is like, you know, top five favorite things for me to talk about on this podcast.
SCOTT: 100%
BECCA: Pretty much just after Betty Lou.
TONY: No love for Mr. Poodlepants.
SHANE: No, screw him.
TONY: It should stay that way.
BECCA: There’s a bunch of Poodlepants talk in the Muppets from Space episode that’s coming out. Or that will have come out, for those of you at home.
SHANE: But if I could give a non-joke answer. The Sesame guide, obviously, was one of my favorite things but I really like all the stuff about projects that never got made. Because one thing we are very a big stickler about on the Wiki is sources. But all of those pages about things that never got made are so thoroughly researched. They all have impeccable sources. And, you know, it’s fun to learn about like, oh, what episodes of The Muppet Show Kermit the Frog is in. Like, that’s all right.
But finding out about, like all these movies and specials that never, like nobody’s probably ever heard of these things. But we’ve got them all covered. And a lot of them are very thoroughly covered and so I’m very proud of those.
BECCA: I asked about those back in the finale of the first season of (in echo sounding voice) Hubba-Wha?!
SHANE: You did. I wish we could have Sneepo and Smoopo.
BECCA: (in normal voice) Was that one of them?
SHANE: Yes. That was one of your fake ones.
BECCA: Oh, that was one of my. Okay. See, I don’t remember my fake ones. [laughs] All right, well, Shane, you lost 10 points earlier, but I will give you 30 points because you mentioned Farley. Bringing you to 20 points, and thus tying all three of our contestants.
SHANE: You’re tough, but fair.
BECCA: I know. Tough but pig.
TONY: (whispering) See, Scott? This is the stuff I’m talking about. We gotta take him down.
[Becca laughs]
TONY: (still whispering) I wonder why I sound like Rizzo when I do this.
BECCA: I was gonna say you sound like a frackle and I meant that in a like kind way. [laughs] But like you’re trying to kidnap Santa behind this.
SCOTT: Listen and in the spirit of teaming up and taking anybody down with the best trivia, I will preface this by saying, and I’ve said this before, Danny and I started Muppet Wiki to have a place to put our knowledge and sort of forget about it. I am playing with two of the admins right now. Shane and Tony, who have Muppet Wiki basically living inside their heads. I can bring up stuff in a chat that they can point to immediately. So their knowledge is unparalleled.
BECCA: Well, we’re gonna see that because we are going to get right into the main event.
[Clip from Sesame Street plays]
[Music plays]
ANNOUNCER: It’s time for Sesame Street sports. And today, we take you directly to the Sesame Street open.
[whistle blows]
PRAIRIE DAWN: Welcome ladies and gentleman to the most exciting sports event of the year! The Sesame Street open!
[Cheering]
PRAIRIE DAWN: Thousands of fans have crowded into this stadium to watch the finals in this year’s Sesame Street open!
[music ends]
[cheering]
PRAIRIE DAWN: Let’s hear it for them!
[Clip ends]
BECCA: Now, like I’ve been hinting at, this episode is going to be a little different. Other than our bonus games, (in echo sounding voice) Anything in the World Prize Game and Say the Word (in normal voice) we are just going to play one game today. And that game is a new game that I’m calling (in echo sounding voice) Adventure.
(in normal voice) Here’s what’s going to happen. I wanted this finale to be kind of special. The kind of thing that gets better when you share it with other people. So I will not be asking any questions until the bonus round. Instead, I’ve enlisted 22 friends of ToughPigs.
TONY: Oh boy.
BECCA: All to write the hardest questions that they could think of.
[Scott laughs]
SHANE: Oh boy.
BECCA: I have saved to my computer 22 pre-recorded questions from ToughPigs writers, ToughPigs editors, friends of the site, past (in echo sounding voice) Hubba-Wha?! (in normal voice) guests, everybody under the sun. And we’re going to be going through them in order roughly from easiest to hardest.
TONY: We are so screwed.
SCOTT: Well, Becca this sounds like a lot of fun. But I have to say when you said the theme was going to be adventure, I thought for sure you were talking about the Sesame Street En Vogue song “Adventure.”
BECCA: It’s almost like that’s the audio clip that I’m gonna play in a second.
[Tony, Shane and Scott laugh]
SCOTT: Perfect.
[Clip from Sesame Street plays]
PRAIRIE
DAWN: Let’s think of this as a great big adventure.
BIG BIRD: Yeah.
BIRD BIRD AND TELLY: An adventure!
[Sparkly sound effect]
EN VOGUE: (singing) Adventure is something we promise is gonna excite you.
[En Vogue harmonizes]
[Clip ends]
BECCA: I have arranged these, like I said, roughly from easiest to hardest. Right?
SHANE: Well, that’s a little subjective, isn’t it?
BECCA: It sure is. It sure is. And, listen, every episode I try to arrange the questions roughly in an order. And it always is subjective. And usually it’s subjective because I vividly remember some kind of sketch from like 80s Sesame Street, that no one else does. Like when Anthony didn’t know about “The Grouch Song” and completely botched my introduction, as a result. Because I asked him, if he wakes up in the morning mean and grumpy and frowns at everybody that he sees and likes his oatmeal, nice, and cold, and lumpy.
And he said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” [laughs]
[Tony laughs]
SHANE: He thought you were just being rude to him?
BECCA: [laughs] Yes.
SCOTT: Oscar would be proud.
BECCA: So anyway, you’ll hear that. But the folks at home have heard this. This is the last episode of the season anyway. Each of these questions is going to be worth 10 points. Now, when the audio clip that I play is over, you can buzz in to answer. So take a deep breath and let’s go.
We’re gonna start with some easier questions.
[Clip of Ryan Roe plays]
RYAN
ROE: Hi, Shane. Remember me?
[Clip ends]
SHANE: Yeah, I remember him.
BECCA: Well, you should buzz in.
[Clock ticking sound]
[Buzz in ding]
BECCA: Shane?
[Scott laughs]
SHANE: Well, that’s Ryan Roe. Is it not?
BECCA: Why that is Ryan Roe. And here’s a– That is not worth 10 points.
SHANE: Oh.
BECCA: Here’s a question from Ryan Roe.
[Clip of Ryan Roe plays]
RYAN: It’s Ryan Roe from ToughPigs.com. My question is about The Jim Henson Hour. Specifically, something from the half hour production Song of the Cloud Forest that aired as part of The Jim Henson Hour.
The main character of Song of the Cloud Forest is a toad named Milton who lives in the rainforest and he is afraid that he might be the only one left of his species. But over the course of the half hour, he does discover another toad apparently of his same species. So my question is, what is the name of the other toad and which Muppet performer performed that other toad?
And I will tell you that before I decided on this question, I checked this character’s Muppet Wiki page to see whether you had ever edited it. And you have never edited it. So let’s see if you can get this one. I’ll take my answer off the air.
[Clip ends]
[Clock ticking sound]
[Buzz in ding]
BECCA: All right, that’s Tony. Tony?
TONY: I think her name is Rose but I know she’s performed by Camille Bonora.
BECCA: Okay, I am going to…well I’ll play the answer in a second. But I will say, you are–
TONY: Oh wait, wait, wait. I just remembered.
BECCA: Okay.
TONY: Ruth.
BECCA: It is…well, why am I saying that?
[Clip of Ryan Roe plays]
RYAN: Okay, the answer is the other toad in Song of the Cloud Forest is named Ruth. Milton and Ruth. And Ruth was performed by Camille Bonora, who was kind of like one of the Muppet MVPs in those days. Ruth performed by Camille Bonora.
That’s the answer. Did you get it right? Did you get it? I guess I’ll have to wait and find out when this episode airs. Okay, bye.
[Clip ends]
SHANE: Bye, Ryan.
BECCA: All right, so Tony, you are correct. It was Ruth and Camille Bonora. I have given you 10 points for each of those correct answers. Because Ryan kind of had a two-part question there.
We’re gonna move on to our next question. Unless anyone has anything they want to say about Ruth and Song of the Cloud Forest? Scott, Shane, did you know?
SHANE: I had a reasonable guess on her performer, but I didn’t want to give a half answer.
SCOTT: Yeah.
SHANE: I didn’t think I could.
SCOTT: I was pretty sure it was Camille also but I had no idea what the character’s name was. But I will say that if anybody out there has not seen the special, it’s beautiful. You should check it out. I think it’s usually on Amazon Prime. It looks dated, but it’s beautiful.
BECCA: And we have all the storyboards now on Muppet Wiki. Thanks to our friend Grant.
SCOTT: Yeah. Grant dug up a bunch of stuff on those and they look terrific.
TONY: A special about the rainforest on Amazon. Go figure.
BECCA: Well, I’m gonna move on to the next question here.
[Clip of Gav plays]
GAV: Hello, hello. It’s your favorite Muppet Wiki admin speaking. Who am I? Nope. Sorry. You got the question wrong. I am not Danny Horn. It’s Gav! Hey guys. Here is your question.
In The Muppet Movie, Gonzo crashes into Kermit and Fozzie’s Studebaker. We know this. But in a deleted scene that traces of can still be found in the final cut, what distracts Gonzo on the side of the road that makes him crash into Kermit and Fozzie?
Bonus points if you can tell me which famous celebrity Frank Oz has a 30-year feud with.
[Clip ends]
[Clock ticking sound]
[Buzz in ding]
BECCA: Shane. You were the first to buzz in. What is it that distracts Gonzo and makes him crash the Studebaker? I mean, crash the truck into the Studebaker?
SHANE: So if I recall correctly, there’s a deleted part where Doc Hopper is in the back seat of his car eating something involving syrup. And then they crash or something and he gets covered in feathers. Because of the syrup, feathers stick to him. And I’m assuming Gonzo mistakes him for a giant chicken and that’s what causes him to lose sight.
BECCA: Shane. Oh, does anyone have an answer to the second part of Gav’s question?
SHANE: I’ll take a stab. Richard Dreyfus?
BECCA: That’s not what Gav is looking for. I don’t understand the second part of Gav’s question. I’m gonna be real with you.
SCOTT: A 30-year feud? I don’t know. I was going to say Marlon Brando but that only goes back to when they worked together on The Score and I don’t think it’s been 30 years since that.
