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The Land of Gorch

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The Land of Gorch
Character "Scred" sings a song to Lily Tomlin
GenreComedy
Created byJim Henson
StarringJim Henson
Frank Oz
Fran Brill
Richard Hunt
Jerry Nelson
Alice Tweedie
Narrated byDon Pardo (opening narration)
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes16
Production
Executive producerLorne Michaels
Original release
ReleaseOctober 11, 1975 –
September 18, 1976

The Land of Gorch is a recurring skit in season one of Saturday Night Live. This segment featured Jim Henson's Muppets. Prior to Sesame Street, Henson had initially created puppetry work for a more adult audience, including his show Sam and Friends. His characters were regular appearances on the late-night-comedy scene including The Ed Sullivan Show. After Sesame Street, Henson feared that he would become typecast into solely performing work on children's television series. His talent agent Bernie Brillstein, who also represented Gilda Radner, Dan Aykroyd, and John Belushi, helped him transition to Saturday Night Live.

The premise of The Land of Gorch featured Muppet characters in a far-away locale, who were members of a royal family. They behaved boorishly, with frequent references to drug abuse, sexual innuendo, and intake of alcohol. Characters included King Ploobis and Queen Peutra and children, and servants Scred and Vazh. These characters often consulted their oracle Mighty Favog for advice.

The staff of Saturday Night Live clashed with Henson's vision for the program. Writers Michael O'Donoghue, Alan Zweibel, and Al Franken often tried to avoid writing the weekly sketches involving The Land of Gorch. Henson felt they were trying to write for situational comedy as opposed to staying within his intended story. Frank Oz agreed in the end that the match was not perfect between Saturday Night Live and The Land of Gorch, and was thankful that by the end of the year he and Henson were able to move on to The Muppet Show.

The Land of Gorch had a significant impact on Henson's later works. His feature film The Dark Crystal incorporated both puppetry techniques and story ideas from the sketches. Jim Henson Productions television show Dinosaurs later contained similar story scenarios previously seen in The Land of Gorch, mirroring a plot-line about environmentalism. Commentators reflecting on The Land of Gorch agreed that the reception was universally bad — The A.V. Club wrote that it became an in-joke that nobody wanted to continue having the sketches on Saturday Night Live. San Francisco Chronicle called the characters the opposite of Kermit the Frog, and compared them to trolls. DVD Talk called the feature the worst mistake made in the first season of the Saturday Night Live. Vogue described the characters as "proto-Muppets" and the world they inhabited as dystopian. Academic Michael J. Bernsten wrote in his essay "The Muppetry of Nightmares" that the idea failed because the characters were irredeemable and unfunny.

Premise

The Land of Gorch takes place within its own world far away from contemporary society.[1] Creatures each have a unique cultural identity and are imbued with a sense of loyalty towards their inherent traditional practices.[1] A royal family which includes King Ploobis, Queen Peutra, a male child named Wiss, a male servant Scred and female servant Vazh, and a rock prophet referred to as Mighty Favog.[1]

The Land of Gorch segments dealt with a number of racy issues; characters used euphemisms to refer to their sex drives and often consumed alcohol.[2] The characters were often contradictory and opposed each other, obnoxious, and behaved in a lascivious manner.[3]

Production

Influences

Jim Henson's initial work early on in his career was aimed at a more mature audience.[4] Henson's television program Sam and Friends was designed for the college-aged crowd.[4] During this same time period his characters were often involved in late-night comedy on The Jimmy Dean Show and The Ed Sullivan Show.[5] Throughout the 1960s, Jim Henson had utilized his puppets in forms of comedy that were more profane and tongue-in-cheek.[6] These early Henson creations were known to make references to both substance abuse and innuendo about sexual intercourse.[6] The A.V. Club wrote that Henson likely was influenced by the work of Ralph Bakshi, who was also active during the same time period.[7]

