Your Thoughts: The Muppet Show Starring Sabrina Carpenter

[Grumpo]

To do some nitpicking in addition to my post above, Maya Rudolph choking on Beaker's eyeball in her throat will probably haunt my dreams for nights to come (maybe holding a bottle of window cleaner in her hand, too). Her aborted death and Beaker's empty sockets felt more like a punkish Kirk Thatcher than old good Jim Henson to me, maybe a nod to MT from the scriptwriters.

Popular opinion or not, I would sell my soul to have Steve voiceover Kermit, really. I tried the mute comparison again: sound off - and I see Kermit, sound on - and it's still an extremely talented stand-in (hope not too many viewers have this issue). Luckily, the things he says are really Kermity, scripted way better than what they did before, that helps.

Highlights: the opening sequence complete with Gonzo still doing something fresh with his trumpet, nostalgic end titles, Statler and Waldorf, Sam the bartender, another Queen hit by the Muppets, and 5 seconds of Swedish Chef which are very much worth it! And everything else, really.

Overall, a solid 8/10, let's have more of this, please.

 

[Randall Flagg]

I would sell my soul to have Steve voiceover Kermit, really.

As somebody who was around when Steve took over for Jim, it's always funny to see comments like this, since I still clearly remember the backlash Steve got when he took over. I remember being at a friend's house the day "Muppets Christmas Carol" came out, and his sister had just gotten back from seeing it. My first question was, "How was Kermit's voice?" and her response was, "Ugh...."

And then, of course, there was the Family Guy thing about "wrong-sounding muppets."

Of course, over time, we all got used to Steve's version, and that will be the case with Matt, as well (also, by the time Steve was doing it for The Muppets series, it was sounding a bit thinner and raspy, so I'm not sure he'd still be able to do it now, anyway.)

As for the special, I DVR'd it and look forward to watching it this weekend. I'm pretty much only hearing good things, which is a nice change when it comes to Muppet stuff these days!

 

[GonzoIsCool]

To do some nitpicking in addition to my post above, Maya Rudolph choking on Beaker's eyeball in her throat will probably haunt my dreams for nights to come (maybe holding a bottle of window cleaner in her hand, too). Her aborted death and Beaker's empty sockets felt more like a punkish Kirk Thatcher than old good Jim Henson to me, maybe a nod to MT from the scriptwriters.

Popular opinion or not, I would sell my soul to have Steve voiceover Kermit, really. I tried the mute comparison again: sound off - and I see Kermit, sound on - and it's still an extremely talented stand-in (hope not too many viewers have this issue). Luckily, the things he says are really Kermity, scripted way better than what they did before, that helps.

Highlights: the opening sequence complete with Gonzo still doing something fresh with his trumpet, nostalgic end titles, Statler and Waldorf, Sam the bartender, another Queen hit by the Muppets, and 5 seconds of Swedish Chef which are very much worth it! And everything else, really.

Overall, a solid 8/10, let's have more of this, please.

As somebody who was around when Steve took over for Jim, it's always funny to see comments like this, since I still clearly remember the backlash Steve got when he took over. I remember being at a friend's house the day "Muppets Christmas Carol" came out, and his sister had just gotten back from seeing it. My first question was, "How was Kermit's voice?" and her response was, "Ugh...."

And then, of course, there was the Family Guy thing about "wrong-sounding muppets."

Of course, over time, we all got used to Steve's version, and that will be the case with Matt, as well (also, by the time Steve was doing it for The Muppets series, it was sounding a bit thinner and raspy, so I'm not sure he'd still be able to do it now, anyway.)

As for the special, I DVR'd it and look forward to watching it this weekend. I'm pretty much only hearing good things, which is a nice change when it comes to Muppet stuff these days!

It took me YEARS to get used to Steve Whitmire, mostly because the writing was sometimes a little off. Eventually I got used to him, probably around the Muppet Tonight era. I couldn’t even watch the newer movies until then without feeling heartbroken. I came to appreciate the movies, even if I still prefer the original ones.