BECCA: I don’t know what Gav was looking for with that. All I know is that this is the clip Gav has provided for us.
[Clip of Gav plays]
GAV: The answer is Doc Hopper covered in feathers. And if you got the answer to the bonus question, it’s Cher.
[Clip ends]
BECCA: I don’t know what Gav is talking about. This feels like an inside joke. [laughs]
SHANE: Okay.
TONY: I have no clue either.
BECCA: But Shane, you are right about the feathers. So I will give you 10 points for that.
SHANE: Woo!
BECCA: All right, next question. Are we doing okay, by the way?
SHANE: I guess.
SCOTT: Doing good.
BECCA: We’re okay with this departure from form?
SHANE: Oh, it’s perfect.
BECCA: Okay.
[Clip of David Levy plays]
DAVID LEVY: Hello, Hubba-Wha?!contestants. This is David Levy from Muppeturgy. Two-time Hubba-Wha?! champion myself. And I have a question for you today. And that question is…
[Clip from The Muppet Show plays]
[The song “Who” from the musical Sunny plays]
OWL: Hoo.
ZELDA
ROSE: (singing) Stole my heart away?
[Laugh track]
[Music continues]
DAVID: That’s right. The question is going to be “Who?” Specifically in this classic song from the 1925 musical Sunny. Music by Jerome Kern. Lyrics by Otto Harbach and Oscar Hammerstein II. Zelda Rose and her singing owl ask the question “Who?”
[Music ends]
DAVID: But what I ask of you is who is performing Zelda Rose?
Now, you may know this version of the song better.
[Clip from the album The Muppet Show 2 plays]
OWL: Hoo.
ZELDA
ROSE: (singing) Stole my heart away.
OWL: Hoo.
ZELDA
ROSE: Makes me dream all day. Dreams I know can never come true.
DAVID: That’s from The Muppet Show Album 2 where Louise Gold rerecorded the song. But she did not perform the song on The Muppet Show itself.
OWL: Hoo.
DAVID: Performed Zelda Rose when she sang the song on The Muppet Show?
[Music ends]
[Clip ends]
[Clock ticking sound]
[Buzz in ding]
BECCA: Tony.
TONY: I’m gonna guess. I think her name is… The Muppet Show, I’m not as good at identifying some performers on there, but…One of the names, I think it’s Richenda Carey or something like that.
BECCA: Okay, Richenda Carey is not correct. Anyone able to steal? Shane?
SHANE: I think…First, let me say this is the most Muppeturgy question ever asked.
BECCA: I was so happy. It’s really great because I feel like everybody submitted a very them question.
SHANE: When it started, I was very concerned he was going to ask who wrote it or something about the song’s original context.
BECCA: Yes.
SHANE: Because that would be so on brand for them.
BECCA: It is actually a Muppet question. David did not break my rules.
SHANE: I think that singer, her name is Abby Hayfield.
BECCA: Shane, you are so close.
TONY: Is it Abby Hayward?
BECCA: No.
TONY: Darn.
[Clip of David Levy plays]
DAVID: I’m sorry. The correct answer is Abby Hadfield. You may remember that in season two of The Muppet Show they brought in three different female performers to audition for the spot left vacant when Eren Ozker left the show. This was Abby Hadfield’s audition. And unfortunately, this was her only performance because she did not get the spot.
[Clip ends]
SHANE: Off by one syllable.
BECCA: I’m being that much of a stickler because this is the finale. I don’t have to be nice.
SCOTT: I like that his prerecorded response started with “I’m sorry.” Assuming that we were going to get it wrong.
[All laugh]
BECCA: Here’s the thing. Here’s the thing about David. David is a consummate theater professional. Because David also provided me with this.
[Clip of David Levy plays]
DAVID: That’s right. The answer is Abby Hadfield. You may remember that in season two of The Muppet Show after Eren Ozker left…
[Clip ends]
BECCA: So it’s the same thing but he recorded it twice but in a different tone.
SCOTT: Well done.
SHANE: Bravo.
BECCA: All right. Moving on to the fourth question here.
[Clip of Fergie Philippe plays]
FERGIE PHILIPPE: Hi. This is Fergie Philippe. As we all know the stars of Star Wars once famously appeared on The Muppet Show. Part of the reason of this happening was due to the convenience of Star Wars filming at this famous film studio across the street from ATV. What was the name of the film studio?
[Clip ends]
[Clock ticking sound]
[Buzz in ding]
BECCA: Scott.
SCOTT: I believe that was Elstree Studio.
[Clip of Fergie Philippe plays]
FERGIE: The answer is Elstree Studios.
[Clip ends]
BECCA: Correct.
SHANE: Yay.
SCOTT: It’s also where Superman was filming. And Jim Henson and Frank Oz became friends with Christopher Reeve and invited him to puppeteer in–here’s an extra trivia question–which episode?
The Bob Hope episode.
SHANE: Oh, the Bob Hope episode.
SCOTT: That’s right.
BECCA: Who does he play in…Who does he play?
SCOTT: But no, he was just around and was messing around one day. And he performed one of the Japanese pole vaulters in the Bob Hope episode.
BECCA: Oh. No kidding.
TONY: Probably just grabbed a stick and waved it across the screen.
SCOTT: Yeah, right.
SHANE: It’s a pole. Not a stick. It’s very important terminology.
BECCA: Tony, have you heard of the telephone pole?
SCOTT: I was just gonna go there.
BECCA: [laughs] You see, this is the problem, is we all have too many of the same cultural touchstones.
TONY: Mike Oznowiczski.
BECCA: All right, here we go with the next one.
[Clip of Joe Hennes plays]
JOE HENNES: Hi, this is Joe Hennes, co-owner and editor-in-chief of ToughPigs.com but also the executive producer of this podcast. I sure do have a lot of titles, which must mean I’m pretty important. So this question is going to be all about me.
In 2014 I appeared as an extra on Sesame Street episode number 4504 in which I play a character cosplaying as a superhero at Numeric Con. Unlike most of the other costumed extras in that episode, I actually provided my own costume based on an existing superhero. Can you name the superhero I was originally dressed as, as well as the number I wore on my chest to help change it just enough so Sesame Workshop wouldn’t get sued?
[Clip ends]
[Clock ticking sound]
[Buzz in ding]
BECCA: Shane?
SHANE: He’s Invincible? Is that his name? He’s the guy from Invincible.
BECCA: Yes. Yes. I will say, yes. I know I want to play the audio clip but it’s tough when they give me these two-part questions. So, Shane, I will give you a point for that. Do you have a guess as to what number is on Joe’s chest?
SHANE: I think, is it five?
[Clip of Joe Hennes plays]
JOE: My costume was originally a cosplay of the character Invincible, who was obscure in 2014 but now he’s the star of his own animated series on Amazon Prime. The number I wore on my chest was the number six. I hope this game ends in a tie. Goodbye.
[Clip ends]
BECCA: I’m sorry. I should have let other people guess, but you guys just would have been guessing. I remember that. And the reason I remember that is, I remember Joe cosplaying as Invincible at cons. I’ve known Joe for long enough that I knew Joe before Sesame Street episode 4505.
SHANE: I only remember it because he brought it up this year at Comic Con.
BECCA: Oh, I wasn’t at Comic Con this year. I was at Comic Con the year he dressed as Invincible. [laughs]
SCOTT: I don’t think I realized that that’s what he was dressed as in that episode. If I had, I probably would have started an Invincible article on the Wiki, which I don’t think we have yet.
BECCA: Well.
SCOTT: Because that counts as Sesame Street referencing Invincible.
BECCA: True. And Invincible is a popular series now, which it was not when Sesame Street episode 4505 aired.
SCOTT: Right. Yeah, we can tap into all those memes.
BECCA: Yeah.
TONY: Worst Hubba-Wha?! question ever.
BECCA: [laughs] Thank you, Tony. All right, here’s another one.
[Clip of JD Hansel plays]
JD HANSEL: Greetings and salutations Hubba-Wha?! listeners. Hello, Becca. Hello, Muppet Wiki. This is JD Hansel from ToughPigs.com and I’ve got a question about something that all of us think about all the time: My Muppets Show, that 2013 mobile game. At ToughPigs we really do think about it surprisingly often. Of course we think about all of its original characters, Cody, HARV-E, Big Mo, the Divettes, Durwood Clapper obviously, Jax Strumley, Kizzy, Bloosman, (but spelled B-L-O-O-S-M-A-N), Myron Bellows, Hera Thump, Boomer.
There’s one character who I’ve left out here and that’s actually your question. Who’s the character who I haven’t mentioned and as your hint, it’s the character who is named after a Muppet, who was introduced just a few years earlier.
[Clip ends]
[Clip ends]
[Clock ticking sound]
[Buzz in ding]
BECCA: Scott.
SCOTT: That would be the steampunk-inspired 1880s Robot.
[Clip of JD Hansel plays]
JD: The correct answer is 1880s Robot. Of course named after ‘80s Robot from the 2011 film The Muppets. You’ve seen it. You should have known this. You all should have known all of these answers.
[Clip ends]
BECCA: Scott. I don’t know. I had a feeling that you knew this. [laughs]
SCOTT: 1880s Robot is unironically the character I absolutely would die to have a PVC figure of.
BECCA: See, I want to be clear for those folks at home, so I’m not really being as much of a stickler for the like wait until the question is over to buzz in, especially because a lot of these people are not like giving signals when their questions are over because they are not, you know, trained professional game show hosts like myself.
Scott buzzed in well before JD’s clue about it being based on another character. Scott knew that this character was 1880s Robot before JD even started to say that he was based on another character. [laughs]
SCOTT: Hey, 1880s Robot for life, okay.
SHANE: Great. I’m very surprised JD did not ask a question about The Cube.
BECCA: I am too to be honest. Again, most people asked about…
SHANE: His personal brand.
BECCA: Most people asked about like their thing, but not JD.
[Clip of Ren plays]
REN: Hello, Hubba-Wha?! contestants and listeners. This is Ren, noted Henson Company stan of the ToughPigs extended universe. And here is my trivia question for you all.
