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The Muppets Thread - Never Felt Better
- Thread starter Johnny Unusual
- Start date
Let me help you out; it's one of those things where if you're looking at the words, it sounds like what you're reading it as. To go back to a sane world, read along with 'That sounds like an excellent idea!'
Johnny Unusual
(He/Him)
Similar thing happened to me. Not even on the third play through but the first and a half. Its pretty weird.
Johnny Unusual
(He/Him)
I'm up to season four of the original series and... its really good. I thought it might be getting by more on being a pleasant comfort food show and there is that but at the same time there's some actual very clever, funny stuff. But really, what I'm into now are the show-stopping musical numbers amplified by muppet madness. The one complaint is that they reuse a lot of puns. Like, I just watched the 40th "Piggy goes hog wild" pun. On of my favourite gags is we meet Kermit's original acting coach and he does the Kermit flail too... and then he just does it to demonstrate how to do stage crying.
In four years, probably the weakest guest star is Sylvester Stallone (so far). He's not even TERRIBLE... except when he has to sing. Then... yeesh.
But I love the range of people they have on. Actors and singers, sure, but also mimes (I'd never seen Shields and Yarnell, but their robot bit is amazing), experimental performers, ballerinos. I guess that's the issue I have with latter day Muppets... It really used to be a showcase for non-muppets and allowed room for something more tender without gags. I just watched Statler and Waldorf do a sincere version of "A Very Good Year." Didn't see that coming. I watched Muppets now and it seemed more limited to comedy that didn't speak to me.
In four years, probably the weakest guest star is Sylvester Stallone (so far). He's not even TERRIBLE... except when he has to sing. Then... yeesh.
But I love the range of people they have on. Actors and singers, sure, but also mimes (I'd never seen Shields and Yarnell, but their robot bit is amazing), experimental performers, ballerinos. I guess that's the issue I have with latter day Muppets... It really used to be a showcase for non-muppets and allowed room for something more tender without gags. I just watched Statler and Waldorf do a sincere version of "A Very Good Year." Didn't see that coming. I watched Muppets now and it seemed more limited to comedy that didn't speak to me.
Sprite
(He/Him/His)
We’re still in season two. I’m still falling in love with Statler and Waldorf, who I never really cared for before. One especially good detail is that they can, in fact, be won over, they just have extremely specific taste. Anytime there’s a really old song they go (hog) wild.
It makes Fozzie’s obsession with impressing them all the more hilarious and poignant, because he has seen them genuinely enjoy acts.
It makes Fozzie’s obsession with impressing them all the more hilarious and poignant, because he has seen them genuinely enjoy acts.
You're not wrong, but even if his musical performance ain't the best it's still really neat to see this big star break out of his (eventual) action movie comfort zone.
That's one thing I love about these old Muppet Show eps, stars doing things you wouldn't normally expect them to do.
Johnny Unusual
(He/Him)
Finished the Muppet Show. Five season of quality entertainment. There are very few guests who do a bad job and even the weaker ones are very game. That said, I feel like there are a few different kinds of guests.
Disconnect Guests: Some of the guests have a disconnect. They are good performers both in the show and outside of it. But I feel like while they are trying to interact with the muppets, they aren't versed in the kind of performance that the Muppets provide. They aren't at a bad level, just a different one than the show. I think every guest has to give a take to camera and say "Well, I knew this was gonna be a weird show". The ones that smile that let you know that they are in on the joke are often in the disconnect camp, I think (I'd really have to sit down and score this theory, though). Often the Disconnects are singers, but there are also some actors.
Two-wavelength Connected Guests: Some guests are on a different wavelength but it doesn't feel like a disconnect. Instead, it feels like two styles working in harmony. This can also be singers, though often they become category three (which I'll get to) if there's a pure musical moment on the stage with the muppets that doesn't involve hamming, mugging or trading jokes. But because they are made of flesh and blood and their style of comedy isn't vaudevillian, there still feels like two worlds meeting and taking a break from each other throughout the show.
