Tough Pigs Muppetational May Challenge

[minor muppetz]

Toughpigs has recently started a new Twitter challenge for the month of may, calling it Muppetational May.

Here's the article explaining what it is. http://www.toughpigs.com/muppetational-may/

For the first of the challenge, I picked as four favorite Muppets Kermit, Bunsen (looking at the hastag tweets, I might be the only one so far who picked him), Beaker, and Lips (big surprise there).

 

[D'Snowth]

They apparently had in mind that this would be a pictoral daily challenge for the month (apparently this was originally going to be an Instagram-exclusive challenge), but they never explicitly mentioned that in their article. Luckily, pictures aren't mandatory, even though they'd prefer it.

 

[minor muppetz]

They apparently had in mind that this would be a pictoral daily challenge for the month (apparently this was originally going to be an Instagram-exclusive challenge), but they never explicitly mentioned that in their article. Luckily, pictures aren't mandatory, even though they'd prefer it.

I had no idea about the pictures thing.

Midnight has passed in my time zone, so I've already taken day 2 of the challenge, four favorite Sesame Street characters: Cookie Monster, Grover, Herry, and Oscar (I kinda wish I'd include some old school/obscure character, Herry would be the closest but he's been making a comeback).

 

[minor muppetz]

For day three, I listed as my four favorite Fraggle Rock characters Red, Boober, Wembley, and Junior Gorg (so far, I haven't seen many others list any of the Gorgs).

It would be interesting to look at everyones tweets for favorite Muppet, Sesame Street, and Fraggle Rock characters and see who gets mentioned the most. I feel like Kermit was among the most-mentioned Muppet characters. Somebody, I think Joe from Tough Pigs, pointed out that Grover was on a lot of people's lists, but I also noticed quite a few characters appearing a lot - Cookie Monster, Ernie, Bert, Oscar... When it comes to more recent characters (and I don't know how far back "recent" is), Julia is included on quite a few lists. When it comes to old school characters, I feel I've seen Don Music quite a bit. I noticed one user only listing international characters, not sure if they're all from the same international version or multiple international co-productions.

I didn't think about it when it was announced, but it didn't say that the Four Favorite Sesame Street Characters have to be Muppets, and I have seen some of the humans listed. Maria seems to be the human listed the most, but I've also seen Mr. Hooper and Bob listed. In terms of Fraggle Rock, I have only seen Doc listed once so far.

On the first day, there were a number of posts that lists characters from Sesame Street and Fraggle Rock as well as The Muppets, some users acknowledged that yesterday (Brian Jay Jones is among them).

I kinda like posts where they are able to include all four characters in a single picture. I can see that as a real challenge (well, if they're four favorites are not among the main 4-6 characters).

Sometimes I see people cheat by listing two characters or a group, but I don't think there's too many instances of somebody listing the same duo or whatever many times. I've seen people lump Bunsen and Beaker together (seen Beaker listed a lot, Bunsen on his own not so much), Statler and Waldorf together (didn't see anybody list either without the other, and didn't see many people pick these two), Bert and Ernie (I've seen plenty of people list both individually), Philo and Gunge (I'd be surprised if anybody just lists one), and The Electric Mayhem. Not sure if the people picking the Electric Mayhem are including Lips when lumping the whole band, but I've also seen each individual member, even Lips, on many different lists. I think Dr. Teeth and Floyd are listed less than the others, and I want to think Animal is listed a lot more than the others but I actually feel like Janice and Zoot (and maybe Lips) are close if not ahead.

At first as I was looking at all the Fraggle Rock tweets, I was thinking that Mokey was on the least amount of lists, but after my last look, it seems she is featured quite a bit (maybe as much as Gobo). Of course I haven't kept official track of how many people listed each character. I think everyone's tweets includes at least one of the main five. Muppet and Sesame Street character tweets seem to have a bit more variety (of course those have a lot more "main characters" to choose from, not to mention a larger number of more memorable minor characters).

I wonder what made them decide to do "four characters". Five seems more appropriate (after all, May is the fifth month of the year).

 

[minor muppetz]

On Friday, my picks for four favorite Muppet Show episodes were the ones with Madeline Kahn, John Cleese, Roger Miller, and Loretta Switt.

On Saturday, my picks for four favorite Sesame Street episodes were episode 1, episode 1836, episode 1899, and the one where Slimey lands on the moon.

For today, my picks for four favorite Fraggle Rock episodes are Catch the Tail by the Tiger, Marooned, Boober and the Blob, and River of Life.