In the Farscape episode, “A Constellation of Doubt…” And I will pause for groans at the mention of Farscape…Brian Henson cameos as a Stanford University professor. What was the name of that Stanford University professor?
[Clip ends]
[Clock ticking sound]
[Buzz in ding]
BECCA: Shane.
SHANE: His professor’s name was Matt Foley, motivational speaker.
BECCA: No?
SHANE: Darn it.
BECCA: Anyone else have a guess?
TONY: Of course we don’t have a guess.
BECCA: Listen, you don’t look at the Muppeteer cameos/performer references page?
TONY: Muppeteer?
BECCA: Oh lord, I just said Muppeteer.
TONY: Oooooh.
SHANE: You’re disqualified, Becca.
TONY: And you said you were a professional.
BECCA: Brian, I’m sorry. I could edit this out, but I won’t. I won’t.
TONY: We won’t let you edit it out.
SCOTT: It’s fine. There are plenty of documents that have the word Muppeteer in them. It’s okay to use it.
BECCA: Yeah, I was reading the Sam and Friends book and there’s definitely some…Not that Craig Shamin would ever use the word Muppeteer but there’s like some primary sources in here that do. Definitely.
SHANE: Can I guess again?
BECCA: No. Anyone else want to guess for this one?
SCOTT: Professor Hastings?
BECCA: No, unfortunately, I wish.
SCOTT: Should be.
SHANE: Professor Farscape.
[Scott laughs]
[Clip of Ren plays]
REN: The answer I’m looking for is Edmund Johnston.
[Clip ends]
SCOTT: Okay.
SHANE: Of course.
BECCA: I thought if you guys knew anything about Farscape, it would be the Brian Henson cameo.
SHANE: I know the Kermit the Frog cameo. That’s it.
SCOTT: Yeah, I was gonna say the same.
BECCA: Moving on to a question about something you have seen.
[Clip of Iffy plays]
IFFY: In Elmopalooza, who is Bert’s hero and what film did he direct?
[Clip ends]
BECCA: That is, of course, from our good friend Iffy. I don’t know why Iffy didn’t introduce himself there. So just to repeat, the question was, “In Elmopalooza, who is Bert’s hero? And what film did he direct?
[Clock ticking sound]
[Buzz in ding]
BECCA: Shane.
SHANE: Bert’s…In the special Ernie and Bert are in the director’s booth at Radio City Music Hall. Bert in the role as the director, he says his directorial hero is Alfred Sweatsock, the director of that timeless classic The Pigeons.
[Clip of Iffy plays]
IFFY: Bert’s hero is Alfred Sweatsock, director of the timeless classic The Pigeons.
[Clip ends]
BECCA: I like how you both know the words exactly. [laughs]
SHANE: Oh, I had that tape. So you know that dialogue is burned into my brain. And obviously, for those people at home, The Pigeons is a spin on the Alfred Hitchcock movie North by Northwest.
SCOTT: Womp-womp.
BECCA: No, Follow That Bird is a spin on North by Northwest, of course. [laughs]
SHANE: Oh. Of course.
BECCA: All right. Next question is about Muppet Wiki.
[Clip of Mike Westfall plays]
MIKE WESTFALL: Hello. This is Mike Westfall, host of the Advent Calendar House and funny-scary joke connoisseur. And my question is about Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas.
We all love watching it every year, but for some of us, present company very included, it’s important to make sure you’re watching a copy that has as little content cut as possible. Finding the right version for you can be tricky because there have been quite a few different edits over the years. Including the original airing, how many different edits of Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas are out there?
I mean as recognized by Muppet Wiki. Sorry, the copy where your mom tried to skip recording the commercials when it aired on Nickelodeon doesn’t count.
[Clip ends]
[Clock ticking sound]
[Buzz in ding]
BECCA: Tony.
TONY: I’m gonna have to talk my way through this.
BECCA: Okay.
TONY: First is the 1977 version, then the ‘80 version with Kermit’s dialogue added. And I think the third version would be the home video releases. And the fourth, the DVD release that cuts Kermit. And fifth would be the current one.
BECCA: So five?
TONY: Yeah, I think it’s five.
BECCA: I’m sorry that is not the correct answer. Scott, you buzzed in so you can steal.
SCOTT: I was going to do exactly what Tony just did and walk my way through it. Because I didn’t know definitively. I would say that there’s…Well, there’s at least one more but maybe it’s more than one more.
BECCA: This is according to you guys. Mike says that these are the ones that you recognize.
SCOTT: Yeah, if only I have that table memorized.
BECCA: [laughs] What? You don’t have every article on your website memorized.
SCOTT: All 44,000 or however many we’ve got now. I’m gonna say seven.
[Clip of Mike Westfall plays]
MIKE: Well, let’s see, we have the original edit from 1977, an edit from 1980. One in 1996, the completely Kermitless edit from 2005, a remastered edit in 2015 for ABC Family. A different variation of that remaster used for home video and streaming. And apparently Craig Shemin pieced together an edit with every available scene for screenings by the Jim Henson Legacy.
So counting that one, that makes seven different cuts mentioned on the Muppet Wiki entry for Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas edits.
[Clip ends]
SHANE: Bravo.
SCOTT: Lucky guess. Tony, you did most of the leg work on all that for me. So I’m gonna have to defer some of my points to you.
BECCA: Unfortunately, that’s sometimes the way that it goes when we allow for steals. But yeah, seven versions. And I will say, other than Craig’s version, which is obviously the superior one, and I’ve had the fortune of seeing once, I’m partial to the new version that’s on streaming on Amazon and on blu-ray right now. That’s the one that I swear by.
SCOTT: As far as I know, I think the blu-ray version is complete with the exception of the, I think it’s three Kermit voiceover lines.
BECCA: Yeah.
SCOTT: Not Kermit on screen. The reason was because they were trying to be true to the original version which is kind of a bummer that they don’t include the lines. But I get why that was done.
BECCA: I prefer it without. Having seen it both with and without the Kermit lines, I think they’re superfluous.
SCOTT: Yeah.
BECCA: I like him at the beginning and the end but I don’t think you need him saying what’s going on. I think the movie shows you what’s going on through the actions of the characters.
SCOTT: That fair. I think I probably have a taped from TV version that had the Kermit voiceover. It all depends on what you grew up with.
SHANE: And those were really there I think because they had commercial breaks. So you need a little something to remind people of where you are in the story.
BECCA: For example, you might need a little Christmas, right this very minute and it helps to be reminded of that.
SHANE: Well, don’t remind us that that special [Muppet Family Christmas] isn’t uncut anywhere.
[Becca sighs]
SCOTT: I don’t know what you’re talking about, Shane.
BECCA: Shane, you mentioned. Was it you or Tony? I’m actually, I know we’re getting off topic but this is the kind of off topic that I love and our audience at home loves too. One of you two, Shane or Tony, mentioned that there’s an additional scene that only aired once with Fozzie and Elmo. Is this a real thing that happened?
SHANE: It’s just like a really quick thing. So just like before the carol medley there’s just a really short thing of Elmo and Fozzie turning on the lights of the Christmas tree. It’s like five seconds.
BECCA: Why was it cut?
SHANE: I think…
BECCA: Time?
SHANE: It might have been because I think it’s first…
SCOTT: It’s a commercials version, I think.
SHANE: Yeah, after the first broadcast they readjusted where the commercial breaks might have been and that just got cut out. Because it was coming in from a commercial.
TONY: It was a Youtube copy and Shane noticed that a couple of scenes were cut.
SHANE: It was a Youtube copy that was branding itself as uncut and I tried to be Mr. Pedantic and say that it isn’t.
SCOTT: Speaking of commercials, personally, I can’t well…I prefer watching the special with the original commercials because I watched it when it originally aired. But the best one is a bumper that they did with Kermit and Fozzie, where Kermit, you know, it’s like 10 seconds or whatever and Kermit is…You can see this on Youtube. Kermit says to the audience, you know, Muppet Family Christmas will be right back or whatever. But behind Kermit you can see Fozzie puppeteering two little I think they might be like little plush Christmas ornaments, or something like that.
It’s just a delightful moment. It reminds me of a lot of The Muppet Show promos where they would just mess around and do stuff like that.
BECCA: Yeah.
TONY: He was just waving them around and he was going, (in high pitched voice) “Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas.”
SCOTT: That’s right.
BECCA: This is always a conversation on, speaking of Mike Westfall, but on Advent Calendar House. The watching it with the commercials in is a big theme on that show.
SCOTT: OshKosh B’gosh.
BECCA: [laughs] All right. Next question.
[Clip of Michal plays]
MICHAL: Hey, it’s Michal from Muppeturgy and I want to know which Muppet performer lent their voice to the 1975 radio series Fantastic 4.
[Clip ends]
[Clock ticking sound]
[Buzz in ding]
BECCA: Shane.
SHANE: I’m gonna take a guess and say Jerry Nelson.
BECCA: Not Jerry Nelson. Does anybody else want to try to steal?
SHANE: Ouch.
BECCA: Scott?
SCOTT: I was gonna guess Jerry Nelson as well but I’ll say…There’s no way this is it, but Louise Gold would be my guess.
BECCA: It’s also not Louise Gold. Tony?
TONY: Kathryn Mullen.
BECCA: It’s not Kathy Mullen either. Who is it?
[Clip of Michal plays]
MICHAL: Fantastic 4 was a 13-episode radio drama based on the Marvel comic series. The cast included Stan Lee as the narrator, Bill Murray as The Human Torch and Muppet performer Cynthia Adler, known to Muppet fans for her unforgettable performance as the duck in the Bruce Forsyth episode, as the Invisible girl.
[Clip ends]
TONY: (in normal voice) Cute. Cute reference.
[Becca laughs]
SHANE: Well, that’s trivia. Arguably trivia.
TONY: She was a performer.
BECCA: She performed a Muppet and that Muppet was a duck on one episode (laughing) of The Muppet Show. (in normal voice) And you know what? It’s on Muppet Wiki. I checked. You have a page about this Fantastic 4 radio show with links to both Bill Murray and Cynthia Adler.
SHANE: Radio is really Andrew’s specialty.
BECCA: I couldn’t have every Muppet Wiki person on.
