Down the Hole to Who-Knows-Where.
Inspired by a postcard from Uncle Matt, Gobo starts a school for explorers, using a rulebook Matt had left behind, and sets off to find the Hole to Who-Knows-Where. Mokey, Red, and Wembley accompany him.Gobo insists they follow Uncle Matt's rules, which the others find themselves at odds with. When Mokey, Red, and Wembley smell Sweetwater, a favorite Fraggle beverage, and follow the scent to a pond of it, Gobo tells them the rules say that it's not drinkable and that the best water is always found at Clifftop Rest. The others grudgingly refrain from drinking and follow Gobo to Clifftop Rest—straight to a pool of disgusting Stinkwater. Fed up with the rules, Gobo's friends quit.
Alone, Gobo finds the Hole to Who-Knows-Where and falls halfway down it, accidentally dragging Red down with the rope tying them together. Disgusted with Uncle Matt's rules and with himself for blindly following them, Gobo throws the rulebook the rest of the way down the Hole. Observing how it drifts down, he and Red parachute after it.
This episode contains examples of:
- Accidental Discovery: The Hole to Who-Knows-Where turns out to lead to the Great Hall.
- Blind Obedience: Gobo considers Uncle Matt the greatest explorer ever and swears by the rules in his book, even when they make no sense.
- Break the Haughty: Gobo's ego takes a pothole when he falls down the Hole to Who-Knows-Where.Gobo: That Red has got some nerve. Boy, criticizing my Uncle Matt's rules. Huh! Well, I guess not every Fraggle can follow in my Uncle Matt's footsteps... AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!
- Broken Pedestal: Gobo idolizes Uncle Matt and at first swears by the rules in his book. When he and Red are stuck on a ledge halfway down the Hole to Who-Knows-Where, though, Gobo has to admit his uncle isn't as great as an explorer as Gobo had thought him to be.
- Can't See a Damn Thing: Red has this problem when she wears a hat that's too big, covering her eyes.
- Character Name and the Noun Phrase: The episode's title.
- Continuity Nod:
- Gobo mentions Blue Rock and the Echo Hole.
- Back at the Great Hall, Wembley sputters incoherently while trying to tell the other Fraggles that Red and Gobo fell down the Hole to Who-Knows-Where. Two random Fraggles get Wembley to talk normally by turning him upside down, something that also worked on him in "A Friend In Need."
- "Could Have Avoided This!" Plot: Gobo says this when he and Red find themselves on a ledge halfway down the Hole to Who-Knows-Where.Gobo: If I'd been paying attention to what I was doing, none of this would have happened.
- Crisis Catch-and-Carry: After Wembley faints on account of being dehydrated, Mokey carries him the rest of the way up the cliff.
- Deadpan Snarker: A running gag is Red telling Gobo that he can't even teach himself how to whistle.
- Diegetic Soundtrack Usage: When Gobo finally teaches himself how to whistle, he demonstrates by whistling the theme song.
- Dramatic Slip: Wembley nearly falls off the edge of the path at one point. Thanks to her hat covering her eyes, the same thing almost happens to Red. Fortunately, they're all tied together with a rope.
- Experience Entitlement: Gobo insists on the others following the rules because he and Uncle Matt are the most experienced at exploring.
- Failed a Spot Check: Lampshaded. After Gobo goes on by himself...Red: He's old enough to take care of himself. Let's go down the hill and get a drink.
Mokey: Um... uh... Red, aren't you forgetting something?
Red: Oh, yeah, the stupid rope.
Mokey: Mmm-hmm.
Red: Last Fraggle in the world I want to be tied to is Gobo.
Mokey: Yeah.
Red: Phooey, the knot is stuck... [Screams as the rope drags her away.] - Fainting: On the way up to Clifftop Rest, Wembley faints on account of being dehydrated. Fortunately, they're all tied together with a rope, and Mokey carries him the rest of the way up.
- Follow Your Nose: Gobo reads aloud the second rule in Matt's book: "Begin every expedition by following your nose." Mokey, Red, and Wembley do so, each running off in a different direction.Gobo: [sighs] This may not be as simple as I thought. [A Beat.] Hey, come on back here!
- Forgot to Mind Their Head: A Running Gag that's almost Running Gagged by Wembley, but then subverted.Wembley: For once in my life, I'm not gonna bump my head on this stupid pipe!
[He ducks underneath it and laughs triumphantly, then bumps his nose on a wall.]
Wembley: Ooh! [Backs up, bumping his head on the pipe yet again.] - The Freelance Shame Squad: Nearly all the other Fraggles laugh at Gobo when he tries and fails to show Red that he can whistle.
- Great Big Book of Everything: Subverted. Gobo treats the rulebook as this, even though the rules make no sense.
- Grimy Water: The Stinkwater.
- Heartfelt Apology: When he and Red land on a ledge halfway down the Hole to Who-Knows-Where, Gobo apologizes for having gotten them into so much trouble.
- The Hilarity of Hats: Uncle Matt's third rule states: "Never go exploring without protective headgear." Red's hat is too big and covers her eyes, making her unable to see a thing. By contrast, Mokey's hat is not only too small but too tight, making her unable to hear a thing.
- "I Am Great!" Song: Gobo sings "Get Goin'" to ask the others if they've got what it takes to be as great explorers as he and Uncle Matt are.
- I Can't Hear You:Red: [who is tied to the others with a long rope] Go slower, Mokey! I just stubbed my toe.