Conception

Jim Henson had originally conceived of his Muppets to be characters aimed at an adult audience.[8] He was disappointed with the way the popularity of characters including Big Bird and Bert and Ernie from Sesame Street had solidified a public perception that his Muppets were solely intended for educating children.[8] Henson worried that he would be stuck forever working in his career on children's television series.[9] Bernie Brillstein, Henson's talent agent, assisted him in transitioning away from solely working on productions for children.[9] When Henson decided to take on Brillstein as his talent agent he did not yet have significant fame within the industry.[10] Brillstein was an asset to Henson, as his other clients included Gilda Radner, Dan Aykroyd, and John Belushi.[9][10] Henson decided to place Muppets into the Saturday Night Live cast as a way to attempt to get rid of the popular view that his characters were for a younger audience only.[8] Henson generated The Land of Gorch characters precisely with the intent of using them on Saturday Night Live.[11] Henson had the idea in mind to "make puppetry for adults".[12] His characters were featured within the new television program's first season.[13]

Writing conflicts

The writing staff of Saturday Night Live disliked writing for The Land of Gorch scenes.[14] Writer Michael O'Donoghue complained, "I don't write for felt."[7] Writing assignment to The Land of Gorch sketches was meted out to Saturday Night Live staff as a type of penalty for those people who were least liked among the production team.[8] Writers generally regarded the routines as childish.[8]

Saturday Night Live writer Alan Zweibel expressed his view on the topic: "Whoever drew the short straw that week had to write the Muppet sketch."[14] Zweibel commented that in addition to himself, other writers who disliked working on scripts for The Land of Gorch plot-lines included Michael O'Donoghue, Al Franken, and Tom Davis.[14] Zweibel had personal disagreements with Jim Henson who disapproved of the storylines for some of the characters he had created.[14]

In 1983, Jim Henson commented on what happened behind the scenes at Saturday Night Live: "I saw what he (Lorne Michaels) was going for and I really liked it and wanted to be a part of it, but somehow what we were trying to do and what his writers could write for it never jelled."[15] He disagreed with what he felt was a style of writing that was more suited for situational comedy than his puppet characters.[15]

In 1999, Frank Oz commented on The Land of Gorch, that it had its positives and drawbacks.[16] Oz admitted he concluded in the end that the routine was not a good fit for Saturday Night Live.[16] He felt that the cartoon-style humor of their characters did not mesh well with the comedy of Saturday Night Live, much of which was initially derived from the Second City environment.[16] Oz said he had an enjoyable experience in general working on Saturday Night Live and getting to observe in-person the skills of performers including Andy Kaufman, Albert Brooks, John Belushi, Chevy Chase, and Dan Aykroyd.[16] Oz was thankful that by the time The Land of Gorch was removed from Saturday Night Live he was able to transition to The Muppet Show.[16] Launching in 1976, The Muppet Show featured new characters that were not previously seen on Saturday Night Live.[17]

Cast

Characters

  • King Ploobis (performed by Jim Henson) - The greedy and decorative King of the Land of Gorch. He is married to Queen Peuta, but has been having an affair with his servant Vazh. King Ploobis is always seeking advice from The Mighty Favog.
  • Queen Peuta (performed by Alice Tweedie) - The Queen of the Land of Gorch. She is married to King Ploobis. Due to King Ploobis having an affair with Vazh, Queen Peuta secretly has an affair with Scred. She has three feet which she wears shoes that were made from the skins of the Gligs. She was built by Mari Kaestle.
  • Wisss (performed by Richard Hunt) - The son of King Ploobis and Queen Peuta. He is shown to have an addiction to smoking craters.
  • Scred (performed by Jerry Nelson) - King Ploobis' right-hand man and servant who is in an affair with Queen Peuta. Scred is always mistreated by King Ploobis. He was designed by Michael K. Frith and built by Caroly Wilcox.
  • Vazh (performed by Rhonda Hansome in the first appearance, Fran Brill in later appearances) - King Ploobis' lovely servant who he has an affair with.
  • The Mighty Favog (performed by Frank Oz) - A living statue who serves as the deity of the Land of Gorch. He would offer his advice to King Ploobis and the planet's other inhabitants in exchange for sacrifices. The Mighty Favog's name came from a nickname given by the Muppet Performers to the clock in the Green Room of The Ed Sullivan Show where they would playfully pray to the clock that they wouldn't get bumped if the show ran long. Favag was the brand name of synchronized clock systems, popular with broadcasters. The Green Room clock was presumably a Favag.

List of episodes

No. Title Writer(s) Initial airing
1"George Carlin Episode"UnknownOctober 11, 1975

King Ploobis and Scred go to The Mighty Favog for medical advice when Queen Peuta is unable to "shoot her darts."

