I don't like Clifford, do you?

[minor muppetz]

characters like Bunsen and Beaker, who are OK characters, came to the frontline, replacing faves like Scooter, Rowlf, Floyd, Robin, and others. Those two shouldn't be in the front cuz there's really not a whole lotta depth to them (although I do cry everytime I see Beaker give Scrooge his scarf). These guys fall in line somewhere between Sam The Eagle and Crazy Harry.

I think they were starting to become more major before Jim Henson died. During the 1970s and 1980s, it seems like whenever a new Muppet project came along, The Electric Mayhem would be more likely to have a featured part than Bunsen and Beaker.

For example, four members of the band appeared in Rocky Mountain Holiday, while Bunsen and Beaker were absent. Bunsne didn't appear in The Mupets Go to the Movies (aside from some brief clips), and most of the band was there, though I admitt here weren't any big Electric Mayhemnumbers. Floyd and Janice sang one song, and Animal appeared in the openign sequence (I can't remember if he did more... there is an image of Animal with Kermit and the guests on the Muppet Wiki page, but I can't remember if that's in the special or if it was a publicity photo... or if maybe Nickelodeon cut the scene). I can't remember if Dr. Teeth, Zoot, or Lips appeared in any new footage in the special. The band was part of the orchestra in the 30th anniversary special, Floyd and Janice made an introduction, and Animal had a funny scene, yet Bunsne and Beaker were just there, along with huindreads of others, with no lines, and weren't in any clips where they speak. In A Muppet Family Chrismas the band has it's own musical number, and various members get their own scenes (even Lips, sort of... but Zoot didn't). Yet Bunsen and Beaker are just part of the gang, only heard during one verse of the carol sing (and Beaker was also heard when slipping on the icy path).

Now, Bunsen and Beaker were chosen over the Electric Mayhem (besides Animal) to be included on Muppet Babies, and in a bit of irony Beaker teamed up with Dr. Teeth in Rock Music with the Muppets (I wonder how that pairing came about). But at the end of Henson's life, Bunsne and Beaker seemed to be more forefront. In The Muppets at Walt Disney World they get their own subplot/ running gag, where Beaker got a bucket stuck on his head, while the band didn't get a subplotor running gag, though they were still a major presence in the special, and got their own music number. And then we get to Muppet Vision 3D, where Bunsen and Beaker have a featured scene, but Zoot and Janice are the only band members to appear, and both only appear briefly.

 

[frogboy4]

I think I used to think of him as being similar to Bunsen, but he is also different from them. Bunsen and Beaker are scientists, and Digit was a robot, and a technician. If Dave Goelz didn't perfirn Digit then maybe he could have teamed up with Bunsen and Beaker on occassion, without it seeming like he replaced either.

Digit serves as the same "type" of character.

Yeah, there are differences and that is intended, but he really serves the same purpose as Bunsen on the Hour and I think Jim intended to invest in new characters. I would love to see Digit again - maybe as a tech in Muppet Labs helping out Bunsen and Beaker. I would also have liked to see Digit, Bean, Waldo and even Leon as Palisades action figures along with Clifford (in a funkier outfit).

I just feel like the purpose for the -invention- of Digit was as an alternative for the Bunsen/Beaker dynamic. When you look at him, he's really both comic and foil. Anyway, I just don't agree with the decision to invent new characters that (totally or in part) eat up the screen time of beloved Muppets.