The Land of Gorch: Difference between revisions

*The Land of Gorch*
The Land of Gorch
Starring	Jim Henson; Frank Oz; Fran Brill; Richard Hunt; Jerry Nelson; Alice Tweedie
Narrated by	Don Pardo (opening narration)
No. of seasons	1
Production
Executive producer	Lorne Michaels
Original release
Release	October 11, 1975 –; September 18, 1976

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Revision as of 00:19, 1 October 2012

The Land of Gorch is a recurring skit in season one of Saturday Night Live. This segment featured Jim Henson's Muppets. Saturday Night Live's executive producer Lorne Michaels described the characters as the type of Muppets that can stay up late.

Plot

The Land of Gorch is a swampy alien wasteland ruled by the oafish King Ploobis, who has different misadventures with his wife Queen Peuta, his right-hand man Scred, his servant Vazh, his son Wisss, and carved-from-stone oracle The Mighty Favog. The intro narrated by Don Pardo states "Come with us now from the bubbling tarpits, to the sulfurous wasteland; from the rotting forest, to the stagnant mud flats; to the Land of Gorch."

The Land of Gorch segments dealt with a number of racy issues rangin from alcohol abuse, adultery, species extinction, drugs, and other "adult" topics, though each was treated with the expected SNL irreverence.

Saturday Night Live's writing staff disliked writing for the Muppets. Although the puppet designs were praised, the sketches themselves were generally not well received. By the middle of the season, the Land of Gorch sketches (when they appeared at all) were mostly self-referential bits about how the sketch was unpopular, didn't fit in with the rest of the show, and had been canceled. The last few sketches involved the Muppet characters trying to negotiate with various cast members and guest stars for the sketch's revival and continuance, but to no avail. The Land of Gorch characters were dropped from SNL well before the first season ended, though they made a cameo appearance in the second season opener, still trying to bring their sketch back.

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.

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.

Wisss (performed by Richard Hunt) - The son of King Ploobis and Queen Peuta. He is shown to have an addiction to smoking craters.

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.

Episodes

The following episodes are listed by the episode with the guest host:

George Carlin Episode (October 11, 1975) - King Ploobis and Scred go to The Mighty Favog for medical advice.
Paul Simon Episode (October 18, 1975) - King Ploobis and Scred go to The Mighty Favog for fiscal assistance.
Rob Reiner Episode (October 25, 1975) - King Ploobis and Scred discover that Wisss is smoking craters and try to get Wisss to stop.
Candice Bergen Episode (November 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.
Robert Klein Episode (November 15, 1975) - When King Ploobis has a headache, Scred tries everything he can to cure King Ploobis of his headache.
Lily Tomlin Episode (November 22, 1975) - Scred develops a crush on Lily Tomlin and they sing "I Got You Babe."
Richard Pryor Episode (December 13, 1975) - After "hitting the sauce," King Ploobis and Scred go to see The Mighty Favog.
Candice Bergen Episode (December 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.
Elliott Gould Episode (January 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.
Buck Henry Episode (January 17, 1976) - While King Ploobis is out of town, Scred shows Queen Peuta his new sex device.
Peter Cook and Dudley Moore Episode (January 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. Gilda tells Scred that the sketch was canceled and they both introduce Neil Sedaka.
Jill Clayburgh Episode (February 28, 1976) - The characters from "The Land of Gorch" are attending the Grammys, so Chevy Chase ends up acting out the sketch.
Anthony Perkins Episode (March 13, 1976) - King Ploobis and Scred approach Anthony Perkins for help in order to get their sketch back on the air.
Raquel Welch Episode (April 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.
Madeline Kahn Episode (May 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.
Lily Tomlin Episode (September 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 and they find The Mighty Favog under a dust cover, they are 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."

Cast

Fran Brill - Vazh (2nd Time)
Rhonda Hansome - Vazh (1st Time)
Jim Henson - King Ploobis
Richard Hunt - Wisss
Rollie Krewson -
Jerry Nelson - Scred
Frank Oz - The Mighty Favog, Glig, Food
Alice Tweedie - Queen Peuta

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 an undersea creature.

External links

The Land of Gorch at Muppet Wiki

@@ Line 52: / Line 52: @@
 The Land of Gorch is a swampy alien wasteland ruled by the oafish King Ploobis, who has different misadventures with his wife Queen Peuta, his right-hand man Scred, his servant Vazh, his son Wisss, and carved-from-stone oracle The Mighty Favog. The intro narrated by [[Don Pardo]] states "Come with us now from the bubbling tarpits, to the sulfurous wasteland; from the rotting forest, to the stagnant mud flats; to the Land of Gorch."
+The Land of Gorch segments dealt with a number of racy issues rangin from alcohol abuse, adultery, species extinction, drugs, and other "adult" topics, though each was treated with the expected SNL irreverence.
-The SNL writing staff disliked writing for the Muppets, and although the puppet designs were praised, the sketches themselves were generally not well received.  By the middle of the season, the Land Of Gorch sketches (when they appeared at all) were mostly self-referential bits about how the sketch was unpopular, didn't fit in with the rest of the show, and had been cancelled.  The last few sketches involved the Muppet characters trying to negotiate with various cast members and guest stars for the sketch's revival and continuance, but to no avail.  The Land of Gorch characters were dropped from SNL well before the first season ended, though they made a cameo appearance in the second season opener, still trying to bring their sketch back.
+Saturday Night Live's writing staff disliked writing for the Muppets. Although the puppet designs were praised, the sketches themselves were generally not well received. By the middle of the season, the Land of Gorch sketches (when they appeared at all) were mostly self-referential bits about how the sketch was unpopular, didn't fit in with the rest of the show, and had been canceled. The last few sketches involved the Muppet characters trying to negotiate with various cast members and guest stars for the sketch's revival and continuance, but to no avail. The Land of Gorch characters were dropped from SNL well before the first season ended, though they made a cameo appearance in the second season opener, still trying to bring their sketch back.
 ==Characters==
@@ Line 65: / Line 67: @@
 * '''Wisss''' (performed by [[Richard Hunt (puppeteer)|Richard Hunt]]) - The son of King Ploobis and Queen Peuta. He is shown to have an addiction to smoking craters.
-* '''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''' (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.
 ==Episodes==