Neighborhood of Make-Believe

The Neighborhood of Make-Believe is the fictional kingdom inhabited by the hand puppet characters on the children's television program Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, produced from 1968 to 2001. The show's principal puppeteer is Fred Rogers himself, who also developed many of the puppet characters in the 1950s for Josie Carey's program, The Children's Corner.

Bio

The adventures of the citizens of the Neighborhood of Make-Believe appear in a short segment once in the middle of almost every episode. Mr. Rogers deliberately makes clear the distinction between the "real world" and the Neighborhood of Make-Believe by transitioning in and out of the Neighborhood segment via a distinctive red and yellow model electric trolley that enters and exits through small tunnels in the wall (or occasionally by setting up small tabletop models of the various Neighborhood of Make Believe buildings), and by discussing what had happened with his audience after the end of each segment. The same storyline continues for a week or more (a la a soap opera), though Rogers is always sure to recap the plot for children.

Characters

The characters in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe are either played by actors or hand puppets.

Regular puppets

Most of the main puppet characters were played by Fred Rogers. The regular puppet characters include:

• King Friday XIII (Friday the 13th) (voiced by Fred Rogers) - The imperious monarch of the neighborhood. He is relatively egocentric, irrational, resistant to change, and temperamental, although open-minded enough to listen when told he is wrong. He has a fondness for giving long-winded speeches and using big words. Other occasional issues are that he has budget problems (similar to real-world governments): while his civil engineers were concerned of a water shortage in the kingdom, King Friday was talking about building a swimming pool. Despite these qualities, he's basically a good regent, capable of summarizing the lesson he has learned after something has gone wrong. King Friday's trademark greeting: "(Name of visitor), I presume?", to which the visitor responds, "Correct as usual/always, Your Majesty/King Friday." Lady Aberlin, however, would say "Uncle Friday" instead, as she is his niece. King Friday has two pets, wooden birds on sticks in fact, that he dotes on, and often makes others do the same. They are named Troglodytes aedon and Mimus polyglottos (the scientific names, in genus and species, of the house wren and the mockingbird, respectively). Mimus appeared first in Episode #20 from 1968 and again in Show #63. Troglodytes aedon was introduced in Show #1285 from 1973. After Show #1307, also in 1973, Mimus Polyglotts was not seen again until Episode #1591 in May 1988. King Friday also uses big words for certain songs like "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and "Row, Row, Row Your Boat", which he refers to as "Royal versions". He performed Betty and James' wedding ceremony, he plays the bass violin occasionally, his favorite color is purple, and he was the second puppet to appear on Children's Corner. His name is a pun on Friday the 13th. According to Betty Aberlin, His Majesty passes away prior to February 2008^[1] (presumably five years earlier with Fred Rogers).
• Queen Sara Saturday (voiced by Fred Rogers) - She is King Friday's wife. She was first introduced as a commoner from Westwood in the seventh week (episode 32) of the series. King Friday fell in love with her and they were married in the second season (episode 1015), upon which she became the Queen. In the third season (episode 1117) they had a son, Prince Tuesday. Queen Sara is more rational and level-headed than her husband. One of her main duties as Queen is overseeing a group called Food for the World. Was the rose sprinkler for Betty and James' wedding. She was named after Fred's wife, (Sarah) Joanne Rogers.
• Prince Tuesday [H.M. King Tuesday I after the events of the series]^[2] (voiced by Fred Michael (1979–1980), Charles Altman (1981–1986), briefly Carole Switala, Lenny Meledandri (1987–2001) - The young son of King Friday and Queen Sara. Born in the third season (episode 1117) and named for the day of the week when he was born, Prince Tuesday is one of only two characters to age during the course of the series (he starts as a baby, then a toddler; from 1979 onward, he is elementary school age (grows during week 1461-1465). He is curious and enthusiastic. Much like his father, Tuesday occasionally exhibits stubbornness, particularly when he believes that his father is wrong about something. He was surprised to learn that his Grandfather Thursday (King Friday's father) cried once when he had to leave for work. As a boy, Prince Tuesday attends public school with the commoners of the Neighborhood of Make-Believe and the City of Westwood, their school being located in the latter municipality. Despite the monarchy's tradition of taking days of the week as names, no king had reigned under the regnal name of Tuesday. Following the events of the series, Tuesday ascends to the throne upon his father's death, as King Tuesday I.^[3] His elder cousin, Lady Aberlin, describes him as "a young, wise king" who relaxes the dress-code at court.^[4]
