Weekly Muppet Wednesdays: Ma Gorg

MA GORG

Performed by...
Cheryl Wagner (voice, face) (1984-1987)
Trish Leeper (body)
Myra Fried (voice, face) (1983)

First appearance...
Fraggle Rock Episode 102: "Beginnings"

Most recent appearance...
Fraggle Rock Episode 513: "Change of Address"

Best known role...
Queen of the Universe; wife of Pa Gorg; mother of Junior Gorg

WHO IS MA GORG?
Ma Gorg is the wife of Pa Gorg, making her the self-proclaimed Queen of the Universe. She is also a loving mother of Junior Gorg and is quite adept at cooking--her good time goombah is a real favorite. She is the daughter of Queen Esmerelda, implying that both she and Pa have equally royal lineages. Ma is the best at convincing Pa and Junior to agree to just about anything. However, Ma is terrified of Fraggles, usually delegating Pa or Junior to deal with them if the little beasts come around.

For most of Season 1 of Fraggle Rock, Ma had a much different head. She wore her hair down and her face was rather striking. Her mouth was much wider and not as sweet. Her eyes were also much wider and had no eyelids for blinking. Perhaps most striking was her long, upturned nose. Even her clothes were nowhere near as ornate or queenly as they would become. When Ma was thankfully redesigned, she became the much more "beautiful" creature we know today. In the Season 1, Ma was also voiced by Myra Fried, before being replaced by Cheryl Wagner in Season 2.


In stories and plots on the show, Ma was mostly just featured as part of the Gorg family throughout Season 1 and Season 2. She would appear with Pa and Junior consistently, but didn't have an episode where she was prominently featured until Episode 308: "Believe it Or Not." In this episode, Red and Wembley Fraggle meet a creature named Skinfrith, who transforms into whatever you believe he is. Skinfrith gets trapped in the basement of the Gorg's basement, and Ma has to overcome her great fear and change her beliefs to realize that Skinfrith isn't really dangerous.


Another episode that prominently featured Ma was Season 4's "Mirror, Mirror." In the episode, Red finds a magic, talking mirror named Mavis. Mavis leads Red and Cotterpin Doozer to the Gorg's Castle, where Ma is distraught because Pa and Junior have left her alone on her birthday. Mavis tries to convince Red and Cotterpin to celebrate the birthday with Ma, and misunderstandings ensue.

The relationship and love between Ma Gorg and Pa Gorg has been a cornerstone for many episodes of the show as well. Whether it is Ma nagging Pa to fix the roof in "The Battle of Leaky Roof," dealing with the fact that their son has become a Fraggle in "Boober Gorg," or celebrating their 513th anniversary in "Ring Around the Rock," Ma and Pa are a great relationship of lasting love in the Universe.


Ma Gorg's role as supportive wife and mother played a big part in the final Gorg episode of the show, "The Gorg Who Would Be King." She is instrumental in convincing Pa that he should let Junior become King. When Junior finally does get the crown, Ma is lovingly supportive of her son. Ma's final appearance came in the final episode of Fraggle Rock, dancing and singing the theme song with Pa and Junior at the end of the episode.


WHY DOES FRAGGLE ROCK NEED MA GORG?
Ma Gorg is one of the few mothering figures on Fraggle Rock. It's probably not inaccurate to say that Pa Gorg and Junior Gorg would not survive more than a day without Ma tending for them. The fact that she loves her husband and son unconditionally--even if her son turns into a Fraggle--is a wonderful character trait. Ma is emotional and sometimes silly, but she is a wonderful mother and a much-needed character.

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, muppetmindset@gmail.com

Great Muppet Couples: A Photo Essay

Happy February, Muppet fans! Today we welcome in the month of the year that we most associate with romance with pictures of some Great Muppet Couples, as well as some human couples from Muppet productions! Enjoy.

Count von Count and the Countess, Sesame Street

Bobo the Bear and Cindy Crawford, Muppets Tonight

Earl and Fran Sinclair, Dinosaurs

Gary and Mary, The Muppets

 Gordon and Susan (with son Miles), Sesame Street

Pa and Ma Gorg, Fraggle Rock

Maria and Luis, Sesame Street

 Oscar the Grouch and Grungetta, Sesame Street

Wayne and Wanda, The Muppet Show and The Muppets

 Floyd Pepper and Janice, The Muppet Show and the Muppet movies

Gonzo the Great and Camilla the Chicken, The Muppet Show and the Muppet movies

Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy, The Muppet Show and the Muppet movies

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, muppetmindset@gmail.com

Muppetology 101: Intro to Gorg Culture

Greetings class! The semester is winding down and I've already entered my summer mindset (combining a summer mindset with a Muppet Mindset has fantastic results). As such, I've brought in yet another guest professor for this week's lecture. Maxwell Jessop, although quite young, already has his Bachelor's degree in Muppetology from good old MMIT (Muppet Mindset Institute of Technology) and is incredibly adept and eager to teach you. Enjoy him and pay attention! There won't be a quiz, but it's just good manners.

