Your earliest Muppet memory [Archive]

MrsPepper

05-18-2006, 04:43 PM

What are some of the things you remember about the muppets from your childhood?
My childhood was filled with alot of muppet influence.

My favourite plastic spoon, bowl, dish, and cup were Sesame Street, each with a unique design. The only 2 surviving pieces to my fabulous pimped-out dishware are the bowl (which has cookie monster on the bottom with 4 cookies and a big number 4, and the numbers from 1 to 20 are around the rim) and the cup (which is very faded, but it has various characters holding blocks with things like ABC 123 on them, and stuff).

Also, as a small child whenever I'd fish with my family, my brother and I would always call "Heeeeeere, fishy fishy fishy!!!" to catch fish (it actually works!).

I had a Big Bird doll, also. And my parents would always quote Sesame Street to me. I think they liked it as much as I did! (Though they're not perfect; I still hear about "Smy Guiley" once in awhile. ;) )

I used to love the muppet movies, as well, and reruns on TMS.

So what are your earliest muppet childhood memories?

(By the way, these can be both Sesame and Muppet. I figured this category was generic enough to include both. If a mod feels it should be moved, please do so. :) )

Sgt Floyd

05-18-2006, 06:14 PM

Suprisingly, I hardly EVER watched sesame street when I was younger (and dont really now). I remember watching TMS reruns with my dad though...the only episode I definatly remember seeing is the one where the pigs take over the show.

superboober

05-18-2006, 07:37 PM

By age two in 1984 I had Muppets 6 out of 7 days of the week. My local PBS affiliate (WVIA-38 Scranton) aired SS at 12 and 4 weekdays (they used the 70s PBS logo for about 2 years after the rest of the network retired it). I'd usually watch both times, although I'd usually switch away before the credits ended because I consider the CPB horns and bells ident to be apocalyptic at the time. I would crawl under my mother's laundry basket and pretend I was Oscar, popping out at key intervals. I would also find myself imitating Grover at times, hopping up and down in the yard and saying Wubba Wubba (because he's right; it does sound so nice to say). Sunday nights at 7:30 I would turn instinctively to HBO. I dare anyone in the same age group to say they didn't feel that rush of adrenaline when the immortal HBO in Space bumper--a thrill in its own right--started rolling at the bottom of the hour (with that special variation that had a different end music once we zapped inside the O), knowing that once those flashing comets disappeared, we'd fade into Doc's workshop and to a special place. I recall distinctly standing right in front of the screen and rocking from side to side with a big grin on my face along with the theme. It was soon after that we made sure to procure stuffed Gobo and Wembley dolls at the local Gee Bees, both of which I still had with me up till age 9.

Tim

05-18-2006, 11:16 PM

I guess I'm lucky being as old as I ma. I got to see Jim's work almost from the beginning.

My mom was really cool about letting my sister and me stay up late even on a school night to watch Jack Parr, but only if The Muppets were on. (For those of you too young to know who I'm talking about, Jack Parr hosted the "Tonight" show before Johnny Carson, who hosted it before Jay Leno!) We got to see such bits as "Glowworm" done for almost the first time on televison! Next thing was Rowlf on "The Jimmy Dean Show"-that was in black and white, which was o.k. since so was our T.V.. My sister and I could never figure out how Rowlf could have a moving mouth AND both hands working! Best of all, one Christmas the Sears Catalog had a Rowlf pajama bag/puppet for sale! Sadly, we didn't get one that Christmas..or any other. I've never even SEEN one of those anyplace since then..even eBay hasn't come through with one yet. I also remember some of the commercials they were doing, including an HFC home loan one involving a talking house!

Anyway, those are my earliest memories...

ReneeLouvier

05-19-2006, 06:31 AM

I was born in 1986, after the big "new programs" of everything was done. We didn't have HBO, so I never saw Fraggle Rock until I was ten years old or so, and...somewhere they had reruns of it. (Forgot where now. >>)

Sesame Street: My mother and me always watched SS together. I used to sing along with the songs, if I knew them. And my mother's told I always tried to sing the ABC song with Big Bird. :) I loved the Kermit bits the most.

Muppets: I forgot which came first - Re-Runs of Muppet Babies, on Nick, or re-runs of TMS on Nick. But either way, I just fell in love with them...then I fell out of love with them. Not really falling out of love, but just...not around them as much. Then 5 years ago, we saw MCC in the bargain bin at Wal-Mart. It was $5, a VHS. Mom suggested we get it. So...we got it. I watched it. Then I went scouring the house for other muppet stuff. I found my 6 1/2 hours of Muppet Babies, recorded and bought VHS's. I found "Follow That Bird", and "The Great Muppet Caper" also recorded. I had forgotten I had those.

