We're Not in Kansas Anymore

Here's a graphic that should instantly reveal the answer to yesterday's puzzle.



That's right; the answer is "Oz".

Let's begin by quickly going through the pictures above. The first frame is from the Wizard of Oz, of course. This figure is not really a wizard...merely an effective stage prop to help the man behind the curtain maintain the dominance he exerts over his kingdom. The story doesn't bear close analysis; somehow a balloonist's navigational incompetence bestows upon him absolute monarchy over a land full of talking trees, flying monkeys, and delightfully limber dancing scarecrows. Heck, Gilligan's Island makes more sense. But there's some decent music, so I guess we can cut 'em some slack.

The second frame features the world's premier muppeteer, and the creative force behind Yoda and Miss Piggy -- Mr. Frank Oz. Coincidentally, the tales of Oz were written by a guy named L. Frank Baum, which may be what Ma and Pa Oz were thinking about when they named their little boy.

The wisecracking bear in the third frame (who happens to wear a hat similar to Yogi, as I mentioned yesterday) is named Fozzie Bear, and is also given life by the skills of Mr. Oz. In fact, he is named after his creator: F. Oz. Foz...Fozzie, get it?

I apologize for the disturbing image in the final frame. I know it looks like the guy from "My Name is Earl," but it's not. I doubt that anybody wanted to blow it up enough to clearly identify the actor with the ponytail...but if you did, you would recognize Mr. Sean Connery, costumed for his role in the film "Zardoz". I would apologize for the upcoming spoiler, but at this point I'm sure nobody cares: But "Zardoz" is PA (Post-Apocalyptic) sci-fi about a nation whose government is modeled after the teachings of the aforementioned wizard. Wi-ZARD of OZ. See?

I'm not recommending the movie, though. If you want vintage Connery, you should choose "Diamonds Are Forever", instead.

OK, so back to our original graphic:



The leftmost frame features former football player Brian Bosworth, aka "The Boz". The second frame is William Henry Cosby, aka "The Coz". Frame three is Jimmy Durante, aka "The Schnoz". So far, so good; I'm sure everybody recognized those guys right away.

The fellow on the far right is probably not instantly recognizable to most of us -- at least not his face. But I bet even today, most Americans would recognize his voice; that why I gave you the hint of him hanging out with Huckleberry Hound and Yogi Bear. Yes, that's right; he's Daws (Doz) Butler, the voice of virtually all of the classic Hanna Barbera characters.

So how does the sitcom "Friends" factor into this discussion?

No... it's not because David Schwimmer is pozitively terrible (though that's not a bad guess). It's because Matthew Perry (aka Chandler) appears in the movie "The Whole Nine Yards" as a character named Nicholas "Oz" Oseransky.

OK, that's it for today. As Fozzie Bear would say, "Wokka wokka!" Have a great day!