"Pretty boring story."
Mokey, Wembley, and Boober are doing a dress rehearsal for Mokey's new play, "A Legend Called Blundig," which tells of the Ancient Fraggles, who all wore hats to keep warm, as they were completely bald. Any Ancient Fraggle with hair was instantly banished. Their Great and Wondrous Leader was Blundig, who Mokey will be playing. Mokey has decided to have the rehearsal in the sacred cave in which Blundig, according to legend, appeared out of nowhere. On a wall of the cave, the three come across a mysterious and somehow familiar drawing of a Fraggle—with hair.The three rehearse a chant. In the middle of it, there's a puff of smoke. They find the mysterious drawing gone and hear chanting. Following the sound, they find themselves in a cave full of strange Fraggles running and chanting at the command of Fishface, the Great and Wondrous Leader. When Wembley says, "Where's Red? Where's Gobo?" Fishface tells them they have uttered the sacred word. In their language, Gobo means "take off your hat." The strange Fraggles remove their hats, revealing themselves to be completely bald. Mokey, Wembley, and Boober are in the time of the Ancient Fraggles, who are incredibly solemn and never laugh, under penalty of being tied to a rock.
The Ancient Fraggles believe that Mokey is the Great and Wondrous Blundig, destined to replace Fishface as the Great and Wondrous Leader of the Rock. Fishface, who is not anxious to give up the throne, knows the prophecy that Blundig will become the leader when she causes the Sacred Boulders to move, and he demands that she do so as proof of who she is. If she fails to prove that she is Blundig, she and her friends will be tied to a rock. Mokey tries, but the Sacred Boulders don't move. She and Wembley and Boober are tied to a rock in a prison cell—which is revealed to be Gobo and Wembley's room in the future.
In prison, they see that a Fraggle named Noodlenose was incarcerated for laughing. Mokey, who believes that they can get back to their own time by returning to the sacred cave, manages to untie them, but they can't move the boulder in the doorway. When she gets the idea of proving that they're from the future by showing the Ancient Fraggles that they have hair, Noodlenoose wants to see theirs, as hair is the funniest thing ever and will make anyone laugh. Mokey uses this knowledge to her advantage, and when Bonehead, who is acting as guard, moves the boulder to enter, Mokey takes off her hat, revealing her hair and making Bonehead laugh like crazy so that she and Wembley and Boober can slip past and escape. The three then do the same to everyone else, including Fishface, who laughs so hard, he falls against the Sacred Boulders, which fall on him.
Realizing that Mokey has caused the prophecy to be fulfilled, the other Ancient Fraggles declare her to be Blundig, Great and Wondrous Leader of the Rock. Mokey saves Fishface from being tied to a rock, convinces him to abolish the concept of leaders, and introduces the idea of dancing one's cares away. Before leaving, she draws the mysterious picture on the wall of the sacred cave where they had seen it. She, Boober, and Wembley return to own their time to find the drawing still on the wall, and Red and Gobo wanting to know what happened to the three of them.
This episode contains examples of:
- Are You Pondering What I'm Pondering?: This happens when the Ancient Fraggles reveal themselves to be bald.Mokey: Are you two thinking what I'm thinking?
[The Ancient Fraggles stare at Mokey, Wembley, and Boober.]
Boober: Anybody know a good barber?
[The Ancient Fraggles resume their running and chanting.]
Mokey: We're in the wrong time! - Assurance Backfire: After being greeted as Blundig, Mokey assures Boober that the Ancient Fraggles will help them if she tells them who they really are. This backfires when she's warned that if she's not Blundig, she'll be tied to a rock for trying to fool them.
- Bait-and-Switch Comment: Bonehead, acting as guard, makes one when entering the prison cell.Bonehead: Hooba, O Great Blun... [clears her throat] I mean, Hooba, O Blundig. You not so great now, huh?
- Bald of Evil: Subverted. Fishface, the Great and Wondrous Leader of the Rock, is bald, like all of his subjects, and will banish anyone with hair. Deep down, though, he's not evil. Instead, he finds Mokey's idea of dancing one's cares away and having no leaders to be the most inspiring thing he's ever heard.
- Barefoot Captives: Subverted when Mokey, Wembley, and Boober are in prison, since Fraggles usually prefer to go barefoot anyway.
- Big "NO!":
- The Ancient Fraggles shout, "OH, NO!" when Wembley asks, "Where's Red? Where's Gobo?", since "Gobo" means they have to take off their hats and expose their bald heads to the cold weather.
- Fishface, when the prophecy is fulfilled and Bigmouth tells him, "You no longer great and wondrous anything."
- Big "WHAT?!": Fishface lets out one when Bigmouth first sees Mokey.Bigmouth: Look!
[The Ancient Fraggles quit running to and fro, then turn to look at Mokey.]
Bigmouth: It Blundig!
[The other Ancient Fraggles gasp.]
