ABC Orders Muppet Pilot To Series!

[Reevz1977]

This show is going to be terrible because Jason Se... Oh

 

[GuySmileyfan]

WHOOPPEE! I can't wait! I hope Rowlf is going to be there. He's one of my favorites. He's so cute and cuddly.

 

[ashkent]

I'm 33 now. I watched Fraggle Rock when i was a kid. I watched the Muppet Show and Muppets Tonight in the subsequent years. I watched every Muppet film made - even the dubious ones - and now I make puppets for people who want to bring that kind of magic to a new generation. Hearing that The Muppets are coming back to TV was quite strange and here are the reasons why.

I want the Muppets back on TV. It's been too long without them. I want my daughters to grow up with the same kind of entertainment they gave me for many years. So the initial reaction is like I just found a ticket with the winning lottery numbers on.

Then I think back to the brilliant bits seen in the trailers for The Muppets that were cut from the final film. And then i start to think back couple of years to the BBC airing That Puppet Game Show and this is where I feel like I have to treat this the same as when Heath Ledger played The Joker in The Dark Knight. I cannot really allow myself to feel that it will either be fantastic or dismal until it finally arrives. The Muppets and Muppets Most Wanted for me were good enough to kickstart their careers again, make people who weren't around the first time that they exist. That Puppet Game Show however, even with the Henson name attached to it, just didn't work at all, and this is speaking as someone who loves - and i mean really loves - everything that Jim Henson created and the team have continued on for over 2 decades. ****, i can even sit down and watch Fraggle Rock now and it is as entertaining as it was when I was three years old. That is an achievement and that is where That Puppet Game Show failed. It wasn't particularly funny, the characters weren't particularly unique or memorable, and the puppet only sections were...i don't know...seemed to be written for five year olds being treat like two year olds - something The Muppet Show and everything Jim had a hand in never did. They never dumbed down, never patronised and never treat children like children.

For me, if this new version of The Muppet Show is going to work it has to rediscover that same formula that Jim had so finely tuned it was virtually flawless entertainment for both adults and children alike. It has to be all or nothing, it has to be funny and it can't be afraid of anarchy.

That's my two cents anyway...but i am really hoping that come airing I'm running around the room with my arms in the air shouting "Wheyyyyyyyyyyy"

 

[charlietheowl]

I'm still waiting for some critic or other to write off the new show as terrible because Jason Segal isn't involved

He's kind of faded from public view the past couple of years. How I Met Your Mother went off the air and all I remember him doing since was Sex Tape, which I think bombed. So he's removed enough from the spotlight that no one will be bothered his lack of presence.

 

[beaker]

The people behind the OFFICIAL Disney blog have seen the first episode of "The Muppets" for ABC television. They say how Muppets Oz sucked, that Muppets Tonight missed the mark...and they say the pilot alone is nothing short of amazing. Funny, modern, meta. They even heavily reference the Jim Henson Hour. You guys realize we're looking at the next level of The Muppets right? Where they need to be. Bust out loud funny, soulful, fun, irreverent and right on the mark.

http://blogs.disney.com/insider/201...ting-muppet-series-since-the-jim-henson-hour/

 

[beaker]

TV is far more accessible than a 10 dollar movie ticket. Even when it comes to online distribution. That's at worst an 8 day wait vs sometimes a year or more at best. Not to mention maybe the general public will take a shine to the Muppets in 20 minute bursts instead of a single 100 minute sitting. Besides. Movies are easy. They could very well have kept the Muppets going as a series of cheap DTV.

Still, I want to see clips before deciding if it's "The Office" like or not. I don't think it would be. Probably closer to Waiting for Guffman or A Mighty Wind or something (obviously The Office's inspiration). But I can very easily see this becoming similar to The Comedians.

The official Disney blog LITERALLY calls it Waiting for Guffman meets Jim Henson Hour and The Office

 

[Iscah]

So, when will the series be on TV? (I gather that this is a set seasonal announcement of the shows that will be on at a particular time of year.) I have no idea about American TV scheduling.

Also, the pilot episode just becomes Episode 1, right?

 

[The Count]

Usually, yes, the pilot is Episode 1 of a series, but not necessarily always the case. Remember that the first episode of The Muppet Show that was taped was the episode guest starring Jim Neighbors, and yet that was Episode 106.

