Wednesday, November 18, 2009

The Letter M


Me and my M, mm-mm/We go mm, mm, mm/When we mosey along/Mosey on, mosey on

Martians

"There was always a minority afraid of something, and a great majority afraid of the dark, afraid of the future, afraid of the past, afraid of the present, afraid of themselves and shadows of themselves." - Ray Bradbury, The Martian Chronicles

Fear and paranoia are prevalent when facing the unknown. The simple threat of the USSR led America to hide in fear from the Red Scare despite them having to wait in line for bread. So why shouldn't visitors from another world show fear and confusion at normal, everyday Earth objects?

These Martians, occasionally known as Yip-yips, are very squid-like with their tentacles and giant bug eyes. They also have antennae because aliens!

Their whole bit was observing a common object and converse in their native language, which is comprised of "yip yip yip yip yip, uh-HUH, uh-HUH" in a monotone. Sometimes they'll imitate the object (like a phone) or they'll consult a book and mistake one object for another (like a computer for a typewriter).

It's so rare in performances to see people have ridiculous fun in what they're doing, but the Martians sketches always made it seem like the puppeteers were really having fun with that. Most Muppet stuff looked like people were really just goofing around while doing and that's what made it great.

Marjory the Trash Heap

Oracle to the denizens of Fraggle Rock, Marjory is a giant sentient pile of garbage who knows all, and due to the wide array of garbage that makes her up, she also is all. To quote Marjory, "I'm orange peels, I'm coffee ground, I'm wisdom!"

Almost always joined by her shills, the rat-like Philo and Gunge, Marjory was always ready to lend a helping hand or temporary solution and even encouraged the Fraggles and other species to come together in harmony. While serving as a source of wisdom for the Fraggles in the first season, she was relocated in the second season. Since then, her appearances were much more sporadic and only needed when the Fraggles really needed help with a problem.

Also she sounded like an old Jewish grandma which is like 1000x funnier if you have one.

Miss Piggy

Coy and aggressive. Those are the two faces of the porcine prima donna and female lead of The Muppet Show. One minute she's showering affection for her Kermie, the next she's karate chopping the hell out of him, sending him flying through the air.

The self-proclaimed star of The Muppet Show, Miss Piggy is a multi-talented swine. She's a skilled dramatic actress, starring in both medical drama "Veterinarian's Hospital" and space epic "Pigs In Space." She's also an excellent singer, sometimes performing duets with the love of her life. She can also drive a truck and tap dance.

Originally a one-dimensional character, the writers soon realized there was more to her than just "pig who loves frog." As a matter of fact, her diva personality seperates her from just about any other character. Her unique character has led her to being one of the most popular Muppets, writing a best-selling book, creating a fitness album. She even had her own perfume called Moi.

As Frank Oz once said "She wants everyone to treat her like a lady, and if they don't, she'll cut them in half." Piggy to a T.

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