Recap / Fraggle Rock S 4 E 8 A Tune For Two

"I play, you sing."

Everyone is preparing for the Duet-a-thon, a contest in which pairs of Fraggles sing duets they've written. Gobo and Wembley plan on performing together, but when Uncle Matt arrives unexpectedly and says he'll be Gobo's partner, Wembley sadly steps down. He tries to find a new partner but is unable to. Cotterpin then offers to sing with him.

When Wembley says he'll be singing with Cotterpin, Gillis, the organizer for the Duet-a-thon, laughs and says Doozers aren't allowed. Wembley breaks the news to Cotterpin, who is far from happy. He speaks up in Cotterpin's defense and, with help from the other Fraggles, convinces Gillis to allow Cotterpin to participate.

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This episode contains examples of:

• Act of True Love: Uncle Matt tells Gobo that he's come back for the Duet-a-thon and that singing with Gobo will make him the proudest Fraggle in the Rock. Gobo starts to explain that he's singing with Wembley, but Wembley chimes in, "...with your Uncle Matt!"
  Gobo: [taking Wembley aside] Hey, Wembley!
  Wembley: What?
  Gobo: You don't think I'd let you down, do you?
  Wembley: I think if you don't sing with your Uncle Matt, it will break his heart; that's what I think. Now, get in there and start rehearsing!
  Gobo: Yeah, but...
  Wembley: March!
• Appeal to Tradition: Defied. Gillis tells Wembley that the Duet-a-thon is a fine old Fraggle tradition and has always been for Fraggles only. Wembley retorts that tradition is no excuse for excluding participants who aren't Fraggles.
• Ass Kicks You: Wembley finds Red and Mokey swaying to and fro while rehearsing their duet, and Mokey accidentally knocks Wembley down with her hip.
• Big Finale Crowd Song: "Children of Tomorrow," sung first by Wembley and Cotterpin, then all of the Fraggles and Doozers. Even Junior Gorg and Sprocket overhear and sing along.
• Big "SHUT UP!": Cotterpin does this when two unnamed Doozers are trying to tell her how untrustworthy Fraggles are.
  Cotterpin: Will you be quiet! You drill bits don't know what you're talking about.
• Bizarre Instrument: For the Duet-a-thon, Wembley plays an instrument that resembles a vibraphone but is made of Doozer sticks.
• Break-Up/Make-Up Scenario: When Wembley tells her she can't be in the Duet-a-thon, Cotterpin breaks off her friendship with him. But after overhearing him speaking up in her defense, she is more than willing to be his partner—and his friend—again.
  Wembley: Now all I have to do is see if I can get my partner back.
  Cotterpin: [coming over] I wouldn't worry about it, Fraggle, 'cause that was the best friendship stuff I ever heard.
• Comically Missing the Point: Gobo tells Uncle Matt that the Duet-a-thon is Wembley's favorite event and that they always sing in it together. Instead of getting the message that Gobo wants to be Wembley's partner again, Uncle Matt misunderstands and says that he'll be Wembley's partner.
• Continuity Nod:
  • Cotterpin rides her Cool Bike, first seen in "All Work and All Play."
  • Wembley, while trying to think of something for himself and Cotterpin to sing about, mentions Poison Cacklers. These creatures were mentioned by Boober in "The Beast of Bluerock" and by Wembley in "Sir Hubris and the Gorgs." One of them made an appearance in "The Wizard of Fraggle Rock."
• Coordinated Clothes: Provides the page image. For the Duet-a-thon, Wembley wears a visor like Cotterpin's, and she wears a banana-tree shirt like Wembley's.
• Copycat Mockery: When Wembley asks Gillis why it's not allowed to sing in the Duet-a-thon with a Doozer...
  Gillis: The Duet-a-thon is a fine old Fraggle tradition, and you just can't go changing the rules for a Doozer. Why, it's truly the silliest thing I've ever heard. [Laughs.]
  Wembley: Well, if this contest is a "fine old Fraggle tradition", then I don't know if I want to be a Fraggle anymore! [Storms off.]
  Gillis: Well, hotity-toi! "I don't want to be a Fraggle anymore!"
• Crowd Chant: Wembley and his friends refuse to take part in the Duet-a-thon if Cotterpin is barred. Gillis finds himself confronted by all of the other Fraggles, chanting at him: "WE WON'T SING! WE WON'T SING!"
• The Determinator: Cotterpin tells Wembley that she never takes "no" for an answer.