• X the Owl (voiced by Fred Rogers) - An owl that lives in an old oak tree. He is eager and cheerful and has a strong desire to learn new things. Many of X's stories involve assignments from the Owl Correspondence School, and he idolizes Benjamin Franklin. He briefly works as a salesman for Cornflake S. Pecially, but causes problems by offering to sell things that the company doesn't make. This is one example of X's tendencies to be flaky and dense, but like King Friday, he is quick to apologize when told he is wrong. He also has trouble making decisions. One of his redeeming qualities, however, is his friendliness. In one week of episodes, he is the first one to figure out that something is bothering his neighbor. This character's voice (more than any other heard, except perhaps Donkey Hodie's) is similar to Fred Rogers's own voice, although X speaks in a Southern drawl and often uses his catch-phrase of nifty-galifty if excited. His favorite color is blue and he can not whistle. He was the third original Children's Corner puppet.
• Henrietta Pussycat (voiced by Fred Rogers) - A cat who is X's neighbor and lives in a small yellow and orange school house (questioned whether it is also supposed to be a hen house, due to her nickname Hen) supported by a strong limb on the tree. Early episodes established her as the governess of several (possibly 9, but the number is unverified) nice mice, thus the schoolhouse. In later years the mice are not mentioned. She has a habit of randomly inserting "meow" into her words and sentences, although her vocabulary expanded considerably during the series. When she was first introduced, she could only say "beautiful," "telephone," and "Mister Rogers" in addition to "meow" and she was almost completely black. Her shade has lightened considerably during the series, making her somewhat grey-brown. She is anxious, preoccupied with beauty and prone to jealousy. She's also extremely fond of children. Was the flower girl at Betty and James' wedding. She is the fourth original Children's Corner puppet.
• Lady Elaine Fairchilde (voiced by Fred Rogers) - The outspoken, cranky schemer who took over the Museum-Go-Round after the Froggs moved; often known to say "Okay, toots." She is generally the antagonist when a storyline calls for one, but her neighbors are quick to forgive her because they understand her so well. One of her prized possessions is her Boomerang-Toomerang-Zoomerang, with which she can literally turn the neighborhood and the people in it upside-down; but usually, when she is caught, she uses the same, to put things back to normal. It is discerned during the series that she has low self-esteem and is extremely self-conscious, and because of this, her neighbors are extremely patient with her until she finally learns her lesson. Despite her own faults, she consistently shows King Friday when he is wrong about something and frequently goes to extremes (such as physically moving her museum or modifying a comet) to do so. She has a strong affection for Roosters, all things astronomical, and like Fred Rogers, is a vegetarian. In one series of episodes, she flew to outer space and encountered Planet Purple, where everybody was exactly the same. Was one of Betty's brides-maids, along with Lady Aberlin, at Betty and James' wedding. Her favorite color is red. Plays the accordion occasionally. She is also an unofficial "auntie" to Prince Tuesday. She first appeared in episode 5 of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, and is named after Fred's adopted sister.
• Daniel Stripèd Tiger (voiced by Fred Rogers) - The first puppet ever to appear on Children's Corner and Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. Daniel is a shy, tame tiger who lives in a (non-functioning) grandmother clock with no hands (because in make-believe it is what ever time you imagine.) Despite his shyness, Daniel exhibits phenomenal wisdom and intelligence when he does speak (he discerns the root of Lady Elaine's bad behavior on several occasions). He is the only child among the puppets whose parents are never seen, nor spoken of. He has a close friendship with Lady Aberlin, with whom she often nuzzles his nose and says "Ugga Mugga". His favorite toy is a small dumptruck, and he wears a watch on one arm because "when you live in a clock you really should know what time it is". Daniel mentions that he doesn't have grandparents, but would like some, and thus gets some pretend ones in the opera A Granddad for Daniel. Was the ring bearer for Betty and James' wedding. He was named after Dorthy Daniel, who gave Fred the original puppet. In July, 2011, PBS announced that Daniel's son (also named Daniel) would be the star of his own show, Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood.
• Cornflake "Corny" S. Pecially (voiced by Fred Rogers) - An anthropomorphic beaver-like character, he is the ingenious, quirky proprietor of a factory specializing in rocking chairs. His original factory burned down in a story during the first season, but his neighbors pitched in to help him build a new one. Corny has also been known to produce dolls, pretzels, model trolleys, and other goods, but stopped when he became overwhelmed and decided only to produce what he was able to distribute easily. He also apparently runs something of a hardware store out of the factory (X goes there to buy shovels and buckets in one episode). He debuted on MisteRogers, the precursor of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. S. Pecially is a pun on "especially."
• Grandpere Tiger (voiced by Fred Rogers) - A French tiger and bon-vivant who lives west of the castle in the Eiffel Tower. He has a very kind heart and often donates the use of the tower to his neighbors whenever they ask. Of all the regular puppets on the show, Grandpere appeared the least frequently. He is the last of the five puppets to debut on Children's Corner. His name is French for Grandfather.

