Puppet History



Puppet History is a dark comedy edutainment game show created by Shane Madej. The show is hosted by The Professor (played by Madej), a puppet character who teaches Ryan Bergara and a variety of special guests about various events in history. Said guests periodically have to answer questions in order to earn "history points", as the guest with the highest score is crowned the "history master" at the end of the episode.

The first episode of Puppet History, originally titled "Life During The Black Death " aired on January 10, 2020, making it the first Watcher show ever released.

Episode Format
Every episode of Puppet History begins with the introduction of The Professor, Ryan Bergara, and a special guest.

Most of the episode consists of The Professor lecturing the contestants about a particular historical event or figure, with the guests providing commentary and asides. The lecture is periodically broken up by either sketches (usually featuring paper cutouts of historical figures) or questions that the contestants must answer. Every right answer is worth one "history point". After the last question has been answered, a new puppet performs a musical number. When the song concludes, The Professor announces the victor, who receives the Coveted Cup of the History Master (a small plastic trophy filled with jelly beans).

As of May 2021, Bergara has never won an episode, with a tie in Season 1 being the closest he gets to victory. Analysis of later episodes by fans have shown that Ryan should have won multiple times by now, but through a combination of technically unfair factors, the guest always ends up with more history points.

The Professor
Main article: The Professor

The Professor is the host and breakout star of Puppet History. While he is ultimately a mere avatar for Madej, he does appear to have some backstory of his own; for example, he has mentioned that he is an alumni of Puppet University (PU). He often emphatically insists that he has never met the historical figures being discussed, which has led some fans to speculate that he may be immortal, although new evidence in the Policarpa episode suggests he is a time traveler, gaining his abilities from a genie. He has a fraught history with this genie, parts of which are sometimes revealed to the audience via long tangents (inserted as an optional answer in certain multiple choice questions), accompanied by flashbacks. He has also mentioned having a strong appetite for jellybeans - which are also his poop - as well as spiders, mushrooms, dark chocolate, Starbucks, and dolphins. The Professor has also shown to have some aversion to cats.

The Professor's full name is unknown, despite frequent guesses from Ryan Bergara. However, he does respond to "Professor McNasty" as a nickname.

"Life During the Black Death Pandemic"

 * Airdate: January 10, 2020
 * Special Guest: Steven Lim
 * Featured Musical Guest (as introduced by the Professor): Death
 * History Master: Steven Lim (5 history points)

"Stealing the World's Most Expensive Necklace"

 * Airdate: February 2, 2020
 * Special Guest: Kate Peterman
 * Featured Musical Guest (as introduced by the Professor): The Infamous Diamond Necklace
 * History Master: Tie (2 history points)

"Surviving The Titanic: History's Luckiest Woman"

 * Airdate: April 10, 2020
 * Special Guest: Jenny Lorenzo
 * Featured Musical Guest (as introduced by the Professor): The Propeller Who Chopped Up all the Life Boats During the Sinking of the Britannic
 * History Master: Jenny Lorenzo

"The Dancing Plague"

 * Airdate: May 22, 2020
 * Special Guest: Jermaine Fowler
 * Featured Musical Guest (as introduced by the Professor): God
 * History Master: Jermaine Fowler

"How America's First Female Detective Saved Abe Lincoln"

 * Airdate: August 14, 2020
 * Special Guest: Kate Peterman
 * Featured Musical Guest (as introduced by the Professor): The Train That Was Supposed to Take Lincoln to Baltimore
 * History Master: Kate Peterman

"The Terrifying Eruption of Mt. Vesuvius"

 * Airdate: August 21, 2020
 * Special Guest: Matt Real
 * Featured Musical Guest (as introduced by the Professor): Mount Vesuvius
 * History Master: Matt Real

"Hatshepsut: The Forgotten Pharaoh"

 * Airdate: August 28, 2020
 * Special Guest: Ryann Graham
 * Featured Musical Guest (as introduced by the Professor): One of the Mummified Geese found in Hatshepsut's Tomb
 * History Master: Ryann Graham

"The Disastrous 1904 Olympic Marathon"

 * Airdate: September 4, 2020
 * Special Guest: Kristin Chirico
 * Featured Musical Guest (as introduced by the Professor): The Olympic Torch
 * History Master: Kristin Chirico