Fishface: WHAAAT? - Bound and Gagged: Mokey is tied to a rock in prison, with her hands bound. Wembley and Boober, in addition to being tied up, are gagged with rope. This doesn't prevent them from speaking, though.
- Breaking the Bonds: Mokey manages to untie herself, then Boober and Wembley.
- Cane Fu: Fishface does this when Bonehead says Blundig has finally come.Bonehead: She comes. At last she comes to rule us.
[Fishface bonks Bonehead on the nose with his scepter.]
Fishface: I rule here! - Chained to a Rock: Mokey, Wembley, and Boober get tied to a rock in prison.
- Challenging the Chief: Fishface demands that Mokey prove she is Blundig by moving the Sacred Boulders. Mokey's notebook says that Blundig caused the Sacred Boulders to move, but it doesn't say how. After singing "Voodoo Spell," she and Wembley and Boober shout, "Move!" at the boulders, which don't budge. This gets them tied to a rock in prison, but they escape. Mokey then replaces Fishface as Great and Wondrous Leader of the Rock when she causes the Sacred Boulders to move by making him laugh hard enough to fall against them. Instead of choosing to rule the Ancient Fraggles, though, she convinces them to do away with the concept of leaders, then returns to her own time.
- Continuity Nod: The drawing on the wall is of the Solemn Mark of the Fraggle, first seen on the lid of the music box in "The Lost Treasure of the Fraggles." The mark is a pictograph of a smiling Fraggle putting his thumbs in his ears and spreading out his fingers.
- Contrived Coincidence: Mokey, Wembley, and Boober were wearing the attire of the Ancient Fraggles before being sent to that specific era.
- Crowd Chant: "TIE THEM TO A ROCK! TIE THEM TO A ROCK!"
- Crowd Song: "Voodoo Spell," sung by Mokey, Wembley, Boober, and a group of Ancient Fraggles.
- Deadpan Snarker: Boober, especially after the Ancient Fraggles take off their hats when Mokey says Gobo's name.Boober: The evidence is all in. This is neither a play nor a dream.
- Diegetic Soundtrack Usage: When Mokey suggests giving up the concept of leaders:Fishface: But... but what will we do?
Mokey: You'll dance your cares away. Worry's for another day. Let the music play, down in Fraggle Rock!
[Wembley adds a honk.] - Dude, Not Funny!: The reactions of Mokey, Wembley, and Boober when they're tied up in prison and Noodlenose, who's in the next cell, is guffawing.Mokey: Ohhh, this is not funny!
Wembley: [trying to talk with his muzzle tied up] Even if it were, I can't laugh!
Boober: What is the matter with that guy? We're tied up in a cave in the middle of nowhere, sometime in the distant past, and he's hysterical!
Noodlenose: Ooh, I can't help it. I love to laugh! That's why I'm here. - Foreshadowing: Doc builds a fake time machine, puts Sprocket in it, and dresses as a white-bearded old man to trick Sprocket into thinking he's in Doc's workshop in the future. He tells Sprocket that Ned Shimmelfinney moved away and that he would have gone with him if it hadn't been for Sprocket. This foreshadows Shimmelfinney's moving to the desert for his health and Doc's moving there to be with him, first mentioned in the episode "The Honk of Honks."
- Go and Sin No More: When Mokey becomes the new Great and Wondrous Leader of the Rock, she stops the Ancient Fraggles from tying Fishface to a rock. She then suggests he give up the concept of leaders and instead dance his cares away. Fishface exclaims that it's the most inspiring thing he's ever heard.
- Good Luck Charms: Several are mentioned by Mokey in "Voodoo Spell."Mokey: [singing] Eye of bat, ear of toad,
Hoppin' down the dusty road.
Lizard gizzard, beetle stew.
These will bring good luck to you.
Wembley and Boober: [joining in] It's true...
True voodoo! - Great Big Book of Everything: Mokey has one. Technically, it's a notebook, but it's full of facts about the Ancient Fraggles, including words in their language, and the prophecy of Blundig.
- The Guards Must Be Crazy: All Mokey has to do to get out of prison is to wait for the boulder in the doorway to be moved, then reveal her hair, making Bonehead laugh so hard that Mokey and her friends can slip past and escape.
- Heel–Face Turn: Fishface, although not truly evil, gives up imprisoning and banishing Fraggles—indeed, he comes to accept being dethroned. He's taken aback with Mokey's suggestion of giving up Great and Wondrous Leaders, but finds her idea of instead dancing one's cares away to be the most inspiring thing he's ever heard.
- Hey, Let's Put on a Show: Mokey, Wembley, and Boober are doing one. For entertainment purposes, though.
- Holding Hands: Mokey, Wembley, and Boober do this when rehearsing the chant.
- Holding in Laughter: Fishface struggles to do this when he sees Mokey's hair, because of the law against laughing. It doesn't work, and he becomes Helpless with Laughter, falling against the Sacred Boulders, which land on him.
