"Can you do me a favor and remember my name from now on?"
It's Joke Day in the Rock, and Boober is getting ready to leave to avoid doing the Traditional Medley of Knock-Knock Jokes. He bumps into Cotterpin, and the two witness the arrival of a giant glob. Boober alerts the others to the Glob's presence, but they brush him off, thinking the Glob's fun. To Boober's and Cotterpin's horror, when the other Fraggles run off, the Glob begins to eat Doozers.Cotterpin tries to get Boober's help, but he refuses, now trying to run away from both Joke Day and the Glob. But when the Glob eats Cotterpin, Boober finally decides to step in. He tells knock-knock jokes, and the Glob laughs, allowing the Doozers to escape through its open mouth. Cotterpin thanks Boober, and the two engage in knock-knock jokes themselves.
This episode contains examples of:
- Accidental Pun: Or accidental knock-knock joke, anyway, when Boober (who's been thinking of Cotterpin as just another Doozer instead of an individual up until now) knocks on the Glob and calls to Cotterpin, who's inside it along with Wingnut and a bunch of other Doozers.Boober: Cotterpin, Cotterpin!
Cotterpin: Huh. That couldn't be Boober. He remembered my name.
Wingnut: Well, I'd ask. You can never be too careful with Fraggles.
Cotterpin: You're right. [Louder] Who's there?
Boober: It's me, silly!
Cotterpin: It's me, silly, who?
Boober: It's me, silly, Boober!
Red: Hey, they just told a knock-knock joke! - Argument of Contradictions: Boober and Cotterpin have one of these when she asks him if he's seen her friend Drillbit.Cotterpin: Purple helmet, about my size, a bit fatter...
[A Doozer with a purple helmet drives up to the Glob.]
Boober: Well, there he is, there.
Cotterpin: No, that's not Drillbit. That's Lock.
[They both turn away, neither of them noticing the Glob eating Lock.]
Boober: Well, how am I supposed to know? You Doozers all look alike anyway.
Cotterpin: Oh, yeah? Well, so do you Fraggles.
Boober: We do not!
Cotterpin: You do so!
Boober: Do not!
Cotterpin: So!
Boober: We do... oh, what am I standing here arguing with a Doozer for when any minute, Joke Day'll be upon me? [Hurries off.]
Cotterpin: You do so all look alike! - Bindle Stick: Boober, just before he runs away, wraps a bunch of objects in a large piece of cloth, ties it to a stick, and slings it over his shoulder.
- Blob Monster: Downplayed. The Glob, though it looks somewhat bloblike, is a solid creature. Red even manages to bounce on it.Wembley: [watching Red bounce] This is fun!
Boober: Fun? Are you kidding? I'd sooner tell a knock-knock joke than jump on that thing. - Bystander Syndrome: Cotterpin tries to get Boober's help, but he's more concerned with running away from Joke Day.
- Cassandra Truth: Subverted. Nobody listens when Boober and Cotterpin say the Glob is dangerous... until the other Fraggles hear Cotterpin's voice coming from inside.
- Character Name and the Noun Phrase: The episode's title.
- Continuity Nod:
- Cotterpin rides her Cool Bike, first seen in "All Work and All Play."
- Red wears her fish costume from "Let the Water Run."
- Mokey wears her clown nose from "The Secret of Convincing John."
- Cowardly Lion: Boober, despite his fear of the Glob, gets it to release the Doozers.
- Ditto Aliens: A running gag is Boober thinking all Doozers look alike.
- Double Take: Boober does one when, behind him, the Glob eats a Doozer.Doozer: [from inside the Glob] Hey! Where am I?
Boober: [turning to look] Well, you're a Doozer. You tell her.
[He turns back. A Beat. He turns around again.]
Boober: Hey. I could have sworn there was a Doozer here a minute ago. Huh.
[Another beat.]
Boober: [nervously, to the Glob] Um... uh... did you just... uh...?
[Another beat.]
Boober: Nah. You couldn't have. It's the strain of Joke Day. I'm just seeing things.
[The Glob burps loudly. Boober turns to look.]