Same wavelength Perfect (and near perfect) Guests: Some guests are either extremely on the show's wavelength or completely brings their wavelength to the show. Mark Hamill's episode is not perfect since it is heavily trying to capture that Star Wars zeitgeist to a point of minimal cringe (or the variety show quality) but he is really showing off his ability not just to be game but to feel like he's completely embedded himself in the show's style when it is revealed that Hamill as himself fits in perfectly (literally having the same act as a muppet that involves gargle-singing). Often these are comedic guests like Steve Martin (I feel like they share AND trade wavelengths in this one, a very good, meta-episode), John Cleese and Peter Sellers (I can't imagine a guest more perfectly suited to the show). This doesn't always mean a perfect show. Marty Feldman gets it but its a weaker episode. This can also include some singer, particularly (though not exclusively) during the music video-ish performance sections, often when the humour is dropped in favour of artistry (though sometimes they bleed into each other). The other is artists who don't normally fit into other clean categories or are atypical for the variety show format. Some performance artists for example. After all, despite the comedy, the Muppet Show was often a showcase for some actual stuff of real artistry (though less in the movie star studded final season).
But yeah, the show was good and it was really interesting to see how the guest fit in the show (note, category one is still fitting in and its not at all a slight on the guests. Some of the strongest episodes have this element). I decided to watch a little more Muppets Now after bouncing off of it. Its still something I feel isn't awful or offensive to the Muppets name (unlike the cringy TV movies of the mid-2000s) but I would like to see them return to something that allowed them to reach beyond humour. Understandably, even the return to form of the Jason Segal movie (and to a lesser extent Muppets Most Wanted) missed out on artistic showcases because its a narrative feature so as a series, I really hope they allow themselves to try new things and did what the old show did, namely having different kinds of puppeteers and performance artists have a venue.
Disconnect Guests: Some of the guests have a disconnect. They are good performers both in the show and outside of it. But I feel like while they are trying to interact with the muppets, they aren't versed in the kind of performance that the Muppets provide. They aren't at a bad level, just a different one than the show. I think every guest has to give a take to camera and say "Well, I knew this was gonna be a weird show". The ones that smile that let you know that they are in on the joke are often in the disconnect camp, I think (I'd really have to sit down and score this theory, though). Often the Disconnects are singers, but there are also some actors.
Two-wavelength Connected Guests: Some guests are on a different wavelength but it doesn't feel like a disconnect. Instead, it feels like two styles working in harmony. This can also be singers, though often they become category three (which I'll get to) if there's a pure musical moment on the stage with the muppets that doesn't involve hamming, mugging or trading jokes. But because they are made of flesh and blood and their style of comedy isn't vaudevillian, there still feels like two worlds meeting and taking a break from each other throughout the show.
Same wavelength Perfect (and near perfect) Guests: Some guests are either extremely on the show's wavelength or completely brings their wavelength to the show. Mark Hamill's episode is not perfect since it is heavily trying to capture that Star Wars zeitgeist to a point of minimal cringe (or the variety show quality) but he is really showing off his ability not just to be game but to feel like he's completely embedded himself in the show's style when it is revealed that Hamill as himself fits in perfectly (literally having the same act as a muppet that involves gargle-singing). Often these are comedic guests like Steve Martin (I feel like they share AND trade wavelengths in this one, a very good, meta-episode), John Cleese and Peter Sellers (I can't imagine a guest more perfectly suited to the show). This doesn't always mean a perfect show. Marty Feldman gets it but its a weaker episode. This can also include some singer, particularly (though not exclusively) during the music video-ish performance sections, often when the humour is dropped in favour of artistry (though sometimes they bleed into each other). The other is artists who don't normally fit into other clean categories or are atypical for the variety show format. Some performance artists for example. After all, despite the comedy, the Muppet Show was often a showcase for some actual stuff of real artistry (though less in the movie star studded final season).
