Becca Petunia

🎃 It’s Halloween in July, and it’s time to spookalize!  🎙️ Becca Petunia joins us as we creep back to 1997 for a howling good time at the spookiest address on Sesame Street, as Elmo pays a visit to Count von Count with one mission: To tell him a bunch of funny, scary jokes!  📺 You can find “Elmo Says BOO!” on YouTube.  ****  (00:00) - Intro  (02:19) - History of the Special and Accompanying Album  (14:12) - Funny, Scary Jokes!  (48:26) - Retro Commercial Break  (49:43) - More Funny, Scary Jokes!  (1:02:29) - Into the Pyramid  (1:07:53) - Even More Funny, Scary Jokes!  (1:26:28) - More About the Album and Final Thoughts  ****  💬 Topics & Tangents:  Muppet Wiki notes this Halloween special doesn’t mention Halloween… on purpose.  The “Elmo Says BOO!” album featuring songs not in the special, including a weird “Monster Mash” cover.  ToughPigs: My Week with Halloween: Elmo Says BOO!  A Definitive Rating of All 15 Funny, Scary Jokes in Elmo Says BOO!  Becca discusses “Kermit Unpigged” on Movin’ Right Along.  The Count and Susan Sarandon in a “Rocky Horror” spoof.  Jim Henson’s Monster Cereals.  “The Song of the Count” art by Luke Flowers.  Shriek on “Batman Beyond.”  Julia Roberts shares a limo with the Two-Headed Monster.  “Java.”  Mike’s Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster Starring the Muppets preview and interviews with Imagineers and Electric Mayhem guitarists.  Elmo’s debut in the original “We Are All Monsters,” and the redub that’s a rare instance of Elmo speaking in the first person.  Bert & Ernie’s Pyramid Scheme: The Sesame Street Sketch You Might Have Repressed.  The Other Top 70 Muppet Moments.  “Fem myror är fler än fyra elefanter” (It’s Swedish for “Five ants are more than four elephants.”)  Frazzle shows his range of emotions.  J.D. Hansel interviews Noel MacNeal, including his work on “The Batty Bat.”  Liszt’s “Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2” as performed by Tom Cat and Bugs Bunny.  “Mysterioso Pizzicato,” or “The Villain’s Theme.”  Jackman Wolf on home video and at Sesame Place.  ****  📼 Commercials:  Elmo Says BOO! VHS Commercial (1997)  Micro Machines Micro Lights (1990)  ****  “Elmo Says BOO!” © 1997 Children’s Television Workshop.  Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  Find us at adventcalendar.house.  Hosted by The Retro Network.  #s16 #1990s #halloween #muppets

🎄 It’s been 10 years since the Muppets’ 2015 TV series gave us the gift of a Christmas episode, so it’s time to stay Up Late with Miss Piggy and find out if we can take it seriously, or if it left us because we couldn’t stop making jokes about it.  🎙️ Becca Petunia and J.D. Hansel of ToughPigs.com join the chaos including, but not limited to: a rigged Secret Santa! Gross and unhelpful mistletoe strategy! And, of course, Echosmith!  📺 You can find “Single All the Way” on Disney+.  Becca’s also on A Prairie Dawn Companion and Here Comes Tomorrow.  J.D. is also on The Great Muppet Fandom Panel and Stick to Shorts.  ****  💬 Topics & Tangents:  ToughPigs’ review of “Single All the Way” (2015)  The Muppets at Midseason: The Good, the Bad, and the Deadly (ToughPigs.com, 2016)  70 Years, 70 Muppets: Yolanda the Rat and Chip.  The Muppets’ a cappella cover of “Cool Kids” by Echosmith.  “Bright” by Echosmith.  Sam the Eagle’s paintball-themed minigame in “Muppets Party Cruise.”  The Swedish Chef is married because one time Steve Whitmire forgot to take off his wedding ring and they just decided it’s canon now.  Chip has synesthesia.  An extremely rare one-on-one scene with Miss Piggy and Fozzie.  ****  📼 Commercials:  Pizza Hut “4 for All” Pizza Commercial starring the Muppets (2004)   ****  “The Muppets” and “Single All the Way” © 2015 ABC Studios / The Muppets Studio.  Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  Find us at adventcalendar.house.  Hosted by The Retro Network.  #s15 #2010s #muppets #disney

🕎 It’s the year 2000, and Christmas and Hanukkah have crossed paths at my doorstep in the form of Santa Claus and his part-Jewish friend… a weird turtle man.  🎙 Becca Petunia and April Ryley join us as we revisit some old Friends in honor of Christmas Day and the first night of Hanukkah sharing a day on the calendar this year. Plus: An escaped tarantula, a restaurant we may never be allowed in or out of again, and an unforgettable interfaith holiday mascot fit for a new millennium.  ****  💬 Topics & Tangents:  How often does the first night of Hanukkah fall on Christmas? (Vox, 2016)  What the ‘Friends’ Holiday Armadillo Episode Gets Right About Interfaith Families (Hey Alma, 2021)  The “Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas” drum roll outtake reel.  A transcript including deleted scenes reveals Ben wants Santa to bring him an ant farm.  Formication (with an M, y’all), the false sense of feeling like bugs are crawling on you.  Halloween Adventure is real and still open.  Hoppy the Marvel Bunny.  ****  📼 Commercials:  AT&T True Savings with David Schwimmer (circa 1996)  The Studio Demands It!  ****  “Friends” and “The One with the Holiday Armadillo” © 2000 Warner Bros. Television.  Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  Find us at adventcalendar.house.  #s13 #2000s #hanukkah

