The Funday PawPet Show "9/11 Special" (lost episode of web series; 2001)

Logo for the show.

Status: Lost

The Funday PawPet Show is one of the longest-running internet shows in existence, based in Kissimmee, Florida. Having started in 1999 and amounting to 945 episodes as of February 2024, the show has cemented itself in its large influence. It has been described as Monty Python meets The Muppets, with various puppet characters giving humorous banter.

History

On the night of September 11th attacks, the cast scrambled together and made an important broadcast to help reassure and comfort those who were struck by the tragedy. Many recall some very touching and heartwarming moments, and some viewers were surprised to be brought to tears by a show that is so based on silliness and humor.

Availability

For whatever reason, the episode was not made available for download afterward. Despite it getting some of the best reception from online communities than almost any other episode, the creators did not feel the need to preserve it.

It is possible that the episode is made unavailable because it involved irregular guests (the show already has trouble using licensed music/footage) and contained emotionally intimate exchanges with those people who would rather let such moments stay private. Video capture software was in its infancy in 2001, and what was available was extremely expensive. However, that doesn't mean that it's not impossible for a viewer to have captured it.

The full episode has not resurfaced since its broadcasting, and it is suspected that not even the creators have it in their possession anymore, their website specifying it was not recorded. Many fans are left saddened, as this is often considered one of the best moments of the show.

On April 1st, 2017, User "Internet Archive - Stream Division" on YouTube uploaded what was thought to be eight minutes of footage of the special, but it later turned out that the video was actually made the weekend after 9/11 and it was not the actual special, since the video shown below was a free downloadable unlike the "9/11 special", which was never made a downloadable (also, the video was uploaded on April Fool's Day).