SCOTT: Well, on the topic of Stan Lee, for an extra bit of trivia. It’s possible that Stan Lee’s…Stan Lee became well, he was famous for being Stan Lee, but he became more famous to a wider audience for making his on-screen cameos. One of his first ones that he ever did was in an episode of Muppet Babies. And I’ve looked into this. It’s very close to when his first credited on-screen cameo is in The Trial of the Incredible Hulk, a TV movie that aired in the same year.
And I’m trying to pin down the filming dates. I need to find out when he actually recorded his Muppet Babies bit, but it’s quite possible that it predates that. Meaning that Muppet Babies could possibly be his very first on-screen cameo that he did in something.
SHANE: Whoa.
SCOTT: Not confirmed yet but it’s very close.
BECCA: It certainly is on-screen cameo, first on-screen cameo. I wonder, was there like a Marvel VHS, you know, that was like Stan Lee explains the Marvel Universe.
SHANE: How to draw Spider-man.
BECCA: Yeah like but certainly his first cameo, I mean, that or the Incredible Hulk. Absolutely. Real cool.
[Clip of Beth plays]
BETH: Hello, it’s Beth from ToughPigs. Here with a trivia question about my favorite obscure Henson production, The Tale of the Bunny Picnic. What is the name that the dog eventually adopts for himself?
[Clip ends]
[Clock ticking sound]
[Buzz in ding]
BECCA: Tony.
TONY: It was me? The name that the dog gets is Dee-Dop-De-Diddly-Dog-Bop.
[Clip of Beth plays]
BETH: The answer, of course, is Mr. Dee-Dop-De-Diddly-Dog-Bop.
[Clip ends]
TONY: Oh, Mr. Dee-Dop-De-Diddly-Dog-Bop to you.
BECCA: Tony, I’ll give it to you without the mister. I think that’s fine.
SHANE: Mister is his father.
BECCA: Nice work. I have actually never seen Tales-tales from the Bunny-Tales of
SCOTT: Oh, it’s delightful.
BECCA: Tale of the Bunny Picnic. And I want to change that, especially because I know Beth has talked about it repeatedly how much she loves it. But I have not seen it yet. And that’s something that I hope to change.
TONY: Sort of like a mix of The Muppet Show and Fraggle Rock because it’s taped in England, but the music comes from Philip Balsam and Dennis Lee.
SHANE: The music sounds exactly like any Fraggle song you can think of.
[Clip of Cypress plays]
CYPRESS: Hi, my name is Cypress, but you might also know me as moomin. And my pronouns are he/him. Here’s a question. What does Disney’s 2002 movie The Country Bears, the hit song “We Are the World” and beloved children’s educational program Sesame Street all have in common? Other than Henson involvement.
[Clip ends]
BECCA: I’ll give you a clue. moomin is looking for a specific person who appeared in all three of those things. Other than Henson involvement. The general Henson involvement. Scott?
SCOTT: I’m going to say Lionel Richie.
BECCA: It is not Lionel Richie. But you’re thinking in the right direction. Shane?
SHANE: I’m gonna say Queen Latifah?
BECCA: It’s not Queen Latifah.
SHANE: She’s in The Country Bears though, right?
BECCA: She is.
SHANE: Okay.
BECCA: But I don’t think she’s in the “We Are the World” video.
SHANE: Agh.
BECCA: Tony, do you have a guess?
TONY: Paul Simon. I don’t know.
[Clip of Cypress plays]
CYPRESS: The answer is rapper and musician Wyclef Jean.
[Clip ends]
BECCA: It’s Wyclef Jean obviously.
[General groans]
TONY: Oh, the guy that sang with Cookie Monster. Yeah, yeah.
BECCA: It sure is the guy who sang with Cookie Monster.
SCOTT: So he’s not in the original, “We Are the World,” right? Or is he in like a rerecording?
BECCA: You know, I didn’t think to check this.
SCOTT: Because that’s what my brain was stuck on that. I should know better, because I think just within this past year, I think we just got a “We Are the World” article on Muppet Wiki. So I should know the answer to this.
SHANE: Where’s Wyclef Jean in The Country Bears again?
BECCA: I think at the very end, there’s a montage of–It’s either the end or the beginning. There’s two montages of celebrities saying that they learned everything they know from The Country Bears.
SCOTT: Yeah, so Wyclef Jean. I don’t know how you say his name. He is in the 2010 version.
BECCA: Okay, but not the original. All right.
SCOTT: Yeah, I think he’s too young to have been in the original.
BECCA: Yeah.
SHANE: Is Elton John in “We Are the World?
BECCA: No, apparently not.
SHANE: Ugh.
BECCA: I’m looking right now because that would be…actually Elton John was never on Sesame Street.
SHANE: Well, I was gonna say if he was on “We Are the World,” he needs to be on Sesame Street to complete the hat trick.
BECCA: [laughs] Willie Nelson also was not on Sesame Street, correct? Because Willie Nelson is in both “We Are the World” and Country Bears.
SCOTT: Was Willie Nelson, was he on that In Harmony record? He wasn’t on that, was he?
TONY: I don’t think so.
SCOTT: Yeah, he definitely wasn’t on Sesame Street but I thought maybe he was… I don’t know, probably not.
SHANE: Was Zeb Zoober on Sesame Street?
BECCA: No.
SHANE: Was he in “We Are the World.”
BECCA: Yes. [laughs]
SHANE: Wow. I can’t believe it.
BECCA: Ah, Zeb. He’s only in it for the honey. And like I do in every episode and like no one at home ever can see but, here’s my Zeb Zoober right here.
[Scott laughs]
SHANE: Horrifying.
BECCA: I’ve got Zeb next to my desk and also Big Al. And Henry. And one of the Bedderhead Brothers. I always forget their first names. It’s Fred and Ted, but I always forget which is which. I guess I’m not a true Country Bears 2002 fan.
Next question.
[Clip of Adam plays]
ADAM: Hey, it’s Adam from Muppeturgy. Gillian Lynne was the choreographer for about half of the episodes of The Muppet Show. Ms. Lynne is most famous for choreographing the original West End and Broadway productions of Cats and The Phantom of the Opera. What was her first Broadway show as a choreographer?
[Clip ends]
BECCA: Yeah, here’s a Muppeturgy question.
SHANE: That’s a Muppeturgy question, for sure.
BECCA: I can give a hint for this one, if nobody knows.
SHANE: A hint would be good.
BECCA: Tony, did you buzz in?
TONY: Can we go back to Muppet Wiki questions?
BECCA: [laughs] We’ll get back. The next couple have Muppet Wiki answers. Not this one. I’ll give a hint because Adam has provided one.
SHANE: Thank you.
[Clip of Adam plays]
ADAM: And I don’t know if we’re doing hints, but in case we’re doing hints. The show ran on Broadway from May 16th, 1965 to December 4th, 1965.
[Clip ends]
[Becca laughs]
SHANE: That’s not a hint. That’s just more information.
BECCA: Scott?
SCOTT: Was it…What’s it called? It’s probably not but I’m making a guess just based on the era and how short it ran. It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s Superman?
BECCA: It is not, but that’s a great guess. Shane?
SHANE: Is it Follies?
BECCA: It is not Follies. Good guess or okay guess.
SHANE: Darn. I don’t know.
BECCA: All right, here’s the answer.
SHANE: Well, wait, wait. Does Tony want to take a guess?
BECCA: I’m sorry. Tony?
TONY: Oh sure. I’ll go with something like Jabor…Jabor, I don’t know.
SHANE: Jabor.
[Clip of Adam plays]
ADAM: The Roar of the Greasepaint, The Smell of the Crowd.
[Clip ends]
BECCA: That’s right. It was The Roar of the Greasepaint, The Smell of the Crowd.
SHANE: Of course. Stupid me.
TONY: Wait a minute, wasn’t there a song on The Muppet Show from that?
BECCA: I don’t know.
SHANE: Perhaps Muppeturgy will have the answer. You’ll just have to listen to all the episodes.
BECCA: Yeah.
SCOTT: You’ll have to check the Muppeturgy Wiki for that one.
TONY: I remember seeing in The Muppet Show book that Roar of the Greasepaint title.
SHANE: That might be a lyric.
BECCA: You are right! Tony, Tony, Tony. Tony, Tony. Specifically.
TONY: A guy named Tony got the musical question. Go figure.
BECCA: A song. I mean, you didn’t get the question. But I mean, listen, I’ll give you half a point for that.
TONY: I’ll take it.
BECCA: Because that’s just a cool thing to remember. It was, of course, a song that was also in the Special Sesame Street Christmas, in addition to being in The Muppet Show book. Can anyone think of a song that’s both in The Muppet Show book and A Special Sesame Street Christmas? Shane? Wait, yeah, that was Shane, by a split second.
SHANE: “Look at That Face.”
BECCA: It is. “Look at That Face” is from the musical The Roar of the Greasepaint, The Smell of the Crowd.
TONY: And it goes on for 10 minutes in the Special Sesame Street Christmas.
BECCA: And I bet it goes on even longer in the musical. All right. Next question.
TONY: That’s probably why it closed.
BECCA: Yeah, exactly. It only lasted like three months.
SHANE: The whole show is just the one song.
BECCA: Yeah, that’s it.
TONY: Just somebody out a window singing.
BECCA: Looking at a face.
SCOTT: To be clear A Special Sesame Street Christmas, that’s the one where Ethel Merman calls Leslie Uggams an idiot, right?
BECCA: Yes.
SHANE: Imogene Coca.
TONY: No, that’s the one where she calls Imogene Coca an idiot.
SCOTT: Right, right, right. Sorry.
BECCA: It is not the one that you’re thinking of, folks at home. And if you listen to ToughPigs’ Worst of the Muppets podcast, Joe and Fergie did a great play-by-play of it. It’s a bad special. It is not the one you’re thinking of where Bert and Ernie do Gift of the Magi.
SHANE: Or the one where Elmo goes back in time.
BECCA: Or the one where Elmo’s father tells him about a different back in time. Here’s your next question.
[Clip of Richard Michael Gomez plays]
RICHARD MICHAEL GOMEZ: Hi, I’m Richard Michael Gomez and no one really knows what I do.