Transcript for sketch here.
2"Paul Simon Episode"UnknownOctober 18, 1975
King Ploobis and Scred go to The Mighty Favog for fiscal assistance.
3"Rob Reiner Episode"UnknownOctober 25, 1975

King Ploobis and Scred discover that Wisss is smoking craters and try to get Wisss to stop.

Transcript for sketch here.
4"Candice Bergen Episode"UnknownNovember 8, 1975
King Ploobis wants to eat some Gligs, but there are only two left. King Ploobis goes to The Mighty Favog for advice on how to make more Gligs.
5"Robert Klein Episode"UnknownNovember 15, 1975
When King Ploobis has a headache, Scred tries everything he can to cure King Ploobis of his headache.
6"Lily Tomlin Episode"Jerry NelsonNovember 22, 1975

Scred develops a crush on Lily Tomlin and they sing "I Got You Babe."

Transcript for sketch here.
7"Richard Pryor Episode"UnknownDecember 13, 1975
After "hitting the sauce," King Ploobis and Scred go to see The Mighty Favog.
8"Candice Bergen Episode"UnknownDecember 20, 1975
King Ploobis throws a Christmas party. Unfortunately for him, most of the guests that he has invited have chosen to go to the Killer Bees' Christmas party. When Candice Bergen shows up at King Ploobis' Christmas party, she is disappointed at what she sees. Candice, King Ploobis, and Scred then sing "Have Yourself a Very Merry Christmas" followed by Scred taking Candice to the Killer Bees' Christmas party.
9"Elliott Gould Episode"UnknownJanuary 10, 1976
Queen Peuta reveals to Scred that she feels guilty about their affair. King Ploobis plans to kill anyone who has been having an affair with his wife. Not sure about what to do, Scred go to The Mighty Favog for advice.
10"Buck Henry Episode"UnknownJanuary 17, 1976

While King Ploobis is out of town, Scred shows Queen Peuta his new sex device.

NOTE #1: This is essentially the last proper "Land of Gorch" sketch. Later sketches generally involve the puppet characters being told the "Land Of Gorch" segment has been cancelled and/or their attempts to get back on the show.

NOTE #2: Rollie Krewson served as assistant puppeteer in this sketch.
11"Peter Cook and Dudley Moore Episode"UnknownJanuary 24, 1976
As Gilda Radner was about to introduce the musical guest, Scred comes out in a bee costume planning to appear in the bee version of The Andy Griffith Show (where he was supposed to play Aunt Bee). Gilda tells Scred that the sketch was canceled and they both introduce Neil Sedaka.
12"Jill Clayburgh Episode"UnknownFebruary 28, 1976

The characters from "The Land of Gorch" are ostensibly attending the Grammy Awards, so Chevy Chase ends up acting out the sketch.

NOTE: This is the final time the Land of Gorch set is seen, although no actual Muppets appear in the episode.
13"Anthony Perkins Episode"UnknownMarch 13, 1976
King Ploobis and Scred approach Anthony Perkins for help in order to get their sketch back on the air. King Ploobis and Scred come back during the middle of a later sketch for help. At the end of the episode, they come on-stage during the credits as The Mighty Favog appears in the audience.
14"Ron Nessen Episode"UnknownApril 17, 1976
The Muppets are announced in the opening credits and were scheduled to appear, but did not feature in the actual broadcast. Ron Nessen apologizes at the end of the episode blaming the Muppets' absence on "technical complications."
15"Raquel Welch Episode"Jim HensonApril 24, 1976
King Ploobis and Scred face the facts that they aren't welcome on the show anymore. They couldn't even get lucky with Raquel Welch who states that they "don't exist below the waist." Chevy Chase comes in telling King Ploobis and Scred that their act is canceled. Later on in the show, King Ploobis, Scred, and the other characters consult with The Mighty Favog who tells them to get into the trunk.
16"Madeline Kahn Episode"UnknownMay 8, 1976

Scred and The Mighty Favog cut a deal with Chevy Chase stating that if he can get Lorne Michaels to revive their sketch, The Mighty Favog will get The Beatles to appear on Saturday Night Live.

