Wembley, on hearing a disturbing new sound in the rock the water is being pumped from, begins to warn the others but stops when the other Fraggles lavish him with praise and announce their intention to give him the Key to the Rock. This comes to an abrupt halt when the rock the water is being pumped from opens up a bottomless pit and Gobo falls in. Wembley rescues him and announces that the taking of the Whoopee Water may have been what caused the pit to open. Though he doesn't know this for sure, he refuses to take a chance on it, and says that the well has to be shut down.
This episode contains examples of:
- Character Name and the Noun Phrase: The episode's title.
- 15 Minutes of Fame: For his discovery of Whoopee Water, the other Fraggles proclaim Wembley a hero. Gobo and Red are able to retrieve a postcard from Uncle Matt by night, while Sprocket is asleep, and Mokey and Boober are able to gather radishes by night. Wembley's fame ends, though, when the well is shut down.Mokey: Wembley!
Boober: Look, look, look!
Mokey: We got this food in the garden in the middle of the night!
Boober: Yeah!
Wembley: You did?
Mokey: Yeah!
Boober: Yes! I went with Mokey, and I didn't even panic, not even once! You have lifted fear from my shoulders. - Added Alliterative Appeal: The episode title, and the Whoopee Water itself.
- Arbitrary Skepticism: Subverted. Despite the fact that they live in a world with a boulder that belches, the other Fraggles don't believe Wembley can hear liquid inside rocks—until a Whoopee Water geyser erupts. This then becomes an in-universe case of The Cuckoolander Was Right.Wembley: Well, maybe it's a gift. A special talent that I alone possess!
Red: Well, maybe it's a curse. A special weirdness you alone are stuck with! - Arcade Sounds: Doc, outraged by the price of tomatoes at the supermarket, decides to grow his own. Since it's winter, he buys a bunch of heat lamps so he can grow them in the workshop, plus a financial-modeling program so his computer can tell him how much money he'll save. When he consults the program, the "lose a life" sound effect from Pac-Man is heard as the program says he'll lose $57,412.00.
- Bottomless Pit: The rock the water is being pumped from opens one of these, and Gobo falls down it. He lands on a ledge, which Wembley rescues him from.Aunt Granny Fraggle: [looking for Gobo] Well, I don't see him around. [Sees the pit.] Uh, by the way... how did this bottomless pit get here?
- Continuity Nod:
- Wembley sings "Pukka, Pukka, Pukka Squeetily Boink" with some rock creatures identical to the one that snarled at him in "The Terrible Tunnel."
- Gobo, doubting Wembley's ability to hear liquid inside rocks, says that a real listening experience is Belching Boulder, first mentioned in "Gobo's Discovery."
- Cool Key: For his discovery of Whoopee Water, Wembley is presented with the Key to the Rock, the highest honor a Fraggle can receive.World's Oldest Fraggle: Now, Wembley Fraggle, the Key to the Rock allows you to open any door. All Fraggles will respect you... or at least they have to say that they do.
- Crowd Chant: Gobo, after announcing the name of the water to the assembled Fraggles, tells Wembley to come up and take a bow. Everyone starts chanting: "WE WANT WEMBLEY! WE WANT WEMBLEY! WE WANT WEMBLEY!"
- Dreadful Musician: During the Ceremony of the Key, after Henchy gives a drum roll, the World's Oldest Fraggle asks him, "Can we have the fanfare?" After a few seconds of listening to Henchy's off-key horn blowing, he says, "Can we not have the fanfare?"
- Drum Roll, Please: The World's Oldest Fraggle says this during the Ceremony of the Key.World's Oldest Fraggle: Can we have a drum roll... please?
Henchy: Of course. [He begins playing one.]
World's Oldest Fraggle: Thank you. - Everything Is an Instrument: Wembley's song, "Pukka, Pukka, Pukka Squeetily Boink," is about how he hears music in everything, including the sound of water in rocks. At one point, he plays part of the tune on a Doozer road with two wooden spoons.