 

[Drtooth]

I want the Muppets back on TV. It's been too long without them. I want my daughters to grow up with the same kind of entertainment they gave me for many years. So the initial reaction is like I just found a ticket with the winning lottery numbers on.

Then I think back to the brilliant bits seen in the trailers for The Muppets that were cut from the final film. And then i start to think back couple of years to the BBC airing That Puppet Game Show and this is where I feel like I have to treat this the same as when Heath Ledger played The Joker in The Dark Knight. I cannot really allow myself to feel that it will either be fantastic or dismal until it finally arrives. The Muppets and Muppets Most Wanted for me were good enough to kickstart their careers again, make people who weren't around the first time that they exist. That Puppet Game Show however, even with the Henson name attached to it, just didn't work at all, and this is speaking as someone who loves - and i mean really loves - everything that Jim Henson created and the team have continued on for over 2 decades. ****, i can even sit down and watch Fraggle Rock now and it is as entertaining as it was when I was three years old. That is an achievement and that is where That Puppet Game Show failed. It wasn't particularly funny, the characters weren't particularly unique or memorable, and the puppet only sections were...i don't know...seemed to be written for five year olds being treat like two year olds - something The Muppet Show and everything Jim had a hand in never did. They never dumbed down, never patronised and never treat children like children.

That's actually an excellent point right there. However, the difference was that Puppet Game Show was Henson and everything after MWOO was Disney. Now, not saying Disney didn't have missteps, but I think it evens out to around, they're doing a pretty good job with the characters for the most part. Henson... and yes, this is going to be another "Henson can't get it's act together" rant... Henson...well, can't get it's act together, exactly. They're the ones that sold the Muppets to Disney after all. So it seems they had some clarity on the fact they can't get anything done. Henson is grasping at straws, and other than CGI preschool programming, they haven't found that magic new project that will bring them back. And so they reach, but only to adults and preschoolers. No middle family ground. Now, I LOVED Puppet Up, don't get me wrong. I loved that all too short series of videos with the puppet presidential candidate performed by Animaniacs and Freakazoid's own Paul Rugg. And I do think Jim would have done a Muppet/Creature shop syndicated game show at some point (there actually were plans for a kid's game show with aliens)... it's just that they don't have much direction, and I'm sure the concept could have been done far better.

Point is, Henson has so many projects on the back burner that may never get completed that when they do actually manage to get something out there, it's amazing. It never lasts, and there's always something missing.

 

[dwayne1115]

That's actually an excellent point right there. However, the difference was that Puppet Game Show was Henson and everything after MWOO was Disney. Now, not saying Disney didn't have missteps, but I think it evens out to around, they're doing a pretty good job with the characters for the most part. Henson... and yes, this is going to be another "Henson can't get it's act together" rant... Henson...well, can't get it's act together, exactly. They're the ones that sold the Muppets to Disney after all. So it seems they had some clarity on the fact they can't get anything done. Henson is grasping at straws, and other than CGI preschool programming, they haven't found that magic new project that will bring them back. And so they reach, but only to adults and preschoolers. No middle family ground. Now, I LOVED Puppet Up, don't get me wrong. I loved that all too short series of videos with the puppet presidential candidate performed by Animaniacs and Freakazoid's own Paul Rugg. And I do think Jim would have done a Muppet/Creature shop syndicated game show at some point (there actually were plans for a kid's game show with aliens)... it's just that they don't have much direction, and I'm sure the concept could have been done far better.

Point is, Henson has so many projects on the back burner that may never get completed that when they do actually manage to get something out there, it's amazing. It never lasts, and there's always something missing.

I was talking with someone the other day and they where saying how they thought Henson should have kept the Muppets, or even that Sesame Workshop should have control of them. I brought up the point that sure Disney has mad some mistakes, and some broken promises (The Muppet Show Seasons 4 & 5) but they have done a lot with the Muppets.
Let's face it, Disney now owns Star Wars, and Marvel. Which are two very big cash cows, and in the long run could bring in a lot more money then the Muppets ever could. With that in mind plus the lack luster ticket sales of Most Wanted, it's a wonder Disney is doing anything with them let alone a TV Show. On the flip side of that it looks like Disney has finally got people in charge of the Muppets who understand who they are, and what makes them great. So I said all that to say that again, it's not perfect but the Muppets are in good and capable hands with Disney.