And I was hooked again. ;)

Muppet Matt

05-19-2006, 07:12 AM

I had (still have:o) a plush Big Bird toy that I used to play with, I also used to LOVE the PVC figures and got a SS back pack for Christmas one year.;) I remember watching SS too.

heralde

05-19-2006, 09:36 AM

This is a nice thread idea. :)

I always watched Sesame Street and I had...let's see...a toy chest, foot stool, toothbrush, play set, action figures, etc. Sheesh, I think my parents made the CTW very wealthy! I had records and books on tape (Yeah I feel old!). I remember one where Bert and Ernie sang about how they used to be afraid of the dark and taking a bath.

I distinctly remember watching Sesame Street and hearing that today was the day the adults were finally going to see Snuffy, even my mom knew that was important!

My very first exposure to The Muppets was probably the three fairy tale specials, Hey, Cinderella!, The Frog Prince, and The Musicians of Berman. Kermit was in all of them of course and I guess that's how I was able to connect with Muppet Babies and the three Muppet movies as well.

I used to sing the "Brave Sir Robin" song from The Frog Prince. Oddly enough, I never thought it was odd that one minute he's a prince, the next he's Kermit's nephew!

When I was five, I had a Baby Fozzie Halloween costume. He was my favorite Muppet Baby character. I went to a friend's party only to find out she had the exact same costume!

I've always loved The Muppets Take Manhattan; it was the first Muppet film made in my lifetime and so probably the first one I ever saw. I still love it today, it's funny, extremely touching and it made me love New York City.

I don't know why but I wasn't aware of The Muppet Show until around 5th grade when it was shown on Nickelodeon, along with Muppet Matinee (Nickelodeon treated The Muppets much better than Disney!). It was weird seeing all the usual characters looking so different or having different voices. Muppet Matinee showed specials like The Muppets Go To the Movies. Interestingly, a lot of my favorite moments from that special came from Richard Hunt's characters, though I didn't know about him at the time. ;)

pepestarr

05-19-2006, 01:22 PM

My earliest muppet memory is when I rented 'Muppets from Space' out of the video shop and loved it!

Barry Lee

05-19-2006, 02:13 PM

My earliest memory was seeing "Hey Cinderella!" back when the muppets were on Nickelodeon. I thought Mona and Lisa were Beaker's twin sisters. :eek:

Pug Lover

05-19-2006, 04:06 PM

My earliest muppet memory,was by age 3 or 4,in the early 1970s,having two small hand puppets,one was Cookie Monster,the other Oscar.I've mentioned these two puppets once before,in a thread I posted in Muppet Merchandise.I think I even used to wonder why these puppets looked different on TV.(hahaha)

Around the same time,I had one of those Little Golden Shape Books,"The Circle Book".It starred Herry and Cookie Monster in cartoon form.They were at an amusement park,where Cookie Monster drove Herry crazy by eating everything circular throughout the story.

giovannii

05-21-2006, 06:24 AM

When I was younger all I did was watch the Muppet Show. My mum & grandmothers would tape it each week and I had about 10 videos full I would watch on continuous loop.

The songs I remember watching the most were "Teenager In Love" - Connie Stevens, "They Canr take That Away FRom Me" - Nancy Walker, "Dont Cry Out Loud" - MElissa Manchester & "Blue Bayou" - Linda Ronstadt.

My earliest memory would be watching the Nancy Walker episode with my cousin. She was older (& obviously taller), so we would act out the "CAnt Take That AWay From Me" number. I remember I would take on the Nancy Walker role & crawl between her legs at the end.

Kimp the Shrimp

05-21-2006, 09:55 AM

Change a body part machine on the Muppet Show

Kaiser Gonzo

05-21-2006, 11:54 AM

my earliest muppet memory was of my dad buying me the muppet show album from a charity shop in london, he played it and i just loved the silliness. i was only four at the time. but since i was born ive always had muppet stuff around me, seen as my dad eas and is a massive muppet show fan, and he always had toys n stuff from when he was younger.

Pianodog

06-16-2006, 05:21 PM

I'm so old and mangy, I actually caught the Muppet Show when it started (though it may have premiered a year later in Sweden than it did in the States), and after seeing Mahna-Mahna on the very first episode, I was hooked! I never missed an episode. As a kid, I was also very much a Star Wars nut, so I was in Seventh Heaven when Mark Hamill was on!

