Lady Elaine Fairchilde

LADY ELAINE FAIRCHILDE

Lady Elaine Fairchilde of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood fame is possibly one of the greatest characters to ever grace a children's show. Sure, she was a total bitch, appeared to have a drinking problem, and was quite possibly a drag queen, but that's what added to her awesomeness. Plus, some of her mannerisms remind me of my late grandmother (mostly when she called people "T***s").

Lady Elaine inhabited the infamous museum-go-round, which was undoubtedly the coolest residence in the Neighborhood of Make Believe. Her museum was full of jacked items, which she referred to as a "found items exhibit".

Lady Elaine was notorious for being a real s**t disturber. Some of her finest moments include dissing Prince Tuesday's drawing of King Friday, making light of Daniel Striped Tiger's wussiness, convincing Prince Tuesday that his parents might abandon him, causing mischief with her Boomerang Toomerang Zoomerang, and just being generally pessimistic. If this show wasn't for kids, she totally would have made fun of Mr. McFeely's name.

While the other characters bowed down to King Friday ("correct as usual, King Friday"), Lady Elaine never put up with his crap. She didn't even call him "King Friday", he was just "Friday" to her.

Lady Elaine Fairchilde (voiced by Fred Rogers)- (named after Fred's adopted sister) The outspoken, cranky schemer who took over the Museum-Go-Round after the Froggs moved; often known to say "Okay, t***s." She is generally the antagonist when a storyline calls for one, but her neighbors are quick to forgive her because they understand her so well. One of her prized possessions is her Boomerang-Toomerang-Soomerang, with which she sometimes makes mischief; but usually, when she is caught, she uses the same, to put things back to normal. It is discerned during the series that she has low self-esteem and is extremely self-conscious, and because of this, her neighbors are extremely patient with her until she finally learns her lesson. Despite her own faults, she consistently shows King Friday when he is wrong about something and frequently goes to extremes (such as physically moving her museum or modifying a comet) to do so. She has a strong affection for Roosters, all things astronomical, and like Fred Rogers, is a vegetarian. Was one of Betty's brides-maids, along with Lady Aberlin, at Betty and James' wedding. Her favorite color is red. Plays the accordion occasionally. She is also an unofficial "auntie" to Prince Tuesday. (first appeared in episode 5 of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood)

Lady Elaine is the curator of the Museum-Go-Round, a revolving building containing collections of everything from A - Z. This mischief-making impish woman is always getting into one thing or another, but that's often because she worries that she's not very lovable and needs attention. As an outspoken, opinionated character, she is generally the only one in Make-Believe who stands up to the King whenever he has made an unreasonable demand. And she often brings a lot of humor to Make-Believe.

She's organized. She's erudite. She's vulnerable, yet she stands up to tyrants. She speaks her own mind. She's witty. What's not to love?

Such a tragedy. A lonely, educated, gender-neutral, liberal museum curator in a stiflingly small feudal "neighborhood" where everyone else is either part of the bureaucracy or a dumb animal.

Was she a le***an?

Does she drink too much or is that rosacea?

Does she suffer from fibromyalgia?

Is she really British nobility?

So many questions.

http://www.neighborhoodarchive.com/mrn/characters/lady_elaine/index.html