Thoughts on Nina

[antsamthompson9]

Now that we've had Nina for 5 years, I wanna know how you guys feel about her. Do you think she's a good character, do you think she lacks the motherly nature that Maria or Susan had? I know some of you think she's attractive, which she is, but do you think that's enough to keep her going? Let me tell you: My mom is not a fan of her, she thinks she acts too perky. This video was the only time she found Nina tolerable, just because she wasn't acting:

 

[D'Snowth]

She does seem a little "vanilla" to me - nothing really stand-out about her.

There is a certain perkiness about her, I'll agree, but then again, that seems to be the kind of direction the live actors are being given these days; both Alan and Chris seem a lot hammier and quirkier now than they did ten or more years ago.

 

[Oscarfan]

You mean four years, right?

Anywho, um, I really have no opinion because the show doesn't really do much with her. The humans used to be important - they had lives that developed. Today, they feel so inessential to the overall proceedings. We barely know anything about Nina - she speaks Spanish, works at the bike shop and it was mentioned, like, once that she's in college studying engineering or something. That's pretty much it. She doesn't really have a particular relationship to any of the other characters, human or Muppet (like, say, Oscar and Maria had).

And kind of part of that is the show has much looser continuity these days because of how the show can be watched; it can be watched in any order the viewer so choses. So while there are certain continuity developments (i.e. Rudy and Julia's intros), all the rest is just loosey-goosey because kids today shouldn't have to know 50 years of history for a show they're currently watching.

 

[D'Snowth]

She doesn't really have a particular relationship to any of the other characters, human or Muppet (like, say, Oscar and Maria had).

That's why I found it odd when they did that Mother's Day episode how Big Bird sang about how Nina's been like a mother to him, even though they practically had pretty much no interaction with each other whatsoever prior to that episode.

 

[antsamthompson9]

She does seem a little "vanilla" to me - nothing really stand-out about her.

There is a certain perkiness about her, I'll agree, but then again, that seems to be the kind of direction the live actors are being given these days; both Alan and Chris seem a lot hammier and quirkier now than they did ten or more years ago.

And yet, my mom likes Alan and Chris just fine. Then again, she probably notices it with her because, as JD Hansel said on a podcast, "She insists on showing us all of her teeth whenever she smiles."

 

[sesamemuppetfan]

Overall, I think she's always a blast and has a great personality! But I myself would like to know a little more about her character, although the humans aren't as important.

Also, I follow Suki on Instagram, and yesterday she revealed something big happening:

Spoiler

she and her husband are expecting!!

 

[antsamthompson9]

Overall, I think she's always a blast and has a great personality! But I myself would like to know a little more about her character, although the humans aren't as important.

Also, I follow Suki on Instagram, and yesterday she revealed something big happening:

Spoiler

she and her husband are expecting!!

Aw, good for them!

 

[antsamthompson9]

You mean four years, right?

Technically 5, since she was in the 2015 Macy's Parade.

 

[Blue Frackle]

As Snowth said, if people want to criticize her for being perky, Alan is literally the same way.

 

[D'Snowth]

I don't quite know how to describe it, but they just don't feel like real, genuine people anymore - there seems to be some unwritten rule for kids shows that actors have to be as quirky, hammy, perky, animated, bouncy as possible . . . I remember Miley Cyrus was really bad about this . . . not that I watched HANNAH MONTANA regularly, mind you, but whenever I'd occasionally have to watch with my niece when she was little, one of the biggest things that really bugged me about the show was Miley's acting (or lack thereof): it felt like whenever someone would be in an old electronic store and play around with those video cameras that would put their face up on those big, multi-green TV monitors . . . that's kind of what Alan and Chris feel like nowadays; they don't feel like your neighbors anymore, they feel more like kiddy show entertainers.