Maxwell Jessop - The Gorgs have been an integral part of Fraggle Rock with a history that goes back farther than we know. I've done my research and prepared for you a fun and intelligently made history that will show you that their culture is more complicated than you think! Just outside of Fraggle Rock lies the Gorg's Castle and Gorg's Garden where the current Gorgish dynasty live, consisting of ex-King Pa Gorg, Queen Ma Gorg, and once Prince now King Junior Gorg.

Gorgs, the self-proclaimed rulers of the universe, have been around for over 538 years with kings and queens ruling a dynasty most likely lasting at least 513 years. There have been six dynasties and three known kings who have ruled them. King Gorgus the Great ruled the first dynasty and is great-great grandfather to Pa Gorg, father of current king Junior Gorg. Unlike other monarchies, kings are not chosen once the current king dies but are instead passed down once the mystic Nirvana Tree's leaves have fallen off. Exceptions are made, however, most notably when the Royal Kazoo must be blown by the predicted king. If it cannot produce music, the predicted king is banished to the swamp for 100 years.

Like the Nirvana Tree, the Gorgs also obtain and believe in other magical items and beings. Specifically, the Gorgs use Gorg Youth and Beauty Cream, made from radishes, to keep them from vanishing completely and becoming invisible. The Trash Heap has used this connection to unify the Fraggles, Gorgs, and Doozers. It is also believed by the Gorgs that Sir Hubris, a mysterious character that may or may not exist, went off to explore the realm, crowned Gorgus king, and will come back and force the Gorgs' reign as rulers to be over.

As of the Pa Gorg/Ma Gorg dynasty, Pa, Ma, and Junior Gorg appear to be the only Gorgs--at least the only ones ever seen. Junior Gorg has occasionally said he does not know where the other Gorgs are and when or if they will return.

The Gorg's Garden is the home base, if you will, of the kings of the Gorg dynasties. It houses a magnificent castle and a large garden mostly used for harvesting radishes. As with all places in the Fraggle universe, the Gorgs' Garden is also filled with rare flora and fauna. Along with the Nirvana Tree, another tree is home to red, bird-like tree creatures. The garden is also home to the oracle of the Fraggles, Marjory the Trash Heap and her rat-like assistants Philo and Gunge. 

The Gorgs are also considered very trusting due to their Solemn Gorg Oath, which acts as a permanently binding contract from which the swearer cannot be broken or released, even in the case of fraud. The only way to reverse it is for all parties to swear to a new counteractive arrangement. Junior Gorg famously fell prey to the swindler Wander McMooch due to this Solemn Oath.

All in all, despite their flaws, the Gorgs are interesting creatures and they should be more widely known. If only they would come to our world so we could study them more closely.

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, muppetmindset@gmail.com

Muppetology 101: Relationship Paradigms of the Muppet World

Ryan Dosier - It's that time again! Time for everyone's favorite class (which is unfortunately not worth any credit): Muppetology 101. Today we had planned to discuss Jerry Nelson's characters from The Muppet Show and their recasts, but then we realized that today is February 14th, Valentines Day. So, instead, we're taking a look at some of the greatest (and strangest) couples from the world of the Muppets. We're hitting everywhere from The Muppet Show to Sesame Street to Fraggle Rock... so try and keep up!

• Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy
• First appeared as a couple in The Muppet Show Season 1: Episode 101 (1976)
• The most famous and well known romantic couple in the world of the Muppets is, obviously, Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy. Many questions about the true definition and nature of their relationship linger due to various comments made by both parties. One thing is certain, Miss Piggy loves Kermit more than almost anything--and when she loves, she goes whole hog. In her first appearance on The Muppet Show, singing in the Muppet Glee Club, Piggy's love for Kermit shown through as she broke from the group to practically pummel him with adoration. From then on Kermit and Piggy were something more than co-workers. They transcended the "will they/won't they" dynamic by having a "will he/have they" effect instead due to Kermit's reluctance to accept her advances. These advances and confusions continued for almost a decade through two feature films, finally climaxing in the biggest confusing moment of all in The Muppets Take Manhattan when the film ended with a wedding between Kermit and Piggy. Whether this was a wedding between the characters playing off-canon in the movie or Kermit and Miss Piggy's actual personas is still a major debate and dividing point among Muppet fans. Are they married? Are they in a committed relationship? Is it just professional (as Kermit says, "I'm a professional and she thinks we're in a relationship.")? Will we ever really know? Nope. Probably not. But for over 35 years this relationship has been a driving and defining point for the Muppets--one that is not likely to go away anytime soon.