"Isaac Newton's Nemesis"

 * Airdate: September 11, 2020
 * Special Guest: Keith Habersberger
 * Featured Musical Guest (as introduced by the Professor): A Clipped Coin
 * History Master: Keith Habersberger

"The World's Greatest/Rudest Samurai"

 * Airdate: September 18, 2020
 * Special Guest: Garrick Bernard
 * Featured Musical Guest (as introduced by the Professor): One of the Oars on Musashi's Boat
 * History Master: Garrick Bernard

"Policarpa: The Revolutionary Teen Spy"

 * Airdate: September 25, 2020
 * Special Guest: Curly Velasquez
 * Featured Musical Guest (as introduced by the Professor): Policarpa's Sewing Spool
 * History Master: Curly Velasquez

"The Grisly Journey of the Donner Party"

 * Airdate: October 2, 2020
 * Special Guest: Joyce Louis-Jean
 * Featured Musical Guest (as introduced by the Professor): A Snowman from the Shores of Donner Lake
 * History Master: Joyce Louis-Jean

"The Beast of Gevaudan"

 * Airdate: March 12, 2021
 * Special Guest: Sara Rubin
 * Featured Musical Guest (as introduced by the Professor): The Beast of Gevaudan
 * History Master: Sara Rubin

"The War of the Golden Stool"

 * Airdate: March 26, 2021
 * Special Guest: Kate Peterman
 * Featured Musical Guest (as introduced by the Professor): The Golden Stool
 * History Master: Kate Peterman

"Ziryab: The World's First Rock Star"

 * Airdate: April 2, 2021
 * Special Guest: Zach Kornfeld
 * Featured Musical Guest (as introduced by the Professor): Ziryab's Oud
 * History Master: Zach Kornfeld

"The Affair of the Poisons"

 * Airdate: April 9, 2021
 * Special Guest: Garrick Bernard
 * Featured Musical Guest (as introduced by the Professor): Oh God, Two Murderous Bottles of Poison!
 * History Master: Garrick Bernard

"Ching Shih: The Pirate Queen"

 * Airdate: April 16, 2021
 * Special Guest: Joyce Louis-Jean
 * Featured Musical Guest (as introduced by the Professor): Ching Shih's Flower Boat
 * History Master: Joyce Louis-Jean

"The Great Molasses Flood"

 * Airdate: April 23, 2021
 * Special Guest: Garrett Watts
 * Featured Musical Guest (as introduced by the Professor): A Bostonian Horse Just Living His Best Life
 * History Master: Garrett Watts

"The Story of St. Nicholas"

 * Airdate: December 25, 2020
 * Special Guest: Kate Peterman
 * Featured Musical Guest (as introduced by the Professor): Santa Claus (The Gushing Bones of Saint Nicholas)
 * History Master: Kate Peterman

"The Great Emu War"

 * Airdate: August 27, 2021
 * Special Guest: Kate Peterman
 * Featured Musical Guest (as introduced by the Professor): A teeny tiny peace of wheat. (The wheat gets eaten partway through the song by an emu, who then starts singing its own song)
 * History Master: Kate Peterman

"Mansa Musa: The Richest Man Who Ever Lived"

 * Airdate: September 3, 2021
 * Special Guest: Ify Nwadiwe
 * Featured Musical Guest (as introduced by the Professor): A fraction of Musa's fortune
 * History Master: Ify Nwadiwe

"America vs. Smallpox: How Vaccines Saved The Nation"

 * Airdate: September 10, 2021
 * Special Guest: Jermaine Fowler
 * Featured Musical Guest (as introduced by the Professor): Scabs and a walnut and pus
 * History Master: Jermaine Fowler

"José Rizal: The Philippines’ Reluctant Revolutionary"

 * Airdate: September 17, 2021
 * Special Guest: Josh Weinstein
 * Featured Musical Guest (as introduced by the Professor): One of José Rizal's many many books.
 * History Master: Josh Weinstein

"The Bloody Revenge of Saint Olga of Kiev"

 * Airdate: September 24, 2021
 * Special Guest: Selorm Kploanyi
 * Featured Musical Guest (as introduced by the Professor): Two birch trees.
 * History Master: Selorm Kploanyi