🎄 It’s Christmas Eve 1986, and the only way Drew Barrymore can save her new friends is to believe in the magic of toys… and Cincinnati.  🎙 Molly Patton, Becca Petunia, and Adam Pope join us for a bonkers adaptation of “Babes in Toyland” from director Clive Donner and starring Drew Barrymore, Keanu Reeves, and Richard Mulligan as a weird, evil guy who lives in a bowling ball.  📺 You can watch “Babes in Toyland” on Tubi, the 3-hour original broadcast with commercials, or the unofficial “Director’s Cut” without ads.  ****  💬 Topics & Tangents:  Misfits in Toyland (NSFW), an unrelated horror-comedy webcomic.  Keanu Reeves (Jack) on “Going Great” (1985)  Googy Gress (Georgie) in “Wayne’s World 2.”  Today’s TV Trope: And You Were There.  The Cookie Jar House of South Jersey.  The Undertaker’s entrance at WrestleMania IX, in the middle of the afternoon.  Sigmund and the Sea Monsters (and Tripping Daisy’s cover of theme song).  The Toymaster’s Santa coat looks like Belle’s from “Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas.”  Was It Great, or Were You 8?  ****  📼 Commercials:  McDonald’s: Recital (1986)  Give ’Em All a Little Pat of Butter (1986)  TGI Podcast  ****  “Babes in Toyland” © 1986 The Finnegan Company.  Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  Find us at adventcalendar.house.  #s13 #1980s

🎃 It’s 1986, and one student at a magical boarding school is struggling to fit in while having to deal with a hard-nosed potions teacher and bullying from a golden child whose father will hear about this, but finds comfort in broom flying and encouragement from the kindly old headmaster.  No, not that one.  🎙️ Becca Petunia and Lindy Kempe join us for “The Worst Witch,” adapted from the original beloved series of books about a quirky boarding school for witches. This Halloween special stars a young Fairuza Balk, featuring Dianna Rigg, Charlotte Rae in a dual role, and Tim Curry in the trippiest ’80s music video.  📺 You can watch “The Worst Witch” on the Internet Archive.  ****  💬 Topics & Tangents:  Find “The Worst Witch” book at your local library.  St. Michael’s College is for sale.  Pam Jones (Donna) — formerly Kate Buckley before another actress took that name while she was on hiatus — is now a ceramic artist.  The kitten ceremony background music sounds kind of like Zelda’s Lullaby.  Mildred and Ethel’s rivalry gave us “Owl House” vibes.  Toonces the Driving Cat.  One student is a future Teletubby!  Becca on Movin’ Right Along discussing Tim Curry singing in “Muppet Treasure Island.”  Both Tim Curry and Sebastian from “The Little Mermaid” sing “begin the Beguine.”  Tim Curry in “Red Alert 3.”  Other “Worst Witch” TV adaptations, including a college spinoff and a Netflix series.  ****  📼 Commercials:  Carvel Halloween Ice Cream Cakes Commercial (1986)  Hyrule Podcasters, an audio “Let’s Play” through The Legend of Zelda.  ****  “The Worst Witch” © 1986 Central Independent Television Plc.  Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  Find us at adventcalendar.house.  #s12 #1980s #halloween

🎄 Previously on the Advent Calendar House, we spent Christmas Eve on Sesame Street, Hanukkah on “Shalom Sesame,” and even uncovered the oddity, “A Special Sesame Street Christmas.”  This time, join us as we fly faster than time backwards around the globe to 1996 to watch Elmo save, then ruin, then fix Christmas.  🎙 Becca Petunia and Anthony Strand from ToughPigs.com drop in to watch Elmo’s wish for Christmas Every Day cause economic and environmental disaster in a star-studded special narrated by Maya Angelou and featuring Harvey Fierstein as the Easter Bunny and “Doc Hopper,” himself, Charles Durning, as Santa.  ****  💬 Topics & Tangents:  “Brats of the Lost Nebula.”  Early “proto-Elmo” appearances.  Miss Piggy’s cookbook has a recipe by Maya Angelou.  Baby Bear is Jewish.  14 Karat Soul sings “Down Below the Street.”  Cookie Monster disguised as Ernie.  A petition to remake “White Christmas” with Elmo and Rosita’s military veteran dads.  This special’s unique News Flash logo.  The soundtrack that’s not actually a soundtrack.  Big Bird sings “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” but not THAT one.  Elmo as the ring bearer at Luis and Maria’s wedding.  Ranking all the jokes in “Elmo Says BOO!”  Bert and Ernie meet their “It’s a Wonderful Life” counterparts.  ****  📼 Commercials:  “Elmo Saves BOO!” (1997)  Returning Student, a 40-year-old’s journey to finish the college degree he never got.  ****  “Elmo Saves Christmas” © 1996 Children’s Television Workshop.  Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  Find us at adventcalendar.house.  #s10 #1990s #muppets #christmaseveryday