• Gonzo and Camilla
• First appeared as a couple in The Muppet Show Season 3: Episode 318 (1978)
• The weirdest of relationships features the weirdest of Muppets. Gonzo the Great and Camilla the Chicken are two star-crossed lovers, somehow bonded by... who knows what. First seen together in Season 3 of The Muppet Show, Gonzo's fetish for fowl first developed as a throw away joke in Season 2, in which he mentioned that a chicken had nice legs. This spiraled into the development of Camilla, a semi-steady chicken girlfriend for the weirdo. Camilla and Gonzo were seen together romantically in The Muppet Movie and The Muppets Take Manhattan and throughout The Muppet Show. Like any relationship, however, theirs is not without confusion. Dave Goelz used to say that Gonzo couldn't tell the chickens he was with apart, so he assumed they were all Camilla (a joke played out in The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years). But more romantic fans like to think that Gonzo is faithful to Camilla and she is the same chicken (most) every time--including her role in The Muppets in 2011 as Gonzo's faithful secretary. Gonzo and Camilla have been romantically entangled for over 30 years.

• Floyd Pepper and Janice
• First appeared as a couple in The Muppet Show Season 2 (1977)
• Floyd and Janice and probably the hippest couple featured here. Janice has been implied as Floyd's main squeeze since roughly Season 2 of The Muppet Show (not-so-coincidentally when Richard Hunt took over Janice). They were first romantic in The Muppet Movie when Floyd calls Janice "momma" and "my woman;" he rushed to her defense and told the others not to yell at her in The Muppets Take Manhattan, and the two of them presented Muppet Music together in The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years. After Richard Hunt's death, Janice was barely seen so opportunities for Floyd and Janice to be seen together were slim. Now that she has been recast to David Rudman, perhaps we'll see more interaction between the two.

• Gordon and Susan
• First appeared as a couple in Sesame Street Season 1: Episode 0001 (1969)
• The first couple to be seen together in the Muppet universe was the wonderful pairing of Gordon (Matt Robinson, Hal Miller, currently Roscoe Orman) and Susan (Dr. Loretta Long) on Sesame Street. From the very first test pilots for the show, Gordon and Susan were shown as a married and loving couple. Gordon is a science teacher and Susan is a nurse, proving that a couple doesn't have to be a working husband and a stay-at-home wife. In Season 17, the two made Sesame Street and television history by adopting a child, Miles, who would continue to grow up as a character on the show. Susan and Gordon are still married and together on Sesame Street, even though Susan doesn't appear nearly as much as she used to. But one thing is certain, after 43 years of marriage onscreen, it's impossible and unthinkable for this duo to part ways any time soon.

• Luis and Maria
• First appeared as a couple in Sesame Street Season 19: Episode 2404 (1988)
• Perhaps the most important and revolutionary coupling of all is Luis (Emilio Delgado) and Maria (Sonia Manzanno) on Sesame Street. For many seasons in the early years of Sesame Street, Maria was in an implied relationship with David (Northern Calloway). However, in the show's 19th season, it was decided that Maria and Luis would become a pair. The first fell in love in Episode 2404, even kissing each other in the Fix-It Shop at the end of the episode. In Episode 2455 that same season Maria and Luis get engaged (after prodding from Big Bird, Oscar, Elmo, and Telly). Finally, in Episode 2485, history was made as a preschool television show showed two people getting married. It was a truly major event in both the life of Sesame Street and children's television as a whole. It didn't talk down to children... it was real with them. Maria and Luis love each other, they share everything, they always want to be together, so Maria and Luis got married. They remain together as a couple, with a daughter, Gabriella (whose birth on the show provided another revolutionary episode in Season 20), and have for over 20 years.

• Pa and Ma Gorg
• First appeared as a couple in Fraggle Rock Season 1: Episode 102 (1984) 
• Dysfunctional? Perhaps. Slightly crazy? Yeah, that's true. But in love? You'd better believe it. Pa and Ma Gorg, the King and Queen of the Universe, respectively,are able to survive almost anything in their relationship--especially the antics of their bumbling son Junior. The first time they appeared in an episode of Fraggle Rock was the second episode of the show, "Wembley and the Gorgs," in which Ma captures Wembley and Pa treats him as an adoring subject. Since then they have been loving, arguing, and singing together. They've also been canoodling by Kissing Rock and a certain pond... but we shouldn't talk about that. They celebrated their 513th wedding anniversary in Season 4 (1987) by singing the ballad "I Give to Thee." By that logic, Ma and Pa Gorg have currently been together for 538 wonderful years. I wonder what sort of theme that anniversary has.

So there you have it, students! The most popular and loving relationships in the Muppet world. Hey, if you can find a pig or a frog or a chicken or a whatever or a Gorg that loves you for who you are... I say go for it. Happy Valentines Day, all! See you next week!

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, ryguy102390@gmail.com