Other puppets

There are several other puppets; they include:

• The Platypus Family - Introduced in the second season, are duck-billed platypuses who live in a platypus mound. The family consists of Dr. Bill Platypus, who speaks with a Scottish accent, his wife Elsie Jean Platypus and their daughter Ornithorhynchus Anatinus (the Latin scientific name for a platypus), or Ana Platypus, as she is commonly known; along with Prince Tuesday, she is one of only two puppet characters to age during the series. Ana has four grandparents - Grandma Nell and Grandpa Tom (from Elsie Jean's side) and Nana and Dada Platypus (from Dr. Bill's side). Dr. Bill works at the Eiffel Tower where Granpere lives and plays the bagpipes. Usually says "bill" instead of "very".
• Harriet Elizabeth Cow - The school teacher and Donkey Hodie's co-worker in Someplace Else. Played the organ for Betty and James' wedding.
• Edgar Cooke - The castle chef who sings everything he says (since King Friday wanted a "singing chef" on his staff).
• H.J. Elephant III - One of Prince Tuesday's buddies. His relationship to the other characters is a bit inconsistent. In many episodes he interacts normally with the other characters in Make-Believe, but on one occasion, Chuck Aber demonstrated to the other characters that H.J. was only a puppet that he controlled. He has trouble reading, but has a remarkable understanding of sign language (as demonstrated in a series of 1996 episodes).
• Betty Okonak Templeton-Jones - The chatterbox (and longtime friend of Lady Elaine) who occasionally comes to visit from Southwood. She was a widow until marrying James Michael Jones. Speaks in a Southern accent.
• James Michael Jones - Betty Okonak Templeton-Jones's second husband (whom he had met before). Originally a resident of Glassland, where he did "Exactly Like Me" portraits (which are really mirrors). Once called the Neighborhood Trolley "Sir Trolley" for it looked like nobility to him. Speaks with a slight English accent.
• Carrie Dell Okonak Templeton-Jones - Known as "Carrie Dell" for short, she is the adopted daughter of James Michael Jones and Betty Okonak Templeton-Jones.
• Old Goat - A resident of Northwood. He debuted in the "A Granddad for Daniel" opera and later appeared to harvest the Neighborhood's vegetables when there weren't any in Northwood. He later returned with New Goat to help the Neighborhood of Make-Believe when they were in a garbage crisis. Old Goat only speaks in typical goat sounds.
• New Goat - A resident of Northwood. She often translates for Old Goat.
• Hilda Dingleborder - A worker at Cornflake S. Pecially's Factory. She was interested in setting up a day care center there. She has a baby daughter, Daphne Dingleborder, whom Lady Aberlin and Princess Zelda looked after one time.

