Archive-name: tv/muppets/faq
Posting-Frequency: monthly
Expires: October 1, 1996

	      ALT.TV.MUPPETS FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
                                       
Version 5.1a.  Last updated: 30 September 1996.

Before we start, let me get this out of the way: the two old guys in
the balcony are Statler and Waldorf.  (See question 7.)

   CONTENTS                                        QUICK ANSWER
   I.   Administrivia
        1. A Muppet newsgroup?  That's SO cool!    Well, we think so
           What is alt.tv.muppets?                 A friendly newsgroup
        2. What other fan activities exist?        MuppetZine et al.
        3. I have strong opinions about this FAQ.  teej@panix.com,
           Who should I send "comments" to?           horn@dolphin.upenn.edu,
                                                      csilvers@cs.stanford.edu

   II.  Muppets and their owners
        4. What is a Muppet, anyway?               Puppets, but different
        5. Doesn't Disney own the Muppets?         No
        6. Who runs the Muppets nowadays?          Brian Henson

   III. "The Muppet Show" and its cast
        7. Who are the two old guys in the         Statler and Waldorf
           balcony?
        8. What is Gonzo?                          Unclear
        9. What about Scooter?                     Human
        10. Where has Scooter gone, anyway?        He's been retired
        11. What's the best ever Muppet sketch?    Mahna Mahna  :-)

   IV.  "Muppets Tonight!" and its cast
        12. Muppets *what*?                        On ABC, occasionally
        13. Who plays Kermit now?                  Steve Whitmire
        14. What is Clifford?  What is Pepe?       Human and prawn
            What is Nigel's buddy?                 Mink

   V.   "Sesame Street"
        15. Is XXX dying of any disease?           NO
        16. Are Ernie and Bert gay?                No evidence either way
        17. I heard PBS is going to cancel SS.     Not gonna happen

   VI.  Things available on the 'net
        18. Who is...?                             Lew Zealand?  Uncle Deadly?
        19. Who performed....?                     Big list of all performers
        20. In what episode did...?                Lists: SS TMS MT! FR Dino
        21. What are the lyrics to...?             Lists: SS TMS
        22. Where are pictures of...?              Probably nowhere
        23. What records/CDs/CD-ROMs/videos/books  A lot, but some are
            are there?                                out of print
        24. What's that program that turns stuff   The Encheferizer
            into Mock Swedish?                        Bork bork bork!
        25. Yes, but where are the *Muppet sites*? All over the web

   VII. Now Showing
        26. What Muppet stuff is on TV nowadays?   MT! and others

A humble request: If someone posts a question that is answered here,
please be polite anyway.  Yelling to read the FAQ gets to be more
annoying that answering the question that was asked.

			  -----------------

I. ADMINISTRIVIA

1. A Muppet newsgroup?  That's SO cool!  What is alt.tv.muppets?

   It's a newsgroup devoted to Muppets, in all their wonderful shapes
   and forms.  We talk about Muppets in cartoons, movies, television
   shows, happy meal boxes, you name it.  While not emphasized in
   this FAQ, we often talk about _The Dark Crystal_, _Labyrinth_,
   "Fraggle Rock," "Dinosaurs," and other Henson productions on this
   newsgroup.  We do not really discuss puppets or puppetry in
   general; rec.arts.puppetry is more appropriate for this.

   While "Sesame Street" would not be the same without the Muppets,
   there is more to "Sesame Street" then just the Muppets.  If you
   want to talk about extra-Muppet parts of "Sesame Street," consider
   alt.tv.sesame-street.

   And if you are feeling terribly silly, there's always
   alt.swedish.chef.bork.bork.bork.

2. What other fan activities are there?

   If you're in New York City, The Museum of Television and Radio has
   a huge collection of Muppet programs for viewing.  These includes
   rare Muppet clips that, no matter how big a Muppet fan you are,
   you've never seen before!  The address is 25 West 52nd St, New
   York, 10019, and the phone number is (212) 621-6600.

   No matter where you are, you can subscribe to MuppetZine, a
   quarterly fanzine devoted to the Muppets and Jim Henson.  It is
   run by Danny Horn, whom you can contact at horn@dolphin.upenn.edu.
   Also take a look at the MuppetZine web page, at
       http://www-leland.stanford.edu/~rosesage/MZ.html

   If you want to get involved with a Muppet fan group or start your
   own, Danny is again the person to talk to.

