Recommended music: Coldplay – The Scientist
The doctor is in on this #SomethingElseSunday as we’re still celebrating 70 years of the Muppets! From the Palisades Toys Muppets line, it’s Dr. Bunsen Honeydew!
The resident scientist of all things Muppet, Honeydew first appeared in the eighth episode of The Muppet Show, which premiered in October 1976. During this initial Muppet Labs sketch, he showed his latest invention, which was able to make anything softer – the All-Purpose Tenderizer. This became standard fare as Honeydew was always eager to show off his latest inventions throughout the five-season run of the show. Besides appearing during the opening theme starting in season two, Honeydew appeared in over 50 episodes.
The following season, Honeydew received a lab assistant in the form of Beaker who would regularly be somehow harmed by the doctor’s inventions. While the name beaker seems obviously named after lab equipment, Bunsen is named after a scientific instrument known as a Bunsen burner. Also, the shade of his skin combined with the shape of his head, look too similar to a honeydew melon, for his surname to just be a coincidence.
For the Palisades Muppet toy line, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew appeared in the first wave when the line was just promoting the 25th anniversary of The Muppet Show. For accessories, Honeydew came with a logo base, a Muppet Labs book, and a Robot Rabbit, which appeared on episode 202 of the Muppet Show.
Bonus video:
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