RICHARD: Everyone’s favorite puppet band that backs up Coldplay, The Weirdos, would be nothing without THEIR keyboardist, The Wizard. But that hasn’t always been his identity. What was the keyboardist The Wizard’s identity before he joined that Coldplay backing band and what show did he originate in?
[Clip ends]
[Clock ticking sound]
[Buzz in ding]
BECCA: Tony.
TONY: I believe that’s Libido from City Kids.
[Clip of Richard Michael Gomez plays]
RICHARD: The keyboardist The Wizard’s alternate identity before Coldplay was Libido, and he came from City Kids. Everyone’s favorite Jim Henson show.
[Clip ends]
BECCA: Go city kids. Go city kids. Go.
TONY: Just go. Just go.
BECCA: All right.
TONY: Great puppets but the show, it’s eh.
BECCA: The Wizard is an incredible puppet. I love him.
TONY: Great puppets but…
BECCA: Or I guess Libido is an incredible puppet. I love him. But The Weirdos are weird.
TONY: City Kids was…I remember sort of seeing it as a kid. but seeing it now, I’m only interested in pretty much the Muppet parts. And that’s like, what? Five percent of the show?
BECCA: Yeah. But why was there a character named Libido?
SHANE: Because it takes place in the mind.
BECCA: I’m going to the next question.
[Clip of Anthony Strand plays]
ANTHONY STRAND: Hey gang! It’s Anthony. My question is about everyone’s favorite Muppet project. That’s right. Mother Goose Stories. In episode 17, we meet Mother Hubbard played by Karen Prell. We also meet Mother Hubbard’s entire family including her daughter, Heather, played by a human, and her husband. Who performed Old Mother Hubbard’s husband and what was the character’s first name?
[Clip ends]
[Clock ticking sound]
[Buzz in ding]
BECCA: Tony.
TONY: I don’t remember the first name but I think it’s Mac Wilson who performed him?
BECCA: Okay. It is Mac Wilson who performed him. So I will give you one point. Does anybody know first name? Shane.
SHANE: Is it Old Father Hubbard?
BECCA: It is not. Scott, were you gonna guess the same?
SCOTT: (laughing) That’s what I was gonna say.
[Becca laughs]
TONY: I thought they were gonna ask about what the dog’s name was.
BECCA: Nope. And here is the answer.
[Clip of Anthony Strand plays]
ANTHONY: As you probably all knew, Old Mother Hubbard’s husband was named Sherlock Hubbard. He wore a deerstalker hat because of course he did and he was performed by Mopatop himself Mac Wilson.
[Clip ends]
BECCA: I want to be clear that Anthony sent that to me with the file name “Hubbard-Wha.”
[Scott laughs]
SHANE: Oh, that’s good. I’ve seen the picture of that character on the Wiki. I remember there being a Sherlock character but I would absolutely never have put those two together. Because that would require Mother Goose Stories to take up any space in my brain.
BECCA: I watched a bunch of them as a kid and I did not like it. Next question.
TONY: I liked what they were trying to do.
BECCA: Yeah, but they didn’t succeed.
TONY: Oh no. By the way, the dog’s name was Barkley.
BECCA: Oh, good to know.
TONY: That’s how I remember it.
BECCA: I know another dog named Barkley.
TONY: I know a goldfish.
BECCA: Oh, that’s true. I know that too. Anyway, Next question.
[Clip of Jarrod Fairclough plays]
JARROD FAIRCLOUGH: Oh, hello. I didn’t see you there. We all know that the best Muppet in the world is Mr. Curly-Twirly. He’s made many appearances in things like The Muppet Christmas Carol, Muppet Treasure Island, even in the audience of Muppets Tonight. But the puppet made an appearance in an episode of The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss. What was that character’s name?
[Clip ends]
[Clock ticking sound]
[Buzz in ding]
BECCA: Shane?
SHANE: I’m gonna say…Oh boy… A-wubba-toes. Something like that.
BECCA: Shane’s pretty close but certainly not close enough. Anybody else want to guess? Or should I just play Jarrod’s answer?
SCOTT: I mean if it’s Seuss, you could just spit out some nonsense. Like oh, it’s Wizzy Woose and that could be a potential guess.
BECCA: [laughs] Well, it’s not the Wizzy Woose either.
[Clip of Jarrod plays]
JARROD: It was Fiff-a-ma-toze. Fiff-a-ma-toze. I don’t know what the hell a Fiff-a-ma-toze is. I’m not starting the Fiff-a-ma-toze appreciation society. Curly-Twirly all the way.
[Clip ends]
SCOTT: Of course. How could we not know that?
SHANE: I knew that it rhymed with nose because his nose comes off.
BECCA: See. That’s why I was saying you were close. You had that right. Next one I will say there’s no introduction in this one but this one is from Patrick Cotnoir.
[Clip of Patrick Cotnoir plays]
PATRICK COTNOIR: Okay. Now this one is my favorite one. This from Muppets from Space, Jeffrey Tambor’s character, Singer. He says he was made fun of a lot when he was growing up and he says that people called him three things. What were those three things?
[Clip ends]
[Clock ticking sound]
[Buzz in ding]
BECCA: Tony.
TONY: I remember freak boy being one of them.
BECCA: Freak boy is one of them. Tony, I will give you a point.
TONY: A delusional psychopath. Something like that.
BECCA: I will give you a point.
[Tony laughs] Anyone remember the third? Which is actually the first. Shane?
SHANE: Big idiot guy.
BECCA: Not big idiot guy. Scott, do you have any guesses?
SCOTT: Weirdo.
BECCA: Close, but no cigar. Here’s the answer.
[Clip of Patrick Cotnoir plays]
PATRICK: It’s wacko, freak boy, and paranoid, delusional psychopath. Great.
[Clip ends]
[All laugh]
BECCA: All right. next one.
[Clip of Tori Schmidt plays]
TORI
SCHMIDT: Hi. This is Tori Schmidt. Which specific Pigs in Space episode was up for a Fred Award? And follow-up question, which Pigs in Space episode did Strangepork want to be nominated?
[Clip ends]
[Clock ticking sound]
[Buzz in ding]
BECCA: So, Shane.
SHANE: So the one that they’re nominated for is Pigalien.
BECCA: That is true.
SHANE: And the one that Strangepork wishes they were up for is Strangepork Takes up Disco. Or learns disco. One of those.
[Clip of Tori Schmidt plays]
TORI: The answer is the sketch that was nominated was Pigalien. And Strangepork wanted Strangepork Takes up Disco to be nominated.
[Clip ends]
BECCA: There you go.
SCOTT: Nicely done.
BECCA: Shane deserves a Fred award for this.
SHANE: Hooray.
SCOTT: That was indefatigable.
BECCA: [laughs] That was sesquipedalian.
SHANE: Inexplicable.
BECCA: That’s a great article that you guys have now, the Pigs in Space opening adjectives.
SHANE: That’s a Shane special.
BECCA: Well, I appreciate it. Shane.
SCOTT: I like that Roger Langridge took it up and kept it going.
BECCA: Yeah, I always forget that they didn’t continue with it on the show. Like it’s only in certain…Is it only in season three?
SHANE: Season two. I guess by season three, they were like, “Oh everyone knows who these guys are now. We don’t have to introduce them every time.”
BECCA: Yeah, but it was funny. Okay, next question.
[Clip of Eli Lee plays]
ELI LEE: Hello, everyone. This is Eli Lee and I am Becca Petunia’s spouse. And I don’t know what you people do on this podcast, but she has asked me to contribute a question. My question for you is: What popular breakfast pastry does Elaine open a store to sell only the tops of in season 8, episode 21 of Seinfeld?
BECCA: Um, Lee.
LEE: Yeah.
BECCA: Lee, I asked you to say a Muppet trivia question. Not a Muffin trivia question.
LEE: Wait, I thought you people were doing a Seinfeld trivia podcast.
BECCA: Can you just…can you just ask that Bear question like I told you to.
LEE: [sighs] Okay. In The Bear in the Big Blue House episode “We Did It Our Way,” what kind of pie does Bear make for his friend Doc Hogg?
BECCA: See was that that hard?
[Clock ticking sound]
LEE: What else have you been keeping from me?
[Clip ends]
[Buzz in ding]
BECCA: Scott, do you know the answer to this question?
SCOTT: I don’t know the answer even though I watched almost every episode with my daughter but I’m gonna guess blueberry pie.
BECCA: It is not blueberry pie. Good guess. Tony?
TONY: A wild berry?
BECCA: So there is a triple berry pie in other episodes but not this one. They make a big deal about this one in the “We Did It Our Way” episode. Shane, do you have a guess?
SHANE: You’re saying it’s three, a triple berry pie?
BECCA: No, this is not the triple berry pie.
SHANE: Ah.
BECCA: I’m saying Tony’s right that they made effectively a wild berry pie but that’s in a different episode.
SHANE: I’m gonna say pecan. A pecan pie.
[Clip of Eli Lee plays]
LEE: The answer is apple pie with nutty crumb topping, served with a whole mess of whipped cream.
[Clip ends]
BECCA: And in my memory, they say that like four or five times in that episode. [laughs] All right.
SHANE: I was close.
BECCA: In the sense that you guys remembered it was a pie.
SCOTT: With the Seinfeld thing I thought for sure this was going in the direction of Pete’s Luncheonette.
BECCA: It should have but it didn’t.
TONY: Or Seinfeld Babies.
BECCA: Or Seinfeld Babies.
SHANE: I was gonna guess muffin even though I have not seen that episode.
BECCA: Muffin was the right answer, yes, to Lee’s first question. Next question.
[Clip of Danny Horn plays]
DANNY HORN: Hi, I’m Danny Horn from ToughPigs, Muppet Wiki, Muppet Pictures and soon the Fantastic Miss Piggy Podcast. My question is in 2001 at the Muppet Fest Convention, the event ended with a performance called The Muppet Show Live. During the intermission between acts, there was a charity auction where they sold Muppet props. Who was the celebrity who helped out during the charity auction and what role did that person play in a Henson production?
[Clip ends]
[Clock ticking sound]
[Buzz in ding]
BECCA: Scott.
SCOTT: I can’t remember if she did it for both because I think she did it during the Muppet Fest panel. But it might have been Claudia Black, who played Aeryn Sun on Farscape?