Boober: Get me out of HE-E-E-E-ERE! [Runs off.] - Dramatic Slip: While running away from Joke Day, Boober encounters Cotterpin in the Great Hall. He doesn't see her, though, and trips over her bike.
- Eaten Alive: What the Glob does to the Doozers.
- "Eureka!" Moment: When Boober inadvertently tells a knock-knock joke, the Glob starts giggling, and he realizes making it laugh is the key to getting it to free the Doozers.
- Faint in Shock: Boober does this when he sees the Glob eat Cotterpin.Boober: I don't believe it! The Glob just ate Cotterpin! [He faints.]
Cotterpin: [from inside the Glob] Well, at least he remembered my name. - Fantastic Racism: Boober thinks all Doozers look alike, and Wingnut thinks Fraggles are too silly to help them.
- Getting Eaten Is Harmless: The Doozers get out of the Glob and are none the worse for their experience.
- Go Fetch: Doc has to write an article about cats. For research, he asks to borrow Shimmelfinney's cat, Fluffinella, to Sprocket's horror. Doc is so busy taking notes on Fluffinella, he doesn't realize that she's giving Sprocket a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown. When Sprocket manages to communicate what's going on, Doc tries to grab Fluffinella, but she just bites him. He then creates "Fluffinella's kind of mouse": a huge fake mouse with big eyes, buck teeth, and Wild Hair. He tosses it out the door, Fluffinella makes a beeline for it, and Doc slams the door behind her. He then makes a Heartfelt Apology to Sprocket, promising that for the talk he has to give next week on the common flea, he'll do his research from a book.
- Go-to-Sleep Ending: Inverted. The episode starts with Boober waking up and realizing it's Joke Day, to his horror.
- Got Volunteered: Lampshaded by Boober as he prepares to run away.Boober: Oh, why did Red volunteer me to deliver the Traditional Medley of Knock-Knock Jokes? [Sighs.] I'd have to be silly in front of everyone!
- Help, I'm Stuck!: The Doozers get stuck in the Glob when it eats them.
- Holiday Episode: The Fraggles are celebrating Joke Day, a holiday when everyone wears silly costumes and tells jokes.
- Idiot Ball: At one point, Cotterpin takes this by standing right in front of the Glob. Moments later, it eats her.
- Interspecies Friendship: Boober is a Fraggle, and Cotterpin is a Doozer.
- "It" Is Dehumanizing: When Boober first trips over Cotterpin's bike...Cotterpin: Say, watch where you're going!
Boober: What? Who said that?
Cotterpin: I did! You know, you Fraggles are a real nuisance, always running around, barging into things.
Boober: It's a Doozer!
Cotterpin: Good eyes.
Boober: But why is it talking to me?
Cotterpin: Because you just ran into me, that's why! And I am not an "it". I'm Cotterpin.
Boober: Oh, don't tell me it has a name!
Cotterpin: Too late. I already told you. - It's Probably Nothing: When the Glob eats Drillbit, Boober, who's facing away from it, thinks he hears something, then brushes it off.Drillbit: [from inside the Glob] Hey! Let me out!
Boober: W-who said that? [Turns to look.] Was it the Gl...? Nah. Nah, couldn't have been.
[Behind him, the Glob spits out Drillbit's helmet.]
Boober: Or could it...? - "Knock Knock" Joke: Boober wants to leave to avoid doing the Traditional Medley of Knock-Knock Jokes. Later, he uses several to free the Doozers.Boober: Knock, knock!
Cotterpin: Who's there?
Boober: Freddy!
Cotterpin: Freddy, who?
Boober: Freddy or not, here you come!
[The Glob starts giggling so hard that its mouth opens wide. The Doozers run out through its open mouth.] - My God, You Are Serious!: Subverted. Boober's friends think he's telling a joke when he runs in to warn them about the Glob. They soon realize the Glob is real when they get to the Great Hall—but instead of being alarmed by it, they think it's fun.Boober: What's huge and round and glowing and goes "gwarlllghharrllbleh"?
Red and Wembley: What, what, what?
Mokey: Yeah, what?
