The Mickey Mouse Club was Walt Disney's first continuing television series. Launching in 1955, the series used the image of star Mickey Mouse in introductions and occasional cartoon shorts, but the majority of the program was devoted to the Mouseketeers, including a young Annette Funicello. Serials (such as The Hardy Boys) and wildlife films (the latter being predecessors of the shorter animal inserts on Sesame Street) rounded out the package.

Several revival attempts followed in later years, including The New Mickey Mouse Club (1977) and the Disney Channel's more successful The All New Mickey Mouse Club (MMC), which ran from 1989 until 1995.

The animated opening sequence of both the original and the 1977 revival series always concluded with Donald Duck attempting to strike a gong. Invariably, something would go wrong -- the gong would crumble to pieces, or turn into a pie or a water balloon, or Donald would be electrocuted upon striking it, etc. This was the forerunner of Gonzo's Muppet Show openings, particularly during the first season, as Gonzo would try to hit the Muppet Show sign's letter O like a gong (later seasons had him blowing a trumpet), with similarly disastrous results each time.

In 1990 an "I Want to Be..." segment of MMC was filmed featuring Muppet fan Joe Apel, whose dream was to become a Muppet performer. Apel met Jim Henson and other performers, filming Muppet*Vision 3D, but following Henson's death, the sketch was shelved and never aired. When it was announced that the show was looking for fans of Henson's, they received many responses, including one from a young John Tartaglia. Fans were asked to write an essay expressing why they'd like to meet him. When it came time for producers to decide on finalists, they couldn't decide between John and Joe. However, Joe was closer to Los Angeles where Muppet*Vision 3D was filmed, therefore producers chose him. ^{[citation needed]}

The original series was spoofed in Muppets Tonight episode 105 as "The Kermit the Frog Club," which featured Frogketeers Jennifer, Newt, Robbie, M! D Bolo, L. Ron, Toshiro, Stu, and Cindy Crawford. A more minor reference appeared in the Dinosaurs episode "Network Genius," in which the schedule board lists "The Mickey Test Patterns Club" as one of the networks programs.

MouseketeersEdit

The Mickey Mouse Club coined the term "Mouseketeers," a joking reference to the 1844 novel The Three Musketeers. The term was picked up by Sesame Street in the 1980s, when Oscar the Grouch started his own club, the Grouchketeers. (EKA: Episode 2040) Instead of mouse ears, however, all of the children wore trash can lids on their heads. Big Bird followed suit with the Birdketeers. (EKA: Episode 2228)

Since then, the number of "-keteers" clubs on Sesame Street has grown to include the Ducketeers, the Bobketeers, the Countketeers, the Spaceketeers and the Seventeenketeers.

Other referencesEdit

• On a Twitter post for the United Kingdom premiere of The Muppets titled, Ask Kermit, when he was asked by a fan, "Should I become a Marketeer with a lesbian haircut or a teacher with a lesbian haircut?" Kermit replied, "U ask me--frog w/ no hair. Big fan of teachers. Not sure abt Marketeer. Is that like Mousketeers?"^[1]

SourcesEdit

1. ↑ Twitter post dated January 26, 2012

ConnectionsEdit

• Wally Boag guest starred on The Mickey Mouse Club October 4, 1955
• JC Chasez performed on MMC
• Fred Newman hosted MMC from 1989 until 1994
• Bill Nye was a guest on "Anything Can Happen Day" in 1989
• Keri Russell performed on MMC
• Justin Timberlake performed on MMC

External linksEdit

• "Encounters With Legends:" Jim Henson