Hook, line, and sinker! Specimen P.

Transcript

(The wind is howling. The sound of footsteps can be heard, followed by a knock at the door.)

FRANK: Poppy! Poppy, it’s Frank!

POPPY: (She sounds muffled) I’m coming! (A door creaks open.) Come in, come in!

FRANK: Hoh…

(The door creaks as it closes behind them.)

POPPY: It’s freezing out there!

FRANK: Tell me about it! I can’t remember it ever snowing so much! Sorry I was late, I was at Julie’s.

POPPY: Julie’s? Is she alright?

FRANK: Oh, yes, I wanted to go check up on her. I left her the quilt you made her - I’m sure she’ll be thrilled when she wakes up.

POPPY: I kept meaning to drop that by… (Silverware shuffles. A chair creaks.) I know you’re not a fan, but do you feel like trying a bit of tea? I have lavender!

FRANK: (He sounds amused) Sure. I shouldn’t be having coffee so late anyways. 

FRANK: (He sounds different. It sounds like a radio.) Locks on the cabinets? Is she scared everything will come flying out at her? …Oh, the pantry too… 

POPPY: You’ll be up all night! I don’t have any decaf at the moment either… (Teacups clink.) Caffeine always makes me jittery- 

FRANK: (He sounds normal) Really? It always seems to put me to sleep.

POPPY: Lucky you! I can’t keep my head on straight and I get this terrible little tick too.

(The sound of the kettle going off shocks Poppy. She sounds mad after.)

POPPY: I’m coming, you! Oh… It scared me half to death! 

FRANK: Oh, want me to help?

POPPY: Oh, no, no, you stay put- There’s a method to this madness, trust me.

FRANK: Oh, you got a new tea box!

POPPY: Yes! Isn’t it cute? Little fellows on it and everything. 

FRANK: Oh! (Frank laughs. It sounds like a bowl was put on the table. He sounds like he is playing.) A packed bowl, too? Poppy! Are you trying to lay me out on my ass?  

POPPY: (bashfully) Oh stop it. It calms me down! It really works too. (A chair creaks.) A bit of both and I could just about call it a day! Switch the lavender out with peppermint and I can knock out a quilt with no trouble at all! 

FRANK: Do you have trouble sleeping?

POPPY: (She pauses.) …N-nothing worth worrying about… I don’t go to bed early like I ought to. Just a lot of laying awake at night with myself.

FRANK: I know how you feel… Nothing seems to keep my head quiet. (He pauses.) Poppy.

POPPY: Yes?

FRANK: (He sounds concerned.) I don’t mean to ruin the mood, but… Do you remember that day? When Sally was setting up a play?

POPPY: (She sounds like she doesn't remember.) The day with the play… 

FRANK: Yes… We found you on the floor, screaming-

POPPY: (Interrupting him.) Oh, Frank, I hate thinking about that day. I don’t know what got into me. How embarrassing- In front of everyone, too. 

FRANK: …Were you…?

POPPY: (She knows what Frank is saying.) Oh! No- No, no, no, never for work- Only weekends, days off, whatever… I must have been daydreaming… All I could hear was this terrible sound… It was like an animal trapped in a crawl space… 

FRANK: Do you remember the door?

POPPY: …I was rambling about a door, wasn’t I? (Poppy laughs.) …Oh, my God, do you remember, Frank? The look on Ron’s face, he was so worried-

FRANK: (Frank sounds mad.) Everyone was worried.  

POPPY: (Her joking stops.) …I know, but… I would rather leave well enough alone. You know what? I bet I hadn’t eaten lunch soon enough that day. Perhaps it was too hot inside. All these years and I’m still not used to the weather… Well, whatever it was, it’s behind me.

FRANK: Is it?

POPPY: (Poppy lets out a small, forced laugh.) It has to be. (She pauses.) Frank… Could we… Refrain from bringing this up to anyone? I would rather keep the peace if I can help it.

FRANK: Yes. Of… Of course.

[Audio ends.]

Food

Slowly but surely, we have begun to uncover media that confirms Welcome Home was once on the air! These remnants found below showcase the tasty side of our favorite Neighborhood, with cookbooks and themed food items alike to delight your tastebuds!

THE OFFICIAL WELCOME HOME COOKBOOK
"CRISPY SWEETS" CEREAL
"CRISPY SWEETS" FROSTED CEREAL
UNKNOWN COOKBOOK SPREAD
JOY
THE RAINBOW MONSTER HANDBOOK
MORE TO COME...

