The Land of Tinkerdee The Land of Tinkerdee was a pilot for a daily children ' s television program produced by Muppets , Inc . in 1964 . Jim Henson ' s company had produced a previous pilot in 1962 - - " Tales of the Tinkerdee " , a fast - paced puppet show with many sets and a complicated narrative . That show wasn ' t picked up , and the 1964 version was a much simpler and more conventional puppet show . Ten plot outlines were written , and Jerry Juhl wrote several full scripts . The pilot was taped on August 9 , 1964 . " The Land of Tinkerdee " took place on a single set , with minimal props . The show paired a human actor , Darryl Ferreira , with a Muppet dog , Rufus ( The human and dog pairing may have been inspired by Rowlf the Dog ' s successful run on " The Jimmy Dean Show " , which began in 1963 ) . King Goshposh appeared in this pilot , still the reigning monarch of Tinkerdee . Princess Gwendolinda was mentioned , but doesn ' t appear . Though " The Land of Tinkerdee " wasn ' t picked up as a series , King Goshposh and Rufus later appeared in the 1970 special " Hey Cinderella ! " The complete pilot is housed in the UCLA Film and Television Archive , and can be viewed at the Museum of Television and Radio . Summary . The show opens with the title : " Muppets , Inc . presents The Land of Tinkerdee , featuring Darryl and Rufus " . The scene is a cluttered workroom in Tinkerdee . Darryl is the gatekeeper of Tinkerdee , and Rufus is his watchdog and friend . At the start of the show , Darryl has been told that King Goshposh wants him to repair a watch . Rufus wants to help , so Darryl tells him to go to the store and get some oil . Rufus complains : " What a dirty deal ! He always gets to do the good jobs . " Darryl promises that he won ' t start repairing the watch until Rufus comes back . Rufus prepares to leave , but forgets what he ' s supposed to bring back : " A tube of glue ? A box of nails ? A . . . a bottle of , uh . . . no . . . " Darryl shakes his head . " A pound and a half of . . . a quart of . . . a yard and a third of . . . " " I ' ll tell you once more , " Darryl says . " " Oil . " " Rufus leaves to get the oil . While Rufus is gone , Darryl gets a magnifying glass . King Goshposh enters , smoking a cigar and holding a small chest . Goshposh is shy and retiring as always : " Your handsome , noble , lovable king - - namely me - - is here to visit you . " Goshposh is very protective of the watch - - at first , he doesn ' t even want Darryl to touch the box , until Darryl explains that he can ' t fix the watch without touching it . Darryl opens the box , and he ' s amazed : " Now , that is really a watch ! " Goshposh struts : " That ' s diamond studded , jewel encrusted , and solid gold . The eye - - yea , verily , the eye - - is truly blinded by its stunning beauty . " " What ' s wrong with it ? " Darryl asks . " It runs slow , " says Goshposh . Darryl peers at the watch through his magnifying glass . He moves the hands to 3 : 00 , and a little mechanical marching band appears and plays the Tinkerdee national anthem . " Stand up straight , boy , " says Goshposh . " I wrote that . " A little door under the 9 opens , and a miniature cannon comes out to mark the hour . It blasts three little puffs of smoke - - three o ' clock ! " Wow , that is some watch ! " Darryl says , as the air clears . Goshposh brags , " My Granddaddy Whittiner paid 5 , 000 silver fazots for that . That ' s a lotta fazots ! " Darryl says that it ' ll take an hour to fix the watch . " Your lovable king will now depart , " Goshposh announces . When Rufus returns , Darryl shows him the king ' s watch . Rufus is startled to see the cannon firing , but he ' s taken with the beautiful object . He asks if he can hold the watch - - " just for a few minutes , and pretend that it ' s mine ? " He promises to be careful , so Darryl allows him to hold it . Rufus is excited to hold the watch , and talks about the little mechanical men who come out and shoot the cannon , and the cannon goes BLAM ! In his excitement , Rufus drops the watch , which falls to the floor with a crunch . Darryl and Rufus look down at the busted watch . " I think I ' m gonna take a walk , " Rufus says . " I ' m gonna take a " long " walk . I ' m gonna take a long , " long " walk . " " Where are you going ? " Darryl asks . " Australia , " Rufus says . Darryl calms the dog down , and examines the watch . He turns the hands to 3 : 00 again , and they ' re delighted to see the mechanical band emerge . " Look at that ! " Rufus cries . " They built good watches back in those days ! I bet it ' s shockproof ! " But as the Tinkerdee national anthem plays , it slows down . . . and then sputters . . . and a spring pops out . " I broke the king ' s watch ! " Rufus laments . " I ' m going to be banished from the kingdom for that ! " Rufus doesn ' t have 5 , 000 fazots to replace it : " It would take 95 years to earn that ! " Darryl tries to calm the hysterical pooch , and reminds him that he ' s a watchdog . " Sure ! I ' m a watchdog ! " Rufus says . " I could fix that watch ! " Darryl says , " You know , things like this always happen in Tinkerdee - - but we always find a solution ! We ' ll repair that watch . " Rufus picks up an awl and a hammer , and tries to bang the watch into shape . Darryl tells Rufus to slow down as the credits roll .