Weekly Muppet Monster Wednesdays: Murray Monster

MURRAY MONSTER

Performed by...
Joey Mazarrino

First appearance...
Sesame Street Season 36 (2005)

Most recent appearance...
Sesame Street Season 42 (2011)

Best known role...
"Word on the Street" presenter, haver of little lamb Ovejita, show host 

Well-known quote...
"Hi! I'm Murray! And I wanna know... What's the word on the Street?"

WHO IS MURRAY MONSTER?
Murray is a large, fuzzy, red, excitable young monster who has risen to fame on Sesame Street in recent years. While his description may sound eerily similar to Elmo's, he's really quite different. Murray's main gig on the show recently has been going out into "the real world" and finding people who can tell him what the Word on the Street (aka, the Word of the Day) means.

Murray's first appearance was in Season 36, where he began appearing, with little fanfare, asking kids questions. Usually, since the curriculum called for it, Murray would spend these talk-spots asking kids about exercise or other healthy life habits. It's not widely known that during this time, Murray was just another unnamed monster performed by Joey Mazarrino. In fact, around the set they referred to him as "FilFil" because Murray's design was so similar to a character with the name FilFil on the Egyptian co-production Alam Simsim.

It only took two more years for Murray to gain his name and gain a specific role on the show in Season 38, when he began introducing every episode with his "What's the Word on the Street?" segment. With Season 39, Murray acquired his own segment within the show with "Murray Has a Little Lamb" where he and his pet lamb, Ovejita, visit different types of schools and learn something new every day.

Murray has not, and does not, appear in many Street Stories in the show. One of the few and most prominent examples of Murray's involvement in a Street Story was in Season 39's "The Golden Triangle of Destiny" episode. In the story, Murray assists Texas Telly in his quest to find said Triangle of Destiny. He spends his time in the laundromat with Leela as Telly takes on his journey.

Murray's star rose to astronomical heights in Season 40 when he became the sort of host of the new block format of the show, introducing segments throughout the show and the Letter and Number of the Day. In these brief segments, Murray exists in the real world interacting with children and adults alike to understand letters and numbers, learn new things, and introduce segments such as Super Grover 2.0, Bert and Ernie's Great Adventures, Abby's Flying Fairy School, and Elmo's World. Murray even announces the letter and number sponsors at the end of each episode, making him the first and last Muppet to be seen on the show every day.

Currently, Murray is hosting another new segment that takes place throughout the show called "Murray's Science Experiments," where he and Ovejita travel around New York City to conduct experiments with various children and teachers to explore ideas in the S.T.E.M. curriculum. This again gives Murray a starring role on the show, appearing almost as much as Elmo throughout every episode.

MURRAY MONSTER AND JOEY MAZZARINO
Murray is veteran Muppeteer Joey Mazarrino's first main character on Sesame Street. Joey and Murray make appearances together often and Murray really gets to show off his funny side in unscripted appearances. Joey has also stated that he likes to keep Murray off the Street and Street Stories, much like Fraggle Rock's Uncle Traveling Matt was rarely seen in the main setting.

WHY DOES SESAME STREET NEED MURRAY MONSTER?
Murray is one of the newest characters on Sesame Street, and as such he has an incredibly hard time of endearing himself to fans of the show who love such characters as Grover, Bert, Ernie, and Oscar. However, I firmly believe that Murray's fun-loving attitude and interactions with Ovejita are enough to establish him as a great character. He is able to teach while having fun himself, and helping the kids to have fun as well. And really, isn't that what Sesame Street is all about? Murray's sense of educational value while not sacrificing entertainment value is what makes him a fun character to watch and one who is certainly earning his place amongst Sesame Street's finest.

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

Weekly Muppet Monster Wednesdays: Beastie

Ed Castle - Oh, hello, and welcome to another entry in our Muppet monster series. For this entry, we're heading down down, down...  Yes, down in the underground straight to the heart of the rock.

BEASTIE

Performed by...
Karen Prell

Fraggle Rock Appearances...
Episode 223: Boober's Quiet Day (1984)
Episode 313: Scared Silly (1985)

Other Appearances...
Mopatop's Shop Episode 223: Rude Dude (2001)

Best known role...
Tosh Fraggle's pet

WHO IS BEASTIE?
This creature is known in Fraggle circles as the pet of  Tosh Fraggle. Somewhat lionlike in appearance, Beastie gives other Fraggles the impression of being intimidating, but is more docile whenever around its owner. It is possible that Beastie is a female of its species, although no one is sure if this can be proven, given the lack of another member of its kind. It is also debatable as to whether this particular specimen is itself named Beastie or if such naming applies to its entire race.

WHY DOES FRAGGLE ROCK NEED BEASTIE?

The Fraggles derive two very important functions from this character: First, it makes for an excellent scaring source when in need of medically testing their baloobiuses to make sure Fraggles are in tip-top healthy condition. Secondly, it proves that there is at least one sentient non-speaking cave creature that can be domesticated and turned into practical Fraggle pets... which is always a handy feature.

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

Weekly Muppet Monster Wednesdays: Thog

Ed Castle - Ah, I see that you have returned for another Weekly Muppet Monster Wednesday profile. Brave souls you must be to venture this way. Well, come on, let's see who's taken the spotlight in the ghastly gallery this week.