Still unsure what I'll pick for favorite Muppet movie tomorrow. Usually it's either The Muppet Movie, The Great Muppet Caper, or Muppets Most Wanted. Thanks to the Moving Right Along podcast, TMM has been on my mind quite a bit this past year (and I have been watching it more this year than in the past several years), but The Muppets Take Manhattan has also been on my mind quite a bit (maybe it's because of all the recent interviews with Frank Oz).

 

[dwayne1115]

On Friday, my picks for four favorite Muppet Show episodes were the ones with Madeline Kahn, John Cleese, Roger Miller, and Loretta Switt.

On Saturday, my picks for four favorite Sesame Street episodes were episode 1, episode 1836, episode 1899, and the one where Slimey lands on the moon.

For today, my picks for four favorite Fraggle Rock episodes are Catch the Tail by the Tiger, Marooned, Boober and the Blob, and River of Life.

Still unsure what I'll pick for favorite Muppet movie tomorrow. Usually it's either The Muppet Movie, The Great Muppet Caper, or Muppets Most Wanted. Thanks to the Moving Right Along podcast, TMM has been on my mind quite a bit this past year (and I have been watching it more this year than in the past several years), but The Muppets Take Manhattan has also been on my mind quite a bit (maybe it's because of all the recent interviews with Frank Oz).

Manhattan holds a very near and dear place in my heart.

 

[minor muppetz]

My picks for this past weeks challenges:
Favorite Muppet Movie: The Muppet Movie
Least Favorite Muppet Movie: Muppet Treasure Island (and also noted Kermit's Swamp Years if it's not limited to theatricals)
Favorite Muppet Special: The Muppets Go to the Movies
Least Favorite Muppet Special: The Fantastic Miss Piggy Show
Favorite Muppet Christmas Production: A Muppet Family Christmas
Guilty Pleasure Production: It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie

The choices have been interesting. Unsurprisingly, the majority of votes for best movie were for one of the three Jim-era films, with even the last two not getting many picks from fans (reminds me of a recent Tough Pigs poll for favorite Muppet movie, somebody pointed out that the 2011 film was the only one that did not yet have any votes, despite being the highest-grossing and winning the franchises only Oscar, and I feel like that one's most popular with today's young casual audiences). One of the Tough Pigs guys said that he hoped somebody picked TMM as their least favorite just for controversy, and that's the only one that didn't get any picks (I was kinda hoping MFS would be somebody's favorite for the same reason), that's the only one to not be anybody's least favorite (and unsurprisingly, it seems the films that got picked the most were MTI, MFS, KSY, and the two made-for-TV movies).

It seems the majority of specials on people's favorites tweet were either The Muppets Go to the Movies, A Muppet Family Christmas, and The Muppets at Walt Disney World. Some of the non-TMS/non-Sesame Street specials were listed as favorites but not many (I don't think Hey Cinderella was on the lists for either favorite or least favorite, in fact A Celebration of 30 Years also wasn't on any tweets I saw). I'm surprised I didn't see more people cite the Studio DC specials as least favorites (and at least one person said it was their favorite), but I'm not surprised to see so many mentions of the Lady Gaga special, also listed among least favorites were the two John Denver specials, The Fantastic Miss Piggy Show, and Mr. Willoby's Christmas Tree. I don't think anybody listed Letters to Santa at all. I saw a post on the Tough Pigs forum about somebody actually picking MFS just because they dislike Christmas stuff, I actually don't remember seeing such a tweet. I think I was more interested in everybody's favorite/least favorite specials than movies - those seem to have a bit of obscurity to them compared to the movies, allowing a bit more variety and unexpectedness (how many casual fans are aware of specials like The Muppet Musicians of Bremen, The Muppets Go to the Movies, The Fantastic Miss Piggy Show, Mr Willoby's Christmas Tree, and the Studio DC specials, for example?).

For favorite Christmas production, there were several tweets about the usual suspects - A Muppet Family Christmas, Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas, Christmas Eve on Sesame Street, and The Muppet Christmas Carol, but I also saw mentions of Mr. Willoby's Christmas Tree (what a surprise) and It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie, I don't recall anybody listing The Great Santa Claus Switch or The Christmas Toy, and I actually don't recall any of the other Sesame Street Christmas specials being chosen as favorites.

The favorite Muppet guilty pleasure is still going, and I've seen quite a bit of variety. A lot of widely despised things have been pickded - It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie, the Studio DC specials (though if one was a teenager/DC demographic at the time, should it really count as a guilty pleasure for those who really like it?), A Special Sesame Street Christmas, Mr. Willoby's Christmas Tree, and The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland, but I've also seen people cite their guilty pleasures as things like Elmopalooza, The Fantastic Miss Piggy Show, Muppets Tonight, and the 2015 series (I thought most of us liked it while casual fans didn't).