- Friend-or-Idol Decision: Wembley is torn between having the other Fraggles shower him with praise for his discovery of Whoopee Water and warning them about the scary new sound he hears coming from the rock the water is being pumped from. The first time he starts to warn them, he's interrupted by the other Fraggles telling him to take a bow and decides that the new noise is nothing to worry about. When he notices a while later that the new noise is louder and that there's now a crack in the rock, he starts to warn them again but is interrupted by the discovery that Whoopee Water makes one The Sleepless. The other Fraggles decide to give him the Key to the Rock for his discovery, and again he decides that the new noise and the crack are nothing to worry about. In the morning, he observes that the crack and the noise have gotten worse, and he shows it to Gobo during the Ceremony of the Key. Gobo, though, says it seems like any cave crack and, before Wembley can tell him about the noise, insists that Wembley take his moment to shine. But after Gobo is rescued from the bottomless pit, Wembley tells the others that he, Wembley, should have paid attention to his fears, that the taking of the Whoopee Water could have been what opened the pit, and that they have to play it safe and shut down the well.Gobo: That was a tough decision, Wembley. Well... because you don't know for sure that your Whoopee Water caused the cave-in.
Wembley: No. But I do know I don't like my best friend falling down a bottomless pit!
Gobo: [chuckles] I wasn't crazy about that part, either. - Funny Spoon: Wembley discovers Whoopee Water by listening to a rock, then digging through it with a wooden spoon. For the second rock, though, he uses a shovel.
- Go-to-Sleep Ending: After Wembley announces the Whoopee Water well has to be shut down, Felix the Fearless goes to take out the plumbing. The other Fraggles immediately fall asleep.
- G-Rated Drug: The Whoopee Water.
- Green Aesop: Don't take a resource from the environment unless you know that taking it won't have adverse effects.Wembley: I'm sorry. Maybe someday we can figure out a way to get Whoopee Water safely. But for now, I don't know how.
- Hell Is That Noise: Wembley hears a disturbing new sound in the rock the Whoopee Water is being pumped from. When he listens to the rock a while later, the noise has gotten louder and scarier than before. On top of that, the rock now has a crack in it. In the morning, the crack has gotten bigger, and the noise is even worse. A few minutes later, in the middle of the Key Ceremony, the rock opens a bottomless pit, which Gobo falls down.
- Immediate Self-Contradiction: After Red and Gobo laugh off the idea of Wembley's ability to hear water inside rocks...Wembley: [digging at a wall with a wooden spoon] I don't care. Let 'em laugh! I believe there is water in this rock!
[He gasps as a burbling sound comes from the wall.]
Wembley: I don't believe it! There's water in this rock! - Instant Taste Addiction: The Fraggles try the Whoopee Water, and in no time, they're lining up at the Whoopee Water well with their cups. Felix, who's serving it to the others, particularly likes it.Felix: One cup for you...
[He pours a ladleful into a Fraggle's cup.]
Felix: ...one cup for me.
[He drinks a ladleful himself.]
Felix: One cup for you...
[He pours a ladleful into Boober's cup.]
Boober: Thank you.
Felix: ...one cup for me.
[He drinks another ladleful himself.] - It's All My Fault: After Wembley rescues Gobo from the bottomless pit, the other Fraggles start to give three cheers for him. Wembley cuts them short, telling them he doesn't deserve anything, because he was basking in their praise instead of warning them about the scary noise coming from the rock the Whoopee Water is being pumped from.
- It Was Here, I Swear!: After finding water in a rock the first time, Wembley runs to tell Gobo, Red, and Boober. By the time they get there, though, the water has already dried up.Wembley: Oh, no! It's already dried up.
Gobo: Looks like it, Wembley.
Boober: What a pity.
Wembley: There was water here, I tell you!
Boober: Oh, sure, sure.
Wembley: It was fizzy, it tasted like strawberries...
Gobo: If I were you, I'd stop listening to rocks, Wembley.
Wembley: But...
Boober: Yeah.
Red: Especially the ones inside your head! - Jerkass Ball: Red and Gobo take this, mocking Wembley for believing he can hear liquid inside rocks.