Rare puppets

Some characters appeared more frequently in the original series than the modern series. The rare puppets include:

• Arthur - Arthur was a guest visiting Prince Tuesday in the episode "Go Stop Go". He was able to visit with King Friday, X and Henrietta, Lady Elaine (because she squirted her hose at him), and Daniel Tiger. Voiced by Michael Yarmush. Coincidentally, Mr. Rogers appeared as a guest star two years earlier in the Arthur second season episode "Arthur Meets Mister Rogers"
• Donkey Hodie (a pun on Don Quixote) - A soporific but fun donkey who lives in Someplace Else with Harriet Elizabeth Cow and operates a Washer Dryer Sorter Dumper there. Originally came to the Neighborhood of Make Believe to build a windmill, but King Friday didn't like having it so close to the castle; Donkey relocated to Someplace Else. While Donkey made several appearances in the original series, he only made very few appearances in the modern series.
• Collette Tiger - Granpere's granddaughter who arrived on the "Express de Grandparents". Her father is Granpere's son. Her hobby is taking pictures of jungle animals.
• Express de Grandparents - A fancy trolley who communicates through bells ("speaks" in French). It has a dome and a propeller on top of its roof, enabling it to fly. King Friday had to get Officer Clemons to lift it so that the Trolley could pass. It delivered a message to Granpere that his granddaughter Collette was coming to visit. Its name is French for "Grandparents' Express".
• The Frogg Family - Dr. and Mrs. Frogg and their son, Tadpole, were the original curators of the Museum-Go-Round. They moved to Westwood during the first color week of the series and were only seen very infrequently after that, especially Dr. Frogg and Tadpole, who appeared exclusively in the original series (1968–1976).
• Ino A. Horse (voiced by Fred Rogers) - A puppet horse who appeared exclusively in the original series (1968–1976). When his string was pulled, Ino would say, "I know!"
• Princess Margaret H. Lizard - A lizard princess who visited the Neighborhood when her namesake Margaret Hamilton came to visit.
• Audrey Duck (voiced by Susan Linn) - A puppet white duck who likes to recite poems.
• Catalion (voiced by Susan Linn) - A puppet lion who is a friend of Audrey Duck.
• Mr. Skunk - A puppet skunk who is usually ashamed if he sprays his "skunk smell" on his friends by mistake.
• Daryll Butterfly - A marionette puppet butterfly who visited the Neighborhood along with his friend Nancy.
• Nancy Caterpillar - A puppet caterpillar who wished to be a butterfly, and by the end of the week, she got her wish.
• Yo-Yo La Bell - An small, green, pointy eared creature "from the stars." He first appears (during "Nighttime" week) riding on what looks exactly like the twisty toy Handyman Negri and Mrs. Pauliffycate are playing with (at night in the castle garden). After his ride lands on the museum, Lady Elaine and King Friday try to communicate with him but are unable to because he talks only in "Mee's" and "Vee's." Eventually, Daniel talks with him and learns that his name is Yo-yo La Bell (after Yo-yo Ma). Corny gives him a rocket for his trip back to the stars and Lady Elaine films him flying away on his strange ride.

Live characters

The Neighborhood also features many characters played by actors wearing costumes. These characters are much larger than the puppet characters, and sometimes help the puppet characters with tasks such as lifting or moving large objects, which the small puppet characters are unable to do. Some of these live characters include:

• Lady Aberlin (portrayed by Betty Aberlin) - King Friday's niece (in early episodes she refers to him as "great uncle", so perhaps great niece?) and frequently the "main" character of the segments. Frequently the only full-sized character in the neighborhood segments, she acts as something of a level-headed older sister to the puppets and audience alike,^[5] and an audience surrogate, providing exposition for the story's narrative. She can occasionally be seen dancing around the Neighborhood whenever she's by herself. Sometimes nicknamed Lady A, she was one of Betty's brides-maids along with Lady Elaine for Betty and James' wedding. She is daughter of King Friday's older sister Claire, and her cousins are Prince Tuesday, as well as the sons of Friday's younger brother Paul (these include Nicky, Qwentin, Paulie and Kevin). After Prince Tuesday, and the sons of King Friday's brother, Lady Aberlin is next-in-line for the throne of the kingdom.
• Charles R. Aber, Westwood Neighbor (portrayed by Chuck Aber) - The associate of Mayor Maggie of Westwood. During the course of the series he also holds the position of Clown T-shirt salesman/ delivery man (it is revealed he is divorced and doesn't get to see his kids much), and pilot. Despite living in Westwood, he is a frequent character in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe
• Mr. McFeely (portrayed by David Newell) - The delivery man. He sometimes delivers letters and packages to the citizens of the Neighborhood of Make-Believe. Generally if a package from OCS (Owl correspondence School) is being delivered to X the Owl, Mr. McFeely delivers it. He is one of the few characters, along with Chef Brockett and Trolley, to pass between Mr. Rogers' "real" world and the Neighborhood of Make-Believe.
• Handyman Negri (portrayed by Joe Negri) - The friendly, avuncular neighborhood fix-it man. Plays the guitar.
• Bob Dog (portrayed by Robert Trow) - A friendly playful canine. Bob Dog is enthusiastic about lots of things, a trait which sometimes gets him into trouble. Becomes an "adopted cousin" for Ana Platypus.
• Chef Brockett (portrayed by Don Brockett) - A baker who sometimes helps Edgar Cooke. He is one of the few characters, along with Mr. McFeely and Trolley, to exist in both Mr. Rogers' "real" world and the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, although many of the cast portrayed characters in both worlds.
• Officer Clemmons (portrayed by François Clemmons) - A police officer who sometimes helps out King Friday in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe.
• Robert Troll (portrayed by Robert Trow) - The gibberish-speaking whimsical troll who is the friend of the castle. Robert Troll has many hidden talents as he is an artist, and is good at understanding things in nature. He is sometimes called "Robertroll" Robert Troll is a pun on Robert Trow.
• Miss Paulifficate (portrayed by Audrey Roth) - The telephone operator at the Castle. Storylines often allude to her former career as a dancer and she often demonstrates her tapdancing abilities. She frequently takes the brunt of King Friday's bad moods.
• Mayor Maggie (portrayed by Maggie Stewart) - The Mayor of Westwood, a democracy bordering the Neighborhood of Make-Believe. She was introduced in the 1970s to show that women can run for mayor too; by contrast, the Neighborhood of Make-Believe is a monarchy, the throne of which is inherited by male-preference primogenture.^[6] She is fluent in sign language. Despite being a leader of similar stature to the King, she is frequently roped into doing his bidding.
• Hula Mouse - A Spanish-speaking mouse who can do anything with his hula hoop. Called H.M. for short, and has been heard to sing in English.
• Cousin Mary Owl (portrayed by Mary Rawson) - X the Owl's cousin, she is a green and yellow owl. She also attended OCS (Owl Correspondence School) and enjoys videography. X notes that Mary lives in a sycamore tree.
• Cousin Steven Owl - X the Owl's cousin.
• Keith the Carpenter (portrayed by Keith David) - A carpenter from Southwood and unofficial "uncle" to Carrie Dell. He was James' best-man at his wedding.
• Mr. Allmine (portrayed by Bert Lloyd) - A man who took Daniel's clock claiming he owned it (along with anything he wanted hence his name). He returned in several other episodes having reformed into a nicer character and running a museum of his collection.
• Princess Zelda (portrayed by Zelda Pulliam) -
• Ellen Patterson - Owner of Patterson Pools and Patterson Pipes.
• Beaver O'Day - Ellen's partner.
• Reardon (portrayed by John Reardon) - A real opera baritone, Reardon comes to the Neighborhood to help produce and perform in the 13 "mini-operas."

Fully costumed characters

Purple Panda and Mr. McFeely.