The Official Welcome Home Cookbook

The front conver of 'The Official Welcome Home Cookbook', which has a photograph of Wally Darling made of food. A halloween spread that reads 'crafts, treats, and more!' with the residents of Welcome Home crafted into trick or treating baskets Instructions to make 'Caramel Apples Sweet Apples', there's a photograph of a caramel apple that has been made to look like Barnaby, and illustrations of caramel apples that are made to look like Wally, and Home. Wally smiles at Barnaby, holding a caramel apple made to look like him. Instructions to make 'Cupcakes with the Most!', there's illustrations of cupcakes made to look like Frank, Eddie, and Julie. Julie smiles at Frank, holding up a cupcake made to look like her. Instructions to make 'Crispy Sweets Smiling Treats', there's a photograph of some treats made to look like Wally, Sally, and Howdy, along with illustrations of the treats made to look like Frank, and Poppy. Sally holds up a treat made to look like her, showing it to Poppy. A Homewarming spread that reads 'decadent delighs and dapper dogs!' with a photograph of a gelatin based dish. A spread of homewarming based hotdog dishes titled 'holly jolly hot dog-a-days!', the four varieties are 1. the plain jane dog (a regular hot dog) 2. the mustard dog (hotdog with mustard) 3. the catsup dog (has catsup now) 4. the relish dog (has relish now) The second page of homewarming based hotdog dishes spreads, titled 'holly jolly hot dog-a-days!', the next four varieties are 5. The stew dog (has stew now) 6. The Hearth Dog (has a beautiful bow and can be hung) 7. The Dog Garnished Dog (has a second smaller dog on top of it's dog) 8. The Cheese Dog (has cheese now, is politely tucked in) The third page of homewarming based hotdog dishes spreads, titled 'holly jolly hot dog-a-days!', the next four varieties are 9. The Popcorn Dog (has popcorn now) 10. The Half-Eaten Dog (nuff said) 11. The Reverse Dog (dog where there is usually bread, bread where there is usually dog) 12. The Macaroni Dog (there is macaroni now) The fourth page of homewarming based hotdog dishes spreads, titled 'holly jolly hot dog-a-days!', the next four varieties are 13. The PB and J Dog (dog if it was PB & J) 14. The Not Dog (no dog :( ) 15. The Peas Dog (dog if it was peas) 16. The Corn Dog (there is corn now) The fifth page of homewarming based hotdog dishes spreads, titled 'holly jolly hot dog-a-days!', the next four varieties are 17.The Chilly dog (has ice now) 18. The Hot Cocoa Dog (is in hot cocoa) 19. The Workman's Dog (hotdog in christmas tree) 20. The Peppermint Dog (has candy canes now) The sixth page of homewarming based hotdog dishes spreads, titled 'holly jolly hot dog-a-days!', the next four varieties are 21. The cube dog (dog that has been cubed) 22. The Cold Dog Malt (dog in a malt) 23. The Hot Dog Friend (dog if it was a friend) 24. It's a Dog! (there is The seventh and final page of homewarming based hotdog dishes spreads, titled 'holly jolly hot dog-a-days!', there is only one variety, 25. The Holly Jolly Dog (it has ornaments, whipped cream, strawberries, tinsel, everything you would ever want) A homewarming spread of 'cirspy sweets pancakes' A homewarming spread of 'Frank Frankly's single pea in gelatin' A homewarming spread of 'Happy Homewarming Sparkling Garnish' A homewarming spread of 'Julie's the Queen's Game Hot Cocoa in Gelatin' A spread of three homewarming dishes with the title 'santa's festive favorites' one is untitled, the next two are the 'BLT (bloody-mary, lettuce and tomato)', and the 'poppy partridge's bird free birdseed homewarming turkey' A homewarming spread with the title 'Certified Showstoppers!' and shows a dish called 'a single pea on a plate' which looks how you'd expect it to

Date unknown, publisher unknown.

What’s cookin’? Well, one certainly would be cooking with The Official Welcome Home Cookbook! This 110-page, full-color cookbook was simply overflowing with delightful treats and unique recipes, inspired by Welcome Home characters. It featured both illustrations and photographs of the finished recipes. This cookbook seems to have been released during the winter holiday season, as a vast majority of the recipes inside are distinctly holiday-themed in nature.

Unfortunately, The Welcome Home Restoration team has only been able to recover an incomplete book with missing pages.