  Cotterpin: If one road is blocked, I take another. If one building is finished, I simply start another one. If one drawing is no good, I make one that's better...
• Duet Bonding: Wembley and Cotterpin bond over deciding to be partners in the Duet-a-thon.
• Epiphora: Wembley, when explaining to Cotterpin why he's crying, uses the phrase "to do" at the end of four consecutive phrases.
  Wembley: I'm crying because... because I did what I was supposed to do, which was what I didn't want to do, but I knew I had to do, and now I don't know what to do!
• Exact Eavesdropping: Wembley calls a meeting to demand that Cotterpin be allowed to take part in the Duet-a-thon. Cotterpin bikes in just in time to hear Wembley speaking up in her defense.
• Fantastic Racism:
  • Cotterpin is not allowed to enter the Duet-a-thon on account of her being a Doozer. She accuses the Fraggles of this. In response, Wembley tries to disprove this and succeeds.
  • The Fraggles aren't the only ones guilty of this. Cotterpin's Doozer friends try to talk her out of singing with Wembley, since they've been taught Fraggles are untrustworthy and hate Doozers.
• Favouritism Flip-Flop: Wembley asks Boober to be his new partner, but Boober says he hates the Duet-a-thon. That is, until Tosh shows up a moment later with a song she wrote especially for Boober: "The Sun Set in the Sky Like a Rhubarb in a Pie."
  Boober: [gasps] What a sentiment! [to Wembley] I have never been so moved in my entire life.
  [Wembley answers with a sarcastic chuckle, but Boober doesn't notice.]
  Tosh: Then you'll be my partner?
  Boober: Of course I will! I love the Duet-a-thon!
  Tosh: Well then, meet me back in my cave as soon as you can!
  Boober: Yes, yes!
  Tosh: We need lots of time to rehearse! [Runs off.]
  Boober: Yes, yes, yes! Yes...!
  [Boober turns his head to see Wembley glaring at him.]
  Boober: Well... let's just say I... I can't resist a culinary reference.
• Friendship Song: Discussed. Wembley and Cotterpin decide to make their song about friendship.
• Interspecies Friendship: Wembley is a Fraggle, and Cotterpin is a Doozer.
• I Warned You: After Wembley goes to register himself and Cotterpin for the Duet-a-thon, two unnamed Doozers tell Cotterpin that Fraggles are untrustworthy and hate Doozers. When Wembley comes back to break the news that the Duet-a-thon is for Fraggles only...
  Wembley: Cotterpin, you can't be in the Duet-a-thon.
  Unnamed Doozers: [in unison] We told you so! [They drive off.]
  Cotterpin: My friends were right. You Fraggles do hate Doozers!
• Least Rhymable Word:
  • Gobo has this trouble while trying to write a song for the Duet-a-thon.
    Wembley: [running in] Gobo, Gobo, Gobo, Gobo, Gobo! I don't know what we're gonna sing in the Duet-a-thon! What should I do?
    Gobo: Well, you can help me find a word that rhymes with "treacherous."
    Wembley: Oh, yeah! Why didn't I think of that? Let's see... uh... "treacherous." [Mumbles a few words to himself.] I got it, I got it, I got it, I got it! "Bletcherous."
    Gobo: Oh, Wembley, "bletcherous" isn't a word.
    Wembley: It's not?
  • This gag is repeated when Cotterpin needs a rhyme for "difference" and Wembley suggests "plifference."
• Let's Duet: Contestants in the Duet-a-thon sing duets.
• Magic Music: Wembley and Cotterpin's duet, "Children of Tomorrow," is heard far and wide as the other Fraggles and Doozers join in—from the Gorgs' garden, where Junior sings along, to Outer Space, where Sprocket sings along as well. And Lucinda, the plant Doc was trying to revive by talking to her goes from wilted to fresh and green.
• Melancholy Musical Number: When Wembley can't find a new partner for the Duet-a-thon, he sadly sings "Duet for One"—while all around him, duos of Fraggles are harmonizing with each other.
• Mirroring Factions: The basic premise of this episode is that, deep down, Fraggles and Doozers are more alike than they realize.
  Wembley: [to Cotterpin] We may be different, but we're still friends, right?
• Missed Him by That Much: While trying to revive Lucinda by talking to her, Doc falls asleep. Sprocket, meanwhile, hears the Fraggles and Doozers singing "Children of Tomorrow"—but by the time Doc wakes up, the song has ended.
