The Muppet Mindset

[minor muppetz]

I'm thankful that we still get plenty of new articles for The Muppet Mindset each week (even though for the past year it's been uncommon to get any articles on the weekend, and in the last few weeks it seems the Mindset has been skipping at least one other day of the week). There haven't been any new articles for The Mickey Mindset or The Movie Mindset all month (and I have sent in one Mickey Mindset article that's still waiting to be published). There was a recent post where Ryan said that he's been a bit busier lately, but it is interesting considering the Muppet Mindset is the one that doesn't have a co-maintainer and has been getting a lot more posts.

Of course, it seems like The Movie Mindset hasn't taken off much. It does feel like a "third creation"*, a term I've thought up where a creator has two successful shows/franchises/whatever, and then the third one (and it doesn't have to be the third one, it can be a success as well) seems to be overlooked/underrated. It seems like it got a lot of articles at first, but then seems to get one new post a week (if any). Of course I've been having a bit of trouble coming up with articles, though there are some ideas I've had that I just haven't sent in yet. But it seems like those articles get less comments on the main page, less Facebook comments and likes, and that one uses the same e-mail address as The Muppet Mindset while The Mickey Mindset has its own (in fact I think the e-mail was mentioned when the new website was announced on The Muppet Mindset and Mickey Mindset but I can't find anywhere on The Movie Mindset that mentions the e-mail address, so maybe some people don't know who to send articles to).

* A few examples of "third creations":

• Seth MacFarlane's animation shows - Family Guy, American Dad, and The Cleveland Show. Cleveland is the only one that's no longer in production, having just enough episodes for syndication. Though it seems like a lot of people in general (including myself) prefer Cleveland to American Dad, and as Dr. Tooth has pointed out, The Cleveland Show has a lot more merchandise than American Dad, which only has a few items besides DVDs, and most of the merchandise came out when the show was new.
• I was going to list Jay Ward's most successful shows - Crusader Rabbit, Bullwinkle, and George of the Jungle - but then I realized that although George of the Jungle is the shortest-lived of those shows (only one season), Crusader Rabbit is the least known of those shows. The other two have had many video releases and reruns, and have also had theatrical adaptations. Crusader Rabbit hasn't had a movie adaptation, I don't know when the last time the show was rerun, and as far as I know the only home video collection was a limited release (due to some kind of lawsuit). Bullwinkle is clearly the most popular of the Jay Ward shows.
• But on the subject of George of the Jungle, the three main shorts from the show - George of the Jungle, Super Chicken, and Tom Slick - seem to apply (despite all being Jay Ward creations). George is most popular (being the featured attraction), Super Chicken is close in popularity but not as much, and Tom Slick seems to be something nobody thinks about unless they think about George of the Jungle. In fact the book Cult TV has sections on both George of the Jungle and Super Chicken in a chapter on either lost of underground cults, even though Super Chicken was never its own series.
• And now to a more relevant "third creations" thing. There's Jim Henson's three main properties - The Muppets, Sesame Street, and Fraggle Rock. The Muppets and Sesame Street are almost equally popular, while Fraggle Rock seems to be the least-popular. It gets the least amount of attention in biographies and documentaries on Jim Henson, the Fraggle presence in crossovers between the three is generally less than the Muppet or Sesame presence (though I think the Fraggle presence in Jim Henson's Musical World was almost equal to Sesame Street), and some of it might have to do with Fraggle Rock having debuted on HBO while The Muppet Show and Sesame Street were more widely accessible, in addition to those getting movies and television specials while FR did not.
• On a similar note, you could say the same about the three Jim Henson Productions-produced movies from the Creature Shop, with The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth being most popular, and The Witches seeming to be less popular. Of course The Witches was based on a book, but I feel it's underrated. I don't think it has the cult status of the other two, it's the one of the three not directed by Jim Henson, it seems less like a fantasy world, and unlike the other two The Witches doesn't constantly have new DVD and Blu-ray releases every few years. I think it's only had one DVD release. But then again, Warner Bros. owns the rights to that film, while Sony owns Labyrinth and has had the video rights to The Dark Crystal since 1999, so clearly Sony sees them as more profitable than Warner does The Witches.

 

[Muppet fan 123]

@minor muppetz So many great questions and observations. I'm so glad you're noticing all the changes. I'll address all of the issues in the order you mentioned them.

Over at the Muppet Mindset some days are generally slower than others, so those days tend to cut back more on articles in order that they aren't forgotten, which is a pattern I noticed on the Mickey Mindset as well. Big days trend upwards as they head closer to the weekend, but not on weekends themselves sometimes, depending on the month.