3. I have strong opinions about this FAQ.  Who should I send
   "comments" to?

   Comments (but please, no thugs!) should go to
         teej@panix.com
         horn@dolphin.upenn.edu
         csilvers@cs.stanford.edu
   We welcome, and indeed relish, comments.

			  -----------------

II. MUPPETS AND THEIR OWNERS

4. What is a Muppet, anyway?

   Muppets are puppets invented by Jim Henson and his colleagues.
   Muppets were specially designed to be on television and in the
   movies, using camera techniques as well as classical puppeteering
   techniques to create the illusion of life.  The name "Muppet" comes
   from a combination of the words "marionette" and "puppet," and many
   of the puppets are hand puppets with arm-wires operated much like
   marionettes' limbs.  However, many Muppets now include the most
   advanced computer and animatronics technology.  For the purposes of
   this newsgroup, "Muppet" means anything that has been created by
   Jim Henson Productions or the Creature Shop, including creations in
   "Muppets Tonight!," "The Muppet Show," "Sesame Street," "Fraggle
   Rock," "Dinosaurs," _The Dark Crystal_, and _Labyrinth_.

5. Doesn't Disney own the Muppets?

   No.  In the fall of 1989, the Walt Disney Company entered into
   negotiations to acquire Jim Henson Productions and the Muppets.
   While the deal was being worked out, Jim Henson created a 3-D film
   for Walt Disney World, "MuppetVision 3-D," and a TV special, "The
   Muppets at Walt Disney World."  Henson was initially excited about
   working with Disney -- particularly because its deep pockets could
   finance the projects he wanted to do -- but as negotiations
   progressed, differences in Disney's and Henson's management styles
   became clearer.  Jim Henson died in May 1990, before the deal was
   completed, and Disney lowered their offering price as a consequence
   (the original deal had included Henson's "creative services").
   Eventually the deal was called off.  Jim Henson Productions is
   still a completely independent entity, and Disney has no creative
   control over the Muppets.

   However, JHP and Disney do sometimes work together; for example,
   Buena Vista Home Video (a Disney subsidiary) distributes the Jim
   Henson Video line, and Disney distributes the Muppet films.  These
   are short-term deals and don't mean that Disney "owns" the Muppets.

6. Who runs the Muppets nowadays?

   Jim's son Brian Henson inherited the CEO position at Jim Henson
   Productions.  Brian has done some puppet work with the Muppets,
   including Dog on "The Storyteller" and Hoggle in _Labyrinth_, but
   he never performed any major Classic Muppet characters.  He
   directed _The Muppet Christmas Carol_ and _Muppet Treasure
   Island_ and performs some new characters on "Muppets Tonight!"
   These characters, including Sal and Seymour, are quickly becoming
   favorites, which is nice to see.

			  -----------------

III. "THE MUPPET SHOW" AND ITS CAST

7. Who are the two old guys in the balcony?

   Statler and Waldorf.  Statler is the taller, thinner one sitting on
   the right as we look at them in their box.  Waldorf's wife is named
   Astoria.  They are all named after old New York hotels.

8. What is Gonzo?

   There has been no definitive comment on what Gonzo is.
      o In "The Muppet Movie," Kermit refers to Gonzo as "sort of like
        a turkey... but not much."  We've seen many Muppet birds, and
        even a Muppet turkey (in "The Muppet Family Christmas") and
        none of them looks anything like Gonzo.  In the Liberace
        episode of "The Muppet Show," Gonzo tries to pass himself off
        as a bird to get into the tribute concert for the birds, but
        it doesn't work.  So he's almost certainly not a bird.
      o In "Muppet Babies," his species is sometimes referred to as
        "weirdo."
      o In "The Great Muppet Caper," when Kermit, Fozzie, and Gonzo
        are flying to England, Kermit's crate is marked "Frog,"
        Fozzie's is marked "Bear," and Gonzo's is marked "Whatever."
        Gonzo continues to assert that he is a whatever in _Muppet
        Treasure Island_.
   The only thing we can say with certainty is that he is Gonzo the
   Great.