[Clip of Danny Horn plays]
DANNY: The answer is it was Claudia Black helping with the auction. She played Aeryn Sun on Farscape.
[Clip ends]
BECCA: Look, you got a Farscape question correct.
SHANE: Hooray!
SCOTT: As I recall, she was a surprise guest during the Muppet Fest panel. And then showed up at, as Danny said, during The Muppet Show Live intermission.
BECCA: Scott, were you there for Muppet Fest?
SCOTT: Yeah. Yeah. They actually they closed out the Muppet Fest panels saying, “See you next year for Muppet Fest 2.” And I’m still waiting.
SHANE: And correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t you make The Muppet Show Live, like you’re kind of in The Muppet Show Live recording?
SCOTT: Embarrassingly so. Yes. I mean, I know it’s out on Youtube now, but if that ever got like, a proper release, they’d either have to cut that out because it’s obnoxious or they’d have to leave it in. And that would be me in an official Muppet production. Because Bunsen mentioned something about DVD technology. And I was a big DVD nerd. So I just went, “Ooooh.”
TONY: That was you?
SCOTT: That was me throughout the whole theater that Bunsen had to respond to it. So that was my little interaction with Bunsen in a Muppet production.
BECCA: You guys need to understand, folks at home. And I know a lot of young people listen to the show. There was a time when DVDs were something that you might be excited about.
SCOTT: Yeah. Absolutely.
BECCA: And that time was 2001.
SCOTT: It sure was.
BECCA: [laughs] All right. Next question. The 21st question here.
[Clip of Katilyn plays]
KATILYN: Hey, all. This is Katilyn from ToughPigs.com and have I got a question for you? Meaning “master gardeners who live in bulging plants,” what is the word the podlings from The Dark Crystal use to refer to themselves?
[Clip ends]
[Clock ticking sound]
[Buzz in ding]
BECCA: Shane.
SHANE: They call themselves Steve.
BECCA: They don’t! [laughs] Scott, Tony?
SCOTT: I know we can’t ask Katilyn to specify, but is this… I wonder if this is something that is used in dialogue in the movie or is this something that’s used in the script or the novelization? Because I can’t recall.
BECCA: Unfortunately, I don’t know. It might be something that the Podlings say in their little Podling language but it certainly is not said by Jen or Kira in the film.
SCOTT: Hmm.
BECCA: All right.
[Clip of Katilyn plays]
KATILYN: The answer: Apopiapoiopidiappididiapipob. Just that simple.
[Clip ends]
SCOTT: It was right on the tip of my tongue.
BECCA: [laughs] I want to be clear. That is not the hardest question that we have tonight. That was the second hardest question that we have tonight.
SHANE: Wasn’t that the dog’s name in Tale of the Bunny Picnic?
BECCA: It’s kind of similar. I’m not gonna lie. Here’s the last question.
SHANE: Oh boy.
[Clip of Matthew Soberman plays]
MATTHEW SOBERMAN: Hiya, hiya, hiya. This is ToughPigs writer, Muppet Quotes curator and two-time Hubba-Wha?! champion and Toughest Pig Matthew Soberman here. Now, my love of the Disney Parks has been pretty obvious over the years. I’ve written about why they shouldn’t close Muppet*Vision 3D. I reviewed decades-old stage shows that are long gone. And I’ve compared Epcot’s festivals to Elmo Saves Christmas. And that’s exactly why I’m not going to ask a question about Muppets and Disney parks.
Instead, I’m going to ask a question about Universal Parks. In Universal Studios, Florida, there’s a roller coaster called Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit where guests can zoom through the park while listening to their choice of music in one of five different genres. Now fans in the know may already be aware that there’s also secret song options that can be activated, if you press and hold down the ride logo after the restraints come down, and enter a three-digit code.
Now, you might think I’d ask which two Muppet songs are on this hidden setlist. But for Scott and Shane, that’s way too easy. It’s “Rainbow Connection” and “Movin’ Right Along,” in case you didn’t know.
Instead, my question is what are the code numbers for these two songs?
[Clip ends]
TONY: Go ahead, Scott and Shane.
BECCA: (laughing) So I want to be clear. I want to be clear.
TONY: I’m waiting.
BECCA: Tony, Tony. (in normal voice) Matthew sent this in so long ago and it’s just Scott and Shane because I told him that I was planning this episode for “Muppet Wiki people like Scott and Shane.” So I do want to apologize that you’re not shouted out in that particularly.
But you are allowed to answer even though you are not Scott and Shane.
[Clock ticking sound]
TONY: I’ll wait.
[Buzz in ding]
BECCA: Scott.
SCOTT: I mean, it could literally be anything, right? I mean, the last time I was at Universal Studios, the Back to the Future ride was still there.
BECCA: 1985? No, I’m kidding.
SHANE: Well. He says it’s a three-digit code?
BECCA: Yeah.
SHANE: If my math is correct, that means there are 1000 possible answers.
BECCA: Okay, well.
SHANE: So the odds are in my favor.
BECCA: Matthew did provide a hint.
[Clip of Matthew Soberman plays]
MATTHEW: Stumped? Since this is the last game for a while, I’ll be nice and give you both a hint. One of them is the area code for a city mentioned in a recurring sketch on Muppets Tonight.
[Clip ends]
TONY: Scott, Shane. Go ahead.
SHANE: I didn’t buzz in yet, so I can’t answer.
SCOTT: I think that just made it worse.
SHANE: I’m trying to see if I have a phone book in here.
BECCA: Why would you have a phone book? It’s 2024.
TONY: What was the Muppets Tonight clue?
BECCA: So the three digit number is the area code for a city mentioned in a recurring Muppets Tonight sketch.
All right, here we go with the answer.
SHANE: Wait, let me just take a guess. 212.
BECCA: It is not 212 because that is the New York area code.
TONY: Might as well guess.
BECCA: Tony. You want to guess? Listen, you have a one in 999 chance of getting it right because you know it’s not 212.
TONY: 227?
BECCA: It’s not 227.
[Clip of Matthew Soberman plays]
MATTHEW: The correct answers are 901 for “Movin’ Right Along” and 902 for “Rainbow Connection.” Fun fact: 901 is also the area code for Memphis, Tennessee, which was referenced in Great Moments in Elvis History.”
And with that business concluded, Becca, every time I’ve been on Hubba-Wha?! has been an absolute blast. Thank you for creating such a welcoming space and for letting us Muppet nerds flex our knowledge. I hope the show doesn’t stay away too long. Mostly because I’ve been dreaming of being on a sports-themed episode.
[Clip ends]
BECCA: There will be no sports-themed episode.
SHANE: Wow. And after all those nice things he said about you.
BECCA: I know. I refuse.
TONY: I’m so glad he left my name out.
SCOTT: There’s flexing your Muppet knowledge but man, that was bending over backwards. That was rough.
TONY: In fact, Scott and Shane did not know the answer, Matthew
BECCA: [laughs] Well. But Tony, you did know the answer, right? That’s the whole thing. He didn’t mention you, not because when I started planning this about three months ago, I didn’t not have specific information. But no it was just because he knew you would know so he didn’t want to make it too easy.
TONY: Specific information like a third contestant? [laughs]
BECCA: I didn’t know.
SHANE: This is not Matthew’s fault. It’s Universal Studios, Florida’s fault.
BECCA: Tony, I’m sorry. I didn’t know.
TONY: Becca said, Muppeteer.
BECCA: (laughing) I told you you would hate me by the end of this.
TONY: Oh no, I don’t hate you. I’m just very disappointed in you.
BECCA: (in normal voice) Well, listen.
[Tony laughs]
BECCA: You made it through 22 grueling questions from some of the biggest Muppet fans out there. But let’s make it an even 25 by adding on questions from three other Muppet fans. Namely, you guys. That’s right, we’re doing a special version of our stump-the-host game, (in echo sounding voice) The Anything in the World Prize Game.
(in normal voice) What makes it different this week is I’ve asked you all to bring two questions. Before you try to stump me, I want you to try to stump each other.
So, let’s open up your questions to the table. So first Shane, you are going to ask a question for Tony and Scott. And Tony and Scott, buzz in when you know the answer and you will earn 15 points. So, Shane?
SHANE: Okie doke. Now, all the best facts are about numbers, correct?
BECCA: 901 and 902?
SHANE: Yes. So in The Ghost of Faffner Hall episode “Improvised Music” Farkas sends Riff and Mimi on a task to measure all the rooms in Faffner Hall. But how many rooms are there in Faffner Hall? Because they give a specific number.
[Clock ticking sound]
[Buzz in ding]
SHANE: Oh, Tony buzzed in.
BECCA: Oh good, I can let you host this show. Tony?
TONY: I’m gonna guess 78.
SHANE: 78. Okay, Scott? Do you have an answer?
BECCA: Oh, look at Shane. You’re doing such a great job hosting. [laughs]
SCOTT: I have no idea. 99.
SHANE: Well, you guys are off by just a little bit. There are 1177 rooms in Faffner Hall.
BECCA: And all of them are memorable and wonderful. Just like the show, The Ghost of Faffner Hall.
TONY: Okay. So I was off by 1100.
BECCA: Yeah. Give or take. Tony, do you have a question for Scott and Shane?
TONY: Well, I didn’t know what kind of question to do, but mine’s one of those round robin questions.
BECCA: Oh, like a…
[Clip from Sesame Street plays]
ANNOUNCER: Beat the time!
[Sound effects]
[Clip ends]
BECCA: Okay.
TONY: So I guess it’s going to be you two competing against each other.
BECCA: Yeah.
SHANE: All right. No rules.
BECCA: [laughs] Tony, go ahead.
TONY: Okay, over the years, Sesame Street has had numerous references to the story of Snow White and various versions of it. And one of those, one of the aspects of that is all the different kind of Muppet dwarfs. So, I’m gonna see who can name the most dwarfs.
SHANE: Is there a specific skit that you are referring to?
BECCA: Or just all of the skits combined?
TONY: I’ve got a list of 28 different dwarfs from across Sesame Street over the years. So, I’m wanting to see if either of you can list any of them. I’m not counting the ones from Snow White and the 100 Dwarfs.
