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The OAO Muppet Thread

Incandenza

Incandenza

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BUMPED CUZ KING KAMALAS DIDN'T WANNA

Kung Kimala said:
I don't want to bump up the Muppets thread cause it'd be a triple post and I'd hate to pull a Wild Pegasus but I've been watching some Muppets Tonight episodes on YouTube. Forgot how blasphemous some of the changes they made were. Kermit as a minor character, Statler and Waldorf watching the show on TV from an old folks home, them attempting to make the dreadlocked purple Muppet the lead character...terrible, just terrible. Some of the individual episodes were OK and it did give us Bobo The Bear, really the only great post Jim Henson era Muppet.
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I remember liking this when it aired, though I don't think I've seen it since then. Anyway, I don't recall having any strong opinions on Bobo, but I quite liked Seymour, Pepe, and Johnny Fiama's sidekick, Sal.
 
King Kamala

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It's certainly better than a lot of the stuff they did in the '00s. I was watching the episode with Prince last night. Surprised that he was so good humored (relatively speaking anyways), especially considering how dour he was through out the mid '90s.

Muppets Tonight - S2 E1 P1/3 - The Artist Formerly Known As Prince
Another observation about the show---they had way higher caliber guest stars than the original Muppet Show. Original show had a lot old show business people and very few A listers while Muppets Tonight's list of hosts was pretty star studded. Maybe even a bit better than SNL during the period.

And hey---there was a picture from the set of the new Muppets movie, creatively titled The Muppets in Entertainment Weekly
muppet-movie_400.jpg


It's time to play the music! It's time to light the lights! It's time to raise the curtain on... The Muppets! After a decade spent largely out of the pop culture limelight, doing whatever semiretired celebrity puppets do, Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Gonzo, Fozzie Bear, and the rest of the gang are starting production this month on the first big-screen Muppet movie in 11 years. And co-writer Jason Segel, who also stars in the movie (out Christmas 2011), is setting the bar pretty high, hoping to recapture the magic of the late Jim Henson's vision. ''We've worked really hard to stay true to the original spirit of the Muppets,'' Segel says. ''We've missed the same thing everyone else has been missing.'' —Josh Rottenberg
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alkeiper

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Oddly enough, Statler and Waldorf started out watching Muppets on tv in the original Muppet Show pilot.

At times, I really wish the franchise would go to rest. I loved the show, but with Jim Henson gone there's no place for it to grow creatively.

Another observation about the show---they had way higher caliber guest stars than the original Muppet Show. Original show had a lot old show business people and very few A listers while Muppets Tonight's list of hosts was pretty star studded. Maybe even a bit better than SNL during the period.
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I appreciate watching those old guest stars far more than the A-listers of the later years. Even in the days of the original Muppet Show, the caliber of guest rose as the series went on. It was far more satisfying watching someone like Avery Schreiber than watching Kris Kristofferson or whatever hot act they landed. The early guest stars where proven mainstays, and for the most part they had great talent.
 
King Kamala

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I really don't see the need for The Muppets to go to rest then for Mickey Mouse or Bugs Bunny to. Maybe not the best examples since they haven't done anything good with those characters in decades either but I really think they're taking a step in the right direction by hiring Jason Segel and the co-creator of Flight of the Concords to do the new movie.

Taking their sweet time, my best friend met Jason Segel at a pub in London in the Summer of '08 and he was working out the kinks on his screenplay with the Muppets creative team then. I guess it might be par for the course for these big tentpole movies.
 
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Peter Venkman said:
Are you saying Lunatix wasn't good?
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Not just Lunatix but they did the Muppet Babies knockoff with the Looney Tunes characters (PLUS LOLA FROM SPACE JAM!) around the same time.

I personally cannot wait for the Segel movie, its one of the few movies I actually check for updates on. Segel is a favorite of mine as Sarah Marshall is my favorite of the Apatow comedies, among his other work, and I have always loved the Muppets. I remember watching them all the time, Muppets, Muppet Babies, I even recall making sure to catch Muppets Tonight for the brief time it was on the air.
 
King Kamala

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Watching old clips on YouTube always surprises me on the number of references I didn't get. There were a lot of fluff articles recently about Sesame Street adjusting to the times and becoming "hip" again by adding in more material for adults. It's always been that way! If anything, the pop culture references they make now are probably just more mainstream and more easily decipherable to yokels who write for Entertainment Weekly...
Sesame Street - Monsterpiece Theater "Waiting for Elmo"
Monsterpiece Theater - The 400 Blows
Monsterpiece Theater - Monster In A Box
 
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What is it with Jason Segal and school teachers?
 
ChrisMWaters

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alkeiper said:
I like it a heck of a lot better than re-working the Wizard of Oz or Treasure Island.
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Where does it rank with this masterpiece though?

Muppets_from_space.jpg


*NOTE: I have yet to see this Muppet movie...or Muppet Treasure Island or Muppet Wizard of Oz for that matter*
 
alkeiper

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Honestly, I happened to watch Muppets From Space a few days ago for the first time. They don't go into outer space! It's watchable, pretty much the definition of a ** inoffensive movie. I did find it iffy from a technical standpoint.
 
ChrisMWaters

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alkeiper said:
Honestly, I happened to watch Muppets From Space a few days ago for the first time. They don't go into outer space! It's watchable, pretty much the definition of a ** inoffensive movie. I did find it iffy from a technical standpoint.
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Well, it's obvious they wouldn't go into outer space.

It's called Muppets FROM Space, not Muppets IN Space.

...though there was originally plans for that, as shown on jars of Welsh's Jelly.

http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Muppets_In_Space
 
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All I remember about Muppets from space is Jeffrey Tambor and a big bear muppet and that they were funny.
 
BurningPirateShipSex

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I liked Muppet Treasure Island as a kid. It's funny now looking back and seeing Billy Connolly of all people in the movie, sort of like realizing George Carlin was one of the conductors on Shining Time Station.
 
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