I was watching MM of season 3 and it brought back some great memories of Flower, Mozart, Kinkajou, Carlos and Hanibal, but am a little confused. There has been big talk about the Young Ones playing the Zappa gang during battles of the episodes, but they showed Frank and Lola as their dominants. Were those the real Frank and Lola that they were showing? or were they the dominant members of the Young Ones but were mentioned as Frank and Lola? If they were the Young Ones dominants, then who was the DM and DF of the Young Ones?

Hi Phil, No wonder you are confused! I think we all find it hard to keep MM vs. KMP names straight.

MM showed the real dominants of Zappa -- Lola, Frank, Punk and Houdini. I think MM producers chose to focus on them to show us an example of one way dominants can be overthrown. In this case, weakened snakebit DF Lola was ousted by her aggressive sister Punk, and Lola's DM Frank was then ousted by young Houdini. However, the Zappa mob is too far away from the Whiskers to have many interactions, so MM used the closer Young Ones to portray the whole "Zappa" mob. MM combined closeup footage of the Zappa dominants with group scenes of the Young Ones. Note: Axel Young Ones (not Zappa) was adopted by the Whiskers. I hope this helps!

Something to consider: Usually this forum is reserved for non-KMP discussions. Some MM fans want to believe the MM storylines and do NOT want to know behind-the-scenes reality. I have seen several get upset and say they are afraid to read this forum. It's less of a problem now in the off season, but soon more people will return.

A suggestion: We can avoid this problem by posting KMP-related threads in the Spoiler forum. JMHO, trying to be considerate of everyone. Have a great week, burrow mates!

quote:

I was watching MM of season 3 and it brought back some great memories of Flower, Mozart, Kinkajou, Carlos and Hanibal, but am a little confused. There has been big talk about the Young Ones playing the Zappa gang during battles of the episodes, but they showed Frank and Lola as their dominants. Were those the real Frank and Lola that they were showing? or were they the dominant members of the Young Ones but were mentioned as Frank and Lola? If they were the Young Ones dominants, then who was the DM and DF of the Young Ones?

There never was a real "Frank". He was played by a number of meerkats.
I think that in most episodes "Lola" and "Punk" were played by Asterisk, but I know for a fact that episode 6 (and possibly 11) were the real Zappa, although I'm not sure about the DM fight. In that case, though, it really was Lola and Punk. I have a feeling that it really was Lola in episode 11 as well.

Hi circle, I'm a bit confused by your first paragraph. Do you mean that the old Zappa DM (who definitely DID exist) was not really named Frank by KMP? If so, I agree that is true. MM also frequently uses footage of other meerkats as "stand-ins" for the main characters in a storyline.

I remember how shocked I felt when I first learned about these changes by MM, and I totally understand why some people do not want to know.

Before the stunning blow of Flower's death, I had avoided spoilers. I didn't want to be blind-sided like that again, so I cautiously started reading the Spoiler forum. There I found a whole new world of details about the real KMP meerkats, as opposed to the MM storylines. Big difference. IMO the truth is fascinating, but it can also be brutal.

If anyone here wants to know the truth behind the MM storylines, the Spoiler forum is the place to be. WARNING: You may find some of what you learn upsetting, so try to prepare yourself.

FYI: You can use the "Find" button on the Spoiler forum to read more details about Frank, Lola, Punk and any other topic you're interested in. I hope this helps. Best Wishes to all burrow mates!

You guys are saying that there was no 1 Frank, instead he was played by multiple meerkats?

Hi again Phil, I just looked this up: According to Pronker in a thread on the Spoiler forum, in one scene Frank was played by a different meerkat. See details here:

http://community.discovery.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/23819...261946759#9261946759

Oh my gosh, she was replying to your question about Frank! LOL Sorry this is sooooo complicated -- maybe more than it's worth? Take care

Friends...

I'd be happy to accommodate such a request - to move what you consider "spoiler" KMP info to the spoiler forum.

However, I'm unable to discern what is and what is not KMP spoiler content.

If you would kindly "report this post" that you feel fits the criteria of "KMP spoiler"... I'll be happy to move as appropriate.

Thanks.

Mod Kelly,& all

This thread probably would be better on the spolier site, but people who are members of the FKMP site have to be careful about posting information they get from their friend's package. They can only post information they get on FKMP.I could answer these questions about Frank Zappa, but I can't.I'm sorry folks.

Eruth

This is the spoiler site.

It was on the main board. Mod Kelly moved it.

Eruth

Wait a minute! You mean there weas never, never a real "Frank?" Where did the name the Zappa come from. He was never born - totally made up? I liked him so much - and adored Lola.

There was a meerkat that portrayed Frank. It was Glufs Zappa, an older DM of Zappa. Once on MM the role of Frank was portrayed by Glufs' son, Puck, in a supposed battle for dominance with "Houdini", that was mainly portrayed by Dougal Zappa.

Hey Bischonmom,

Try to think of it in this way...Frank is every bit as "real" as was John Wayne, Cary Grant or Bob Hope. None are their given names, but they are the names that MOST of us know them as. That's showbiz!

