Synopsis: Gunge accidentally becomes the king of the Doozers, and his best pal Philo feels lonely and abandoned. Philo comes up with a scheme to replace Gunge on the throne, but it doesn’t make anyone happier.
Original air date: May 27, 1985
It’s always nifty when a long-running TV show nudges the spotlight away from the regular cast to focus on a supporting character for an episode. On a workplace show, this could be an episode that follows the protagonist’s co-worker home for the first time. On a family show, it could be an episode that lets us see what kind of shenanigans the next-door neighbor gets up to on their own time.
In Fraggle Rock’s “Gunge, the Great and Glorious,” it means an entire episode devoted to Philo and Gunge, the rats who hang around with the Trash Heap. The Trash Heap herself isn’t even a regular cast member, exactly, so you could make a pretty solid argument that this is an episode about the supporting characters of a supporting character! We usually only think of Philo and Gunge as sidekicks to the Trash Heap, so this episode’s exploration of their friendship with each other is a nice change of pace.
I hadn’t seen this episode in a while, but I remembered the whole series of events where the Doozers think Gunge is their long-lost king, and then Philo is bitter about it and tricks them into thinking he’s their long-lost king, before the rats both realize life as a king is boring and they’d be better off being being regular civilian buddies.
But I hadn’t retained one of the morals of the story: It doesn’t make sense to love somebody just because they have a fancy title or they wear a fancy crown (or they went to a fancy college, or they drive a fancy car…). Status and accoutrements don’t make a person more interesting or likeable than anyone else. And then it hit me: This episode is a scathing criticism of the British monarchy!
Think about it. The British government spends a lot of money on maintaining the lifestyle of their kings, queens, princes, princesses, and so on. In this episode, the Doozers focus all their efforts on making their king(s) happy. At the time this episode aired in 1985, the royal family was constantly in the news and the tabloids. People all over the world watched their every move.
But why were people so interested — because the royals were talented actors, singers, athletes, authors, pastry chefs, or jugglers? Nope. Just because they were born into a certain family.
When Gunge stumbles into the Doozers’ cave, they immediately give him a crown and a special seat and start dedicating their lives to pleasing him. It’s not because they think he’s a swell guy. They don’t even know him. It’s just because he looks like a certain drawing.
Fraggle Rock’s message is clear: Abolish the monarchy!
Okay, okay. Obviously that wasn’t the show’s intention. But isn’t it a more attention-grabbing reading than “Sometimes it’s better to be a rat with a friend than a king with no friends?”
Strongest Moment: It’s pretty funny when Philo convinces the Doozers that he’s their rightful king just by drawing a second tooth on their ancient cave drawing. You’d think Doozers would be better with attention to detail.
MVF (Most Valuable Fraggle): Wembley and Red (and Traveling Matt) are the only Fraggles seen! Wembley is funny in his limited screen time… But I’ll give the title of MVR (Most Valuable Rat) to Philo. He learns a valuable lesson about friendship, and he learns it quicker than Gunge does.
Musical Highlight: Gunge tries to liven things up by singing “Gonna Party! (Saturday Night),” a song that would be at home on any playlist of high-energy party songs. It also raises the question of how Gunge and the Doozers know the concept of Saturday night.
Coolest Puppetry Effect: When the Doozers put on a circus to entertain Gunge, it’s full of terrific puppetry. Three Doozers ride a bicycle across a tightrope! One walks along on a beach ball!
Fraggle Lore: This one is packed with Doozer lore. Not only did they used to have a king — there was also a time before they built things, when they were into festivals and singing and dancing!
Obscure Character Watch: As of yesterday, Muppet Wiki said, “This is the only episode to feature the puppets that would later be recycled, and Seussified as the Sneels for The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss.” But when I published this review, Muppet Wiki admin Tony realized it’s not true. The Sneels appeared elsewhere on Fraggle Rock. So Muppet Wiki doesn’t say that anymore.
One More Thing…: Before his encounter with the Doozers, Gunge sings a song called “I’m Gonna Be a Star,” about how he’s destined for greatness. It includes the rhyming lines “No one knows how great I am/’Cause no one gives a good door slam.” I like that. Were people using “Shut the front door” as a substitute for cursing yet in 1985?
Okay, One More Thing…: In Doc and Sprocket’s storyline, Doc indulges Sprocket’s desire for an upscale brand of canned dog food called Rover’s Royal Repast. But it costs $6.99 a can — as much as a week’s supply of Sprocket’s usual food! According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics inflation calculator, that can would cost $20.84 today!
Click here to put on a circus on the Tough Pigs forum!
by Ryan Roe – [email protected]
