# Can anyone ID this Muppet sketch? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 11, 2008, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-id-this-muppet-sketch/433127 "2008-01-11T14:52:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-id-this-muppet-sketch/433127/1 "2008-01-11T14:52:35Z")
> [@Muppet # 1](#): > > Merd-li-dop . . . . > [@Muppet #2](#): > > _Wooooooooooooooooo!_ From searching (I’ve tried variations, but that’s the best spelling of Merdlidop I could find), I’m pretty sure it took place on Koozbane. Or maybe not. I don’t remember much else besides this basic call and response. I’m not even sure what Muppet incarnation it’s from, save that it’s from the seventies/early eighties. I’d love to be able to send a clip to my niece and nephew – Rhythm Brother taught them well. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Wee\_Bairn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/90db22/32.png) [@Wee\_Bairn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wee_Bairn)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-id-this-muppet-sketch/433127/2 "2008-01-11T15:00:31Z")
Koozbane- haven’t thought of that in ages. Is[this](http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Galley-oh-hoop-hoop) it? ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-id-this-muppet-sketch/433127/3 "2008-01-11T15:10:25Z")
I don’t think so … wasn’t that the one that involved a lot of lonnng drown out whoop whoops? What I’m remembering is much shorter calls and responses. ---
**Author:** ![Wee\_Bairn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/90db22/32.png) [@Wee\_Bairn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wee_Bairn)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-id-this-muppet-sketch/433127/4 "2008-01-11T15:14:55Z")
I absolutely know what you’re talking about, but can’t recall specifics. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-id-this-muppet-sketch/433127/5 "2008-01-11T15:17:40Z")
I remember the sketch - or I think I do - it involved aliens popping up out of holes (craters) in the ground and making those noises. try googling koozebane ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-id-this-muppet-sketch/433127/6 "2008-01-11T15:20:54Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] It involved aliens popping up out of holes (craters) in the ground and making those noises. [/QUOTE] Yeah! And I think there was fog. I’ve Googled a lot (koozebane, koozban, koozeban, merdilidop, merdaladop, redrum…) but haven’t yet found the right set of keywords. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-id-this-muppet-sketch/433127/7 "2008-01-11T15:27:23Z")
The episode was hosted by Dom DeLuise, and the skit occurs after the five minute mark during [this portion](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nj2GgEB4Vps) of the show. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-id-this-muppet-sketch/433127/8 "2008-01-11T15:38:50Z")
[QUOTE=Max Torque] The episode was hosted by Dom DeLuise, and the skit occurs after the five minute mark during [this portion](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nj2GgEB4Vps) of the show. [/QUOTE] YYYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!! Thanks!!! ---
**Author:** ![Chanteuse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9de053/32.png) [@Chanteuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chanteuse)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-id-this-muppet-sketch/433127/9 "2008-01-11T15:56:49Z")
Since we’re already on the subject of the Muppets, maybe someone can tell me what episode had the “Rockin’ Robin” skit. That was one of my faves! And I’d never seen the “Merdilidop” sketch before–I loved it! ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-id-this-muppet-sketch/433127/10 "2008-01-11T15:56:57Z")
I’m waiting for that link to preload so I can go straight to the sketch. Let’s see how good my memory was… I recall two pinkish or purplish, quite furry aliens, popping alternately out of adjacent craters. The first one made some kind of noise (although I’m surprised that you’ve been trying to search for it in written form, because I only recall it as a sort of mumbled, but consistent four-syllable ‘ma-ma-na-ma’). Then the other alien would pop up and make a sound like a steam whistle. In my memory, the sound was emitted through a hole in the top of his head, but I wonder how accurate that was… Should be loaded now… off to watch it… ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-id-this-muppet-sketch/433127/11 "2008-01-11T15:59:48Z")
Well how about that! - not as inaccurate as I feared. ---
**Author:** ![Wee\_Bairn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/90db22/32.png) [@Wee\_Bairn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wee_Bairn)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-id-this-muppet-sketch/433127/12 "2008-01-11T16:01:13Z")
[QUOTE=Chanteuse] Since we’re already on the subject of the Muppets, maybe someone can tell me what episode had the “Rockin’ Robin” skit. That was one of my faves! And I’d never seen the “Merdilidop” sketch before–I loved it! [/QUOTE] [Here.](http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Rockin'_Robin) ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-id-this-muppet-sketch/433127/13 "2008-01-11T23:01:48Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] I’m waiting for that link to preload so I can go straight to the sketch. Let’s see how good my memory was… I recall two pinkish or purplish, quite furry aliens, popping alternately out of adjacent craters. The first one made some kind of noise (although