I always had a liking for Beaker and Bunsen. Even more so after high school, where my chemistry teacher (Mr. Gray) looked almost exactly like Bunsen (large, spherical head), and talked like Kermit.
The Sweedish Chef is pretty cool, though. Tossing a head of lettuce into the air and firing a gun into it to cut it up was great.
The pigs (not including Miss Piggy, I hate her) rocked, too. Particularly “Pigs in Space.”
Jeremy…
Anyone who says they don’t like children obviously isn’t cooking them properly.
Shirley: If you’ll recall, in the early years of Sesame Street, Big Bird used to regularly head round the back of the building to his nest area, and always choke his neck when it hit the bar across the doorway in the fence. That was because Carroll Spinney couldn’t see much through the outfit.
But underneath the feathers is a patch of material that he can see through just fine, though it is limiting.
What I want to know is how he can hold his arm up all the time. That takes incredible strength!
I liked all the members of the band, but my favorite was Floyd, the guitarist. I also liked Maynard the trumpet player, even though he never said or did anything but play his horn. Very cool.
I can do a near perfect impression of Kermit and Elmo. I hate Miss Piggy. She’s damn grating. There’s so many good characters.
–Tim
We are the children of the Eighties. We are not the first “lost generation” nor today’s lost generation; in fact, we think we know just where we stand - or are discovering it as we speak.
Actually, I think Spinney has (at least currently) the same rig inside Big Bird that they used for the Gorgs on Fraggle Rock. There’s a little TV camera behind one eye of the costume, connected to a video monitor that the puppeteer watches inside the costume. It allows the character to be manipulated such that it’s actually looking at whatever it’s supposed to be looking at.
As for how any of the puppeteers hold their arms up so long…I don’t think they work more than a few minutes at a stretch, then they get a quick rest. And, you get used to it pretty quickly, I’d imagine. Again about Big Bird: notice that BB’s right arm doesn’t move much. I believe it’s wired to the head movement, so it doesn’t just hang there like dead weight, but it sure doesn’t operate like an arm.
And you think just holding your arm above your head is hard: Spinney can do it while Big Bird is rollerskating!
Gonzo always reminded me of Klinger, on MASH. Not just the nose, but the way they both had their own drummer, and it didn’t bother them (or in Gonzo’s case, occur to them) that everyone else thought they were whacked.
Remember, I’m pulling for you; we’re all in this together.
—Red Green
I believe that Dark Crystal was just re-released on video; I know for a fact that it came out on DVD mere weeks ago. Great extras on the DVD, including original language workprints of the Skeksis (they originally spoke their own language, not English), the Emperor’s funeral scene, and the hour-long behind-the-scenes documentary, plus even more goodies.
Highly, highly recommended. Go buy yourself a DVD player if you don’t already have one.
Thanks,Max!! I’ll have to hint to That Man that I want the video… We don’t have a DVD player… or maybe there’s on on the roommates puter…hmmm… have to check that.
Rizzo is the coolest rodent on earth. Also, Fozzie, because unfortunately we have the same sense of humor. It’s really hard to pick one though. I live a few hours from the town where Henson was born. If you’re ever in Mississippi, the museum in Leland is worth the trip. It’s small, but for Muppet addicts like me, it’s mecca.
Any magician can pull a rabbit out of a hat, show me one who can pull a hat out of a rabbit and I’ll believe.
We had a guy in highschool named Gonzigoski, or Gonz. His nickname was before the muppets, but he looked like, and had the personality of Gonzo on the Muppets.
I’m only your wildest fear, from the corners of your darkest thoughts.
We don’t have a DVD player… or maybe there’s on on the roommates puter…hmmm… have to check that.