- Homesickness Hymn: Mokey, in prison, sings "Still So Far," longing to be in her own time.
- The Hyena: Noodlenose. This gets him thrown in jail, due to Fishface's law against laughter.
- Important Hair Accessory: After being thrown in jail, Mokey despairs, but regains her confidence on being told by Noodlenose that hair will make anyone laugh. She uses this knowledge to her advantage twice. The first time she removes her hat to reveal her hair, it makes Bonehead laugh so hard that Mokey, Wembley, and Boober are able to slip past Bonehead and out of the cell. The second time, when she reveals her hair to Fishface, she causes him to laugh so hard that he falls against the Sacred Boulders, which move, fulfilling the prophecy and making Mokey the new Great and Wondrous Leader of the Rock.
- It's All My Fault: Mokey blames herself for the fact she and her friends are in jail in the time of the Ancient Fraggles.Mokey: I'm sorry, you guys. It's all my fault.
Wembley: No, it's not.
Boober: Yes, it is.
Wembley: Yes, it is. - Jungle Drums: Though the Ancient Fraggles' land is not technically a jungle—more of a cavernous land with a lot of big ferns—the Ancient Fraggles do tend to run and chant to the beat of bongo drums. The sound of the drums is the first hint that Mokey and her friends are in another time.
- The Leader: Fishface, the Great and Wondrous Leader of the Rock—up until the Sacred Boulders move.
- Loony Laws: The penalty for laughing is imprisonment, and anyone with hair is instantly banished.
- Meaningful Name:
- Bonehead wears a bone through her nose.
- Noodlenose has a noodle on his nose.
- Misplaced Accent: Boober, in an attempt to prove he's an Ancient Fraggle and thus avoid being tied to a rock, tries to speak the language by saying the word "doombah," and Wembley says "boom-boom." This gets a laugh from Noodlenoose.Boober: Mokey, what did we say? What did we say?
Mokey: [consulting her notebook] Oh... uh... let's see.... According to my research... uh... "doombah" means "breakfast," and... uh... "boom-boom" means "hat rack."
Wembley: Well, what's so funny about that?
Noodlenose: It's your accent! [Guffaws.] - Neologism: Several of the main characters' names translate to something in the language of the Ancient Fraggles:
- "Wembley" means "No scratch nose in public."
- "Gobo" means "Take off your hat."
- "Mokey" means the opposite: "Put on your hat."
- "Boober" means "Tie him to a rock."
- Never Bareheaded: Subverted. Because they lack hair, the Ancient Fraggles wear hats to keep warm. They never take them off—unless someone says "Gobo."
- The Prophecy: When the Great and Wondrous Blundig arrives and causes the Sacred Boulders to move, she will be the next Great and Wondrous Leader of the Rock.
- Rats in a Box: Mokey, Wembley, and Boober are all imprisoned in one cell.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Subverted. Boober is freaked out after seeing the drawing and wants to leave, but Mokey talks him into staying.Mokey: Oh, Boober, Boober... oh, Boober... please, now, Boober. I know Fraggles don't tell each other what to do, so I'm asking you nicely. Please do it for me. Please, please, please, please, please...
Wembley: Come on!
Boober: [after a Beat] Okay. - Stable Time Loop: Blurs between this and Tricked Out Time. Just before returning to her own time, Mokey creates the drawing that sent them to the past in the first place.
- Staff of Authority: Fishface carries a gold scepter.
- Time Travel Episode: Mokey, Wembley, and Boober travel to the time of the Ancient Fraggles.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: The last time Noodlenose is seen, he is still in prison. It isn't mentioned whether he was released after Mokey abolished the concept of leaders.
- Withholding Their Name: Subverted. At first, Mokey keeps her name secret because the Ancient Fraggles warn her that if she's not Blundig, she'll be tied to a rock for trying to fool them. Later, when she can't move the sacred boulders, she says who she and Wembley and Boober really are, in hopes that they'll help her and her friends get back to their own time. This doesn't work because their names, in the language of the Ancient Fraggles, are words.Mokey: No, no, wait! Please wait! You see, we are from the future. Yes, yes! This is Boober, that's Wembley, and I'm Mokey.
Ancient Fraggles: Boolah-boo!
Fishface: [chuckling] You know as well as I do that "Mokey" is not a name.
Mokey: It's not?
Fishface: "Mokey" means "Put on your hat." - You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: Mokey says this when Fishface tells her that laughter is illegal.Mokey: Aww, you're joking!
Bonehead: We no joke. It bad! - You Need a Breath Mint: Fishface's breath makes Mokey, Wembley, and Boober cough.
- You No Take Candle: The Ancient Fraggles often speak this way.Bigmouth: Hooba, Blundig, Great and Wondrous Leader! I wait all my life for this moment! Hooba, hooba, hooba! [Bows lows to Mokey.]
