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Mr. Noodle -- worst TV sidekick ever?
I have no problem with my kid's Elmo fixation. I'm well aware It could be a million times worse.
Muppets.wikia.com
The TiVo fast-forward button was made for Mr. Noodle.
I would, however, like someone to immediately fire the little red monster's co-worker, Mr. Noodle. And not just fire him in a nice sorry-it-didn't-work-out-here's-your-severance-package way, but really hold him up for ridicule. I want a Star Jones-style canning.
For those who don't watch "Sesame Street," Mr. Noodle is an obnoxious mime played by Bill Irwin (his brother is played by Michael Jeter), who appears in almost every episode of "Elmo's World." With his ill-fitting clothes and complete lack of grooming, he's the type of guy would sit as far away from as possible if you were escorting your kid on Muni. But he's supposed to be a funny and charming companion for your child on TV.
He makes the mentally challenged Elmo look like a nuclear physicist by comparison. And if all of the above isn't annoying enough, for bizarre unexplained reasons he's always introduced by Elmo as "Mr. Noodle's brother, Mr. Noodle."
Elmo during a recent Bay Area appearance: He's so much better as a solo act.
Part of the problem with Mr. Noodle is he's not even that good of a mime. Mostly he just acts really incompetent -- combing his hair with a mop or trying to eat a salad with a baseball bat, while a chorus of kids shout "Noooooooo!" Try to make something up that's more annoying than that. Can't do it, right?
Mr. Noodle is to Elmo what former KTVU anchor Leslie Griffith was to Dennis Richmond, and Danny Bonaduce is to "The Adam Carolla Show." All manage to be grating and sort of creepy at such a high level, that they almost single-handedly ruin something that's otherwise really cool.
Godzooky is a close second, but Mr. Noodle is the most annoying children's TV sidekick of all time.
UPDATED! 2/19 1:28 p.m. to include Bill Irwin's portrayal of the original Mr. Noodle. For more information about the Noodle family tree, go here.
| February 19 2007 at 06:06 AM
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