9. What about Scooter?

   Scooter's a human (like Statler, Waldorf, Bunsen Honeydew...).
   His uncle, J.P. Grosse, who owns the theatre, is clearly a human.
   He's called a "gofer," but that's his position, not his species
   ("gofer coffee," etc).

10. Where has Scooter gone, anyway?

   The performer who performed Scooter, Richard Hunt, died in 1992 of
   complications due to AIDS.  In tribute, the character of Scooter
   was retired.  He will not be brought back.

11. What's the best ever Muppet sketch?

   Mahna Mahna, with Mahna Mahna and the two Snowths.  Even now,
   you sing "doo doo do doo doo" under your breath every time someone
   says "phenomena," don't you?  You know you do.

   Seriously, we don't mean to impose our point of view on the
   FAQ-reading masses.  We just love Mahna Mahna, that's all.  :-)

			  -----------------

V. "MUPPETS TONIGHT!" AND ITS CAST

12. Muppets *what*?

   It's this new show, see, on ABC.  It was a mid-season replacement
   for the 1995-96 season, and it was a mid-summer replacement in the
   summer of 1996.  Soon it will be a mid-season replacement for the
   1996-97 season.

   Not that we're biased, but "Muppets Tonight!" is *great*.  We all
   love Bobo, and Johnny Fiama (possibly Fiamma) and Sal, and Pepe and
   Seymour, and even Garth Brooks!

13. Who plays Kermit now?

   Steve Whitmire (whose other credits include Rizzo the Rat, Bean
   Bunny, and Wembley Fraggle -- he's been a major player since "The
   Muppet Show").  He has been performing Kermit since Jim Henson's
   death.  He also performs Ernie.  Brian Henson has never performed
   Kermit.

   Whitmire's first Kermit performance was in the 1990 special
   "The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson."

14. What is Clifford?  What is Pepe?  What is Nigel's buddy?

   These have definitive answers, from the performers.

   Clifford is a human: In the Billy Crystal episode, Clifford says to
   Rizzo, "I'm the man and you're the rat.  I've got genetic
   seniority."  In early press releases for "Muppets Tonight!" he was
   referred to as "Clifford the Rasta," but that's his religious
   affiliation, not his species.  In the Garth Brooks episode, Kermit
   calls Clifford "Catfish-faced" but never actually calls him a
   catfish.  Which is good, because he isn't one.

   Pepe is a Prawn.

   Nigel's buddy (that's the Nigel who says "Cue!" not the conductor
   from "The Muppet Show") -- the one who pops out of the control
   panel during the opening sequence -- is a mink.
      alt.tv.muppets trivia: Steve Whitmire contributed this answer
   during discussions of "Muppet Classic Theater" (in which the mink's
   head-banging performance in "Gotta Get That Name" stole the show
   for many of us).  This was the first ever post of a Muppet
   performer to alt.tv.muppets.

			  -----------------

VI. "SESAME STREET"

15. Is XXX dying of any disease?

   No.  No way, no how.  No "Sesame Street" Muppet character is dead,
   dying, or planning to die.  This is a rumor that has been
   circulating since Jim Henson died in 1990 -- people were afraid
   that since Henson died, the producers of "Sesame Street" were also
   going to make Ernie die on the show, so that children could learn
   about death (as they did when Will Lee, the actor who played
   Mr. Hooper, died).  This rumor has since spread and mutated to
   include Bert, Grover, and other characters, and any number of
   diseases and fatal accidents.  However, the producers have *no
   intention* of "killing" any character on "Sesame Street."  Jim
   Henson's characters are kept alive on the show by rerunning
   sketches that were recorded in the first twenty years of the show,
   and new Ernie sketches are also being made with Steve Whitmire
   performing Ernie.  Please help to stop this rumor when you hear it.
   Anyone who is afraid for the life of any character should be
   encouraged to actually watch an episode of "Sesame Street," where
   they will see Ernie, Bert, and all the gang, still alive and well.

16. Are Ernie and Bert gay?

   This is a source of wide speculation, but nothing has ever been
   said on "Sesame Street" to indicate that Ernie and Bert have any
   sexual or romantic feelings at all.  While we wouldn't want to
   suppress free speech on this newsgroup, beware: discussions on this
   topic have historically been ugly.  Rest assured that your point of
   view has been stated before.