** I also adore dear Lola. I keep hoping that she will show up somewhere on the "Manor".

There's a spoiler site? I thought that this was the place to put that stuff. Will someone help me out a bit here? I am sorry but I am so lost!

Very well put, Jacques. Never fear, Bischonmom! The Zappa group is real, and so are old and new dominants Lola, Frank/Glufs, Punk and Houdini/Dougal. The MM storyline is essentially true -- poor snakebit DF Lola was deposed by her sister Punk, Lola's mate DM Frank/Glufs left the Zappa, and Houdini/Dougal became the new DM.

Sometimes we get so caught up in the details of which meerkat appeared in which scene that we lose sight of the story as a whole.

So please feel free to continue your affection for Frank and Lola, and sign me up for the "I adore Lola" fan club. Best Wishes to my dear burrow mates!

Hi jkat, You are right -- this is the spoiler forum for Meerkat Manor. Don't worry, there is no other spoiler site. You're not missing a thing.

Some of the posts above are confusing because this topic was originally posted in a different MM forum, and moderator mod_kelly moved it to the spoiler forum due to its "behind the scenes" content.

Hope you feel better now.

The legacy of "Frank" was played by a father and son Meerkat? Is that why no one, including the research team, knows what happened to Frank(s)?

Hi Phil, Let's try this again. Part of the answer about MM's Frank was given in a contest to win a FKMP membership last Nov-Dec. See this web page:

http://friends.kalahari-meerkats.com/index.php?id=162

Scroll down to the Schnitzeljagd (Scavenger hunt) contest section, and then to the 5th Question and answer:

"I played the dom-M, Houdini of the Zappa on Meerkat Manor? What is my real name and where can my photograph be found on the Friends site.

Answer: Dougal Zappa
“Dougal” Zappa (VZZM025) was the name of the male meerkat who played the character of the dominant male of the Zappa group in the 3rd season of Meerkat Manor, displacing the long-term dominant male Frank (a.k.a. Glufs VYM102). Dougal remained dominant until his death in early 2007."

So MM's Frank, whose KMP name was Glufs Young Ones-Zappa, was a long-term DM of the Zappa and a true (unrelated) mate of DF Lola. After Lola was deposed by Punk, Frank/Glufs left the Zappa and joined another group (see details below.) MM's Houdini (KMP name Dougal Zappa) then became natal DM of Zappa. Natal means Houdini/Dougal was born in the Zappa family, therefore he was too closely related to DF Punk be a true mate. Punk mates with rovers.

In Pronker's post of 03-08-08 10:43 AM (see link in my post above), she said:

"Frank generally was played by Glufs Young Ones, the then current Dom-M of Zappa. He dispersed once he was related to all the natal females in the group.

But in one scene on MM the dance of the dominants it was Puck playing Frank fighting with Houdini (Dougal) or should I say tippy toeing around his older brother.

Puck left and found the new group his father Glufs (Frank) was in with some Elveera and wild meerkats. This group was not followed by the researchers, so we do not know what became of them."

So in one scene, MM used footage of Houdini/Dougal fighting with Puck Zappa (a stand-in for Frank/Glufs) to portray a storyline where old DM Frank/Glufs was chased away from the Zappas by the new DM. In reality, the change of DMs did not happen with a dramatic chase scene.

Pronker says Frank/Glufs joined a new unnamed group (Woo Hoo!) after leaving the Zappa. Since his new group was not followed by KMP (due to lack of resources), he would have been marked as LAST SEEN in the KMP database soon afterward. This is very common -- meerkats become LSEEN for all sorts of reasons, and Glufs was luckier than most to successfully join a new group.

I hope Glufs is alive and well out there in the great Kalahari...

Trivia Question: Why did MM producers in the U.S. choose to rename Glufs as Frank? (Hint: Think back, baby boomers)

ok, that is easy (i think). frank zappa was a rocknroll artist of the 60s and maybe 70s with somewhat of a cult following. it would make sense that the dominant male of the zappa would be called frank.

Frank Zappa... That was a clever one.

Congrats, NazarethDodo, you win the prize! Help yourself to an all-you-can-eat scorpion buffet.

Frank Zappa's most famous band was the Mothers of Invention:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Zappa

I'm surprised some KMP volunteer hasn't named a Zappa litter after Frank's children: Moon Unit, Dweezil, Ahmet Emuukha Rodan and Diva Thin Muffin Pigeen.

Yikes!

Thanks for playing.

[quote]Puck left and found the new group his father Glufs (Frank) was in with[/quote]
So.......Dad Glufs (a/k/a Frank) was the one who was chased off after Punk beat up on poor Lola - which means that Glufs (a/k/a Frank) didn't die alone in the desert, but did find a home with a group. Yes???????

Great! So Puck left and joined the new group his father had previously joined?

It seems that both Frank (Glufs), and Puck joined a wild group.

Well, that's a relief, really. I will never forget that scene where our Lola was beat up and had to be submissive and then our Frank was run off. It was so heartbreaking to see him running away in the desert. I really worried about him.

There's probably a good chance that Lola met up with that wild group and recognized Frank(Gulf) and went along with him.