Boober: I don't know, but it's sitting in the Great Hall!
[A confused beat.]
Gobo: What?
Wembley: That's a joke?
Mokey: That's not funny.
Gobo: Mnh-mnh.
Red: Jokes have to be funny! - Not Now, Kiddo: Wingnut disregarding Cotterpin's claims about the Glob being dangerous.[Wingnut and Cotterpin are standing in front of the Glob.]
Cotterpin: Mother, please listen to me! You've got to stay away from this Glob!
Wingnut: Whatever for? Just because the Fraggles bounce on it doesn't mean we Doozers have to stay away. Really, Cotterpin, sometimes you can be...
[The Glob eats Wingnut.]
Cotterpin: Oh, no! Mother!
[The Glob spits out Wingnut's helmet.]
Cotterpin: Mother?
Wingnut: Get me out of here! - Odd Friendship: Boober and Cotterpin become friends despite the fact that most Fraggles, as a rule, barely even speak to Doozers, and vice versa.
- One Dialogue, Two Conversations: After Boober's first stumble over Cotterpin's bike, she thinks he's dislodged her crankshaft, and he thinks he hears the other Fraggles coming to celebrate Joke Day.Boober: Oh, no, everybody's coming! It's starting!
Cotterpin: [trying to get her crankshaft going] No, it isn't. You broke it! - Only One Finds It Fun: Inverted. The other Fraggles love Joke Day, but Boober can't stand it.
- Punch! Punch! Punch! Uh Oh...: Boober tries to get the Glob to spit out the Doozers by punching it, but it just sits there, still keeping its mouth shut.
- Repeat After Me: Boober tries to think of a knock-knock joke to get the Glob to laugh. When he can only think of the "knock, knock" part...Cotterpin: Who's there?
Boober: Uh... um... uh...
Gobo: Go on, Boober, answer! Say anything.
Boober: "Anything"? - Running Gag:
- Besides not addressing Cotterpin as an individual until close to the end of the episode, Boober keeps tripping over her bike.
- Wembley keeps forgetting the punchline to his joke: "Why did the radish kiss the banana?" He finally remembers at the end of the episode: "Because it had appeal! Get it? A PEEL!"
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Subverted. Boober wants to leave but ultimately decides to stay and help the Doozers.
- Silly Song: "Coming After You," a nonsense-riddle song that's sung by Gobo, Red, and Mokey.
- Spit Out a Shoe: After eating Doozers, the Glob tends to spit out their helmets.
- Staircase Tumble: Uncle Matt falls down the steps of a front porch.
- Sticky Situation: The Doozers find themselves in one when they get eaten by the Glob.Cotterpin: It's gooey in here!
- Suddenly Speaking: At the end, the Glob, which had been sitting silently in the Great Hall, is revealed to be capable of speech.[The Glob is still giggling as it rolls out of the Great Hall.]
The Glob: "Freddy or not"! That was a good one! - Swallowed Whole: The Glob eats Doozers this way.
- Think Nothing of It: When Cotterpin thanks Boober for freeing the Doozers...Boober: Oh, don't thank me. I tried to run away. I was worried only about myself... as usual. I'm sorry I didn't help you sooner.
- Unusual Euphemism: Boober uses one in the song "Fun's No Fun at All (Gonna Have Fun Tonight)" when his friends are doing a Happy Dance around him, singing about the fun of Joke Day.Boober: [singing] You can count me out. I don't want to do it.
All I want to do is tell you where to shoo it! - What's a Henway?: Red tells one of these jokes.Red: Oh, oh! I saw a new Doozerway the other day.
Mokey: Really? What's a Doozerway?
Red: I don't know. I never weighed one! - What You Are in the Dark: Boober's decision to stay and help the Doozers.
- Whoopee Cushion: Lampshaded. The Fraggles apparently have one.Gobo: Come on, it's time to bring out the whoopee cushion!
- You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: When Boober runs in to get the other Fraggles' help freeing the Doozers...Boober: Quick! We gotta help the Doozers now! COME ONNNNNN! [Runs off.]
Red: Help the Doozers?
Mokey: He must be joking!
