ABC officially cancels "The Muppets"

[Drtooth]

And then the floor dropped, the earnings came in, media crashes and burns and the stock plummets. I've heard it was very last-minute with Muppets. It and Castle were the two series on the bubble at ABC, waiting for a last-minute decision. So the Muppets, in the end got off'd before an S2 entirely due to things that weren't its fault. That's showbiz!

If there's one thing I hate being right about, it's something cynical like that. That only goes to prove that it would have at least got a second chance had it not for trying very hard to please the stock holders. I thought them torpedoing Disney Infinity (which still should have been license rescued) was a huge hint at that, but it's at least cold comfort to know that it wasn't merely canned because of low ratings, but because of the most cynical means imaginable. And if ESPN did play a factor in this, and by extension the greedy a&& team and league owners they had to deal with...well, let's just say I'd rather the show was doomed by low ratings. I never liked how there were like 4 ESPNs and only like maybe one of them would actually have a sport of some kind on. What was the point of that?

yet the biggest problem I had with the entire thing was the mockumentary style. It fit the Muppets like a pair of extremely tight pants: no room to breathe, to experiment.

My problem is, as restrictive as it was, it could have worked better if they took 30 Rock as the show to imitate (while not really a mockumentary) rather than The Office. On the plus side, it did get them to give the characters deeper exploration than a simple retread of the original series would have. But they certainly could have made things a little more Muppety and a little less adult. And I feel that was something they were addressing several episodes in. As soon as they mentioned the giant stick of butter, I knew the episode was going to be in turn around. Problem is, they lost too many on the first episode hoping to tune in and get their inner child satisfied, didn't, and promptly switched onto mediocre singing competitions and Naval courts that don't really try those crimes. Again, it's that level of something that tries and fails to become more than what it is being the lesser option than shows that could be written by shoving a pencil in their mouths and burping it on the page and having that still be too intelligent.

Then again, The Muppets was tardy to the mockumentary party. The Office ended at least 3 years ago, Parks and Rec was rushed off NBC a year prior. A Muppet mockumentary was pitched all the way back a year or two before the first movie announcement, right there with that awful reality show parody which I'm over the moon happy we never got. But I think the choice was based on how MMW did. While I don't think it would have been successful either, the time to make a new Muppet Show was around a year after the first film. I am totally convinced had MMW did much better, we would have had The New Muppet Show 2015 instead of what we got. While I actually wouldn't prefer it, it probably would have held an audience a little better.

EDIT: On the other hand, there was no excuse to renew that terrible new Odd Couple last year. I'm glad they're just burning that season off. Hopefully this will be the last we see of that trainwreck. Talk about actually ruining a classic. They turned it into a generic 1990's sitcom that would have aired between Seinfeld and Friends. You know how quality those were.

 

[RealWonderman]

If there's one thing I hate being right about, it's something cynical like that. That only goes to prove that it would have at least got a second chance had it not for trying very hard to please the stock holders. I thought them torpedoing Disney Infinity (which still should have been license rescued) was a huge hint at that, but it's at least cold comfort to know that it wasn't merely canned because of low ratings, but because of the most cynical means imaginable. And if ESPN did play a factor in this, and by extension the greedy a&& team and league owners they had to deal with...well, let's just say I'd rather the show was doomed by low ratings. I never liked how there were like 4 ESPNs and only like maybe one of them would actually have a sport of some kind on. What was the point of that?



My problem is, as restrictive as it was, it could have worked better if they took 30 Rock as the show to imitate (while not really a mockumentary) rather than The Office. On the plus side, it did get them to give the characters deeper exploration than a simple retread of the original series would have. But they certainly could have made things a little more Muppety and a little less adult. And I feel that was something they were addressing several episodes in. As soon as they mentioned the giant stick of butter, I knew the episode was going to be in turn around. Problem is, they lost too many on the first episode hoping to tune in and get their inner child satisfied, didn't, and promptly switched onto mediocre singing competitions and Naval courts that don't really try those crimes. Again, it's that level of something that tries and fails to become more than what it is being the lesser option than shows that could be written by shoving a pencil in their mouths and burping it on the page and having that still be too intelligent.

Then again, The Muppets was tardy to the mockumentary party. The Office ended at least 3 years ago, Parks and Rec was rushed off NBC a year prior. A Muppet mockumentary was pitched all the way back a year or two before the first movie announcement, right there with that awful reality show parody which I'm over the moon happy we never got. But I think the choice was based on how MMW did. While I don't think it would have been successful either, the time to make a new Muppet Show was around a year after the first film. I am totally convinced had MMW did much better, we would have had The New Muppet Show 2015 instead of what we got. While I actually wouldn't prefer it, it probably would have held an audience a little better.

EDIT: On the other hand, there was no excuse to renew that terrible new Odd Couple last year. I'm glad they're just burning that season off. Hopefully this will be the last we see of that trainwreck. Talk about actually ruining a classic. They turned it into a generic 1990's sitcom that would have aired between Seinfeld and Friends. You know how quality those were.

Friends and Seinfeld were both superb television shows.

 

[Drtooth]

You know I'm talking about the long list of awful shows that would commonly be placed in between Friends and Seinfeld (or often Seinfeld and ER) because that would keep their ratings up? I cannot believe I'm the only one that remembered things like Single Guy, which actually lasted a few seasons until they moved it, thus proving my point...and....wasn't there something about some female cartoonist that drew a thinly veiled Cathy expy? And something else...

Heh. Guess I don't actually remember any of them.