BECCA: Okay.
TONY: I feel like an idiot.
BECCA: No, you don’t feel like an idiot. This is a great question. Scott, do you know any of the dwarfs’ names from Sesame Street?
SCOTT: I want to say that there was a Sneezy.
TONY: Nope.
SCOTT: No.
BECCA: Okay. Shane, you can steal. You can name two dwarfs.
SHANE: Pokey.
TONY: Pokey is one.
SHANE: Flaky.
TONY: I’m sorry to hear that. Yep.
BECCA: Okay, back to Scott.
SCOTT: You’d think I’d know the ones from the older ones? But I’m thinking of the ones that were in the sketch with Amy Sedaris because that’s the one I probably watched multiple times with my daughter. I think there was a Smelly.
TONY: There was.
BECCA: Okay. Back to Shane.
SHANE: Cheerful.
TONY: Mmhmm. From the News Flash sketch.
BECCA: Okay. Back to Scott.
SCOTT: Ryan Dillon did one. I think in, might have been his first season. Oh, what was he called? Sensitive nose.
TONY: That’s him. If it helps, I’m going to help you a little bit. Some of the sketches that involve the dwarfs were “The Six Dwarfs,” which is a Snow White sketch with Frank Oz’s Snow White. “The Seven Emotional Dwarfs” which is a News Flash segment. The Amy Sedaris episode. And, just for fun, eight random ones from other projects.
SHANE: It’s my turn, right?
TONY: I have no idea. [laughs]
SHANE: So Scott just guessed Sensitive Nose.
TONY: Oh, that’s right. Yeah.
SHANE: So I’m gonna say Proud.
TONY: Mmhmm.
SHANE: I’m proud to have gotten that.
BECCA: Okay, Scott.
SCOTT: Has anybody said Clumsy yet?
TONY: Nope. But he is one.
SCOTT: Is Clumsy one? Or is it?
TONY: Yeah, Clumsy is one of the Amy Sedaris dwarfs.
SCOTT: Oh, okay. Good.
BECCA: Shane.
SHANE: There’s a Lovey.
TONY: Right.
BECCA: Okay, back to Scott.
SCOTT: My brain is broken. Rusty. I don’t know.
TONY: Nope, not one of the dwarfs.
BECCA: Okay, Shane you can give two.
SHANE: There’s Angry.
TONY: Mmhmm.
SHANE: Cheerful.
TONY: Oh, you already listed Cheerful? (Imitating Joseph McCarthy) I have here a list.
BECCA: Okay.
TONY: (continuing) A list of the dwarfs.
BECCA: So, I guess I’m gonna call it here then. Because…
TONY: (in normal voice) Wait a minute. We go.
BECCA: Yeah, but we’ve got two mistakes. We got two mistakes. So what I’m going to say is points-wise, because Shane got more of the dwarfs correct, I am going to give Shane the 15 points.
However, Tony, can you list the other dwarfs you were looking for?
TONY: Sure thing. From “The Six Dwarfs” there were Sparky, Schnooky, Pokey, Flaky, Drippy and Sneaky.
From the News Flash segment: Cheerful, Angry, Lovey, Fearful, Sad, Surprised and Proud.
From the Amy Sedaris episode: Clumsy, Hammy, Smelly, Sensitive Nose, Gassy, Itchy and Vertigo.
SCOTT: Gassy that had to have been a Joey Mazzarino character.
BECCA: 100%.
TONY: The eight extra are from lesser-known versions. From the Abby’s Flying Fairy School segment, there’s one where they consult a fairy tale book and somebody lists off a few of the dwarfs’ names. Dozy, Meany, Blushy and Obsequious.
BECCA: That’s a Joey Mazzarino joke as well.
TONY: And probably most obscure is from the Sesame Street Book of Fairy Tales. This is a story where The Count interrupts Big Bird’s readings. And he ends up crashing into the stage they’re in.
BECCA: It’s in the Treasury as well.
TONY: Mmhmm. And those not repeated, because I think Pokey and Flaky were a couple of them. There’s also Spunky, Skimpy, Shnibby and Beinstock.
SHANE: Okay.
BECCA: That’s not a Joey Mazzarino joke. All right. And thank you Tony. That was great. Scott. So this is for Shane and Tony.
SCOTT: All right, so for Shane and Tony, although she starred in the 1993 illustrated book I Want To Be President, Betty Lou had a different goal in the 1982 View-Master set “People in Your Neighborhood.” What was it?
[Clocking ticking sound]
[Buzz in ding]
SCOTT: I see Tony.
TONY: I think she wanted to be an architect.
SCOTT: That is incorrect. Shane.
SHANE: I’m gonna say she wanted to be a carpenter?
SCOTT: That is also incorrect. So “The People in Your Neighborhood” View-Master set they would show the Muppet character with something that they did playing as a child and then they would show like a fantasy version of what that aspiration was. And the two that depicted Betty Lou showed that she wanted to be a car mechanic.
TONY: I thought that was Prairie Dawn.
BECCA: Wait. Are you sure that isn’t Prairie Dawn in the book? I think you might be scrambling “The People in Your Neighborhood” ones. Prairie Dawn is absolutely the car mechanic on that View-Master.
SCOTT: I just made the most basic bro mistake.
[Becca, Shane and Tony laugh]
SCOTT: Muppet fan mistake you could possibly make. The thing that I berate others for.
BECCA: Well, here’s what’s funny. Prairie Dawn is the mechanic in that. However, our pal Betty Lou, your friend and mine but mostly mine, is of course, an architect.
[Shane laughs]
BECCA: Meaning that I will give Tony. [laughs] I will give Tony those points.
SCOTT: That was incredibly embarrassing, but I’m glad to take that hit because Tony absolutely called me on that. So very well done.
BECCA: It’s funny because I have the, I mean, again, I have the picture of Prairie Dawn as a mechanic saved on my phone. So I was like, wait a minute, Betty Lou, like again, because I care too much about the distinction because I’m fascinated by it.
TONY: Talked about this the other day on the Discord.
BECCA: Yeah well because again Prairie Dawn in the Sesame Street Dictionary has a garage, The Dawn to Dusk Garage, which is also in a Colorform set that Tony was showing us. So good stuff on the ToughPigs Discord. Hey, that’s a plug for that.
But Scott, unfortunately.
SCOTT: I should lose points for mixing up Betty Lou and Prairie Dawn.
BECCA: No, I’ll be nice. I’ll be nice and not do that. But we will move on to…
TONY: We’re not mad. We’re just disappointed.
BECCA: We will move on to the questions.
TONY: Not really.
BECCA: The questions you have to stump me. So Scott, why don’t you go first with a question to stump me?
SCOTT: All right, question for Becca. In an attempt to stump. Including his recurring stuffed monster named Hercules, Muppet Wiki has documented at least 20 different dolls owned by Herry Monster over the years. Most of them were fairly generic and unnamed, but at one point he receives a Raggedy Ann doll. To whom did that doll originally belong?
BECCA: So, it’s hilarious because I actually read this article last week. Because I think Tony actually posted it in the Discord. Is it David?
BECCA: It is not.
BECCA: Scott, who was it?
SCOTT: So it’s a bit of a trick question because it’s unclear. The Raggedy Ann doll is found in a box that Mr. Hooper and his brother Arnold are going through. And they argue over who it belonged to. So it was one of the Hooper brothers. And they decide to gift it to Herry after Herry becomes so enamored with it.
BECCA: Well, that was very kind of them.
SHANE: I like the Hooper Brothers. It sounds very good.
BECCA: All right. Well, you are gonna get 15 points either way. And now we will move to Shane. Shane, do you have a question to stump me?
SHANE: I do have a question. So in the Pigs in Space episode or skit from the Cloris Leachman episode, the Swinetrek is invaded by Chopped Liver. And Miss Piggy calls him hideous. And he replies, “Hideous? For [x] amount of money per pound, you expect beautiful?” So Becca, how much is Chopped Liver per pound?
BECCA: Shane loves his numbers.
SHANE: Numbers make the best facts.
BECCA: Well listen, my question for you guys involves numbers. So it’s fine. But I’m going to guess 85 cents.
SHANE: Wow, Becca you’re so close. No, it’s $1.69.
BECCA: Oh, nice.
TONY: Yeah, but what’s that IN inflation?
SHANE: I did look that up and I forgot to write it down to remember it. Because I know that like Ryan and Anthony love their inflation calculator. I think it was like eight dollars or something.
BECCA: Yeah, it’s big. It’s big.
BECCA: That’s a lot.
TONY: It better be beautiful at eight dollars.
BECCA: [sighs] The economy is in shambles. [laughs] Tony, do you have a question for me?
TONY: Well, I got a question with a two-part answer. Either one’s okay. This question is about the Furry Arms Hotel, and you can answer either one of these. What was the original name of the hotel according to the creators of the show? And what was the original name of the hotel within the Muppet universe?
BECCA: I’m a fake Furry Arms fan because I don’t remember this.
[Scott, Shane and Tony laugh]
BECCA: I’m a fake Furry Arms fan. I could tell you about how Humphrey and Ingrid met at the Furry Arms. I could tell you about Sherry Netherland and Benny Rabbit. And I could tell you about when Frazzle was staying there, but he was weirdly not Frazzle. And all of these different things. But I can’t tell you this, Tony. So I’m gonna give you 15 points as well.
Shane, it seems like you know though.
SHANE: I do know the answer.
BECCA: Mmhmm.
SHANE: So, the original name out-universe by the writers was the Right Arms Hotel.
TONY: That’s right.
BECCA: Oh, that’s funny.
TONY: A reference to the right-handed performers.
SHANE: And then in-universe, they mention this on the Phil Donahue Show. And I remember, I saved that in my brain because I thought it was a really funny joke when I first heard it. They wanted to call it the big building with free soap.
TONY: But it was taken.
[Becca laughs]
SHANE: Yes. It was already taken.
BECCA: God, I mean ‘90’s Sesame Street is weird, but when it was funny, it was very funny.
TONY: Becca, off the record, I was gonna ask you about Betty Lou’s favorite doll. But after going through the Donahue episode, I realized it was another doll so I couldn’t ask it.
