Favorite Fictional Character --- Beaker

Do you ever like something, without really knowing why?  It could be a movie that you can't stop laughing at, but everyone around just wants you to shut up.  It could be a heinously ugly sweater you picked up from a thrift store, but for whatever reason you couldn't leave it behind.  Or maybe it's a really bad rock song from the 1970s, that brings a smile to your face, not matter how long it's been since you've heard it.  Don't get me wrong, I'm sure if you really stopped yourself, and truly thought about it, you would be able to figure where the fascination comes from.  Most of our likes are tied to memory in some way, whether we always make that conscious connection.  Maybe that sweater reminded you of a favorite grandparent, and the song brings up an image of your first crush. No matter what, we like something for a reason, sometimes we just have to stop and figure out why.

For those of you who have no idea of who this guy is, let me introduce you.  Beaker is the unfortunate lab assistant to Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, the resident scientist on The Muppet Show.  When I say unfortunate, I really mean that word in a more cataclysmic way.  I don't think he poor guy has not had something bad happen to him.  If an accident can happen in a lab, it's been done to him.  I think at one point in time, he was even eaten.  I don't know why he stayed around, year after year.  If I had been in his shoes, forced to participate in every wacky experiment Dr. Honeydew came up with, I would have run for the hills long ago. 

I've been contemplating doing a post on this guy for a while now, but have always put it off.  I've always been a huge fan of Beaker, but I could never truly figure out why, at least not enough to truly put down in words.  I know I've filled you guys in on a lot of aspects of my childhood, and I'm betting you don't think there were a lot of happy times, at least not judging by what I've been posting lately  I promise you, there were.  More often than not, I was a happy kid, a socially awkward one, but happy nonetheless.  And when I think about Beaker, it's those times of watching The Muppet Show with my mom and brother that I think about.  It's the memories of uncontrollable laughter, as poor Beaker is submitted to one mishap after another.  It's the auditory experience of hearing a character communicate in nothing but meeps, and still be able to make some sort of sense, at least to a kid  Beaker, and many character like him, remind me of the good points in my childhood, which only helps to put the bad in perspective.  So, while he may not have had a significant impact on my life, or moved me in a profound way, I do know why I like him.