Random Muppet #27: The Reindeer

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.

(This week is the special Christmas Edition. For Christmas.)

Random Muppet #27: The Reindeer

But do you recall the least famous reindeer of all?

Performers:  Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Jerry Juhl, Bob Payne

Muppet Universe of Origin:  General "Muppets"

Most Significant Appearance:  Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall, December 20, 1965

Henson and his young crew had an appearance coming up for the Perry Como Christmas special, making this Henson's first foray into Christmas-related hijinks.  Jerry Juhl came up with a skit that involved a group of five reindeer, Dasher/Charlie, Dancer, Prancer, Donner, and Blitzen.  But what would five reindeer do without Santa or Rudolph there to give them material to work with?  Why, they would attempt to make snow fall with a "snow dance."

Socks + Twigs = Reindeer Puppets

Dasher/Charlie was the leader of the group and he command his platoon like a drill sergant, insulting them with antler-related puns (while the rest sang songs and had a lot of snow wordplay).  By the end of the tomfoolery, the reindeer succeeded in bringing about... rain.

Get it?!

Oh, but don't worry.  They continued to dance harder and eventually a large pile of snow came crashing to the stage, burying them.

Dasher (1823-1965).  He is survived by that one reindeer who could fly better than Rudolph.

Why Are They the Most Important Muppets?  What Is the True Meaning of Christmas?

Everybody dreams of a perfect, white Christmas.  But few are willing to put in the effort necessary to achieve this endeavor.  Many see the reindeer as Santa's transportation, but as we see, they are also in charge of bringing about the snowfall.  And, judging by previous years, their efforts don't always work.

Christmas is associated with high expectations that often come crashing down when they aren't met.  Food, family, gifts, decorations.  It's a lot of work.  But it's all worth it to see the smiles on the faces come Christmas morn.

Every year, the reindeer sacrifice themselves to bring about our happiness.  If they succeed, they are killed, knowing they have done their duty.  If they fail, they must live with the shame.

Three years later, on The Ed Sullivan Show, another group of reindeer attempt the same feat.  They too "succeed."

Christmas is dark, people.

Random Muppet #26: Original Grover

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.

(This week is the special Christmas Edition. For Christmas.)

Random Muppet #26: Original Grover

Grover, a.k.a. Gleep, a.k.a. Fuzzyface, a.k.a Grover's Mommy?

Performer:  Frank Oz

Muppet Universe of Origin:  General "Muppets"

Most Significant Appearance:  The Ed Sullivan Show, December 24, 1967

Grover, as we know him today, had to go through an awkward green phase to become the character we know and love.  It's hard to determine whether or not this character is actually Grover, since he was never referred to by that name.  He appeared as a general Muppet monster in early variety show sketches as well as in the first season of Sesame Street.  While on the show, he appeared in a couple sketches that were definitely "Grover-ish" in tone.  In one, he helped Kermit the Frog demonstrate "in" and "out," all while the frog insulted his intelligence, and referred to him as "Fuzzyface."

Old Kermit was a jerk.

In another sketch, he taught us about "first" and "last" as he gets trampled by a multitude of other Muppet monsters.  In neither appearance does he actually sound Grover (his voice is more like that of a teenaged Cookie Monster), but his constant suffering paved the way for the puppet who eventually became Grover.  In fact, in the second season, when traditional blue Grover made his introduction, the old Grover was used to play Grover's mommy.

Freud would have a field day.

But, his introductory appearance is his most important.  Because it has to do with Christmas.

Old Grover, then known as Gleep, appeared with a few other Muppets, crashing Santa's workshop at the North Pole.  They demanded that Santa (Arthur Godfrey) hand over all of his toys but, in a shocking twist, the toys were actually intended to be the monsters' Christmas gifts anyway.

Don't we feel sheepish?

Why Is He the Most Important Muppet?  What Is the True Meaning of Christmas?

Original Grover learned a valuable lesson that day.  Society had placed him and his peers into a category of criminals.  Because of their prejudiced labeling, the monsters took a path in life that became a self-fulfilling prophecy.  If they were going to be called monsters, then they were going to act like monsters.

But Santa knows all and sees all.  He knows that at the heart of these monsters lie scared children who are just trying to figure out their place in the world.  And so, he created toys for them.  They had turned into the very monsters they feared, but fortunately, Santa was kind enough to let them keep their gifts.

Everyone deserves to have a happy Christmas.  Even the monsters.  Because at Christmas, we should celebrate our virtues and personalities without fear of judgment.

Original Grover learned a lesson in humility.  And that is where Grover we know and love was born.

Santa vs. Santa

In my excitement of holidays past, I made a few errors in relating the truth about Muppet Christmas specials.  Originally, I said that 1977's Emmett Otter was the first special created exclusively by the Henson Company.  I knew that Muppets had appeared in other Christmas specials before then, but I wrongfully believed that the critters in Frogtown were the first members of an original Henson Xmas tale.  Turns out I was off by 7 years.  There was actually a 1970 special produced by The Ed Sullivan Show that dealt with a fierce battle between good and evil as horrific Muppet monsters threatened to take over Christmas.  It all went down in The Great Santa Claus Switch.

(Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6) Sorry for the poor quality, but the film is quite rare.

The Muppets had already appeared a dozen or so times on The Ed Sullivan Show (including appearances in a couple Christmas themed skits which I've yet to track down).  So when Henson and script writer Jerry Juhl came to Ed Sullivan with this special, after struggling to find a producer, he allowed them to use his show's time slot the Sunday before Christmas.  Sullivan acted as narrator for the episode, but the main focus was on the Muppets and Art Carney.

Which Santa is he now?

