Could Between the Lions ever come back?

[Buff Beaker]

The more I think about it I do wonder if anyone approached Chris and Norman about continuing or rebooting the show?

 

[fuzzygobo]

If they ever do, there are a few things to consider.
1) Next year Chris will be 80. It might not stop him, but age can slow you down.
2) if they shoot any more episodes, chances are good they’ll go back to Mississippi. New York had restrictive
Union policies which made it nearly impossible to produce.
3) Nobody is lifting a finger anywhere until the virus lets up. On any tv production with puppets, you might have a few people in front of the camera, but behind it is a hundred or more. Disney had three movies in production, everything is shut down for now. Assembling actors, crew, writers, caterers, transport, etc. right now all bets are off.

 

[MuppetSpot]

If they ever do, there are a few things to consider.
1) Next year Chris will be 80. It might not stop him, but age can slow you down.
2) if they shoot any more episodes, chances are good they’ll go back to Mississippi. New York had restrictive
Union policies which made it nearly impossible to produce.
3) Nobody is lifting a finger anywhere until the virus lets up. On any tv production with puppets, you might have a few people in front of the camera, but behind it is a hundred or more. Disney had three movies in production, everything is shut down for now. Assembling actors, crew, writers, caterers, transport, etc. right now all bets are off.

Plus the factor of more puppeteers being unavailable now. People such as Jen and Peter have more commitments to Sesame Street now.

 

[fuzzygobo]

The thing about Sesame Street, in the beginning with 130 hours per season, there were a lot of Muppet inserts to crank out.
50 years later, a season is 26 half hours, and a lot of puppet segments were more CGI than puppetry.
There is not as big a demand for a puppeteer’s services.
In 2009 I saw Fran Brill. A lot of young puppeteers were angling for advice to get hired for Sesame. What a great credit to put on your resume. Fran said it was only a part-part-part-part-part time job. That was 11 years ago. I can’t imagine it being that heavy a workload now.

 

[MuppetSpot]

The thing about Sesame Street, in the beginning with 130 hours per season, there were a lot of Muppet inserts to crank out.
50 years later, a season is 26 half hours, and a lot of puppet segments were more CGI than puppetry.
There is not as big a demand for a puppeteer’s services.
In 2009 I saw Fran Brill. A lot of young puppeteers were angling for advice to get hired for Sesame. What a great credit to put on your resume. Fran said it was only a part-part-part-part-part time job. That was 11 years ago. I can’t imagine it being that heavy a workload now.

I remember in interviews with both Peter and Marty saying that even though the show only films like three months. However they have obligations with foreign training, along with puppeteer workshops and whatever else comes their way.

 

[salemfan]

Well, by the time Teletubbies came out, I was far too old to be part part of its targeted demographic. Stylistically the colors were nice, but intellectually there was nothing for me to hang my hat on.
I was far too old for Barney too. But compared to Sesame, Barney just seemed contrived, dumbed-down, the total opposite of what made Sesame great.
By the time BTL came around, again I was far too old, but Christopher Cerf and Norman Stiles gave it a wit and edge that Barney was severely lacking. People my age could sit through an episode of BTL and not puke.

Why were the kid shows that many adults who grew up with Sesame Street thought were annoying (such as Barney and Teletubbies) more popular than Between the Lions?

 

[fuzzygobo]

Part of it has to do with the writing. Sesame Street, Electric Company, BTL, never talked down to kids, never dumbed down the message. They were crafted so parents could watch and get drawn into the scene. Barney could never do that.

 

[salemfan]

Part of it has to do with the writing. Sesame Street, Electric Company, BTL, never talked down to kids, never dumbed down the message. They were crafted so parents could watch and get drawn into the scene. Barney could never do that.

Thank you, but my question still remains. What I meant is, why were the "annoying to adults" kid shows more popular than Between the Lions?

 

[Blue Frackle]

Because people like dumb stuff... I don't really think Between the Lions was that more obscure than Barney or Teletubbies that it warrants such a question.

 

[Muppet Master]

Man, I loved Between the Lions as a kid. I remember my teacher actually played a VHS of it in class in elementary school. It kinda felt like a slighty more mature Sesame Street.