Saturday, March 2, 2013

Random Muppets #33 & #34: Joey and Davey Monkey

On the Muppet Wiki, there is a "Random Muppet" button which sends you to the page of one of the thousands of Muppets in existence. I will press the button and discuss the importance of the Muppet that comes up, no matter how obscure. No skips. No redos. This is the Random Muppet Challenge.

Random Muppets #33 & #34: Joey and Davey

These monkeys are BANANAS!

Performers:  Joey Mazzarino and David Rudman

Muppet Universe of Origin:  Sesame Street

Most Significant Appearance:  Sesame Street, February 8, 1993, "Episode 3071"

In 1993, a pair of twin monkeys appeared on Sesame Street, and they had a message for us.  Sponsorships by letters and numbers would be a thing of the past.  Instead, episodes would now be brought to us by bananas.

Our unbiased spokesmen.

Named after their relatively new performers, Joey and Davey only cared about bananas, and they usurped the show for a day to make sure only banana-related programming reached the viewers.

Full Version (but really, it's just more of the same)

Their obsession grew to be so great that they managed to steer any conversation to their favorite fruits.  It seems as if the whole reason they even came to the neighborhood was because they assumed Big Bird was of banana-descent.

Add them to the alarmingly growing list of Muppets who want to eat Big Bird.

Why Are They the Most Important Muppets?

Joey and Davey are virtually interchangeable.  At first glance, it seems unnecessary to have two of the exact same character.  They often speak in unison and have absolutely no defining characteristics to set them apart.  That's what makes them tolerable.

It's fun to see them hanging around.

Each one builds upon the other's excitement, forming their own little club that one can't help but want to be a part of.  Much of this steps from their delivery of the word "bananas."  Rather than shout it obnoxiously, the two place an unnatural emphasis on the first syllable rather than the second, turning a single word into their own catchphrase.  Coupled with the brief pause before the word, it seems as if bananas are a lot grander than we had originally intended them to be.

All hail the banana!

They were perfect additions to the supporting cast because, when used sparingly, they could add a great punchline to any scene.  They bring to mind the simple pleasure of making a puppet out of a sock and just popping it out at random moments to say a quick, funny word.  This is comedy distilled to it's basic form.

Unfortunately, characters on Sesame Street only stick around if they are able to grow in complexity.  After 3 years, no one wanted to here them lyrically pronounce "BANANAS" any more.  It's a shame because life could always stand to be a little bit more bananas.

Altogether now...

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