Carney portrayed both Santa Claus and the oddly-named villian Cosmo Scam, who lives in a cave under Santa's workshop.  He schemes with his monstrous Frackles to kidnap and impersonate Santa so that he can easily break into the homes of every family in the world and rob them.  The Frackles come in many shapes and sizes, proud to serve their evil master.

Including the original Gonzo, who resided in Scam's cigar box.

On the surface, Santa Claus prepares for Christmas Eve with his singing elves.  

Not to be confused with the singing Elvises.

The hokey songs and characters seemed to suggest that this Christmas special would be an unoriginal exercise in the audience's patience.  Santa and his good elves and an evil Christmas hater with monsters? Sounds like the cast of every Rankin-Bass Christmas special ever.  But the quality of the show takes a turn for the better when this guy shows up:

It's that blue guy from The Muppet Show opening!  And I just saw him in the new movie too!

This big guy is Thog (Jerry Nelson), partnered with another green giant known as Thig (who never reappeared after this special).  Thig (Frank Oz) was the brains of the group while Thog...is the other one.  His dopey demeanor, childish voice and sad eyes make him instantly lovable.  Never have I been so inclined to want to hug a Muppet as much as I did whenever he appeared on screen.  Scam instructs Thig and Thog to kidnap Santa and the two lumbering brutes set out to accomplish this task.  Fortunately for them, they choose the exact moment that the lowliest elf Fred (Jim Henson) is singing raucously about how he would do anything to protect Santa Claus, distracting him long enough to overlook the kidnapping.

Pictured: The moment this show went from mediocre to amazing.

Once Santa is in his grips, Scam starts masquerading as him up on the surface, arousing the suspicions of Fred.  He locks Fred up in his cave and replaces him in the workshop with a poorly disguised Frackle, setting off a hilarious chain reaction in which elves are replaced with Frackles one-by-one.

In his own cell, Santa starts to bond with his captors.  Throughout the whole process, he has remained quite level-headed.  He treats Thig and Thog with respect because he is Santa Claus, and Santa is nice to everybody.  Also, during the day, we have seen Santa attempt to fool his elves with parlor tricks like making coins disappear.  All of his tricks have failed, leading us to believe that Santa is a hack of a magician.  However, when Thog sheepishly approaches him with a request for a toy train, Santa is able to magically produce one, explaining that once Christmas begins, so does the magic.

The miracle of being imprisoned on Christmas.

The two giants, despite not being very threatening anyway, become huge softies as they learn what it is like to be nice to one another on Christmas.  When Thig exchanges his new teddy bear with Thog's truck, everyone watching this with me couldn't help but utter "Awwwwww."

The rest of the special is just as endearing and it should not be too much of a surprise to hear that Santa and the elves escape, Fred manages to prevent Cosmo Scam from ruining Christmas, and everyone lives happily ever after.   Even Scam is not punished in the end, for Santa understands that evil is as evil does. He gets off with a slight warning and everyone goes off to celebrate Christmas.

Because of the obscurity of this special, I was sure that it was not going to be anything great.  But the puppeteers and Art Carney really blend together throughout the entire show.  Carney does not act like a stereotypical Christmas baddie.  Usually the villains in these specials are over-the-top and ridiculous, but Cosmo just seems like a normal, yet immoral, human being.  Santa is also not this high and mighty omniscient individual, as he is often portrayed.  His goodness seems to stem from a personal choice.  He just notices that life goes better when people are nice to one another, so that's how he lives his life.  The evil Frackles have no choice but to become the good guys because it just makes logical sense.

The duality of a good and evil Santa is an interesting concept to explore.  I've seen evil St. Nicks before, but never paired with a good one to balance him out.  The Grinch has no adversary, Robot Santa Claus was not much worse than Bender Claus, and Jack Skellington really was trying his best.  No, this is the true Jekyll and Hyde of Christmas.

The Christmas spirit is strong with this one, and the laissez-faire attitude towards being kind and peaceful manages to keep this program subtle and charming, rather than preachy and schlocky.

Then, during the credits, we observe Cosmo, pouting outside of the workshop while the rest of the cast parties and celebrates a job well done.  Thog emerges from the small building and offers the villain a gift before escorting him inside to socialize.  It's contrived and schmaltzy, but I just cant help myself....

AAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!  I  WANT TO HUG HIM SO MUCH!!!!

Just in Time

There is some part of the human brain that just enjoys making connections.  When something visual syncs up with its accompanying audio, we are pleased.  Just try watching a video with the sound out of sync for an extended period of time and you'll notice how agitated you begin to grow.

By simply pairing an image with music, a new world opens up.  Stories can be told, emotions can be stirred and humor can develop.  As always, Jim's early work falls on this principle of making a quick joke out of the absurd.  In his classic "Java" sketch, two tube like creatures dance to simple elevator music.  That's all you need, sometimes.

No words.  Just two eyes on a tube and sympathetic yet malicious characters are born.

This sketch was repeated many times (like many of the early pieces), but it almost failed on it's first run due to lack of preparation.  On The Ed Sullivan Show, the sketch was just starting and puppeteer Jerry Juhl realized he had left the fire extinguisher required for the punchline in the dressing room.  As the skit went on, Juhl raced through the studio, hearing the "Java" theme playing over the loudspeakers throughout the studio.  Finally, just in the nick of time, he made it to the stage to release the mist.

The original Javas (who were almost the only Javas)

It's funny how a performance that relies so heavily on keeping things in perfect synchronization had could have been a disaster had Juhl been off by one second.

This was the Muppets fourth appearance on the show, so it was still early enough in the career that mistakes could have been detrimental.  Fortunately, the Javas made it through the night and the Muppets continued to grown into the world-wide phenomenon that they are today.

And now they get to be preserved as museum exhibits.