Muppets Tonight what went wrong?

[dwayne1115]

I really loved Van Nutter in both MT and in MFS Brian just really seemed to be having a whole lot of fun with him and just going off the wall. I love Brian as a prefromer anyways he brings a whole lot of energy to every prefromace

 

[Drtooth]

When MT had a character or sketch that worked, it REALLY worked. I really wish Brian would freelance for Disney now and then, so we'd get Sal and VanNeuter back. Those characters were brilliant. VanNeuter's scene in MFS is my favorite bit of the movie... my second favorite bit? Johnny and Sal cutting Gonzo's cake. Third? Everything with Bobo.

The new characters totally salvaged MFS.

 

[Tomservo95]

I LOVED mt. I think it's way underrated. There are some hysterical bits in it. Some of my most cherished childhood memories are watching mt on tape with my mom and my aunt. BUT if i had to pick something i didn't like i think some of the guest stars act like they couldn't have cared less some times and they really phoned their performances in. My second gripe would have to be the lack of fozzie and piggy and other classic muppets.

 

[minor muppetz]

I really wish Brian would freelance for Disney now and then, so we'd get Sal and VanNeuter back. Those characters were brilliant.

Me too, but I'd like to point out that it's been widely sourced that the Muppet performers normally work freelance, whether it be for Henson, Sesame Workshop, or even Disney. I'm sure there'd be no problem if Brian wanted to perform for Disney. But I'm sure he's more interested in working for his own company (it would be great to see a new interview with Brian Henson, commenting on the situation).

 

[LouisTheOtter]

Any comments I could make about MT must be taken with a grain of salt, because I missed the second season (it wasn't shown on Canadian TV and I didn't have cable at the time) and I've only recently started digging up some of it on YouTube.

That being said, my feelings about MT are summed up by a 2001 interview with Carroll Spinney in which he recalls a disastrous puppet performance that he delivered in the '60s and adds that Jim Henson came backstage afterwards and said, "I liked what you were TRYING to do."

And they really tried. There are days that I truly feel bad for everyone involved in MT - particularly the writers and the Muppeteers (of every vintage) and especially Brian Henson, who had the impossible task of both fiercely protecting and yet simultaneously enhancing his father's legacy only six years after Jim's death.

Occasionally, they nailed it. I got a grand charge out of some of the newer characters, especially Johnny Fiama and Sal (at their best in the Tony Bennett and Martin Short episodes IMHO), Bobo, and Pepe (believe it or not, I actually miss Seymour sometimes). Bits that should arguably have died in the script room - "Great Moments in Elvis History" and "Thor, God of Thunder" - turned out to be laugh riots. Even Andy and Randy, one-note characters whose jobs were to be thick and annoying, had their moments. (I wish I didn't giggle hysterically when one of them called Sandra Bullock "Miss Buttocks." I honestly thought I was more sophisticated than that.)

Whether they involved newer characters or beloved classic favourite, some of the MT moments are firmly lodged among my all-time favourite Muppet bits (yes, ranking ahead of much of the Jim-era content). Jason Alexander freaking out at the cast during the Hercules Poirot spoof; Whoopi Goldberg losing it when the rats sing Bob Marley's "No Woman, No Cry" too fast; William Shatner on the plane with Piggy; Sandra Bullock and Kermit updating "Mahna Mahna"; Michelle Pfieffer on "The Muppet Dating Game"; Cindy Crawford on "The Kermit The Frog Club"; Gilbert Gottfried winning a date with Kermit; Mickey Dolenz interrupting Bobo's retro '60s flashback ("I'm A Believer") to avoid paying his retro '60s alimony (I STILL can't believe that line!!!); Kermit's "Once In A Lifetime" and "Dancing In The Dark"; and, seriously, the entire Martin Short episode (climaxing with his finale with Statler and Waldorf).

I'm not blind to MT's problems, though. The first wave of Muppet recasts hasn't yet occured, so we had to settle for Animal being the only Electric Mayhem holdover (and minimal doses of Fozzie and Piggy) and a feeling that a lot of our old friends were missing all the fun. The show had such a frenetic pace and was more of a flat-out comedy than TMS, so we missed a lot of the softer, tender moments with the characters - no Ben Vereen singing "Pure Imagination" or Rowlf singing "What A Wonderful World" to a real puppy here. That had more to do with the overall tone of pop culture in the mid-to-late-'90s - the variety show format was pretty much toast and we were collectively more interested in laughing at ourselves (and each other) than stopping for a poignant moment.

I wish I could say I liked Clifford. I didn't. He seemed forced. I had a little trouble with Kermit's background role. And, as has been mentioned previously, a lot of MT's direct pop-culture spoofs had too many appearances (Bay of PigsWatch, Deep Dish Nine, Seinfeld Babies) or shouldn't have even made the show.

But I'm still glad they tried, and I look forward to having the time to see the entire run of MT someday. And I think anybody attempting to bring the Muppets back to a regular TV slot should look carefully at MT, not simply to avoid making the same mistakes but to remind themselves how well the Muppets work when the writing, the chemistry and the intangibles all blend together. This happened on MT far more often than we realize.