17. I heard PBS is going to cancel SS.

   You would have to attribute a great deal of stupidity to PBS to
   have them canceling one of their most popular programs.  While PBS
   funding is indeed being cut, "Sesame Street" would be among the
   last shows to go.  If you see a petition claiming otherwise,
   ignore it.  (This is a good rule of thumb for email petitions in
   general: since there is no way to control forgery or repetition of
   signatures in email petitions, they are universally ignored.)

			  -----------------

VI. THINGS AVAILABLE ON THE 'NET

18. Who is...?

   http://www-cs-students.stanford.edu/~csilvers/muppet-characters.html

   This site has lists: Muppets from "The Muppet Show" and Muppets
   and humans from "Sesame Street."  Compiled by Charles Evans, Bob
   Pedersen, Rueven William Goren, and others.

   Answers to some particularly frequent ID requests:
      o The guy who throws fish: Lew Zealand
      o The guy who blows things up: Crazy Harry
      o The scary-looking blue monster: Uncle Deadly
      o The piano playing dog: Rowlf
      o The guy who hits his head on the piano on SS: Don Music

19. Who performed...?

   http://www.clark.net/pub/cvaughn/html/mpindex.htm

   Chris Vaughn and Sue Rose have put together an extensive list.

20. In what episode did...?

   http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/VR/BS/Muppets/muppets.html

   Believe it or not, there are episode guides for every "Muppet Show,"
   "Fraggle Rock," "Dinosaurs," and "Muppets Tonight!" episode ever
   aired.  In addition, there are descriptions of some of the Muppet
   skits from "Sesame Street."

21. What are the lyrics to...?

   ftp://ftp.clark.net/pub/cvaughn/lyrics
   http://www.enterprise.ca/~rhonda/sesame2.html
   http://www.cs.unc.edu/~arthur/muppet-songs.html

   The first site has Muppet songs, including Rainbow
   Connection, It's Not Easy Being Green, Just One Person, the theme
   from "The Muppet Show," and more!

   The second site, compiled by Tiny Dancer, has "Sesame Street"
   songs.  Besides all the songs you'd expect (Rubber Duckie,
   "Sesame Street" theme), it has many Frequently Asked Lyrics: the
   Alligator King, Captain Vegetable, I Don't Want to Live on the
   Moon, We All Live In A Capital I, etc.

   The third site has even more lyrics, courtesy of Kevin Arthur.

22. Where are pictures of...?

   There aren't many available, which is good because they are
   copyrighted and cannot be reproduced without permission,
   even for private use.  Sorry.  :-(

23. What records/CDs/CD-ROMs/videos/books are there?

   ALL:    http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/VR/BS/Muppets/muppography.html
   VIDEO:  http://www.megalink.net/~cooke/video.html
   ALBUMS: http://members.aol.com/teddyn10/private/SSAlbums.html
           http://members.aol.com/teddyn10/private/MuppetAlbums.html

   The first link, Bill Sherman's muppography, is quite large and
   wonderful, but is not updated frequently.  Luckily (perhaps)
   neither are the albums, CDs, CD-ROMS, videos, books, etc.

   VIDEO: The second link has an amazingly large list of Muppet-
   related videos, collected by Jon Cooke.

   A note on availability: _Muppets Take Manhattan_, though hard to
   find, is available on video through Tristar.  Other Muppet movies,
   and some "Muppet Show" compilations, are also available.  The
   Playhouse Video compilations, such as "Gonzo Presents Muppet Weird
   Stuff," are no longer being produced.  Neither are "Dinosaurs"
   episodes or "Dog City" episodes.  On the other hand, the world is
   currently swamped with "Sesame Street" videos.

   ALBUMS: The last two links point to Ted Nesi's lists of "Sesame
   Street" and Muppet albums, respectively.  Both have track lists.

   The Muppets are currently "between" record companies -- they
   dropped Jim Henson Records/BMG Kidz, and rumor has it they are
   working on starting a new label, possibly this year.  Therefore,
   the only Muppet album still in print is the "Muppet Treasure
   Island" soundtrack.  "Sesame Street" albums are a dime a dozen.