Mokey: What? I can't hear you. My hat's too tight.
Red: Go slower!
Mokey: Go lower? What do you want me to do, crawl on my hands and knees? - Improvised Parachute: Gobo makes a parachute for Red and himself from their emptied-out backpacks.
- It Has Been an Honor: Red and Gobo are on a ledge halfway down the Hole to Who-Knows-Where, preparing to try out Gobo's Improvised Parachute.Red: This is the weirdest-looking thing I've ever seen. It'll never work!
Gobo: It should work, Red. I've thought it out. It'll work... maybe.
Red: But... what if it doesn't?
[A beat.]
Gobo: We'll drop like a stone.
Red: But... even if it does work, we'll end up...
[A longer beat.]
Gobo and Red: [in unison] ...Who-Knows-Where.
[Another beat.]
Gobo: It's been good knowing you, Red. - I've Come Too Far: A non-heroic example occurs after Gobo's friends decide to leave Clifftop Rest and go drink at the Sweetwater pond.Mokey: Gobo, please come back with us!
Gobo: No way! [quoting Uncle Matt's first rule] When you put on your pack, you never turn back! - Layman's Terms: When the Fraggles find the Sweetwater pond...Gobo: Don't drink that water!
Mokey: But, Gobo, we are parched!
Wembley: Yeah, and besides that, we're thirsty! - Little "No": Wembley lets out one when Gobo tells him not to drink at the Sweetwater pond and that they've got to climb to Clifftop Rest to find water.
- Malaproper: After Gobo fails at showing Red that he can whistle...Gobo: Well, what's so important about whistling anyway, Miss Moss Mouth?
Wembley: Yeah, Miss Moth Mouse! - Mass "Oh, Crap!": The other Fraggles, when Gobo says they're going to the Hole to Who-Knows-Where. Everyone but Mokey, Red, and Wembley immediately backs out.Boober: Um... well... uh... for any of you who are kind of toying with the idea of staying behind, I might just be coaxed into setting up a school for laundry, right here in the Great Hall!
[Everyone but Gobo, Mokey, Red, and Wembley eagerly follows Boober.] - No Escape but Down: Red and Gobo find themselves on a ledge halfway down the Hole to Who-Knows-Where. They can't climb back up, and the others are too far away to hear them. Gobo, seeing how the rulebook drifts down when he throws it away, realizes the only option is to parachute after it.
- On Three: Red and Gobo parachute the rest of the way down on the count of three.
- Over-the-Shoulder Carry: Mokey carries Wembley up Clifftop Rest this way.
- Passing the Torch: Lampshaded.Boober: Red, Gobo is gonna teach us all to become explorers!
Mokey: Yes! Red, he's going to pass the explorers' torch on to us! - Plummet Perspective: Right after Wembley faints, Mokey's hat pops off, falling the rest of the way down the cliff.
- The Precarious Ledge: Gobo and Red land on one that's halfway down the Hole to Who-Knows-Where. At one point, Red slips and nearly falls the rest of the way down, but Gobo pulls her back.
- Rhymes on a Dime: Uncle Matt's rules are phrased like this.
- Rule #1: Gobo insists that the others follow the rules in Uncle Matt's book.Gobo: The first rule is: "When you put on your pack, you can never turn back!"
- Running Gag: Red keeps telling Gobo that he can't even teach himself how to whistle. He finally lets one loose, though, when he throws the rulebook the rest of the way down the Hole to Who-Knows-Where and sees how it drifts down.
- Scaling the Summit: Gobo, Mokey, Red, and Wembley, climbing up to Clifftop Rest.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Subverted. After she and the others find the Stinkwater pond, Red says she's going back to drink at the Sweetwater pond. Her plans change, though, when Gobo accidentally drags her down the Hole with the rope they're tied together with. (Since Mokey and Wembley don't get dragged down with her, they may have already untied themselves.)
- "Setting Off" Song: "Face Facts, Pack Snacks, Make Tracks," sung by Gobo, Mokey, Red, and Wembley as they set off to find the Hole to Who-Knows-Where.
- Smelly Feet Gag:Wembley: Gobo found this incredible book in the back of Matt's socks box!
Boober: [sniffs the book] Yuck! Indeed. - Sucky School: After enduring Uncle Matt's rules, Red thinks Gobo's school is this.
- Tempting Fate: On the way up to Clifftop Rest, after Gobo has insisted that nobody drink at the Sweetwater pond...Wembley: I start to get dizzy when I get too thirsty, Gobo. I'm... I'm going to...
Gobo: There you go, Wembley, thinking too much!
Wembley: Gobo, I'm starting to get the twirlies, and... and...
Gobo: Wembley, just because you've the got the twirlies doesn't mean you can drop out!
Wembley: Dr... drop out. I don't want to... DRAAAAHHHHH...!
[He loses his grip, falling down the side of the cliff and knocking Red and Mokey down as well. The rope they're all tied to Gobo with is the only thing supporting them.]
Mokey: [calling up to Gobo] Wembley fainted! - Thrown Down a Well: Inverted. Gobo drags Red down the Hole with the rope tying them together.
- Upside-Down Blueprints: Doc tries to make a doggy door for Sprocket. The instructions he follows require him to make it at the top side of the door.
- Wrote the Book: Gobo claims that the rules in the book are infallible because Uncle Matt wrote them.
- The X of Y: Uncle Matt's book is called "The Secret Rules of Exploring."
