Ronko ProPeeler is a Vidoid merchant, owner, and Director of Marketing of Ronko Corporation (RonkCo).
Background[]
He is known for such mail order products such as the Ronko intruder alarm[1], the U-Cut-It Glass Cutter, the U-Design-It stud and rhinestone machine, the Ronko Invisibility belt, and Ronko Mr. Garbage. He has been known to peddle his wares on board the SpaceBar.[2] Ronko Corporation gadgets have been known to cause false alarms on the Arcada.[3] His company was also the publisher of the Ronko Spacelab Repair Manual, a copy was kept on board the Arcada. Ronko electronics are proprietary and require Ronko brand nonrechargeable batteries to work.
His other products include; new-improved Janitor-In-A-Jug Lite, Janitor-In-A-Jug, miracle no-stickum kitchen pans, miracle Vegoid-o-Matic, combanation miracle food dehydrator and miracle wrinkle creme potion, miracle knives, and miracle dehydrated SpaceMonkeys.[4]
Titles and nicknames[]
- Miracle AllPurpose
Behind the scenes[]
Ronko, RonkCo, and ProPeeler are a reference and satire of the late Ron Popeil (1935-2021), Informercial King, and 'as seen on TV' ads, and creator of Ronco Records and Ronco Company. An American company that manufactured and sold a variety of items and devices, most commonly those used in the kitchen. Ron Popeil founded the company in 1964, and infomercials and commercials for the company's products soon became pervasive and memorable, in part thanks to Popeil's personal sales pitches. The names "Ronco" and "Popeil" and the suffix "-O-Matic" (used in many early product names) became icons of American popular culture and were often referred to by comedians introducing fictional gadgets and As-Seen-On-TV parodies.
The fact that references to 'Ronco' appears in both the The Official Guide To Roger Wilco's Space Adventures, and The Space Quest Companion is likely just a coincidence.