• Nice Guy: The episode focuses on Wembley being this. He lets Uncle Matt be Gobo's partner for the Duet-a-thon and is willing to let Cotterpin be his new partner, not caring that she's a Doozer, and speaks out for her right to participate when she's denied it.
• Noisy Shut-Up: Gillis does this when trying to register the participants for the Duet-a-thon in a quiet and orderly fashion.
  Gillis: All right, all right, all right, listen to your musical director!
  [Instead of listening, the assembled Fraggles are all excitedly talking at once.]
  Gillis: It's time to register for the Duet-a-thon, and I want it done in a quiet and orderly FASHION!
  [The other Fraggles shut up.]
  Gillis: Thank you. That's better.
• Odd Friendship: Wembley and Cotterpin become friends despite the fact that most Fraggles, as a rule, barely even speak to Doozers, and vice versa.
• Prejudice Aesop: The entire episode illustrates eloquently the issue of racial prejudice, while keeping it on a level kids can understand. The song "Children of Tomorrow" encapsulates the spirit of the episode perfectly.
• Rule of Two: The Duet-a-thon requires two Fraggles to sing. Wembley convinces Gillis to change this to just two partners.
• Shout-Out: It's difficult to imagine that "Children of Tomorrow" wasn't at least a little inspired by "We Are the World," which had been a massive hit just a few months before the episode aired.
• Singer-Songwriter: Contestants in the Duet-a-thon write duets, then sing them.
• Soulful Plant Story: Doc says "that the way to give a plant life is to talk to it." He tells the wilted Lucinda the story of his life, then falls asleep. While he sleeps, the Fraggles and Doozers sing "Children of Tomorrow." When he wakes up, Lucinda is fresh and green.
  [Doc is asleep in a chair, and Sprocket is singing "Children of Tomorrow." Doc wakes up and sees Lucinda.]
  Doc: Sprocket!
  [Sprocket sees Lucinda and gasps.]
  Doc: What have you done for Lucinda? She's beautiful!
  [Sprocket sings a bar or two of "Children of Tomorrow."]
  Doc: You sang to her?
  [Sprocket nods.]
  Doc: Of course! That's the solution! You know, there's something magical about music, Sprocket. There really is.
  [Sprocket nods in emphatic agreement.]
  Doc: But tell me, where did you learn that song?
  [Sprocket gives an excited bark, then looks into the Fraggle hole.]
• Speaking Up for Another: Wembley calls a meeting, then speaks up in Cotterpin's defense.
  Wembley: The Duet-a-thon is supposed to be fun, but I don't see how it can be if it means leaving someone out!
  Gillis: But we're not talking about "someone," you foolish fellow! We're talking about a Doozer.
  [Cotterpin, riding by, stops to listen.]
  Wembley: "A Doozer." Well, SO WHAT? Cotterpin's as good as you and me! Maybe even better, 'cause she helped me when no one else would.
  Gillis: Well, that doesn't matter. The Duet-a-thon is just for Fraggles! That's the way it's always been!
  Wembley: Well, I've got news for you: just because something's "always been" doesn't make it right! [emphatically, to the other Fraggles] Does it?
  [Cotterpin listens in awe to the Emphatic no's from the other Fraggles.]
  Wembley: And if my friend Cotterpin can't be in the Duet-a-thon, I don't want to have anything to do with it!
• Staircase Tumble: Uncle Matt, on arriving, falls down the stairs leading into Gobo and Wembley's room.
• Talent Contest: The Duet-a-thon is a contest to see who can sing the best duet.
• Talking to Plants: Doc talks to Lucinda in an effort to revive her.
• True Companions:
  • Everyone tries to rearrange partners so Wembley can have one.
  • Later, when Wembley mentions that Cotterpin is barred from the Duet-a-thon, Gobo and the others say they won't sing.
• Trying Not to Cry: After stepping down as Gobo's partner, Wembley is wandering the Rock, telling himself, "I am not going to cry, I am not going to cry..."
  Cotterpin: Ah, go ahead. I've never seen a Fraggle cry.
  [Wembley bursts into tears.]
  Cotterpin: Uhhh... oh... uh, wait, Fraggle! Uhhh, I didn't mean it! No, uh, it was a bad idea. A really bad idea!
• You're Insane!: Sprocket erupts in laughter when Doc starts telling Lucinda his life story in an effort to revive her.
• Zombie Advocate: Wembley, speaking out for Cotterpin's right to participate in the Duet-a-thon.

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