But yeah, the show was good and it was really interesting to see how the guest fit in the show (note, category one is still fitting in and its not at all a slight on the guests. Some of the strongest episodes have this element). I decided to watch a little more Muppets Now after bouncing off of it. Its still something I feel isn't awful or offensive to the Muppets name (unlike the cringy TV movies of the mid-2000s) but I would like to see them return to something that allowed them to reach beyond humour. Understandably, even the return to form of the Jason Segal movie (and to a lesser extent Muppets Most Wanted) missed out on artistic showcases because its a narrative feature so as a series, I really hope they allow themselves to try new things and did what the old show did, namely having different kinds of puppeteers and performance artists have a venue.
It’s been a few years since I watched the Muppet Show, but I remember thinking that any guest who had vaudeville experience (Ethel Merman, George Burns, Milton Berle, Danny Kaye, etc.) was a perfect fit.
Johnny Unusual
(He/Him)
Agree with this. There are often jokes about the guests' career but its rare that the guest is every the butt of a joke. I mean, Statler and Waldorf tend to LOVE all the guest stars. Its nice to see the show turns its gentle knives towards them once in a while and it usually pays off and makes the guest look really good, ironically. Another classic moment is John Cleese being forced into a final act.
Sweetums putting hands to Cleese when everyone says "He's leaving" is low key suspense comedy. Like, you know things won't go serious but that is a turn. Any then they expand on his lyric.
Sprite
(He/Him/His)
Muppets Haunted Mansion is fine. We probably would have enjoyed it more if we weren’t in the middle of watching the original show, as it’s a little unfair trying to stack it against that. As is it’s a decent romp
Will Arnett feels a bit miscast, but then it’s a role that begs for a Vincent Price or a Tim Curry, and I don’t know of anyone currently working who matches that energy. I wish they had just given that part to Uncle Deadly.
The John Stamos cameo is fun.
Will Arnett feels a bit miscast, but then it’s a role that begs for a Vincent Price or a Tim Curry, and I don’t know of anyone currently working who matches that energy. I wish they had just given that part to Uncle Deadly.
The John Stamos cameo is fun.
Jermaine Clement is able to summon so much of Tim Currys presence that I suspect he may be a Looper, so they had an option!
Sprite
(He/Him/His)
This gag went viral today, apparently, and Sesame's social media game is on point:
Johnny Unusual
(He/Him)
On a similar note
I was thrilled when I saw this had taken off.
This is definitely one of my favorite Grover salesman bits.
Johnny Unusual
(He/Him)
FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!
www.avclub.com
HBO Max wiped another 200 classic Sesame Street episodes from its servers
Although more than 400 episodes are still available, Sesame Street is still a strange and seemingly needless place to make these cuts
www.avclub.com
They are just… vehemently opposed to anything good, aren’t they?
Johnny Unusual
(He/Him)
Last night, I needed to watch a relatively short Christmas special and went with one I haven't watched... probably since the 80s but was lodged in my lizard brain forever; Christmas Eve on Sesame Street. It's shocking how much I remember. It really stuck with me. What I missed as a kid is how wonderful the sections were Grover and Kermit talk to kids about their theories on Santa are.
Sprite
(He/Him/His)
We're still slooowly making our way through The Muppet Show and loving it. I'm undecided as to whether Milton Berle or Mark Hamill are the best guest. On one hand, Milton Berle has probably my favorite sketch of the whole series so far, and he's a perfect straight man for the Muppets to bounce off of. On the other hand, Mark Hamill is basically a Muppet himself, foreshadowing his illustrious voice acting career, and the entire gag is that he's a talentless hack who has no business being on stage, and the "Luke Skywalker is my cousin" bit is taken to such stupid extremes that I was in stitches by the end. The best guests, imo, are the ones who are fine being humiliated, and Hamill is the only guest I know of that Kermit openly chews out and insults.
The runner-up is definitely Alice Cooper, if only because of the tonal whiplash of a heartfelt "Over the Rainbow" stuck in the middle of an otherwise completely unhinged episode.
The runner-up is definitely Alice Cooper, if only because of the tonal whiplash of a heartfelt "Over the Rainbow" stuck in the middle of an otherwise completely unhinged episode.