 

[Mo Frackle]

Any comments I could make about MT must be taken with a grain of salt, because I missed the second season (it wasn't shown on Canadian TV and I didn't have cable at the time) and I've only recently started digging up some of it on YouTube.

That being said, my feelings about MT are summed up by a 2001 interview with Carroll Spinney in which he recalls a disastrous puppet performance that he delivered in the '60s and adds that Jim Henson came backstage afterwards and said, "I liked what you were TRYING to do."

And they really tried. There are days that I truly feel bad for everyone involved in MT - particularly the writers and the Muppeteers (of every vintage) and especially Brian Henson, who had the impossible task of both fiercely protecting and yet simultaneously enhancing his father's legacy only six years after Jim's death.

Occasionally, they nailed it. I got a grand charge out of some of the newer characters, especially Johnny Fiama and Sal (at their best in the Tony Bennett and Martin Short episodes IMHO), Bobo, and Pepe (believe it or not, I actually miss Seymour sometimes). Bits that should arguably have died in the script room - "Great Moments in Elvis History" and "Thor, God of Thunder" - turned out to be laugh riots. Even Andy and Randy, one-note characters whose jobs were to be thick and annoying, had their moments. (I wish I didn't giggle hysterically when one of them called Sandra Bullock "Miss Buttocks." I honestly thought I was more sophisticated than that.)

Whether they involved newer characters or beloved classic favourite, some of the MT moments are firmly lodged among my all-time favourite Muppet bits (yes, ranking ahead of much of the Jim-era content). Jason Alexander freaking out at the cast during the Hercules Poirot spoof; Whoopi Goldberg losing it when the rats sing Bob Marley's "No Woman, No Cry" too fast; William Shatner on the plane with Piggy; Sandra Bullock and Kermit updating "Mahna Mahna"; Michelle Pfieffer on "The Muppet Dating Game"; Cindy Crawford on "The Kermit The Frog Club"; Gilbert Gottfried winning a date with Kermit; Mickey Dolenz interrupting Bobo's retro '60s flashback ("I'm A Believer") to avoid paying his retro '60s alimony (I STILL can't believe that line!!!); Kermit's "Once In A Lifetime" and "Dancing In The Dark"; and, seriously, the entire Martin Short episode (climaxing with his finale with Statler and Waldorf).

I'm not blind to MT's problems, though. The first wave of Muppet recasts hasn't yet occured, so we had to settle for Animal being the only Electric Mayhem holdover (and minimal doses of Fozzie and Piggy) and a feeling that a lot of our old friends were missing all the fun. The show had such a frenetic pace and was more of a flat-out comedy than TMS, so we missed a lot of the softer, tender moments with the characters - no Ben Vereen singing "Pure Imagination" or Rowlf singing "What A Wonderful World" to a real puppy here. That had more to do with the overall tone of pop culture in the mid-to-late-'90s - the variety show format was pretty much toast and we were collectively more interested in laughing at ourselves (and each other) than stopping for a poignant moment.

I wish I could say I liked Clifford. I didn't. He seemed forced. I had a little trouble with Kermit's background role. And, as has been mentioned previously, a lot of MT's direct pop-culture spoofs had too many appearances (Bay of PigsWatch, Deep Dish Nine, Seinfeld Babies) or shouldn't have even made the show.

But I'm still glad they tried, and I look forward to having the time to see the entire run of MT someday. And I think anybody attempting to bring the Muppets back to a regular TV slot should look carefully at MT, not simply to avoid making the same mistakes but to remind themselves how well the Muppets work when the writing, the chemistry and the intangibles all blend together. This happened on MT far more often than we realize.

I agree with a lot of what you say (and you're not the only who laughed at the "Sandra Buttocks" moment. On paper, it doesn't really sound right, but the end result is actually very funny). One thing that you mentioned, too many heavy doses of the pop-culture spoofs. I agree with that, but Seinfled Babies only made one apperance on the show.

 

[Muppet Master]

Honestly, I loved Muppets Tonight. It had a healthy run in my opinion compared to Little Muppet Monsters and The Jim Henson Hour lasting about 2 years from March 8, 1996-Feburary 8, 1998. First off here's an episode guide

