Question Puppet show that inspired Smile Time?

[thrasherpix]

I just saw a brief nostalgia short (I doubt I could find it again) in which a cast of puppets looked similar (one looked identical to the female puppet) was briefly shown so I got to wondering...was there a specific televised puppet show that inspired the fictional Smile Time? (As opposed to just a generic puppet show.)

 

[Ethan Reigns]

I would vote for the Muppets. Similar cloth puppets and occasionally the nose gets detached just like on Smile Time.

 

[NotASlayer]

According to David Fury, they discussed an evil version of Sesame Street prior to the episode being considered, but it was after Joss said Angel got turned into a Muppet that it went ahead. A cut line had Gunn mentioning Fraggle Rock.

BtVS: Post Mortem Week 6: David Fury

This interview originally appeared as part of Meanwhile…’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Post Mortem and was published in early 2005.

meanwhileonlineblog.wordpress.com

 

[hoponlilmama]

According to David Fury, they discussed an evil version of Sesame Street prior to the episode being considered, but it was after Joss said Angel got turned into a Muppet that it went ahead. A cut line had Gunn mentioning Fraggle Rock.

Don't think I previously knew about the cut FR line!

BtVS: Post Mortem Week 6: David Fury

This interview originally appeared as part of Meanwhile…’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Post Mortem and was published in early 2005.

meanwhileonlineblog.wordpress.com

Thank you for this link.
Smile Time is one of my favourite episodes of AtS. I love that they took a swing and it worked. Only on a series like AtS (like OMWF on BTVS) could an outrageous idea such as that come to life.

"Is there a Geppetto in the house!?"
That line gets me every single time. 🤣🤣

(From 3:14 in the video below)

 

[NotASlayer]

Don't think I previously knew about the cut FR line!

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Trivia/AngelS05E14SmileTime

Apparently added back in this comic:

https://buffy.fandom.com/wiki/Smile_Time,_Part_Two