 

[DARTH MUPPET]

I say they should make another movie, I know MMW did horrible at the box office but they Should make it as a Love letter to the Fans forget about $$$ and box office Obviously Muppets don't have the general Appeal they once did but we have a dedicated Die Hard Cult Following that deserves at least one more big Muppets Movie from Disney, Disney Is rich enough to take a Major Loss from poor box Office. I personally Loved Muppets 2011 and MMW and I just bought them on Blu-Ray !!!!!!!

Heck If I could Ask Disney for one more Film I would tell them Please give us one more film and Then If you want to sell The Muppets to The Highest Bidder then that is fine but please Give us one more Film ...

they are obviously busy with Star Wars and Marvel, and remakes of Disney Classics in Live Action but If they don't care about the Muppets then please sell them to someone who does care...

 

[Drtooth]

they are obviously busy with Star Wars and Marvel, and remakes of Disney Classics in Live Action but If they don't care about the Muppets then please sell them to someone who does care...

Disney will always make throwaway garbage that's meant to be the release in between major ones. The "College Road Trips" and "Alexander and the Very Bad Days." Low budget get the kids probably out of the house type films. It would be great if they used a Muppet film for one of those. MMW didn't lose nearly as much as John Carter or Tomorrowland. Muppets are a better investment by that count. I just don't see a movie being in the near future, but if they can get out a low budget Muppet movie in a slow month, it may just be a possibility.

 

[D'Snowth]

As I said previously, we need another movie, if only because it goes with the traditional pattern of Muppet movies always coming in threes: the movies Jim did came in three (TMM, GMC, MTM), the theatrical movies post-Jim came in three (MCC, MTI, MFS), the millennial TV movies came in three (KSY, VMX, MOZ), so it stands to reason we need another movie to round out the pattern of these Disney-controlled movies.

 

[DARTH MUPPET]

Disney will always make throwaway garbage that's meant to be the release in between major ones. The "College Road Trips" and "Alexander and the Very Bad Days." Low budget get the kids probably out of the house type films. It would be great if they used a Muppet film for one of those. MMW didn't lose nearly as much as John Carter or Tomorrowland. Muppets are a better investment by that count. I just don't see a movie being in the near future, but if they can get out a low budget Muppet movie in a slow month, it may just be a possibility.

I would be fine with something akin to Muppets 2011 and Muppets Most Wanted You are basically pointing out what I am saying, If there are no immediate plans for a TV show or Movie give it to a Studio that cares. Obviously Disney does not care about the Muppets. not even a rumor of a Movie or TV show?

 

[AndyWan Kenobi]

Well, it looks like Disney and Netflix just signed a pretty big content deal. This gives me hope!

http://www.forbes.com/sites/alishag...tar-wars-and-pixar-in-september/#6bf20e4f322b

 

[Drtooth]

I would be fine with something akin to Muppets 2011 and Muppets Most Wanted You are basically pointing out what I am saying, If there are no immediate plans for a TV show or Movie give it to a Studio that cares. Obviously Disney does not care about the Muppets. not even a rumor of a Movie or TV show?

Disney cares a lot more about the Muppets than anyone cares to think. If they truly wouldn't care, I don't think we'd have seen the comic book let alone one movie, let alone 2 movies, let alone 2 movies and a TV show. Heck, had ABC responded really negatively to the ratings, it would have gone the way of that...that thing...that thing that aired at 10 PM. Vice City, something like that...Dirty City. Had the word "City" in the title? Anyone? Lasted a whole 2 weeks and disappeared? Then it was replaced by a Shark Tank Spinoff until mid-season when it was replaced by some very expensive myth-y looking thing that was pulled after 4 episodes and replaced yet again by said Shark Tank spinoff. The could have very well only had the 10 episodes. It's not Disney's fault there wasn't an audience. It's their fault for cow towing to the shareholders who weren't happy enough Jungle Book didn't bomb. I mean, it was a good movie, I really enjoyed it, but there's a good chance it could have been an expensive flop. But danged if Disney didn't try to keep the Muppets about. They even restocked '11 movie merchandise back in stores just before the announcement. If Disney really didn't care, we wouldn't have the Muppet Courtyard or the rumored Rizzo's Pizza. it probably would have permanently mothballed them after MMW wasn't a hacky tween lit film.

I severely doubt any other studio would care enough to touch a Muppet movie. Tetris somehow screamed "this needs to be a movie." Those studios would rather make that a movie than anything with Muppets in it. Consider ourselves lucky.

 

[tedbear]

I severely doubt any other studio would care enough to touch a Muppet movie. Tetris somehow screamed "this needs to be a movie." Those studios would rather make that a movie than anything with Muppets in it. Consider ourselves lucky.

Just recently, with all of the CGI films coming out based off the most stupidest things ever, that have been successful nonetheless, has got me really thinking if there will ever be another muppet film. This started with I think Wreck-it-Ralph, which was a video game film that was actually good. Unfortunately, this caused lots of producers to think that video game movies will now always be good, which obviously, usually they aren't. The Angry Birds Movie was pretty mediocre, as I actually went to see it. But upcoming CGI films sound ridiculous. Again, following the trend of app games that don't even have that much of a plot that are getting made into movies, is The Fruit Ninja Movie. I'm pretty sure that doesn't even have a plot at all, it's just slashing fruit. Even worse, there is The Emoji Movie coming next year. A movie literally based on smiley faces that you can put in texts on your phone. And yet, aside from the critics, most of the general public is treating it like the greatest movie to ever grace the earth. I see kids going round town screaming jokes from the Angry Birds one, and parents laughing soon after.
Is the world really going to care about puppets overall in 10 years? There really is a chance of that happening now I think.