Pianodog.

Barbarella

07-07-2006, 02:07 PM

I remember Sesame Street from the 70's vividly. My mother told me I could count to 20 in spanish before I could do it in English. And I think my earliest memory was from the Alligator King and the Number 8 thing with the king and princesses- and that 1,2 with the girl and the doll house.

At the same time there's something that sticks in my head about Radishes and Hey Cinderella from that same era.

JoeyMuppet

07-07-2006, 02:09 PM

Sesame Street on the Muppet Show.

Faylo

07-09-2006, 09:32 PM

I've been watching SS since I was six months old, but of course I can't remember that. I can remember though when I was about 2 I was in my living room watching MFC while playing with a Sesame Street dollhouse. I also was raised on Fraggle Rock/Sesame Street/Muppet stuff. I have a Muppet-Sing-Along (It's Not Easy Being Green) video that I watched everyday, and I still watch it from time to time.

Fuzzhead

07-09-2006, 11:00 PM

My earliest Muppet memory is sitting on the floor at my Grandma's house with her dog, Spooky, watching The Muppet Show. I'm not sure if it was the original airings, or reruns.

christyb

07-10-2006, 02:28 PM

My earliest would have to be MFC. I now own a chopped up version of the special, but I remember watching it and watching the snowman talk (Why that stuck in my head I don't know). What really clinched me into fanhood was MCC. My parents (much to their regret now) bought it for me (and we saw it in theatres). I watched the thing a million times.(Then not now) It fast became my favorite movie (still is). I also watched SS (until Elmo took over..then I didn't like it any more) and Muppet Babies and FR.

redBoobergurl

07-10-2006, 03:15 PM

Huh, I hadn't seen this thread until now. How fun!

My earliest Muppet memory is like most people, Sesame Street. I had a stuffed Ernie doll that was dressed for bedtime (you could actually pull the flap of his pajamas down in back and now I wonder, is that really appropriate? LOL). I guess when Ernie and Bert would come on I would get really excited and act out the scenes along with them. I also got excited whenever Grover was on screen as well.

I also remember watching TMTM when I was little and watching it alot. I guess I really enjoyed the music and some of that. I know many of the jokes went over my head at that age! :)

heralde

07-10-2006, 03:21 PM

I guess when Ernie and Bert would come on I would get really excited and act out the scenes along with them.

I remember I used to have an Ernie action figure and one time my family was driving to Sesame Place and I was pretending that Ernie was on his way to see Bert. lol

rumtar_10165

07-10-2006, 05:32 PM

well there is so many but the best one that I recall is this one.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQuMUSzEHZc

Erine81981

07-11-2006, 09:50 PM

I guess my first would be as anyone else would say is Sesme Street. I watched it every day of my life. Everyone once a in a while I'll watch some of the new ones but only unless it has some references to some old characters, songs and skits. But I do remember watching FR every night on HBO. Me, my dad, sister (sometimes) and my mom would watch it. I couldn't get enough of Fraggle Rock. One year for christmas (can't remember the age I was) but I got a Fraggle Rock drum set. Oh was the happest kid in my neighborhood. I also watched Muppet Babies when it aired on CBS and other channels too. The Muppet Show reaired on TNT back before it reruned on Nick. Which I watch it there too. One thing I remember is the McDonald's Muppet Babies plushes for Christmas. Now here is a story about how bad I was when I first saw one of these.

I was either in the 3rd or 4th grade around that time (I think) but one of my classmates had the Baby Fozzie Bear one. Man did I ever want it. I think he had brought it for show and tell that day. Man did I ever try my best to get that from him to have it. That's how bad I was about the Muppets.

SweetMayhem

07-17-2006, 08:43 PM

Well, this is as good a first post as any, right? I was born in 1985 and was raised on all things Sesame Street/Muppets. For some reason, Grover was my favorite when I was little (Although I used to call him "Groser"). My mom worked in the library for a local school. They had a tv and she would bring me to work and pop in the Sesame Street learning VHS tapes for me while she shelved books. My mom taped almost every muppet special and TMS reruns off TV. Unfortunately many of the tapes have since dissapeared. I also had 2 Fraggle Rock VHS tapes that I watched constantly. Another one I watched over and over was The Tale of the Bunny Picnic. I also remember watching the Mother Goose shows on Disney (I think) which were followed by the Fraggle Rock cartoons. I never liked the cartoons as much.:smirk:

For some reason I always watched Emmit Otter's Jugband Christmas when I was sick. It's still a tradition to watch Christmas Eve on Sesame Street, The Christmas Toy and Muppet Family Christmas on Xmas Eve.