It was very hard on me because my dream was to work with Jim Henson. He died so young. I grew up in a family where my parents played Rainbow Connection at their wedding. My cookie jar was Cookie Monster. My favorite shows were Muppet Babies and the Jim Henson Hour. I still have tons of tapes of Jim Henson shows. For people like me, Jim dying at such a crucial time was a critical blow. He was set to change Disney. Things looked so promising.

So for us to get used to Steve Whitmire was extremely hard. Fans were in mourning. It is not really possible to come up with a modern equivalent celebrity who would be as devastating to lose. Still, we came to terms and mostly healed. Having Kermit change again has been difficult to handle, especially when it brings up painful memories of Jim's passing. As long as the writing is good, I can handle Matt Vogel, just keep the writing good, please. I do miss Steve Whitmire, of course. I grew up watching him play Rizzo, Sprocket, and Bean Bunny for one thing. I hope he can find a way to puppeteer again.

I don't know how I'd handle it if Gonzo changed voices though. That might rip my heart out.

 

[Grumpo]

@Randall Flagg, @GonzoIsCool -- Thank You so much, gentlemen!

Myself, as i said before, I remember being extremely sad, skeptical and suspicious when I went to see the MCC (i haven't seen the tribute appearance until much later), thinking "oh well there is no way anybody can"... but then it was "hey" and then "wow" and "i actually believe he's there" and finally "there's hope for the Muppets yet". I clearly recall being amazed that i could actually believe i see the "same person" Kermit i used to know on the screen.

It might have had something to do with the fact that i had zero expectations going in, and sure had a lot to do with the writing, after all we still had Jerry Juhl back then, but my acceptance of Kermit in MCC, MTI and MT was immediate, and very smooth (which i will be forever grateful to Steve for).

I guess it finally caught me 35 years later =( and i was looking for people who actually went through this experience back then.
Was it hard for you to watch Muppet productions back then? Was there something you said to yourself to make things easier?
Is it hard to see the change now? (@GonzoIsCool thank you for already answering that perfectly!)

Otherwise, let's hope for Matt's talent and good writing to work its magic over time for us.

 

[Muppet Master]

To do some nitpicking in addition to my post above, Maya Rudolph choking on Beaker's eyeball in her throat will probably haunt my dreams for nights to come (maybe holding a bottle of window cleaner in her hand, too). Her aborted death and Beaker's empty sockets felt more like a punkish Kirk Thatcher than old good Jim Henson to me, maybe a nod to MT from the scriptwriters.

Popular opinion or not, I would sell my soul to have Steve voiceover Kermit, really. I tried the mute comparison again: sound off - and I see Kermit, sound on - and it's still an extremely talented stand-in (hope not too many viewers have this issue). Luckily, the things he says are really Kermity, scripted way better than what they did before, that helps.

Highlights: the opening sequence complete with Gonzo still doing something fresh with his trumpet, nostalgic end titles, Statler and Waldorf, Sam the bartender, another Queen hit by the Muppets, and 5 seconds of Swedish Chef which are very much worth it! And everything else, really.

Overall, a solid 8/10, let's have more of this, please.

I agree that I would prefer Steve doing Kermit, but I will say that I think Matt has improved his performance. There were a few moments here and there where it started to work for me.

And on another note, I feel like David Rudman has really upped his game as Scooter. It was an alright performance before, but he really captured the cadence and tone of season 1 Richard Hunt in this special.

 

[C to the J]

Even though Point Grey Pictures is known for making movies with highly objectionable content, it looks like they, along with other people responsible, did their homework.

Did anyone else notice an easy-to-miss gag where Gaffer has one of the Beaker eyes on her eye patch (yes, I said “her” because the lyrics for The Cat Came Back and the Muppets’ social media account’s comment on Gaffer fan art indicated that the cat is a her)? Also, I think Zoot blowing a Beaker eye out of his sax was a clever touch.