NOTE: Paul McCartney and John Lennon reportedly were watching this segment on the day it aired and considered going to Rockefeller Center to surprise the audience, but decided to stay in their apartment.
18"Lily Tomlin Episode"UnknownSeptember 18, 1976
King Ploobis, Queen Peuta, Scred, and Wisss wake up in a filing cabinet assuming that they are in the afterlife. When they think that their sketch has been revived, they find The Mighty Favog under a dust cover that King Ploobis removes. The Mighty Favog states that this may be their last chance on the show and that they must do whatever they tell them to do. "The Land of Gorch" Muppets are then visited by Lily Tomlin. When Lily states that she heard about The Muppet Show that came out last week, Wisss states that they won't let them be on their show since it's a family show. Lily and "The Land of Gorch" Muppets try to sing "I Whistle a Happy Tune". Unfortunately, "The Land of Gorch" Muppets can't whistle. Lily leaves planning to find something else for her and "The Land of Gorch" Muppets to do. The characters appear later on towards the end of the episode to join everyone in "The Antler Dance."

Other appearances

  • King Ploobis, Queen Peuta, Scred, Vazh, and Wisss appeared in The Muppet Movie where they are seen amongst the Muppets in "The Rainbow Connection" finale.
  • The puppet for Food (who appeared in the Christmas episode that Candice Bergen was in) later appeared in Fraggle Rock as a background cave creature. It later appeared in The Jim Henson Hour episode "Science Fiction" as Zsa Zsa Porkmustard and in the episode "Aquatic Life" as a background undersea creature.

Themes

In his essay "The Muppetry of Nightmares", academic Michael J. Bernsten wrote that The Land of Gorch routines "epitomize how grotesque puppets can be and how the relationship between the peculiar and the uncanny is not always a given."[3] He commented on the value of Henson's contributions to Saturday Night Live within the artist's larger corpus of work: Certainly no other Muppets have ever come close to their degree of obscenity and hideousness, which is why they are immensely important to Muppet history."[3]

Bernsten posited that audiences of the time period during the first season of Saturday Night Live were not ready for such characters: "the Land of Gorch inhabitants suggest that the feelings of the uncanny do not always lurk within puppetry performances. Beside trite one-liners, many times the comedy would fail during these sketches because the audience expects nasty looking monsters to communicate in a coarse manner."[3]

Impact

The Land of Gorch sketches were the first time that Henson utilized a taxidermy eyeball in one of his characters.[18] He later utilized this technique again in the film The Dark Crystal.[18] Henson commented of his experience on Saturday Night Live, "It got me interested in doing creatures that really looked alive."[18] Much of The Dark Crystal was heavily influenced by Henson's prior experiences with The Land of Gorch.[1] During his work on Saturday Night Live, Henson began to see a vision for "a feature-length, self-sustaining puppetry world devoid of human presence".[1] According to Catriona McAra, ""evolutionary precursors" to The Dark Crystal were found within The Land of Gorch, including the idea of a royal family reliant upon spirituality.[1]

The Land of Gorch influenced later works within the Jim Henson universe as well, including the television show Dinosaurs produced by Jim Henson Productions.[19] The first episode's story of Dinosaurs to feature a plot-line supporting environmentalism had previously appeared in a similar version within The Land of Gorch.[19] The Land of Gorch segment from the November 8, 1975 episode of Saturday Night Live hosted by Candice Bergen included such themes which were reused in Dinosaurs.[19]

In 2006, Henson's Muppet character model "Scred" from his Saturday Night Live appearances was featured as a highlight of his body of work in the exhibit "Jim Henson: Performing Artist" at the Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library in the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at the University of Maryland.[20]

Critical reception

Writing for The A.V. Club, Phil Dyess-Nugent pointed out that The Land of Gorch sketches, "would quickly turn into a in-joke—the joke being the open acknowledgment that nobody wanted this shit on the show."[7] He admitted that though he was confused as to why the concept did not work for Saturday Night Live, he recalled skipping through the sketch to watch other parts of the episode when it featured in a production.[7] The San Francisco Chronicle wrote that The Land of Gorch characters came across as "un-Kermit-like trolls".[21] DVD Talk commented: "Of all the show's weaker material, the most egregious mis-step has to be the regular appearances of muppets from Jim Henson's workshop."[22] The review went on to lament: "They were consistently slow and unfunny, and worse yet, they were lengthy, bringing each episode to a screeching halt."[22] Vogue characterized the sketch as featuring "proto-Muppets hamming it up in a dystopian lunar landscape".[12]

