Yeah, i don't see it being released as a standalone dvd - it's the kind of thing that screams "bonus feature" for a larger release. I honestly can't see it NOT being a feature on TMS season five (maybe even four)
As much as i'm excited over a lot of the dvds we've been seeing from Lionsgate, they've been spoiling the Muppet fan community as i see endless posts about - now that Lionsgate is doing this, NOW they should do this. But a lot of the things people are wishing for are things that wouldn't come from Lionsgate. They've actually been a bit crafty releasing stuff that approach a fine line of being "Muppety" but are mainly still in the realm of Henson Company (though needing Disney's sign-off because of the Muppet involvement)
Now granted, fans have every right to be excited about and anticipate an uncut Emmet Otter/Christmas Toy/Muppet Family Christmas/Jim Henson Hour - since some very major barriers seem to have been broken in regards to Disney being more cooperative with those grey-area releases where there's crossover, but most things people wish Lionsgate would release would actually come from Disney. Of Muppets and Men would be an example of that.
The other thing that Lionsgate's releases have done is get us lowering expectations of dvd releases. As awesome a special as Henson's Place, Dog City and SST 20 Years and Still Counting all are, i think it's mainly the quality of the shows, their "rarity", and the surprise element of seeing something we didn't think would be officially released that allows us to accept these as main attractions - dvds where they're the main features with scant to little bonus features accompanying them. (SST 20 Years being an exception since hourlong SST dvds aren't that uncommon)
Okay, yeah i suppose it's nicer on the pocketbook when a fortyplus minute special comes out on dvd by itself with nothing else on the disc and maybe makes it more accessable financially speaking and it can be nicer getting a string of "little treats" instead of waiting a while for a "big buffet", so i can see both sides - but i'd tend to say something like Of Muppets and Men works best as a bonus feature than a main release due to its nature - it's a supplement to a larger thing. A documentary about the making of The Muppet Show works better as an add-on to a Muppet Show dvd than a standalone. Just as i wouldn't care to see World of the Dark Crystal or Inside the Labyrinth released indepentantly of their respective dvds that they accompany as bonuses.
For that matter, i can't believe we still have not yet seen a dvd release of The Muppet Movie that has The Muppets Go Hollywood as a bonus or Great Muppet Caper with Muppets Go to the Movies as a bonus since both specials were promotions for those films. That's where they belong and that's the best way to release them. By contrast a special like The Fantastic Miss Piggy Show or The Muppets at Walt Disney Would would work better as main attractions since they were their own "seperate entities" so to speak.
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