The first time we went to Disney world (1995) I remember listening to the "Kermit:Unpigged" tape on the plane ride. We went to MGM first and I basically tortured my family into going on MuppetVision:3D first.:) I still love the muppets just as much as ever and am trying to get my boyfriend into them... My future kids are gonna be muppet freaks!

BalconyHeckler

07-17-2006, 09:14 PM

When my mother taped "The Muppet Movie", she missed the first two minutes in which Statler and Wardolf show up asking where the movie is being held. When I finally recieved the DVD, I was like, I don't remember this! It was a pretty funny scene and it's sad that I missed it when I was younger.

But that has to be my earliest memory. :)

Ilikemuppets

07-17-2006, 09:53 PM

I don't remember but I'm sure It has to do with Sesame Street.

Katzi428

07-17-2006, 09:58 PM

Whip out the Geritol,someone...because I started watching Sesame Street from almost the very beginning!:eek:
I'd say that the Ernie & Bert sketches were my favorites.

Sweeetums

07-18-2006, 02:51 AM

i had a videos of sesame street lol, and i didnt like people to borow them

rumtar_10165

07-21-2006, 07:21 AM

Whip out the Geritol,someone...because I started watching Sesame Street from almost the very beginning!
I'd say that the Ernie & Bert sketches were my favorites.
Pass the Geritol my way will ya? Actauly I am 40 yrs old. Just a fw yrs older than you.:p

muppetmonster

07-21-2006, 10:30 AM

For "Sesame Street" it is when I went to Sesame Place when I was a very young child.

For "the Muppet Show" it is "the Great Muppet Caper".

For "Fraggle Rock" it is the show.

I remember watching "the Muppet Show" and trying to figure out all the muppets - that was cool.

Muppetmonster

Marky

07-22-2006, 08:03 AM

I was born in '73.

SS - when Cookie monster had some kind of Midas Cookie touch. even people would turn into a pile of cookies. He got freaked out by it, and so did I! That, and when Grover sold Kermit some fake ears. Weird. Also, remeber when Fischer-Price had those cranking movie projector things? They were so cool! They came with movie cartridges. I had a Mickey Mouse (running from a Giant), Bambi falling on the ice, and a SS one with "Ten... Coconut Creme Pies"!!! I had the FP SS playset, too.

TMS - Watching season 1 DVD brought back so many. ie, Paul Williams floating away, heads blowing up, and Marvin Scuggs & the Muppephone! TMM had a huge impact on me as well. Holding and working Fozzie at the audition last year - wanted me to go back in time and tell my 5-year-old-self what I was going to get to do! The Star Wars cross-over was toooooooooo much for me! Looking back, isn't it ironic that they used "When You Wish Upon a Star" as it's closing (along with the castle popping up)?

FR - Well, I was about 9 when that came out, so I was already a Henson nut. I wanted to BE Frank Oz. I wasn't as taken by it for some reason. I prefered Muppet Babies, but even then, I was starting to grow out of it (temporarily, of course)!

That whole era for me (mid 70's-early 80's) was defined by Henson, Lucas and in many ways - John Williams! I'm sure I'm not alone there.

:)

Starlancer

07-22-2006, 09:51 AM

Man thats hard...hmmmm...AHHH yes the first thing that got me into the muppets was my dad i think i watched some muppet movie where they did plays like Rumplstilksen (if thats how u spell it) andKing Midus,The Boy Who Cried Wolf and The 3 little pigs i think it was called Muppet Classic Theater...:)

Marky

07-22-2006, 01:50 PM

DanDanStrawberry

07-24-2006, 04:06 AM

Cool post, MrsPepper.

Well I used to watch Muppets Tonight when I was about 3 with my grandma, so that has some good memories for me. I always used to come home from nursery and watch Sesame Street as well, so was an avid fan from the start!

Actually my older cousin used to watch dreadlocks so we used to call him Clifford!

G-MAN

07-24-2006, 01:28 PM

Actually he was right, it was Muppet Classic Theater

My earliest Muppet memory would have to be a lot of my childhood. Like most of you, I grew up on the Muppets, and actually had almost all the specials at the time by when I was five (I was born in 1985). I sadly don't remember much about Sesame Street, but my Mom says I saw the one when Snuffy became real. I did have a few Muppet Shows on tape, and I had a tape (and Betas) filled with Fraggle Rock. Plus, of course I watched Muppet Babies every day, though I only remember it on Nick Jr..