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Muffit: an in-depth psychological profile

posted 11 years ago by stevewyzard
12 replies | jump to latest

1. OK, fess up! Who laughed at the thread subject?

2. I loathed Muffit during the show's initial run, and my feelings have not changed over the years. First, it is absolutely unbelievable that Boxey would accept a boorish, clunky robot daggit as a perfect replacement for his real, living daggit that was killed during the destruction of Caprica. Second, it was outrageous how the creators went out of their way to work him into almost every episode, even to the extent of having major plot points hinge upon Muffit's actions (Fire in Space being the most obvious example). I realize that technology has advanced dramatically in 35 years, and that having a robot animal on TV in 1978 seemed very "high-tech". Did anyone anywhere actually find Muffit cute and endearing (or at the very least, easy comic relief) like the creators continually attempted to portray him, or did they entirely under-estimate the intelligence of their intended audience?

Subversive: a clever synonym for self-congratulatory, generally used when attempting to justify one's guilty pleasures.

[–] crockett_john 11 years ago

When I first saw the show in its original run on TV, I liked Muffet, but I was nine at the time. Now, it does seem corny to have the robot dog doing heroic things and it's funny that the robot dog's eyes are just plastic lenses over fake fur. I'm sure I never noticed that when I was nine.

I still like watching the show, but it's a lot different from when I was nine.

[–] Pyrochles 11 years ago

It also doesn't help to know there's a chimpanzee in the suit. I can definitely recognize the chimpanzee movements when Muffet walks around. It's just another little thing that takes me out of the fictional world.

[–] crockett_john 11 years ago

I thought it was a person in there. Whatever it is, it looks like it has a really difficult time moving around in that costume.

[–] Barefootconservative 9 years ago

1) LOL! That is a funny thread subject.

2) Honestly, I didn't Have a problem with Muffit. He mostly followed Boxey around, or Boxey chased him around. That's mostly what kids do with their dogs. I think that for the most part, the producers wisely kept his involvement limited to that kind of stuff. I didn't find him cute and endearing. But I didn't think he was annoying either. Yeah, he played a big part in "Fire in Space", but for the most part, he just delivered messages back a forth (and delivered the breathing masks). Yes, it was eye rolling when he saved the firefighter, but that type of heroics were pretty much in line with the hero-dogs of the day such as Lassie, Rin-Tin-Tin and Benji.

[–] stevewyzard 9 years ago

Thank you for your reply to a 2-year old thread!

It was brought to my attention after posting that after "Fire in Space", Muffit was mostly dropped from the show except for a few token appearances. The show was very expensive for its time to produce, and after "War of the Gods" they started cutting costs. Boxey and Athena also appeared a lot less than previously.

"They might have known that a rainy sky would scatter swine before pearls."

[–] 9 years ago

[deleted]

[–] ncsr11 9 years ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBCwpSpeGlU

[–] Dark_Sithlord 9 years ago

Didn't really like Muffit, but I suppose he was mildly tolerable because they limited his screen time, for the most part. Larson probably thought a kid and his robotic dog would appeal to the kids in the viewing sudience.

[–] magolding 9 years ago

I actually saw a FAN version of Muffit live at a convention. The room was not huge and I got a fairly close view and it looked rather convincing to me. I don't remember who or what was in the suit and moving it.

[–] lilgiggler35 7 years ago

I sort of liked Muffy, but it did get annoying (to me) after a while. It was a nice idea to use a chimp inside the Muffy costume, and you can tell by the animal's movements. For me personally, I look back and wish they had created an animal design similar to the one used for the K9 robot on Dr. Who around the same time. At least K9 had a dog shaped head instead of looking like a giant teddy bear.

[–] britneyfoxx 7 years ago

Muffit was cool unlike you

[–] Techto (1063) 3 years ago

As a kid I thought it was really cool although, even then, I wondered why the robot dagget wouldn’t be programmed not to run off after he had repeatedly gotten Boxy into trouble doing so.

I was surprised to learn, years later, that there was a chimpanzee inside the costume rather than a little person or child actor.