There are also a few characters who look like full-bodies puppets; the characters who were the fully costumed are:

• Purple Panda - A two-toned purple colored panda from Planet Purple with a robotic, monotone voice. He arrives in the neighborhood by teleporting, which is "The Purple Way to travel".
• Little Panda - A smaller panda, also from Planet Purple. His abilities appear similar to Purple Panda, and he speaks in a similar monotonous voice.
• Randy S. Caribou - A reindeer who wanted to hide from Chef Brockett after accidentally squashing a cake that looked like a soccer ball. Played by Chuck Aber during the Fun and Games week of episodes.
• Big Bird (performed by Carroll Spinney) - Big Bird was a guest on the show when he came to deliver his entry to the "Draw the Neighborhood" art contest. Henrietta became jealous of Big Bird, because she assumed he would be a better friend to X. In Big Bird's Sesame Street continuity, Mr. Rogers is a celebrity whom Big Bird was excited to meet.^[7]

Other characters

• Neighborhood Trolley - A small red electric trolley who enters and exits the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, taking the viewers of the show with it. Known simply as "Trolley", it communicates through the uses of its whistle and bell and occasionally moves backwards and forwards to get the other characters' attention or to show that he is getting impatient, and a musical melody is usually heard every time the Trolley moves through its tracks. It can go both fast and slow. Also, when lifted from the tracks, it can show pictures from the past, as revealed in the episodes "Then and Now".

Regions

The world of the Neighborhood of Make-Believe also features several other "regions." Along with King Friday's realm, there are also bordering territories, including:

• The city of Westwood - Located west of the Neighborhood half-a-day's walk from The Neighborhood of Make Believe. According to Mr. Aber, the region didn't have enough water supply for a swimming pool. The former Miss Sara Saturday was a resident of Westwood prior to her marriage to His Majesty Friday XIII and her concurrent enoblement as Queen Consort.
• The city of Southwood - South of the Neighborhood where Betty and James live.
• The area of Northwood - Northwood is considered goat country.
• Someplace Else - It's located east of the Neighborhood. It is where the schoolhouse (where Daniel, Ana Platypus, and Prince Tuesday attend school) is located.
• Land of Allmine - Mr. Allmine's home. It was later turned into a museum.

Characters also frequently interact with the inhabitants of Planet Purple, where everything and everyone are purple and exactly the same. Every girl on Planet Purple is named "Pauline," every boy, "Paul." Purple Panda, a resident of Planet Purple, can return there "the purple way" (just by thinking). Moreover, all of the planet's inhabitants speak in monotone English, often intoning, "WE ARE PEOPLE FROM THE PLANET PURPLE." Inhabitants of Planet Purple are forbidden to sit in rocking chairs, and if they do, they are not allowed to return home. In one visit to the Neighborhood, Purple Panda sits in one of Cornflake S. Pecially's rocking chairs. However, with the help of the rest of the Neighbors, it is agreed that sitting in rocking chairs is an acceptable activity for all people, and Purple Panda is allowed to return home. Planet Purple was discovered by Lady Elaine Fairchilde.

Layout of the Neighborhood of Make Believe (from west to east)

Here are the different locations in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe:

• Eiffel Tower - The only structure located to the west of the Castle; dark green and blue with red railing. There is also a red flashing light on top. Grandpere Tiger lives here. Its name and appearance is based on the real Eiffel Tower in Paris.
• King Friday's Castle - The "center point" of the Neighborhood. Blue colored structure with XIII in gold on its front. There is a service entrance to the right of the castle and a carpeted exterior staircase on the left. A decorative waterfall/fountain was installed in front of the left side of the castle in the 70s. King Friday donated the waterfall to the people of Westwood many years later.
• Trolley Tracks - There are two trolley routes in the Neighborhood. One is the usual route taken by the Neighborhood Trolley that runs in front of the castle. The trolley enters the Neighborhood from the West Tunnel (left of the castle) to the East Tunnel (next to the Castle's service entrance) and vice-versa when returning to Mister Rogers' house. The second route, occasionally taken in the 70s and 80s, ran past the other residences in the Neighborhood.
• Phone Cage - Located in front of the trolley tracks. It's a cage with can-and-string phone suspended in air. Whenever anyone needed to make a call (via Miss Paulifficate the Castle operator), he or she would stand under the cage, look up and signal for the cage to come down (called the "tele-can").
• Rocking Chair Factory - Located to the right of the East Trolley Tunnel and Castle service entrance. Pink colored structure with "Rockit" in scriptive lettering, blinking lights and revolving gear wheel. Cornflake S. Pecially works here.
• Magic Garden - It is located to the right of the Rocking Chair Factory behind the stone fence. It has a tree that contains tiny fruit, and when you bring it out of the garden, it becomes normal size.
• Great Oak Tree - Residence of Henrietta Pussycat (yellow schoolhouse-shaped structure with red double doors and yellow bell) and X The Owl (orange door with crossbeams shaped like an "X" on its inside).
• Museum-Go-Round - Revolving round, grey structure with multi-colored pillars and red bell in front. Lady Elaine Fairchild lives here. Like the castle, The Museum seems to have an endless number of rooms, frequently themed to letters (Dinosaurs are in the "D" room).
• Frog Pond - Stone pond resembling a fountain where Dr. and Mrs. Frogg and their son, Tadpole, lived before moving to Westwood. Was removed after the first week of color episodes and replaced by the Platypus Mound.
• Platypus Mound - Naturally created mound with six holes. The Platypus Family lives here.
• Clock - Orange structure with white flower pendulum, knocker, and yellow face without hands. Daniel Stripèd Tiger lives here.