Season 1 (1996-1997)​

101. Michelle Pfeiffer​

102. Garth Brooks​

103. Billy Crystal​

104. John Goodman​

105. Cindy Crawford​

106. Tony Bennett ​

107. Sandra Bullock​

108. Jason Alexander​

109. Whoopi Goldberge​

110. Martin Short​

​

Season 2 (1997-1998)​

201. The Artist Formerly Known As Prince​

202. Rick Moranis​

203. Heather Locklear ​

204. Pierce Bronsan​

205. Coolio & Don Rickles​

206. Paula Abdul​

207. Dennis Quaid ​

208. The Cameo Show​

209. The Best of Muppets Tonight​

210. The Gary Cahuenga Show​

211. Andie MacDowell​

212. Johnny Fiama Leaves Home​

The show afterwards was canceled for unknown reasons.​

e​

Though the show did have a massive shortage of original muppets. Kermit, Statler and Waldorf, Rizzo the Rat, Gonzo the Great, Bunsen, and Beaker all had large parts, but the lack of Oz's characters, Nelson's characters (besides Statler), Hunt's characters, and Henson's. Jim Henson and Richard Hunt passed away, so unless you could resurrect him, Rowlf, Dr. Teeth, and The Swedish Chef had little or literally NO part with the show. Hunt died and Scooter and Janice were practically dead and neither appeared in any episodes. Oz was directing so Miss Piggy was only around in guest star form, Fozzie only appeared in E-I-E-I-O-R and a few times on the show but he was only in 6/22 of the episodes. Animal was absent besides only 6 episodes as well and Sam the Eagle appeared in 5 episodes. (Miss Piggy in 10 episodes). To this day I cannot understand why Jerry Nelson's primary characters (besides Statler) had no part in the show. appeared in the first two episodes, but only playing the ukelele and in the background. in 3 episodes. in hardly any and camilla in nothing.​

 

[jvcarroll]

I've listed lots of reasons before, but ultimately the answer to Muppets Tonights' lukewarm reception is this: the excitement just wasn't great enough. Much of the sparkle was missing for many reasons. Maybe it would have gained momentum with time. It definitely needed more Kermit & Piggy moments, more Fozzie & Kermit moments and more Electric Mayhem moments, but the spark that's largely missing from the production can clearly be seen in the outtakes. More of that would have solidified the show.

 

[Drtooth]

The show's situation was unfortunately tuned to having to go around the deaths of Jim and Richard and the less than available. That left to an uneven mix of new characters that either were really good or flat and terrible. But what the real problem comes down to is that they didn't play with the show's format enough, and it was stuck between doing pop culture parodies and trying to redo things from The Muppet Show with the wrong characters.

The stuff that worked really worked, but the stuff that didn't really didn't. The sitcom style plotlines were the stronger episodes, and also the last ones. If they made the show sitcomy and reliant on back stage plotlines to begin with, the show would have been far better. I'd venture to say, more focus on the backstage storyline would actually have been superior to The Muppet Show. That's why the comic book series worked so well. It took the best of the classic Muppet Show and played with it, developing characters with more complex behind the scenes stories. Kinda also helps that the strongest storylines in the comic were also multi-part arcs.

But the real problem with the show's lack of success was that it was on a network. ABC didn't know what to do with it, they changed around the time slot (which is more than what NBC did with Jim Henson Hour), putting it against 60 Minutes, and just overall lacking of care once the ratings dipped. It wasn't pulling in the viewers Boy Meets World was. If there was some way where it got the same syndication edge the original series did, it probably would have got another season or something.

 

[Mo Frackle]

Actually, I always felt the few frequently used classic Muppets (Kermit, Gonzo, etc.) took a considerable backseat to the new characters. At least during the first season. Rizzo was really the only old(ish) character featured 24/7. Either way, there's not much to add that wasn't already said by JV and Tooth. The series showed considerable strengths in the backstage plots, but more so during Season 2. I especially liked the expansion of some of the classic characters (Kermit having to get a job as a monkey, Bunsen's midlife crisis, Beaker on the Star Trek cruise, etc.). The series started to really find itself towards the end of production. The sketches, on the other hand, were hit (the Johnny & Sal skits) and miss (the TV show parodies).

To see how the series progressed, it may help to view the episodes in production order, as opposed to broadcast order:

Season 1:
101. Michelle Pheiffer

102. Martin Short

103. Paula Abdul (didn't air until Season 2)

104: Billy Crystal (w/ Larry King)

105: Garth Brooks (w/ Leonard Nimoy)

106: John Goodman

107: Cindy Crawford (w/ Miky Dolenz)

108: Sandra Bullock

109: Tony Bennett

110: Whoopi Goldberg (w/ William Shatner and Judge Joseph A. Wapner)

111: Heather Locklear (didn't air until Season 2)

112: Jason Alexander

113: Pierce Brosnan (didn't air until Season 2)

Season 2:
201: Cameo Show (w/ Arsenio Hall, Jay Leno ,Kevin Eubanks, Little Richard, Christopher Darden, and Kathy Ireland)

202: Cooli and Don Rickles (w/ Ed McMahon, Bernard Shaw, and Fred Willard)

203: Dennis Quad (w/ Gilbert Gottfried)

204: Andie MacDowell (w/ George Takei, Bob "Captain Kangaroo) Keeshan, Ben Stein, and the Fly Girls)

205: The Gary Cahuena Episode (with Penn & Teller, Lori Fetrick, Raye Hollitt, Evander Holyfield, and Kathy Najimy)

206: (The Artist Formerly Known As) Prince

207: Rick Moranis

208: Johnny Fiama Leaves Home (with Daryl Hannah, Page Hannah, and Johnny Mathis)

209: Best of Muppets Tonight