As for the lack of articles...I've been busy and overwhelmed. The past two weeks have been crammed with much things to do. I've had time to breathe, but not nearly enough time to pour into a website and roll out new articles. I'm happy to say that we finally have new articles to put out beginning tomorrow with our review of Cinderella (written by our good pal Matthew Soberman) and then some other reviews, opinions, and other miscellaneous fun coming your way next week and beyond. I'm also trying to work on getting another giveaway up and running soon.

I haven't forgotten about your article. In fact I was going to be posting it today, but then completely has distracted as soon as the Annual Shareholder Meeting began and the announcements started to roll out. I might finally post your article on Saturday, and I appreciate you sending it in.

While I have involvement in helping The Muppet Mindset and operating The Mickey Mindset, I don't have much involvement with The Movie Mindset, but I've offered to be of assistance multiple times. I have no idea why there's a lack of posts over at Movie, but I do know that Dan is super busy at the moment.

I don't think The Movie Mindset is anything like a "third-creation", but I do think it needs time to develop and find it's fanbase, which is something that The Mickey Mindset struggled with in it's early months. It needs a lot of time to develop. Your continuous articles are very much appreciated for all three websites!

If you have any more questions, you can always email me at mickeymindset@gmail.com. Thanks for reading!

 

[Muppet fan 123]

Oh, and I almost forgot - happy anniversary to both the Mickey and Muppet Mindset!!

Somehow I missed this post, so a belated thank you! Glad you are enjoying.

 

[minor muppetz]

One other thing I forgot to mention is that this year there really hasn't been much new Muppet news. The Muppet Mindset had it's first news rundown article of this year a few weeks ago, but it seems like news for the Muppets has been so scarce that most news items have gotten their own articles instead of being grouped with other news.

 

[Muppet fan 123]

Yeah, as unfortuanate as it is, the Muppets have slipped into a really odd transition that's sadly leaving fans in the dark. In my recent interviews with Kirk Thatcher and Mike Quinn, we were sure to cover the fact that there are certainly exciting developments on the way, but they're taking a long time to finally get here.

 

[The Count]

The one problem I have whenever visiting the Mindset is my browser generates a "Security Explorer" message asking if I'm sure I want to continue on to the page selected. All I do is press Escape and it brings me to the latest article posted, not sure what's going on with that.

 

[minor muppetz]

Yeah, as unfortuanate as it is, the Muppets have slipped into a really odd transition that's sadly leaving fans in the dark. In my recent interviews with Kirk Thatcher and Mike Quinn, we were sure to cover the fact that there are certainly exciting developments on the way, but they're taking a long time to finally get here.

Whatever's coming up, I hope we get an official announcement soon. I assume they were talking about upcoming productions/appearances and not, say, the Diamond Select figures (would they be in a position to know of secret upcoming merchandise?).

But most of this years Muppet news has been related to Sesame Street.

 

[Muppet fan 123]

The one problem I have whenever visiting the Mindset is my browser generates a "Security Explorer" message asking if I'm sure I want to continue on to the page selected. All I do is press Escape and it brings me to the latest article posted, not sure what's going on with that.

What browser are you using and what version?

Whatever's coming up, I hope we get an official announcement soon. I assume they were talking about upcoming productions/appearances and not, say, the Diamond Select figures (would they be in a position to know of secret upcoming merchandise?).

But most of this years Muppet news has been related to Sesame Street.

Probably productions, i.e., movies, TV, or online videos. Folks like Kirk and Mike work specifically for the productions and probably wouldn't be involved in merchandise situations.

 

[minor muppetz]

Well, Ryan announced today that he's leaving The Muppet Mindset to officially work for the Muppets, but the site will have three new moderators. I can't remember who they are at the moment.

I was slightly worried when I first saw the article. I still have plenty of article ideas, and had sent in the next Weekly Muppet Wednesday article. So it's good to know that the website will be around. I guess The Muppet Mindset is now like Tough Pigs, where the creator left and put others in charge.

 

[Muppet fan 123]

Well, Ryan announced today that he's leaving The Muppet Mindset to officially work for the Muppets, but the site will have three new moderators. I can't remember who they are at the moment.

I was slightly worried when I first saw the article. I still have plenty of article ideas, and had sent in the next Weekly Muppet Wednesday article. So it's good to know that the website will be around. I guess The Muppet Mindset is now like Tough Pigs, where the creator left and put others in charge.

No worries at all. It's in perfectly good hands from here on out. The new site runners will consist of myself, John Papovitch and Kyle Mahoney and it will be helmed by Jarrod Fairclough. It'll very much be in the same style and format that made it so unique in the first place. Although Ryan is very much irreplaceable, it'll work out great.