Michael J. Bernsten noted that The Land of Gorch characters "are probably the most unlikable Muppets ever created because they lack redeemable qualities, offer no real wisdom, and are relatively not funny."[3] Bernsten attributed this notoriety to the Saturday Night Live writing staff: "This comedic staleness seems more the fault of the SNL writers than the efforts of Henson and Frank Oz".[3] He concluded, "This absence of enthusiasm certainly explains the generally unclever banter at times between these Muppets."[3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f McAra, Cartiona (2012). "A Natural History of The Dark Crystal". In Garlen, Jennifer C.; Graham, Anissa M. (eds.). The Wider Worlds of Jim Henson. McFarland. pp. 102, 109. ISBN 978-0786469864.
  2. ^ Chaney, Jen (December 5, 2006). "Thank God It's 'Saturday Night'". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Bernsten, Michael J. (2012). "The Muppetry of Nightmares". In Garlen, Jennifer C.; Graham, Anissa M. (eds.). The Wider Worlds of Jim Henson. McFarland. p. 209. ISBN 978-0786469864.
  4. ^ a b Express (July 9, 2008). "Muppet Mania: Karen Falk on Jim Henson". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
  5. ^ Smith, J.Y. (May 17, 1990). "Jim Henson, creator of Muppets, dies at 53". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
  6. ^ a b Wallenstein, Andrew (November 12, 2006). "Jokes That Kermit Wouldn't Dare Tell". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 11, 2015. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
  7. ^ a b c d Dyess-Nugent, Phil (June 2, 2013). ""George Carlin/Billy Preston, Janis Ian" - Saturday Night Live (Classic)". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on October 7, 2015. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  8. ^ a b c d e "Into the rainbow with the Muppets". The Saturday Paper. May 30, 2015. Archived from the original on September 25, 2015. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
  9. ^ a b c Davis, Michael (January 15, 2009). "First Chapters - Excerpt - 'Street Gang'". The New York Times. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
  10. ^ a b Weinraub, Bernard (November 8, 1999). "Pulling No Punches in the Dream Factory". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 27, 2015. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
  11. ^ "Saturday Night Live at 40". The Clarion-Ledger. September 26, 2014. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
  12. ^ a b Felsenthal, Julia (September 22, 2015). "Why The Muppets Needs to Channel 30 Rock". Vogue. Archived from the original on October 7, 2015. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  13. ^ Zuckerman, Esther (February 14, 2015). "NSYNC and Backstreet Boys set for 'SNL' 40th anniversary special". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on July 15, 2015. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  14. ^ a b c d Shales, Tom (2002). Live from New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live. Little Brown & Co. pp. 69–70. ISBN 9780316781466. OCLC 49926946. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  15. ^ a b Harris, Judy (September 21, 1998). "Muppet Master - An Interview with Jim Henson". Muppet Central. Archived from the original on September 26, 2015.
  16. ^ a b c d e Star Wars Insider #42, p. 69, 70.
  17. ^ Barnes, Brooks (September 21, 2008). "Film: Fuzzy Renaissance". The New York Times. p. AR12; September 21, 2008 print edition. Archived from the original on January 31, 2012. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
  18. ^ a b c Harmetz, Aljean (August 23, 1982). "And now, a movie without any humans at all". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 11, 2015. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
  19. ^ a b c Stoessner, Jennifer (2012). "Dinosaurs and the Evolution of the Jim Henson Company". In Garlen, Jennifer C.; Graham, Anissa M. (eds.). The Wider Worlds of Jim Henson. McFarland. p. 221. ISBN 978-0786469864.
  20. ^ Ramanathan, Lavanya (September 21, 2006). "Muppets in College: U-Md. Salutes Henson". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
  21. ^ Wiegand, David (December 14, 2006). "Review - Season 1 'SNL' set sweeter than a Candygram". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on December 16, 2013. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
  22. ^ a b Rizzo III, Francis (December 5, 2006). "Saturday Night Live - The Complete First Season". DVD Talk. Archived from the original on April 27, 2015. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
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