BECCA: I would have loved it but actually you would have been fine stumping me with the name of the doll because I don’t know the name of the specific doll. I need to rewatch the like only eight episodes that she is in because this so-called in the 90s “we need to do more with Betty Lou” really did not amount to much.
[Clip from Sesame Street plays]
PRAIRIE DAWN: Ugh, I’m getting a migraine.
[Clip ends]
BECCA: Our final game is, of course, (in echo sounding voice) Say the Word. (in normal voice) As you surely know, in this round, you can wager any amount of points. The winner gets those points and the loser loses them. You will get to hear the question before you answer it.
And here is a question from me. All right, so one of the most impressive things you guys have accomplished over at Muppet Wiki, is that Sesame Street episode guide we were talking about. As we said earlier in the episode, there’s now a full episode guide for every single episode of Sesame Street. Fifty-four years of Sesame Street at our fingertips. It’s really something special. Fifty-five. It’s 2024. Although, I guess the show premiered in November, so it’s 54 years.
This also means that now we can say with some degree of certainty, how many episodes of Sesame Street each character appeared in. Now, Muppet Wiki has on certain character’s pages the number of episodes with street scenes featuring certain characters. We’re talking about street scenes here, right? In other words, the new footage recorded for each episode as opposed to recurring sketches and segments.
Muppet Wiki on those individual lists has things broken down in terms of five-year periods. But that wasn’t specific enough for me. So, I spent this morning counting episodes even more specifically, And now I’m going to make that your problem as I ask you about my signature favorite character’s episodes.
Before we get to that question though, let me review the rules here. Scott, you currently have 85 points. Shane, you have 110 points. And Tony, you have 150 points.
TONY: Hubba-wha? I mean, Hubba-wha?
BECCA: As I was saying, those are the point totals. So now you know how many points you have to wager. And here is your question.
Thanks to Muppet Wiki, we know that my girl Prairie Dawn wasn’t in as many street scenes as we all thought she was. The various recurring segments really skewed our memory, I guess. However, we know that she’s still important to me. Now, I went through and counted how many episodes with street scenes featuring Prairie Dawn there were in each season of Sesame Street. So, I am going to ask you, there are two seasons of Sesame Street that are tied for having the most episodes with street scenes featuring Prairie Dawn.
Which two seasons are those? And, in each of those seasons, how many episodes did she appear in?
Again, and for folks at home who might not know the terminology, when we say street scenes, we mean the new footage of the characters interacting with the humans and other Muppets on the actual Sesame Street set. We do not mean any recurring sketches, like Monsterpiece Theater or Guy Smiley game shows or animations of the Ladybugs Picnic or anything like that. We mean new footage.
So what I’d like you to do is I want you to send in both the two seasons that you think featured the most episodes with Prairie Dawn. And in each of those seasons, how many episodes she appeared in. And, again, that is the same number in each of those seasons because they are tied.
Whoever gets more of these correct will get their points back. So if Scott and Shane both get zero of them correct but Tony gets the right number of episodes but not the right seasons, Tony will be the one who wins his points back.
Okay. So everybody has submitted. Shane and Tony, you each guessed the same two seasons of Sesame Street. Shane and Tony, which two seasons did you guess?
SHANE: Season 23 and 24.
BECCA: Tony, you agree?
TONY: Mmhmm.
BECCA: Scott, you guessed two different seasons. Scott, which seasons did you guess?
SCOTT: Guess is the operable word here because I guessed 31 and 32.
BECCA: Okay. And Scott. How many episodes did you say she appeared in in each of those seasons?
SCOTT: Again with the guess. Fifteen each.
BECCA: All right, Shane, how many episodes did you say she appeared in in each of those seasons?
SHANE: I said, nine.
BECCA: Okay, and Tony?
TONY: I said 22 because I figured there’s a lot of stuff with her and Monty.
BECCA: So, Seasons 23 and 24 are the correct answer. Those seasons are tied for the most appearances of Prairie Dawn. However, in each of those seasons she only appeared in 12 episodes’ street scenes.
So, I do also want to add real quick, season 23 is the one that premiered two months after I was born. So is it a coincidence? Probably. But maybe, I mean it honestly isn’t because it means that those episodes were in circulation when I was a child. But the point still stands that Tony and Shane both got the seasons correct.
Shane, you are much closer than Tony in terms of the amount of episodes that she appeared in in each of those seasons. So I am going to give you your bet back. Your bet was three points. Which puts your score at 113 points.
SHANE: I didn’t want to risk it.
BECCA: Now here’s why none of what I just said actually matters because Tony is going to lose 35 points bringing his score to 115 points.
TONY: Wait a minute. Wait a minute. I bet 20.
BECCA: Oh, you bet 20? I mean, it doesn’t matter. Either way you have more points, Tony. That’s what I’m trying to say. God, when did I lose control of the plot here? But either way, Tony has more points. Tony bet 20, bringing him to 130. And Scott bet zero bringing him to 85 points.
So, no matter how we slice it, whether I give Tony points or not or whether I take away 35 points from Tony or not. Tony is still today’s winner and today’s Toughest Pig!
SHANE: Bravo.
SCOTT: Woohoo!
BECCA: So, I do want to say, though, Tony congratulations. But I did promise you all that you were all going to be winners tonight. So here’s what I’m going to say. Each of you can request any Muppet and I will make you some art of that Muppet. Tony because you won, you can name two Muppets.
SHANE: We don’t have to come up with them right now, do we?
BECCA: Think about it while I’m doing my outro and tell me at the end. That’ll be good audio. That brings us to the end of another one. So guests, where can people find you if you wish to be found? Let’s start with Scott.
SCOTT: Well, social media is a dumpster fire, so I’ll just say come and find us on Muppet Wiki.
BECCA: Muppet Wiki’s great. Shane?
SHANE: I am still on the social media. So you can follow me @sokdrawer. That’s S-O-K drawer on Twitter. I think I’m there on Bluesky as well. And you can follow me there on Letterboxd at Sokdrawer as well. Also follow OneMuppetShot on Twitter because that’s a thing that I’m still doing.
BECCA: And Tony?
TONY: Well, I guess first of all, you can find me on Muppet Wiki or on Twitter. I’m not gonna call it X. Just @MuppetDude. Capital M, capital D. And honestly it’s been great to be a part of this.
BECCA: Tony, I’m so glad. I’m so glad we could finally get you on the show. It really was too long and I wanted to make sure that we did not end the show without you.
SHANE: And you’ve done a great job with this, Becca, over all three seasons. This has been so fun to listen to and to play along.
BECCA: Thank you. I do want to apologize for this one being a long one. So let me get through my plugs and my thank yous.
TONY: I’d rather you apologize for this being a crazy one, but then again, which episode isn’t?
BECCA: I know. That’s the thing is I think people like that.
So anyway, you can find ToughPigs at ToughPigs.com, or @ToughPigs on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, Bluesky, all those things. You can also find us at the ToughPigs Discord, which is now open and honestly has been running pretty well. I’ve been pretty glad.
If you like our stuff, you can donate to the ToughPigs Patreon where you get more free stuff. You can buy our ToughPig shirts at the ToughPigs Teepublic page. Including this “Whatever” shirt that I’m wearing today. But also Monster at the End of This Book, (in echo sounding voice) Hubba-Wha?! (in normal voice) shirt, some Pride shirts, Mr. Curly-Twirly Appreciation Society. Or Mr. Fiff-a-ma-toze Appreciation Society, if you’re nasty.
[Tony laughs]
BECCA: Are you guys thinking of which Muppet you want me to draw? Keep thinking. Keep thinking while I keep plugging. I do want to thank some people for helping out. I want to thank our guests. You’re thinking of Muppets that you want me to draw. You’re thinking. Keep thinking.
And also I want to thank for writing and recording questions:
The unbelievable Ryan Roe,
the inexplicable Gav,
the dynamic David Levy,
the phenomenal Fergie Philippe,
the birthday boy himself, ToughPigs Muppet fan executive producer Joe Hennes,
the dedicated JD Hansel,
the cosmic Ren Goetz,
the talented Iffy,
the merry Mike Westfall,
the marvelous Michal Richardson
the Fraggliest Beth Cook,
the mystical moomin aka Cypress aka moomin,
the audacious Adam Grosswirth,
the ridiculous Richard Gomez. And thanks for the host artwork, Richard.
The fabulous Anthony Strand,
the hilarious Patrick Cotnoir,
the titanic Tori Schmidt,
my lovely spouse, Eli,
ToughPigs’ dad, Danny Horn,
the charismatic Katilyn Miller. And thanks for writing our transcripts. I apologize for this one.
The magnificent Matthew Soberman.
And of course, thanks to Staci Rosen for writing the theme music to this show.
[Sighs]
And lastly, thanks to all of you at home for being with us on (in echo sounding voice) Hubba-Wha?! (in normal voice) the Muppet quiz show. And as always, we’ll be back again, someday. But first, you’re going to like some of the stuff we’ve got planned for 2024.
And what Muppets am I drawing?
SHANE: I would like a Doglion, please.
BECCA: Okay, Shane requests Doglion.
SCOTT: In keeping in theme with the episode, I’ll have to go with 1880s Robot.
BECCA: Okay.
SHANE: Ooh.
BECCA: And Tony you get to tell me two.
TONY: I was going to go obscure, but in honor of Hubba-Wha?!, I’m gonna go with Prairie Dawn and Betty Lou.
BECCA: All right.
SCOTT: Don’t get them mixed up. That would be a real, a real rookie mistake.
[Becca and Tony laugh]
SHANE: She really could just draw the same thing twice and most people wouldn’t know
BECCA: What I’m just gonna have to do is just draw them from the foreheads down and no one will know.
TONY: Sesame Street merchandise gets them confused.
BECCA: Including The People in your Neighborhood poster set, which does label Betty Lou as Prairie Dawn. But thank you all so much. It really was a pleasure. I’m so glad you could all be with me on this wild episode. Good night, everyone.
[Hubba-Wha?! outro music plays]
[Music ends]
[Clip from Sesame Street plays]
[Music plays]
PRAIRIE DAWN: (singing) I really am quite remarkable.
[Clip ends]