   BOOKS: Books we think are particularly neat:
      o Of Muppets and Men
      o Jim Henson: The Works
   Both are by Christopher Finch and are hard to find.  _Of Muppets
   and Men_ is especially rare, and bidding for it (on alt.tv.muppets)
   has exceeded $100.

24. What's that program that turns stuff into Mock Swedish?

   http://www.almac.co.uk/chef/chef/chef/  or
   ftp://ftp.netcom.com/pub/sw/swedish_chef

   It's called the "Encheferizer."

25. Yes, but where are the *Muppet sites*?

   http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/VR/BS/Muppets/muppets.html

   Bill Sherman's page is the place to start.  It's the closest thing
   there is to an "official" Muppets WWW page, and it has links to
   other pages.  (Coverage of TV shows is particularly impressive: it's
   where you go if you want the ratings for the Jason Alexander
   episode of "Muppets Tonight!")

   Bill Sherman, again: http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/VR/BS/Muppets/muppets.html
   Official MTI site:   http://www.muppettreasure.com/
   The Dark Crystal:    http://www.fairfield.com/wyvern/darkcrys
   Muppets Tonight!:    http://www.megalink.net/~cooke/muptnt/
   Fraggle Rock:        http://www.clark.net/pub/cvaughn/html/frindex.htm
   Fabulous Miss Piggy: http://www-leland.stanford.edu/~rosesage/Piggy.html
   Johnny Fiama page:   http://pages.prodigy.com/fiama/
   Muppets and Pooh:    http://www.clark.net/pub/rinzel/muppooh/
   Muppetabilia:        http://www.cs.wustl.edu/~mir/muppets
   Jeff's Muppenatics:  http://bones.wcupa.edu/~jepstein/muppets
   Ted's Muppet page:   http://members.aol.com/teddyn10/index.html
   Kerry's Place:       http://pages.prodigy.com/robin/muppetr.htm

   Please contact us if you have a Muppet page to add to this list.

			  -----------------

VII. NOW SHOWING

26. What Muppet stuff is on TV nowadays?

   ("Muppets Tonight!," occassionally on ABC, is once again on hiatus.
    "The Muppet Show" used to be on Nickelodeon but is no longer.)

   As of October 1996: (All US times are Eastern)

   United States
   -------------
   ("Muppets Tonight!" -- soon, we hope (around January 1997?)
   "Aliens in the Family" -- ABC, Saturdays, 11:30 am
   "Jim Henson's Animal Show" -- Fox, weekdays
   "Muppet Babies" -- Nickelodeon, weekdays, 10:30 am and 1:30 pm
   "The Secret Life of Toys" -- Disney Channel, Sundays, 7:30 am
   "Jim Henson's Mother Goose Stories" -- Disney Channel, Saturdays,
      7:30 am
   "Big Bag" -- Cartoon Network, Sundays, 9:00 am
   "Sesame Street" -- PBS, every day, various times

   Great Britain (thanks to Stuart Lancaster)
   -------------
   "Muppets Tonight!" -- BBC1, Fridays, 7:00 pm
   "Fraggle Rock" -- Disney Channel, Saturdays and Sundays, 7:00 am and noon
   "Muppet Babies" -- Disney Channel, Weekdays, 10:00 am
   "Jim Henson's Animal Show" -- TCC, Weekdays, 11:30 am
   "The Secret Life of Toys" -- BBC2, Fridays, 8:20 am and 2:00 pm
   "Sesame Street" -- Channel 4, Weekdays, 1:00 pm; Saturday, 6:00 am

   Australia (thanks to CRIT)
   ---------
   "Jim Henson's Animal Show" -- Channel 7, Sundays, 8:30 am
   "Dog City" -- ABC, MTWTh, 8:30 am
   "Sesame Street" -- Aus: ABC, weekdays, 8:30 am and 3:00 pm

   New Zealand (thanks to Gaven Miller)
   -----------
   "Muppets Tonight!" -- TV3, Saturday, 6:30 pm (until 5 October 1996)

   Mexico
   ------
   "Plaza Sesamo" -- Univision, weekdays, 8:00 am

   Does anyone know shows, stations, and times for other countries?

			  -----------------

END of alt.tv.muppets FAQ.
