Video: "The Muppets" Official ABC Trailer

[jvcarroll]

To be perfectly honest, I was kinda busting that guy's chops.

I could do that whole thing where I mention some cringeworthy "jokes" from before the Disney sale (the Nipple joke being left in MWO, the Crock Hunter parody in VMX) or even Jim's time (That Oklahoma/Yokohama bit was disturbingly racist for a Muppet production), but in the end it means nothing. I'll tell it out straight.

There is going to be discontent because that's how things are. No matter how hard the more positive fans are going to try to convince the Geewunners, there's essentially holding the first three Muppet Movies and original Muppet Show on a pedestal and feel that anything of lesser quality or different humor is automatically an insult or just not worth their time. I find the extreme negativity just as foolish as the extreme optimism. I feel that when it comes to any announced project of any license, unless their are horrid red flags, the key is optimism healthily tempered with concern. Anything can go either way. Going in with a purely positive attitude can lead to either high standards being blown away or disappointment, going in with a negative one can lead to either being pleasantly surprised or picking out the most negative aspects and blowing them out of proportion. And then there's the guy who picks everything apart when it's all said and done because they need to feel superior in their negative attitudes (you know, because automatically calling everything crap is somehow artistic and intelligent), and then everyone just buys into that negativity as a result. Which leads me to..

We want this to be successful. Both on the level of ratings success and especially that the majority of Muppet Fans have high positives about it. Obviously, this is a fragile license for Disney. Not so fragile that they dumped them after MMW entirely, but still, pretty fragile. Disney by all means doesn't have to market anything beyond Frozen, Preschool shows, Pixar, Star Wars and Marvel. If we want to keep rolling in DVD's and T-shirts, we have to root for this series' success. Otherwise it's all Frozen and Planes. But above that, you know how everyone's constantly whining about reboots and remakes? I don't get it, because usually those sort of things get newer viewers into the older franchises, thus reviving the classics as much as the newer productions. Why complain about how a series is going to overtake the original when that was never the case, and usually the original versions get more popular as a result. Say what you will about the Star trek movies, they did get those who wouldn't have been interested in the franchise in the first place into the originals. And that's going the same for Muppets. Heck, maybe if this is successful enough, we'll actually GET the 4th and 5th season of the original show on DVD or Netflix.

We're fans. We pick at things. But I come from the position of wanting to see the best in things and in people because I'd rather be occasionally disappointed than permanently disillusioned.

Just think. This time last year everyone thought it was over for the Muppets and now they're the attraction that totally took Comic Con. They top almost every critic's list of new shows.

But again, we're all fanatics (people forget that's the word that fan comes from) and we have our passionate opinions. Some folks will only be satisfied with a direct facsimile of the Muppet Show yet still remark about the voice artistry being off.

I'm just excited to see the Muppets not just getting back to their roots but also creating something new and growing. That makes me very happy. They've taken a step forward but in classic Muppety form.

Well, so far...and so far so good.

 

[Drtooth]

Just think. This time last year everyone thought it was over for the Muppets and now they're the attraction that totally took Comic Con. They top almost every critic's list of new shows.

I've been building this up for a while now, but I feel this is the best outlet for this.

I despise mainstream fickleness with the burning passion of a trillion red hot suns just about to burn out. The fickleness of loving first comeback movies and crapping all over the second one because it's another one and/or not the quality of the last one (follow ups are admittedly hard). The fickleness of loving a celebrity until that one movie where it's okay to hate them and the world is supposed to turn their backs on them until they do a preachy indie film (but it has to be the right kind of preachy or it's a vanity project) or die. The fickleness of wanting new adventures of such and such and then automatically hating it the second it's announced even if it's a direct continuation. And especially the fickleness of treating something that unfortunately falls a little flat worse than something outright horrible. And this isn't just The Muppets here... it's every bleeding thing. And it's like there's some big God of entertainment of some sort that says "If you like this stuff, you're incredibly stupid and uncool." They "Emperor's New Clothes" the heck out of that piece.

But it's great to see this excitement and praise for the Muppets' return to TV after the fickleness of the same types loving TM and not MMW. hopefully this kind of excitement can keep the show going at least further than the last TV series. But mark my words. After reading the script to the Fox series, I am extremely grateful that series never was produced. For all the things anyone can say about this new series being out of character or the jokes being low brow, the Fox series would have been a poor return for the franchise. Not that there wasn't something good here and there, but it was all very 2000's style "Scary Movie before everyone hated it" humor. It barely worked for VMX (which is horribly dated, and I'm not talking certain references so much as overall), it wouldn't have worked for a TV series. It was very much hit or miss in MT, that's for sure.

