The Laziest Person in Lazy Town

Here is one of the great paradoxes of children’s television:  Sporticus is the laziest person in Lazy Town.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Lazy Town, it’s a weird show set in a town populated by puppets.  No one seems to have a clear reason for doing what they are doing, so the whole thing is a bit mysterious, but here’s the basic set-up.  Stephanie (not a puppet) moves in with her uncle (a puppet) and discovers that the town is full of kids (all puppets) who don’t know how to play outside.  She sets about creating a better play culture.

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There is a villain, Robbie Rotten (not a puppet, but wearing make-up that makes him look a bit puppet-like), who doesn’t like hearing kids play (no one knows why) and keeps coming up with ridiculous schemes to get them to avoid kicking a football around together.  There’s also a hero, Sporticus (not a puppet, and also known as 10 but no one knows why), who lives in an airship and comes down into the town to help the kids thwart Robbie Rotten’s plans and jump around and dance.

Sporticus is supposed to be the embodiment of physical activity, while Robbie Rotten is the embodiment of laziness.  Sporticus is constantly jumping around and playing with sporting equipment.  Heck, the man can’t even walk anywhere – he has to backflip.  Meanwhile, Robbie Rotten sits in a comfy chair and scowls at things that interrupt his nap.

However, when you come to the crunch, Robbie Rotten is actually the most industrious and active person in Lazy Town, while Sporticus is uber lazy.

Okay, sure, Sporticus opens the door with a high-kick and commutes from his airship to town by pedalling some sort of flying bike, but he doesn’t actually *do* anything.  Most of his day-to-day needs are handled by his ship, and he just presses a button or barks a command.  If he wants an apple, he doesn’t even bother walking anywhere to get it.  He just shouts “apple!” and holds his hand out expectantly.

Meanwhile, Robbie Rotten actually puts in a lot of hard work to accomplish what he wants.  If he wants a trap in the ground, he picks up a shovel and digs it himself.  If he thinks building a wall will stop those pesky kids from playing, he actually builds a wall – all by himself, moving the large blocks into place with his own hands and using a trowel to put it together.  And it’s a good wall, too.  He could just slap up some bricks, but instead he builds a proper stone wall with a gatehouse and parapets.  And he accomplishes this overnight!

Sporticus may jump on the buttons in his air-ship rather than just pushing them with his hand like a normal person, but that doesn’t discount the fact that he is pressing a button instead of walking to the kitchen and making his own breakfast.  As for Robbie – he actually gets involved and does stuff.

For my money, Robbie Rotten is the better role model if you are trying to convince people to be active, rather than lazy.