I’m surprised that you’ve been trying to search for it in written form, because I only recall it as a sort of mumbled, but consistent four-syllable ‘ma-ma-na-ma’). Then the other alien would pop up and make a sound like a steam whistle. In my memory, the sound was emitted through a hole in the top of his head, but I wonder how accurate that was… Should be loaded now… off to watch it… [/QUOTE] The “ma-na-ma-na” bit was different from the “murgladop” bit. “Ma-na-ma-na” was a song, and I believe it originated on Sesame Street, though they might have redone it on the Muppet Show later. All right, you guys are good with old Muppet-type sketches–can anyone find this one? All I remember was that it was on Sesame Street, probably back in the early 70s. What I can remember of the song went something like this (forgive my faulty memory–this was a _long_ time ago): Ro did-a flow Rolled over the o and the (something) explodes all the O’s And the crow flies low past the croaking toad and the (something) rolls over the ocean but the wind did blow and it started to snow and the goat went home to the telephone (something) He fixes a bowl of cold potatoes and soap… Anyone? I think it was supposed to be a Sesame Street “O” song. I’d love to see it on YouTube. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-id-this-muppet-sketch/433127/14 "2008-01-11T23:03:27Z")
[QUOTE=winterhawk11] The “ma-na-ma-na” bit was different from the “murgladop” bit. “Ma-na-ma-na” was a song, and I believe it originated on Sesame Street, though they might have redone it on the Muppet Show later. [/QUOTE] It was first done on _The Ed Sullivan Show_. ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-id-this-muppet-sketch/433127/15 "2008-01-11T23:07:49Z")
[QUOTE=JThunder] It was first done on _The Ed Sullivan Show_. [/QUOTE] And it was originally written for a soft porn flick. > **[Mah Nà Mah Nà](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mah_N%C3%A0_Mah_N%C3%A0)** > > "Mah Nà Mah Nà" is a popular song by the Italian composer Piero Umiliani. It originally appeared in the Italian film Sweden: Heaven and Hell (Svezia, inferno e paradiso). On its own it was a minor radio hit in the United States and in Britain, but it became better known internationally after it was used by the Muppets and on The Benny Hill Show. > Sesame Street producer Joan Ganz Cooney heard the track on the radio and decided it would be a perfect addition to the show. The song's first Sesame Str... ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-id-this-muppet-sketch/433127/16 "2008-01-11T23:09:49Z")
[QUOTE=JThunder] It was first done on _The Ed Sullivan Show_. [/QUOTE] [Nope](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mah_N%C3%A0_Mah_N%C3%A0). > [@Wikipedia](#): > > “Mah Nà Mah Nà” debuted as part of Umiliani’s soundtrack for the Italian softcore pornography movie Svezia, inferno e paradiso (Sweden, Heaven and Hell) (1968), a pseudo-documentary film about wild sexual activity and other behavior in Sweden (“Mah Nà Mah Nà” accompanied a scene set in a sauna). A soundtrack album, “Svezia, Inferno e Paradiso” was released in 1968. The movie was also released under the English title Sweden Heaven and Hell. When I was eight or nine, my little brother and I saw this on The Muppet Show, and we worked up our own performance of it, probably to the initial delight and eventual irritation of our parents. I’m not sure whether to be amused or horrified at the song’s softcore origins. Daniel Edit: Dammit! ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-id-this-muppet-sketch/433127/17 "2008-01-11T23:15:36Z")
[QUOTE=Left Hand of Dorkness] Edit: Dammit! [/QUOTE] Here, have my favorite muppets: [http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=4qxWGr8VhzQ](http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=4qxWGr8VhzQ) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-id-this-muppet-sketch/433127/18 "2008-01-11T23:21:19Z")
[QUOTE=winterhawk11] The “ma-na-ma-na” bit was different from the “murgladop” bit. “Ma-na-ma-na” was a song, and I believe it originated on Sesame Street, though they might have redone it on the Muppet Show later. [/QUOTE] I certainly wasn’t thinking of the ma-na-ma-na song - it’s just that I heard and remembered the “murgladop” sound as four less than distinct syllables (although the delivery and intonation were exactly what I had in mind). What I don’t remember at all is the presence of a human in the scene. All I remember is the alternate popping up and calling/hooting. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-id-this-muppet-sketch/433127/19 "2008-01-11T23:31:54Z")
[QUOTE=Superfluous Parentheses] Here, have my favorite muppets: [http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=4qxWGr8VhzQ](http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=4qxWGr8VhzQ) [/QUOTE] Hee hee hee! All is forgiven. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-id-this-muppet-sketch/433127/20 "2008-01-11T23:34:28Z")
[QUOTE=winterhawk11] Ro did-a flow Rolled over the o and the (something) explodes all the O’s And the crow flies low past the croaking toad and the (something) rolls over the ocean but the wind did blow and it started to snow and the goat went home to the telephone (something) He fixes a bowl of cold potatoes and soap… [/QUOTE] [Here it is](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIN_eauYq7g). You had a pretty good memory of it. A similar one, one of my favourites, is [this one](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvLaLyC8suM). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-id-this-muppet-sketch/433127.md?page=2)