"Crispy Sweets" Rice Puff Cereal

A phorograph of a cardboard standee illustrated to have Wally Darling holding a box of Crispy Sweets, Wally and Barnaby are on the box, and it has the slogan 'Deliciously Sweet Rice Puffs' on itA phorograph of a cardboard standee illustrated to have Wally Darling holding a box of Crispy Sweets, next to Wally is a quote of him saying 'As a cereal, it's the most!'

Date unknown, manufacturer unknown.

Currently, this deliciously sweet treat is only known through the discovery of an advertising standee, which you can see restored above. One can only imagine the joy of seeing this charming standee in their own local supermarket, surely beside a fully-stocked shelf of Crispy Sweets ready to take home! The search is ongoing to recover the original cereal packaging, so we might learn more about this neighborly part of a complete breakfast.

"Crispy Sweets" Frosted Cereal

The front of a Crispy Sweets Frosted cereal box, Wally and Barnaby are in their winter wear, and holding spoons in front of a large bowl of cerealThe back of a Crispy Sweets Frosted cereal box, it has a de-coder circle coinciding small illustrations to letters. Eddie is illustrated next to it, smiling.

Date unknown, manufacturer unknown.

Who knew Crispy Sweets cereal could taste even better? With the winter season around the corner, it only made sense for a frosted version of Wally’s favorite cereal to hit grocery store shelves! Even the updated holiday box art depicted Wally and Barnaby in their warmest winter best! With this limited-time treat, we were also able to uncover the back side of the packaging, featuring a holiday-themed decoder ring puzzle with our own Eddie Dear! Imagine what fun it would be to send secret messages to your closest friends with this Homewarming treat!

Mysterious Spread from a Cook Book

A spread titled 'rainbow monster cake', alongside a photo of the cake made to look like Julie. Next to it is illustrations of other varieties, including Julie, and her siblings Franny, Jonesy, and Bea Joyful also as cakes.

Date unknown.

An array of page spreads from an unknown cookbook. These pages don't match up with a previously found cookbook, as its page dimensions and prints are notably different. Characters such as Frank Frankly and Julie Joyful can be seen throughout, as well as Franny, Bea, and Jonesy Joyful. Recipes found within motivated it’s reader to create unique desserts of their very own, such as the rainbow monster cake pushing individuals to create their own rainbow monsters in cake.

Magazine Advertisement of Welcome Home Soda “Joy”

A magazine ad for 'Joy' soda, Julie and Frank are illustrated holding bottles of Joy and smiling, the advertisement in part reads: 'Cheers to Joy! Joy goes whereever you do! Why not pop open a bottle or two!'

Date unknown.

A lively illustrated advertisement from what we guess to be a magazine clipping featuring a Julie-themed soda called “Joy!” with Frank presented alongside her. Curiously, there is no mention of what company may have created the soda on the advertisement nor what flavor the soda could be, only that it contains sugar. We wish we could get our hands on one for ourselves!

"What Makes the Flowers Bloom."

Click here for a transcript!

JULIE: Hello, my mellow playfellow! Welcome to ‘What Makes the Flowers Bloom; A Helpful Handbook to Rainbow Monsters!’ I’m your local Rainbow Monster expert, Julie Joyful!

FRANK: You’re also our local rainbow monster.

JULIE: (Laughs.) Yes, this is true, but what are you?

FRANK: Well I’m your local Rainbow Monster inquirer Frank Frankly, of course. So Julie-

JULIE: Yes, Frank?

FRANK: What is it that makes the flowers bloom?

JULIE: I’m so glad you asked! It’s quite a complicated query that requires an insightful and informative answer!

FRANK: (Hopeful and joyfully.) Really?

JULIE: Yes! That’s why I brought in some fellow experts in the flower field; Franny, Jonesy and Bea Joyful!

FRANNY: That’s right. Because if there’s wilting abound-

JONESY: Just keep an ear to the ground-

BEA: And follow that joyful sound!

JULIE: That’s where a rainbow monster’s help can be found!

FRANK: (Forlornly) Oh… I was hoping this story would only be five pages long.

JULIE: So what is it that makes the flowers bloom? I’ve provided a root-imentary acronym so that anyone can understand!

FRANK: Ooh! I love a good abbreviation! What is it?

JULIE: It’s M.H.M.! Mhm!

FRANNY: Mhm! 

JONESY: Mhm!

BEA: Mhm!