Operas and Plays

During the course of the series, the people and puppets in The Neighborhood of Make-believe produce 13 mini-operas, with the assistance of Reardon, and a play, Josephine the Short-necked Giraffe (1989), with the help of Princess Zelda.

Operas

The 13 operas are titled, or at least known as:

• Babysitter Opera (1968)
• Campsite Opera (1968)
• Teddy Bear Whaling Ship Opera (1969)
• "Pineapples and Tomatoes" (1970)
• "Monkey's Uncle" (1971)
• "Snow People and Warm Pussycat" (1972)
• "Potato Bugs and Cows" (1973)
• "All in the Laundry" (1974)
• "Key to Otherland" (1975)
• "Windstorm in Bubbleland" (1980)
• "Spoon Mountain" (1982)
• "A Granddad for Daniel" (1984)
• "A Star for Kitty" (1986)

Animated series

Main article: Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood

In July 2011 during the annual Television Critics Association summer press tour, it was announced that Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, a new animated spinoff to Mister Rogers Neighborhood, is in production, for debut on PBS in Fall 2012. The series will feature Daniel Tiger (the son of "Daniel Stripèd Tiger")^[8] as a host of the series, which will feature characters of the Neighborhood of Make-Believe all grown older, with the children now having families of their own.^[9][10]

References

1. ^ | Betty Aberlin responds to Jonathan Coulton's "Lady Aberlin's Muumuu", 13 & 14 February 2008, in which she states "I will run and tell King Tuesday immediately!" and confirms the next day, "Cousin Tuesday has indeed inherited the Kingdom, and he is a young, wise King. He is Tuesday the First. The castle dress-code has been relaxed, although the old mumu still hangs in the M room closet."
2. ^ | Betty Aberlin responds to Jonathan Coulton's "Lady Aberlin's Muumuu", 13 & 14 February 2008, in which she states "I will run and tell King Tuesday immediately!" and confirms the next day, "Cousin Tuesday has indeed inherited the Kingdom, and he is a young, wise King. He is Tuesday the First. The castle dress-code has been relaxed, although the old mumu still hangs in the M room closet."
3. ^ Ibid.
4. ^ Ibid.
5. ^ |Betty Aberlin comments on Jonathan Coultron's song, "Lady Aberlin's Muumuu" and explains that Fred Rogers conceptualised her a "big sister"
6. ^ Prior to the events of the series, King Friday XIII succeeded to the throne upon the death of his father, King Thursday, despite being younger than his sister, Princess Claire (Lady Aberlin's mother).
7. ^ | Mr. Rogers' guest appearance on Sesame Street
8. ^ PBS Press Tour, Los Angeles, CA, July 31, 2011
9. ^ The Hollywood Reporter: "Fred Rogers' Legacy Lives on With a 'Mister Rogers' Neighborhood' Animated Spin Off From PBS", July 31, 2011.
10. ^ Variety: "PBS to air new series from Fred Rogers Co."

External links

• The Neighborhood Archive An archive of all things Mister Rogers (includes detailed episode descriptions)