Well, there's a lot of good things to be said about Thanksgiving. It's got to be the least marketable holiday and that's a good thing. I mean, it's kinda hard to be selling people more stuff for a holiday that's all about stopping and being thankful for what you already have!
And a Thanksgiving special would be cool. (Of course, I'm happy to watch any Sesame Street or Muppets special)
Off hand, I can't think of any big movies that's really traditional fare for Thanksgiving, although there is at least one movie I know of set at Thanksgiving- 1995's "Home for the Holidays".
And I know both Full House and Happy Days have done Thanksgiving-themed episodes. I'm sure some other sitcoms probably have too.
There's obviously a wonderful history to this Thanksgiving holiday that could be told. Of the Pilgrims first coming to a new land and trying to survive in a world where they didn't have grocery stores and had to grow their own food. And they learned to befriend the Indians and both groups of people were able to learn from each other and enjoy mutual benefits of friendship and food. Yes, I think the first Thanksgiving was definitely something special. And another great thing to say about Thanksgiving (and I don't think this is true of many, if any, other holidays)
- Thanksgiving is definitely an American holiday! Perhaps some other countries recognize it as an official holiday and celebrate it, but Thanksgiving certainly originated in America! And I totally like that! Patriotism swells in the heart of the American bear!
(Okay, come to think of it, after using all the Sam smilies, I'm thinking he should definitely be in a Thanksgiving special. And he would be the obvious leader for any Independce Day special, of course!)
So why not "A Muppet Family Thanksgiving"? I don't want to totally copy "A Muppet Family Christmas", but we could certainly have the Muppets (which would include both The Muppet Show, The Jim Henson Hour and Muppets Tonight characters) gang, Sesame Street gang and even Fraggle Rock and maybe some other cameos from other Henson productions- Aliens in the Family (um, maybe, doubtful it would happen), Dinosaurs (okay, that'd be stretching it), Bear in the Big Blue House (that'd be a good possibility I think), Mopatop's Shop (perhaps), and hey, maybe they can even work in the Muppet Babies again. It'd be awesome to see an actual puppet version of Skeeter! And Barbara Billingsley could even cameo as Nanny! Wow! That'd be really cool!
Anyway, I could maybe see another Muppet gathering- (somewhere different- they've been to Fozzie's Mom's farmhouse and Kermit's swamp (well TMS Muppets anyway)
What if they had a big reunion at Sesame Street? That would be a great venue. Kermit could be returning to spend Thanksgiving with all his Sesame Street friends and Sesame Street being the generous and loving community that it is, would invite all his friends to join him. So of course, all the Muppets come and are staying with different characters.
And maybe Bear in the Big Blue House characters could even be coming, invited by Elmo (I think they've maybe crossed paths before- correct me if I'm wrong)
And wouldn't this be great? What if the Bear and friends show up first and interact with SS gang. Then perhaps Mopatop's Shop characters show up as guest of Bear or something. All the while, Kermit and Grover are calling each other back and forth, trying to make sure they can make it there for Thanksgiving dinner. Perhaps part of the plot could involve the Muppets gang having the Electric Mayhem bus break down and needing help. And they finally get rescued eventually, while we jump back and forth from SS to the Muppets. On Sesame Street, final preparations for Thanksgiving dinner are coming along and of course, various mishaps are going on. Oscar's being grouchy and not wanting to celebrate, Cookie Monster goes a bit wild on making turkey-shaped cookies, the humans are trying to get a turkey ready after Forgetful Jones forgot to get one, etc.
And here's a really cool idea. What if the Muppets get rescued by an old man and his dog and they invite to share Thanksgiving dinner with him, as he's something of a hermit and really doesn't have any family to go back to? And when they all gather together for Thanksgiving dinner, they are all upset because dinner didn't turn out very well and they're stuck with turkey jerkey or something like that. And the old man and his dog sit back and tell them a story of the first Thanksgiving dinner (with all the different characters acting out roles). Okay, and here's the cool part- the old man and his dog could actually be The Storyteller and his dog!!! Wouldn't that be awesome? Who better to tell them a story?
This makes them realize how thankful they should be to all be together and to be loved by so many people and to remember the providence of God. And God does come through as Doc and Sprocket make a special appearance at the end (and they of course, remember all the Muppets and SS gang from "A Muppet Family Christmas") and he brings a turkey and Thanksgiving dinner for them. He could say he was passing by Sesame Street on his way to a quiet spot in the country for a Thanksgiving picnic with his dog, but when he saw the chaos going on, he thought he would help them out. And I think I could maybe see either Kermit or Sam or Bob or Doc asking the blessing. Maybe Robin.
And then all of them truly realize how much they have to be thankful for and they all say what they're thankful for. (Maybe some of them can comment on good friends and such and even brief scenes of fond memories could be shown- Kermit and Grover, Kermit and Cookie Monster, etc.) "And being thankful is something we should be everyday," Robin comments. Maybe end with singing "We Gather Together". Some traditional Thanksgiving hymns like that would be cool as well as maybe some original compositions.
Okay, well there's my idea for it.
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