THOG

Performed by...
Jerry Nelson

First appearance...
The Great Santa Claus Switch (1970)

Most recent appearance...
The Muppets (2011)

Best known role...
Dancing with various guest stars, being one of five monsters to open The Muppet Show during the theme song.

WHO IS THOG?
Thog is a massive, blue, full-bodied Muppet monster. His nine-and-a-half foot height certainly gives him the edge among the tallest of Muppet creatures. Thog is easily spotted in a crowd thanks to his distinct blue fur, as well as the single horn sprouting out from his head and his hippo-like snout. Thog's appearance hasn't changed much since his first appearance in 1970 alongside his partner Thig (seen at right). While Thog went on to be a beloved tertiary character on The Muppet Show, Thig was never seen again.

Perhaps Thog's finest moment was when he got to dance with Mia Farrow during the song "Real Live Girl" in The Muppet Valentine Show. But that wouldn't be his only appearance with a pretty lady costar, he got his chance to boogie with Julie Andrews in one of her variety specials to the tune of "Oh Babe, What Would You Say," a number later recreated for The Muppet Show with Kaye Ballard taking Thog off his feet. Thog also appeared with most of the other Muppet mosnters alongside Burnadette Peters in "Take A Little One Step." Thog finally got to unleash his monstrous side by demolishing a research facility while Loretta Switt crooned "I Feel The Earth Move."

Although Thog appeared in the group shot at the end of The Muppet Movie, he was never seen outside of The Muppet Show again until 2011, with Disney's The Muppets movie. In the film, Thog is seen with a group of Muppets pleading with Rashida Jones's TV studio executive for another chance at stardom, and introducing the theme song for The Muppet Telethon during a reprise of "The Muppet Show Theme Song."

WHY DO THE MUPPETS NEED THOG?
Well, they need a recognizable giant who's always true blue. Thog is a beautifully designed monster and his expressive eyes and movable ears make him unique within the monster group. With his full-body form, he's the perfect dance partner in production numbers on The Muppet Show. That being said, one has to wonder if he is going to get the chance to dance with Amy Adams during the big show-stopping and city-halting musical number?

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

Weekly Muppet Monster Wednesdays: Frazzle

Greetings and good fright to all. Perhaps you stumbled into this blog expecting another amusing entry in the ongoing Weekly Muppet Wednesday series. Well, you'll still get those... But for this month only, they've undergone a hideous transformation... It's now the Weekly Muppet Monster Wednesdays! (cue thundering sound effect and evil laughter) So if you would, please come with me and we'll delve into the profile of our first furry and fiendish candidate.

Today's Weekly Muppet Wednesday post was written by Ed Castle.

FRAZZLE

Performed by...
Jerry Nelson

First appearance...
Sesame Street Season 4: Episode 0494 (1973)

Most recent appearance...
The City Sings a Song! (book appearance) (2005)

Best known role...
Toothy, unintelligible monster with a brutish outside but a childlike desire to be included inside

WHO IS FRAZZLE?
Frazzle started out as most early background utility monsters on the street, a pumpkin Anything Muppet Monster who grew fur over night. Sprouting horns and some jagged fangs, Frazzle gained notoriety with various appearances here and there in sketches on Sesame Street starting in Season 4. Although Frazzle looks fierce and communicates exclusively in a growling language, his true nature is really childlike, with a desperate need to be included with the other monsters.

The first time he was captured on camera was actually an accidental cameo on the beloved game show Beat The Time! In this episode, fellow furry fellow, Cookie Monster, competed to win a cookie by bringing three things, that's three things, three things that rhyme with "rain" back to the studio. He brought in a chain, and when Guy Smiley wondered what was attached to at the end, out came Frazzle to terrorize the studio audience.

After this, Frazzle's star shone brightly with two musical numbers. The first, his own self-titled song, "Frazzle," demonstrated his true acting ability by showing how he feels in different scenarios. Unfortunately, due to the fact he also speaks in gibberish, he needed the translating skills of his back-up monsters known as the Frazzletones to communicate his current emotive state.

The other number was the classic "Fuzzy and Blue (and Orange)" where Frazzle invaded a performance of Grover, Herry, and Cookie Monster.  Now most people would think he was rudely crashing a rousing Vaudevilleian song, but no, Frazzle merely wanted to be included in the fun the rest of the group was having, which is something most children go through. Yes, Grover tries to point out the difference in fur colors as it was meant to be a blue-only feature, but Frazzle quickly grouses his insistance on joining the tune, and so on the show must go as they say.

Though Frazzle has not been seen in a Street Scene on the show since Season 25 (1996) when Elmo dealt with a delightful bout of coulrophobia (fear of clowns), Frazzle remains a quite popular monster, as evidenced by his multitude of background on-air and book appearances in the nearly thirty years he has been around. The puppet used for Frazzle was finally rebuilt as an unique character in 2001 when it was prudent that he gain a proper identity, both within the monster and Muppet community.

WHY DOES SESAME STREET NEED FRAZZLE?
Raaaaaaaaaabblagarfrazzlelabba!!

And really... doesn't that just say it all?

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