 

[Oscarfan]

You know what I'd love to see? We catch a glimpse of them rehearsing "Mahna Mahna," then we see what the Snowths/Mahana Mahna actually do outside of the bit.

I'd also enjoy seeing some small character get eaten by one of the larger monsters, then we follow them from time-to-time throughout the rest of the episode as they continue to be inside their stomach.

Given how the show is shaping up, these seem entirely plausible.

 

[Ladywarrior]

my favorite bits always have been when they sing a song and it starts going downhill during the performance. I know I know it's from TMS but it was always funny!

 

[minor muppetz]

You know what I'd love to see? We catch a glimpse of them rehearsing "Mahna Mahna," then we see what the Snowths/Mahana Mahna actually do outside of the bit.

I'd like to see a gag where they're supposed to do the song, but then one of them (whether in cut-away or not) remarks that they're tired of always doing that song. It would be the first time since the "string quartet" sketch on The Ed Sullivan Show (and the Canteen commercial) that Mahna Mahna said somethign other than his own name, or perhaps the first time one of the Snowths said something besides "doo doo do doo doo".

 

[LipsGF4Life]

wait a second... they are actually going to imply the electric mayhem were on drugs? seriously?! I never saw any indication ANY of the mayhem were stoners. Yeah they wear weird clothing and stuff but they are "hip" you can be "hip" without being weed whackers.
maybe with the miss piggy thing she's just joking around. I mean she knew everyone's names in all the other media. Maybe she was pretending to not know them t get under kermit's skin. That would be pretty funny if she did it ON PURPOSE and then slips up later and kermit calls her out on it and she'd be like "I was just doing it to bug you". XD
By the way.. if they did anything questionable wouldn't Sam the eagle resident censor bar make a big deal about it?

If they do that, I'd be mad. The band don't do that. I agree with you @Ladywarrior

 

[CensoredAlso]

If they do that, I'd be mad. The band don't do that. I agree with you @Ladywarrior

Eh well with Zoot you can always speculate, lol. Of course, that's subtle humor. I agree that anything more than that would be questionable.

 

[jvcarroll]

Some fans are insane. The fact that Floyd's eyes were initially had spiraled pupils in the Muppet Show pilot, the band planning so sell "organic refreshments" in the Muppet Movie, Zoot "skipping a groove" and always behaving as if he's in a fog and many other examples point to clever drug references just as Kermit's sly line in the new pilot does. Heck, notice how all of the band members' eyes are either shut, crazed or obscured.

For those wanting a puritanical Muppet Show (that never really existed) here's something for the kids.

As for me, I'll be watching the new program in the hope that they'll keep the classic tone of the pilot.

 

[Drtooth]

For those wanting a puritanical Muppet Show (that never really existed) here's something for the kids.

​

As for me, I'll be watching the new program in the hope that they'll keep the classic tone of the pilot.

It's hilarious that the Disney Junior shorts were being derided as "too kiddy" and now the pilot is being derided as "too adult." I agree there was always a sly "hippies love drugs" burnout stereotype vibe with the group. The joke it the pilot is at least a subtle hint and not something blatantly obvious as a Robot Chicken skit/Family Guy cutaway. I'll give the whole "the Muppets were all about overly sophisticated humor" generalization a go and all, but the whole overly clean humor notion is just the most laughable nonsense I've ever heard. Anyone remember the "I don't care if he's rich...and I'll just be his..." line from Dog City? How about Raquel Welch? Just... just the whole episode, especially the opening number? Not exactly the kid friendliest of things there. And let's never forget the brutal satire of what Convincin' John really is. That was one of the most subversive things back then. As long as the new series is clever with the adult jokes, I don't see a problem.

I'd hate for this to be another "Snoop Doggs should not be allowed with the Muppets" VMX pseudo-scandal. Especially since, Snoop Dogg was in both a kid's movie (Turbo), and had a guest spot on a kid's cartoon (Sanjay and Craig).

 

[Muppetboy09]

Pilot table read! So to whoever said they were filming a couple days ago, it hasn't started just yet.