- Large-Ham Announcer: The World's Oldest Fraggle, presiding over the Ceremony of the Key.World's Oldest Fraggle: Flunky, start the ceremony!
Henchy: Right, right. Check, check, check. Hear ye, hear ye! All Fraggles, gather together!
World's Oldest Fraggle: They already have!
Henchy: Oh... right, right. Now, you may well ask who has called this meeting today!
World's Oldest Fraggle: [whispering] Who has?
Henchy: You have!
World's Oldest Fraggle: I know that! [He bonks Henchy on the nose with the Key to the Rock.] Now, let the Ceremony of the Key begin! - Liquid Courage: The Whoopee Water is literally this, for the Fraggles, as it allows them to accomplish scary tasks in the dead of night without a second thought.
- Must Make Amends: When Gobo falls down the bottomless pit, Wembley rescues him, apologizes to the other Fraggles for not having warned them about the scary noise in the rock the Whoopee Water is being pumped from, then tells them that the taking of the water could have been what opened the pit, and that they have to play it safe and shut down the well.
- My God, What Have I Done?: When the rock the Whoopee Water is being pumped from opens a bottomless pit, which Gobo falls down, Wembley feels horrible for not having warned the others about the scary noise coming from the rock.
- The Namesake: When the fizzy water Wembley discovers is a hit with all the Fraggles, Red and Gobo make an announcement.Gobo: In honor of its discoverer, we think this delicious fizzy stuff should be known as...
Red and Gobo: [in unison] ...Wembley's Wonderful Whoopee Water!
[Everyone cheers for Wembley.] - Noisy Shut-Up: Wembley yells, "QUIET!" when the other Fraggles are talking at once about whether Gobo's in the bottomless pit.Wembley: Listen, I have to believe my ears. They were right when they told me that there was danger, but I didn't do anything about it, and now Gobo's down there!
Red: But how can you tell?
Wembley: I can hear him breathing! - Not Now, Kiddo: Wembley keeps trying to warn the others about the disturbing noise coming from the rock the Whoopee Water is being pumped from, but he keeps getting interrupted. The first time he starts to warn them, he's interrupted by the other Fraggles telling him to take a bow and decides that the new noise is nothing to worry about. When he notices a while later that the new noise is louder and that there's now a crack in the rock, he starts to warn them again but is interrupted by the discovery that Whoopee Water makes one The Sleepless.
- An Odd Place to Sleep: After Felix goes to shut down the Whoopee Water well, the other Fraggles go to sleep—right on the floor of the Great Hall.
- Rousing Lullaby: The World's Oldest Fraggle can't sleep, so the other Fraggles sing him a lullaby: "Sleeping and Dreaming." Not only does no one fall asleep, but in the middle of the lullaby, the Fraggles change it to a party song: "Leaping and Screaming." This is when they realize that being able to stay awake and frolic all night is an effect of Whoopee Water.
- Silly Song: Wembley sings "Pukka, Pukka, Pukka Squeetily Boink."
- The Sleepless: Drinking the Whoopee Water does this.
- Take My Hand!: When Gobo lands on a ledge in the bottomless pit, Wembley, after being lowered down with Felix's rope, tells Gobo to take his hand. Gobo says his hands are busy holding on, so Wembley pulls him up by the tail.Red: Okay. Ease him down, guys. I hope Wembley's right about this!
Felix: He'll be okay. He's hanging from my rope! - Tastes Like Purple: When Red and Gobo first try the Whoopee Water...Red: It tastes like... like... a...
Gobo: A party!
Red: Yeah!
Gobo: It tastes like a party! WHOOPEEEEEE! - Unique Protagonist Asset: Wembley is the only known Fraggle who can hear liquid inside rocks—despite declaring in his song "Pukka, Pukka, Pukka Squeetily Boink" that anyone who tries can. When Red and Gobo try it, they don't hear a thing. This ability also comes in handy when he's the only one who hears Gobo's breathing coming from the bottomless pit.
- Water-Geyser Volley: When Wembley uncovers the geyser, the rush of water sends him up in the air.