The next few days will be favorite original performer, favorite current performer, and favorite recast. This will be a little hard for me. I wonder if anyone will list Dave Goelz on both days (not to mention all three days, if anyone's favorite recasts are his Waldorf or Chip).

 

[minor muppetz]

I'm excited about tomorrow's part of the challenge - "Muppet productions you grew up with". This is the one I'd be least surprised to go over the character limit on Twitter. But I am also wondering, what would be the cut-off date for "growing up"? Would/should it be productions I grew up with until I was, say, 8? 12? 18?

What I chose in the last few days:
Favorite Original Muppet Performer: Dave Goelz
Favorite Current Muppet Performer: Bill Baretta
Favorite Muppet Recast: Eric Jacobson as Frank Oz's characters
Favorite Non-Muppets Henson Production: Dinosaurs (and if it's limited to productions made in Jim's lifetime - and never saw such a rule - Labyrinth)

It was interesting looking at people's choices. For favorite original performer, unsurprisingly, most of the votes were for Henson, Oz, Nelson, Hunt, or Goelz, with a few votes for Whitmire and Spinney, didn't see anybody pick Fran Brill or Louise Gold.

For favorite current performer, there were a lot of picks for Bill Baretta, Peter Linz, David Rudman, and Matt Vogel. I also saw a few for Stacey Gordon, who performs Julia. Didn't see many for Dave Goelz, saw a few for Stephanie D'Abruzzo.

For favorite recast, I saw quite a few people cite Eric Jacobson, Matt Vogel, and Peter Linz for various characters. Saw a few mentions of Martin Robinson and Kevin Clash, but not many. I didn't think about it, but I saw one whose favorite was Richard Hunt taking over Janice from Eren Ozker. Brian Jay Jones mentioned his favorites being Oz taking over Piggy from Richard Hunt (was that really a recast, though, considering they both simultaneously performed her in the same season?) and Kevin Clash taking over Elmo from Hunt (and not much footage is out there of Hunt as Elmo). I also saw somebody list their favorite "recast" as Marylin Sokol taking over Emmet Otter's Ma from Frank Oz (which isn't really a recast, one was doing the puppet and the other the voice).

Most of the favorite non-Muppets productions were creature shop productions, primarily The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth, The StoryTeller, and Dinosaurs. I also saw a fair amount of votes for Time Piece, and saw some pick Wilkins Coffee commercials, Fraggle Rock, and Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas. Wasn't sure whether this one would have a lot of fans picking productions from the Muppet Workshop that aren't The Muppets or not.

 

[minor muppetz]

Here's what I've picked in the days since my last post in this thread:
Muppet Productions You Grew Up On: I listed practically everything I felt I "grew up on", many had to be in comment tweets.... But in the main tweet, I listed The Muppet Show, Sesame Street, Fraggle Rock, Muppet Babies, Dinosaurs, the movies, many specials, compilation videos and Play-Along Videos.
The Last Muppet Production You Watched: Sesame Street episode 1056.
Your Favorite Muppet Joke or Running Gag: I decided to go with the "cute, cute..." running gag from the first season.
Your Favorite Sketch from The Muppet Show: Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Disappearing Things
Favorite Recurring Sketch from The Muppet Show: Muppet Labs
Favorite Recurring Sketch from Sesame Street: Sesame Street News
Favorite Classic Muppet Song: I decided to go with "Never Before, Never Again"
Favorite Classic Sesame Street Song: I decided to go with "But I Like You"
Favorite Fraggle Rock Song: Friendship Song

For a lot of this I didn't pay as much attention to what seemed to be picked the most. But I noticed most of the "favorite recurring TMS sketch" picks were either Pigs in Space or Veterinarian's Hospital. For favorite Sesame Street sketch I saw a lot of people pick Monsterpiece Theater, Sesame Street News, Ernie and Bert, Waiter Grover, and Super Grover, but also saw plenty of lesser-known and recent picks as well.

 

[LittleJerry92]

Okay guys....

Imma post all 31 in one post.

1. 4 Favorite muppets - Kermit because of his fun-loving straight man personality and when he'll occasionally flip out, Dr. Teeth because he sure is one cool cat, Fozzie because of his goofy comic relief personality, and I guess Gonzo because of his love for chickens and he's such a goofy character.

2. Favorite Sesame Street characters - Grover because of his wacky personality, Cookie Monster same deal, Ernie because of his man child personality, and of course, Little Jerry because Little Jerry and his group have always been my favorite Sesame Street puppet band.

