Something nutty I wonder about Gobo...

[Drtooth]

I've been wondering this lately. Do you think that Gob's voice kinda sounds like a mock Canadian accent? I mean, the way he occasionaly slips the "eh?" into the end of his sentence. Was this a joke that Jerry Nelson played becasue the show was shot in Canada? :smirk:

[sugarbritchez]

The things that make you go hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

[christyb]

Good one. But I've always wondered. If you listen closely Gobo has a tad bit of a southern accent. Faint, but I've always heard it.

[sugarbritchez]

Oh No.........Gobo isn't a REDNECK is he????

[DerekJ]

Jerry Nelson already has a few disguised Southern touches, but Gobo was pretty intentionally the Canadian hero, right down to his stereotypic Great White North accent, eh, and, in cold-weather scenes, even wearing a "moss toque"--

...Apparently, Gobo's "nationality" satisfied CBC's broadcast regulation for "native Canadian content" :smirk:

[christyb]

Oh No.........Gobo isn't a REDNECK is he????
So you have a thing about rednecks?? *in my southern accent* You are in the wrong crowd. :)

[MrsPepper]

Jerry Nelson already has a few disguised Southern touches, but Gobo was pretty intentionally the Canadian hero, right down to his stereotypic Great White North accent, eh, and, in cold-weather scenes, even wearing a "moss toque"--

...Apparently, Gobo's "nationality" satisfied CBC's broadcast regulation for "native Canadian content" :smirk:

I always assumed Gobo was canadian. I mean, he wears tuques and says eh, and Doc was a canadian actor, so I mean, yeah.

And what's a " 'moss' toque"? I have never heard the word moss attached to the word tuque before. :confused: But he's definately a canuck.

[zeldazipple]

Yeah! I agree. I thoughtat first till I learned about Jerry Nelson. I thought ' Gobo ' was from Canada so I never really gave it any thought, but I did notice he had a southern twans as well that puzzled me a litte. But I think the combo of the two gave him a unque charecter. :smirk:

[DerekJ]

And what's a " 'moss' tuque"? I have never heard the word moss attached to the word tuque before. :confused: But he's definately a canuck.

(Well, whatever it's crafted out of, it's Rock-made but looks unquestionably familiar to Northerners...) :smirk:

[Kimp the Shrimp]

Canadain Fraggles? lol

[sugarbritchez]

So you have a thing about rednecks?? *in my southern accent* You are in the wrong crowd. :)

Ummmmmmm.....I'm in Alabama......can't get more redneck than that....LOL

[christyb]

Ouch, you got me beat. LoL. TN gal here. I saw that you were from Alabama. That's why I said you were in the wrong crowd. :D

[zeldazipple]

Canadain Fraggles? lol
When I put that in quotes I was referring to Jerry not Gobo. And why wouldn't I think that anyway she show was made in Canada so it would have made sence at the time. ;)

[MrsPepper]

(Well, whatever it's crafted out of, it's Rock-made but looks unquestionably familiar to Northerners...) :smirk:

Edit: Oh, do you mean that it's a hat made in Fraggle rock but canucks know it as a tuque?

Canadain Fraggles? lol

What's so funny about that? I always thought it was clear that they were canadian. You can see that alot of the Uncle Travelling Matt sketches were in Canadian spots (well obviously, it was filmed in Canada), and from that and knowing the CBC made it, I always assumed they were canadian. Makes sense to me. :excited:

[Vic Romano]

I always assumed Jerry was Canadian, Carrol Spinney was from California and Jim and Frank were right outta' the Bronx. You can just here it in their voices.

[DerekJ]

Actually, Carroll was originally from my hometown of South Acton, MA (when Big Bird once ad-libbed a joke about Acton, I just about fell off my seat), but since Californized--
Similarly for Frank, who grew up West Coast but was listed as born in England.

While Jim was from (prophetically) Greenville, Miss., and you CAN hear it in his/Kermit's/Rowlf's voice...

(And the only one who was "outta" the Bronx was Richard Hunt, who I'd always thought was Joizey.)

[Kimp the Shrimp]

What's so funny about that? I always thought it was clear that they were canadian. You can see that alot of the Uncle Travelling Matt sketches were in Canadian spots (well obviously, it was filmed in Canada), and from that and knowing the CBC made it, I always assumed they were canadian. Makes sense to me. :excited:


i was jus kidding i know they are from canada i used to watch them on the CBC from Buffalo NY i loved the canadain staion Polka Dot Door, some show where they were in a dept store and the manaquienn came to life it was great

[MuppetDude]

Just an assumption (I hope I'm not repeating anybody):

Fraggle Rock was a co-production for the U.S. and Canada (the original version), so it's possible that Jerry wanted to give Gobo a Canadian accent as a reference to Canada. In the earlier episodes, you can't hear his accent much; it was probably a few episodes later before the accent kicked in.

[Vic Romano]

Actually, Carroll was originally from my hometown of South Acton, MA (when Big Bird once ad-libbed a joke about Acton, I just about fell off my seat), but since Californized--
Similarly for Frank, who grew up West Coast but was listed as born in England.

While Jim was from (prophetically) Greenville, Miss., and you CAN hear it in his/Kermit's/Rowlf's voice...

(And the only one who was "outta" the Bronx was Richard Hunt, who I'd always thought was Joizey.)
Ah, I see. Thank you.

[Drtooth]

You know, when I posted this topic, I thought it would get 1 crazy answer or a "What time do you start drinking, Dr. Tooth?" :smirk:

I still think it's Jerry's homage to the Canadians, even though I always thought the "eh?" was a stereotype perpetuated by the MacKenzie Brothers.

[MrsPepper]

i was jus kidding i know they are from canada i used to watch them on the CBC from Buffalo NY i loved the canadain staion Polka Dot Door, some show where they were in a dept store and the manaquienn came to life it was great

Do you mean Today's Special? Love that show! :D


You know, when I posted this topic, I thought it would get 1 crazy answer or a "What time do you start drinking, Dr. Tooth?" :smirk:

I still think it's Jerry's homage to the Canadians, even though I always thought the "eh?" was a stereotype perpetuated by the MacKenzie Brothers.

Oh no, people do say Eh, just not to that extent, exactly. Hosehead. ;)

[Foodie]

Gobo is supposed to sound like " our friends up north " according to one of the Fraggle Rock character guide things I have from the show ( acquired from good ol' eBay ).

Not only does he say " eh " quite frequently, but also by some of the ways he pronounces certain words... particularly his own name. Also, and I'm not sure if this is a Canadian-ism or not but, at times, Gobo pronouces the word " again " as " ay-GANE ". I tend to pay attention to voices for some reason, ( a fetish of mine I guess ), and I believe I've heard other Canadian pronouce " again " that way. :smirk:

Nick