Wizard of Oz experiment the name stuck." (Cited by permission.) There is also a passing reference to planned use of the "Wizard of Oz experiments" in a 1982 proceedings paper by Ford and Smith. One fact, presented in Kelley's dissertation, about the etymology of the term in this context: Dr. Kelley did originally have a definition for the “OZ” acronym (aside from the obvious parallels with the 1900 book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L Frank Baum). “Offline Zero” was a reference to the fact that an experimenter (the “Wizard”) was interpreting the users’ inputs in real time during the simulation phase. Similar
The Muppets' Wizard of Oz the initial script was written, ultimately deciding to adapt plot elements from Baum's original novel rather than the 1939 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musical film, "The Wizard of Oz". As with the preceding Muppet films, "The Muppets' Wizard of Oz" became a musical, and included five new songs written and composed by Michael Giacchino. The special is the first Muppets special without the involvement of veteran performer Jerry Nelson following his 2004 retirement from physical performing. His characters of Lew Zealand and Floyd Pepper, were respectively performed by Bill Barretta and John Kennedy. Barretta also debuts as the new permanent performer of Dr.