FRANK: (Humming quizzically.) Hmm…

JULIE: (Angrily.) No, Frank! It’s Mhm!

FRANK: (With slight irritation.) Yes… Mhm… My mistake.

JULIE: No, Frank! The first M stands for Monsters! Rainbow Monsters, Just like me and her and him and her! But what is there to know about a Rainbow Monster, I hear you ask!

FRANNY: Where do they come from?

JONESY: Where are they goin’?

BEA: How are they doing…

FRANK: I certainly hope we can find out, Julie!

JULIE: You will, Frank! Rainbow Monsters are colorful creatures that help make the seasons groovy! We start off as baby blushes all cradled up in flower buds before growing up into big monsters just like me!

FRANNY: There’s more to it than that, Julie! Rainbow Monsters have special horns that grow in sunshine and shed when it's cold. Rainbow monster horns come in all different shapes and colors, but the bigger the better, obviously.

JONESY: Did you say color? I’m in the know on that one, sis! Rainbow monsters come in all hues, toos! From our heads to our roots, from our leaves to our nose! We stick to one color, so that together we’re totally kaleidoscopic!

BEA: Mhm… Head… Leaves… Just like flower petals on a stem, a rainbow monster’s hairdo shows off their big personality! The right hairdo can make a rainbow monster really stand out!

FRANK: That’s very interesting. But… How does this make the flowers bloom?

JULIE: Ah ah ah! You’re getting ahead of yourself, Frank! You’ve got to think H!

FRANK: H?

JULIE: That’s right! H stands for- (Held note.) Harmony!

FRANNY: (Held note.) Harmony!

JONESY: (Held note.) Harmony!

BEA: (Held note.) Harmony!

FRANK: (Quizzically, out of tune.) Harmony?

JULIE: Harmony is important to Rainbow Monsters! We go to sleep just like the flowers after we tuck everyone into bed for the weary winter ahead! Then when Springtime comes, our melodious sounds wake everything up! It’s a harmonious cycle!

FRANNY: Missing things again, Julie! Rainbow monsters sing together to help move the seasons along! Even the highest and lowest pitches are necessary to shaping springtime.

JONESY: Singing’s great, but musical instruments’re where it’s at, Fran! We totally look to our environment to create that righteous sound! A grotto… A tunnel… A meadow… We can find music anywhere!

BEA: Yes… But we don’t do this all alone, Jonesy… Rainbow monsters live together in groups called a band… And a band of monsters are only as melodious as their harmony together!

FRANK: Singing… Instruments… Fascinating! So that must be why the flowers bloom!

JULIE: Not yet, Frank! We have one more letter left to go! The last M!

FRANK: You’re correct… Mhm… mmm… M… Melody… Merriment… Mirth…

JULIE: No, silly! Rainbow monsters love harmony, both sound and soul, and there’s nothing more harmonious with Rainbow Monsters than Mmm… Nature!

FRANK: Mmm-Nature!? That doesn’t start with M!

JULIE: (Ignoring Frank.) Mmm, nature… Rainbow monsters come from nature and together we help take care of it like it takes care of us! So we all have to take on important responsibilities to make sure nature keeps carryin’ on!

FRANNY: I’m why the drops dew!

JONESY: I’m why the grass grows!

BEA: I’m why the sun shines!

JULIE: And I’m-!

FRANK: Aha! You’re why the flowers bloom!

JULIE: Posey-toot-ily! So if you’re curious about that beautiful flower bed that looks good enough to rest your weary head, all you got to do is, Mhm! Mhm! Mhm mhm mhm-hm-hm!

FRANNY: Mhm mhm mhm-hm-hm!

JONESY: Mhm mhm mhm-hm-hm!

BEA: Mhm mhm mhm-hm-hm!

FRANK: Yes- Er, I mean- Mhm, mhm!

Date unknown.

A prize from what we believe to be a limited run of a special “Springtime” themed Crispy Sweets cereal. This is the first time we’ve seen any sort of prize from the Crispy Sweets Cereal brand, especially something like a small vinyl record and booklet. In “What Makes the Flowers Bloom,” Julie is the one to educate Frank on what makes a Rainbow Monster and more importantly what makes the flowers bloom.

Unfortunately, we do not have the original box and thus can not tell what sort of gimmick may have been used for the cereal, but we can assume it may have been themed around the rainbow monsters based on the contents of the booklet. Perhaps marshmallows in a variety of shapes based on Julie, Franny, Jonesy, and Bea? Only time and luck will tell!