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The Three Musketeers was a novel written by human author Alexander Dumas in the 17th century. The story focuses on the Musketeers Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, and their friend D'Artagnan. Cardinal Richelieu (TOS episode: "The Naked Time") plays the role of the villain in this work.
In the mid 22nd century, a litter of Earth puppies was named after the characters in this book. United Earth Starfleet officer Jonathan Archer adopted the puppy named Porthos, who would remain with him for many years to come. (Star Trek: Enterprise)
Hikaru Sulu read the novel as a teenager and it had a big impact on him. Years later, in 2266, he acted the role of D'Artagnan while suffering from polywater intoxication, much to his embarrassment afterwards. (TOS - The Janus Gate novel: Present Tense)
This novel was one of many discussed by Sulu and Mandala Flynn aboard the USS Enterprise in 2270. (TOS novel: The Entropy Effect)
The Three Musketeers (Les Trois Mousquetaires) is a French novel written in 1844 by Alexandre Dumas, père. The novel, set in 1625, recounts the adventures of a young man named d'Artagnan after he leaves home to become a musketeer. D'Artagnan is not one of the musketeers of the title; those are his friends Athos, Porthos, and Aramis -- inseparable friends who live by the motto, "One for all, and all for one." The charactes featured in several other Dumas novels, including The Vicomte de Bragelonne, better known as The Man in the Iron Mask.
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The 1981 special The Muppets Go to the Movies featured a spoof of the many film versions of the story. Gonzo plays Athos, Scooter is Porthos, and Link Hogthrob is Gummo. The Musketeers are in the castle of the Cardinal d'Escargot, sworn to protect the Cardinal from a rumored kidnapping. A pig assassin sneaks into the castle, and the Musketeers engage in a spirited swordfight. The pig drops a lumpy pumpernickel crumpet from Humperdink's -- a favorite of that simple wimp, the Scarlet Pimpernel. The Pimpernel makes his escape, and Gummo swings on the chandelier through a plate glass window to catch him.
The Muppets' spoof is faithful to the swashbuckling spirit of the movies, but confuses the characters' motivations. In the novel, the Musketeers are sworn to protect the interests of the King, who engages in political struggles with the Cardinal Richelieu. Far from being at risk of being kidnapped, the Cardinal is the one who has others kidnapped -- notably D'Artagnan's mistress, Madame Bonacieux.
Also, The Scarlet Pimpernel is another story entirely, 1905 novel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy, is set in 1792 -- more than 150 years after the events of The Three Musketeers.
The Sesame Street Storytime Calendar 1982, illustrated by Michael J. Smollin, features the book for the month of April. The Musketeers portrayed are Cookie Monster, Grover, and Herry Monster as (in no particular order) Athos, Porthos, and Aramis. Guy Smiley appears behind them, presumably as D'artagnan.
In 2005, Encore Software released a Sesame Street CD-ROM game, The Three Grouchketeers. In this loose adaptation of the story, the grouchy King Oscar instructs his Musketeers -- Grover, Zoe and Telly Monster -- to find his missing Royal Pig. The Musketeers each have a special skill: Musketeer Grover can read very well, Musketeer Zoe is good with animals, and Musketeer Telly knows about shapes. The three Musketeers have to cooperate to complete their tasks.
The television series The Mickey Mouse Club, launched by Walt Disney in 1955, coined the term "Mouseketeers" to describe the child and adolescent cast members who swore their loyalty to Mickey Mouse, as the Musketeers did to Louis III. Since then, many groups, often on Sesame Street, have added the "keteers" suffix to their name.
Many actors who have appeared in Muppet/Henson productions have also played roles in films adapted from or inspired by The Three Musketeers.
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