3. 4 favorite Fraggle Rock characters - well, this is kind of tough for me because I have not watched Fraggle Rock in a long, long time, but from my memory, I always liked Red because she had a very fun and outgoing personality, Mokey because she was a real sweetheart and was honestly like a mom to me when I was a kid (I'm guilty of crushing on her. ), Gobo just because he's a loveable little guy, and I guess Boober since I can also relate to being kinda paranoid about stuff sometimes.

4. 4 Favorite Muppet Show episodes - Alice Cooper because his performances were BOMB, Leo Sawyer same deal, Cloris Leachman mainly because of the pigs taking over storyline, and the first episode mostly because "Mahna Mahna" was always one of my favorite songs.

5. 4 Favorite Sesame Street episodes - When Vern from Readers of the Open Range comes to visit. That episode really excited me as a kid, Telly breaks Big Bird's car because I used to have that episode on tape when I was a kid and I found it funny, Little Jerry's comeback in 2000 (yeah, surprise, right? ) and when Elmo and the gang are playing mini golf all over the street. Brian Muhel's performance as Prince Charming cracked me up. )

6. 4 Fraggle Rock episodes - sadly, can't answer this one since it's been a long, long time since I watched it (though the last one I remember watching was Gobo being locked in a cage).

7. Favorite Muppet movie - Hands down the Great Muppet Caper. Lots of action and I loved the plot with Nicky Holiday stealing lady Holiday's jewels. (On another note, as a kid, I remember crushing on Lady Holiday's models. They looked so hot in those catsuits. )

8. Least favorite muppet movie - I haven't seen all of them, but right now it's kind of Muppets from Space. Don't get me wrong - it's one I don't mind and will watch anytime, but one I can live without, too.

9. Favorite Muppet Special - Definitely A Muppet Family Christmas. I remember being super excited as a kid seeing all the muppet characters cross over.

10. Least favorite - Honestly Lady Gaga. Meh.

11. Favorite Muppet Christmas Production - Well, I like what I just mentioned, but I also really enjoyed a Very Muppet Christmas and Muppet Christmas carol (the former I'd have to re-watch as an adult, though...).

12. Guilty Pleasure Muppet Production - I guess The Muppet Movie since it shows how they all met.

13. Favorite original Muppet Performer - Tie between Jim and Frank, just because they both performed lots of wild guy and straight guy characters.

14. Favorite current Muppet performer - guess I'll throw in Bill Barretta because a lot of his characters are like me.

15. Favorite muppet recast - I actually like Bill as Dr. Teeth to be honest.

16. Favorite non-muppet Henson production - Can we count the 12 balls cartoon? That cartoon got me super excited as a kid. I always loved the sound effects, music and stop-motion.

17. Muppet Production you grew up on - Sesame Street boooiiii.

18. Last Muppet Production watched - Muppet Treasure Island.

19. Favorite muppet joke - Probably the fork in the road. Always cracks me up.

20. Favorite Muppet Show sketch - I always loved Fozzie's, Link Hogthrop's, Rizzo's and Lew Zealand's performance of "Another Opening, Another Show" - the curtains constantly falling on them always made me laugh.

21. Favorite recurring Muppet Show sketch - Swedish Chef. Bork, bork, bork!

22. - Favorite recurring Sesame Street skit - Well, I always loved the Old West skits with Sinister Sam and Bad Bart and other "bad" cowboys, to name one....

23. Favorite classic Muppet Song - Well, to name one, "Happiness Hotel" from The Great Muppet Caper."

24. Favorite classic Sesame Street song - If you know me well, "NTV/The Letter N" by Nick Normal and the Nickmatics. I always loved this song as a kid, because I seem to have a weakness for 80's MTV music video-styled songs.

25. Favorite Fraggle Rock song - eh, I guess the opening.

26. Most underrated muppet production - Honestly, Muppets Take Manhatten - I don't hear much about this movie to be honest.

27. Most overrated Muppet Production - A Muppet Christmas Carol. It's a good movie, don't get me wrong, but I think it's given too much credit, and if I'm gonna be honest, I think some members here get kind of ***** if you DARE make any form of criticism on it.

28. - Favorite Muppet viral video - I loved when the Swedish Chef competed against Gordon Ramsay.

29. - Favorite Sesame Street viral video - their 80's mashup was FIRE.

30. - Favorite muppet merchandise - tough, but I love my Kermit doll and my Electic Mayhem dolls.

31. Favorite Muppet quote - "EAT DRUMS!!! "