 

[MWoO]

To me, Kermit was the most in character he's been in a long time. He lost his cool when he needed too, but didn't feel constantly frantic or sad. Matt did a fantastic job.

I only laughed out loud once, which sounds bad, but I rarely laugh out loud when watching something alone. The part that got me was the end where Seth Rogan is in the audience and he says he can't believe he got cut but they kept the armadillo in the tutu. He says "he's not even canon!". Don't know why, but that really made me laugh not just on the first viewing but the second tine too. It just reminded me of every Muppet fan that critiques stuff.

It does seem like some editing was done to trim down on time. A jump cut here or there. Overall, it was just like any other episode of The Muppet Show. Of course I wanted to see Pigs in Space and Vets Hospital and all the other regular skits, but realistically those were not part of every Muppet Show episode and Piggy already played a big part.

While I think the Mayhem show and The Muppets 2015 were great shows and much more creative and interesting, I know the general public just wants The Muppet Show so I'd rather have a reboot than nothing. And as consolation prices go, a Muppet Show reboot isn't bad at all.

 

[Daffyfan4ever]

It is so very much superior to any recent productions. Why the heck couldn't they do it in 2020, 2015, 2011, etc.?

Or 1996, if we count "Muppets Tonight!"

Definitely a very good show. I like how they brought back first season characters such as Wayne and Wanda and Hilda, while keeping the 'later added' Muppets alive. (Ex: Pepe, Bobo, etc.)

Matt Vogel really improved his Kermit performance. He nailed it! I even went straight to watching Jim Henson afterwards without issue. I think it helped that the writing was better so he sounded less awkward.

I agree. I think that's why Matt's performance as Kermit never really did it for me. They never really gave him that much to work with. Here you could still tell the voice was different but it worked. He really showed a lot of personality there. Seems like he's really starting to follow Jim's footsteps here or even Steve's.

 

[Grumpo]

To me, Kermit was the most in character he's been in a long time. He lost his cool when he needed too, but didn't feel constantly frantic or sad. Matt did a fantastic job.

Here you could still tell the voice was different but it worked. He really showed a lot of personality there. Seems like he's really starting to follow Jim's footsteps here or even Steve's.

Totally agree, Matt really stepped up his game as Kermit here, and does a commendable job indeed. Kudos to great writing, too -- it very neatly supports the characters, and Kermit does not have to be a depressed philandering frog anymore (i think the only excuse for that was that "happy philandering frog" would be so much more out of character! the whole plot idea was wrong to begin with). Here the writers got the tone and the characters and the plot lines right (at last!), and it really makes things so much easier. Hope they will be able to keep it up for the rest of the series.
Btw, have you noticed that the first name on the writers list is Albertina Rizzo? Must be a good sign =)

While I think the Mayhem show and The Muppets 2015 were great shows and much more creative and interesting, I know the general public just wants The Muppet Show so I'd rather have a reboot than nothing. And as consolation prices go, a Muppet Show reboot isn't bad at all.

For me, 2015 took too much time to find the right Muppets tone and balance. IMHO, at first it wanted to become an adult sitcom too much -- but to me, Muppets work best in vaudevillian sort of mix of short skits, music, backstage squabbles, and something big going on behind all that, to keep the whole thing together. That's why Mayhem worked fine, but Muppets Now did not quite work out as well as it could. The original Muppet Show provided that perfect mix, and became a hit, and I hope that plays out for the reboot as well.

But this is just my personal opinion i in no way insist on. Muppets need to grow not to become stale. As long as Muppets stay Muppets, it is good for me =)

 

[Muppet Master]

For people like me, Jim dying at such a crucial time was a critical blow. He was set to change Disney. Things looked so promising.

I read in "Street Gang" that the Disney deal would have only permitted Jim to work two weeks out of the year on "Sesame Street", which would have been unnecessarily restrictive. It is such a major "what if" what could have been though.