Just saw it
Not bad...way too short, but I loved seeing Fozzie!
Yeah, it was good to see someone interact with the Muppets comfortably. Whoopi giving Kermit a kiss and Kermit making the "turning into a prince" comment was nice.
Fozzie was wonderful. Yeah, he knows Statler and Waldorf's names. "The two old guys..." That was the only part I found odd. He could have said "Statler and Waldorf, those two old guys in the theater box..."
Fozzie's fear of Simon Cowell was so well done. Of
course Fozzie would be afraid of him. Fozzie's always nervous to go on stage and has put up with criticism for ages. The main difference is that Statler and Waldorf actually have a heart sometimes. Simon however...
The whole Kermit/Piggy thing...it comes up every time in an interview even with Fozzie there in this case. It's the big thing people remember about the Muppets.
I say why not have Kermit admit he likes Piggy, but give a nod to the other characters people might remember? This could work just as well on the View:
Whoopi: "So how's the relationship between you and Piggy?"
Kermit: "Oh, well...we like each other and everything, you know. She's got talent. Actually, in one show she did so well, I (small voice) ordered her a dozen roses." (Shrugs)
Audience: "Awww."
Kermit: "Well, actually I ended up getting
two dozen roses...um...(gulp)"
Whoopi: "
Two dozen?" (gives Kermit a look) What's goin' on, Kerm?"
Kermit: "Oh no, no no. It's not like that. The first dozen was delivered to the Muppet Theater, but before I could get to the door, Animal thought it was the pizza delivery guy and he uh...ate them."
Whoopi: "Animal
ate Piggy's flowers?"
Kermit: (nods)"...and the florist. (gulp)."
(Clips of Animal in action from Season 3 are played).
Kermit: "See, that's the kind of craziness we put up with on the show. But it was a lot of fun, too..."
Something like that would work, couldn't it? People would know Animal, wouldn't they?
If they're having problems with the pig or need new material or whatever, here's an idea:
Frank. No, he doesn't perform Piggy anymore. We all know that. But Disney (or whoever the writers are now) need to study his work. The DVDs are out there! Study Piggy and Kermit from the late 70s-early 80s and see what made them work well together.
Even better would be someone to ask Frank about character development. Ask Frank about Piggy! The writers should ask Frank "Hey, Piggy used to be your character. Any 'Piggy Pointers' you could jot down for us? We could use some help here so she doesn't seem so lame nowadays." Piggy's more complex than the rest of Frank's characters and I think that's part of the "Piggy problem". She's a difficult character to play and many Hollywood writers aren't interested in deeper characters to explore. They want tabloid fodder to chew up and spit out like old gum when the flavor's gone, then reach for a new stick. The Muppets are
classic celebrities, they starred and worked
with classic celebrities and need to be
treated as such.
I wish that Frank would hold a meeting with all these guys: Muppet writers, producers, Eric, etc. and have a chance to say: "Here's how Piggy should behave, here is what she should say/shouldn't say, her likes/dislikes, her relationship to Kermit (according to her) is this. However, Jim often said this with Kermit. Interviewers will always ask about their relationship. Just have Piggy say this and Kermit say this. And for goodness sakes, when the Muppets do interviews, try to get people who won't either talk down to them or discuss trashy topics. After all, the Muppets are for
all ages."
Frank will probably never put a puppet on his hand again. However, he might not be against giving the new guys pointers.
Eric did brilliantly with Fozzie in this appearance. It was just too dang short!
I say to make the View more interesting, it should be hosted by Whoopi, Kermit, Fozzie Gonzo and Barbara Walters (puppeteered by Bill Barretta doing Bobo's voice).
Convincing John
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I agree with you about the pig's hair too. Both the 80s fro and the 90s straight hair were likely used because they are easier to style and maintain. But since when is the pig supposed to be low maintenance? I like that her style changes from time to time, but for the most part - bring back the beautiful long wavy hair that curls at the ends. That's her classic look and always should be the stand-by.
I also agree that there should be a better thought-out mythology for the characters behind the scenes. Now that the Muppets are back on track, the writers and performers should create character arcs for all of them until the next project emerges so they'll have something funny and substantive to fall back on for talk show improvisations.
I wish they'd try and go back to that look for the whole puppet, especially the hair. Then again, I'm not too fond of most modern hairstyles for women, anyway. I really like wavy, curly hair.
