Cookie Monster makes SNL audition tape on YouTube

[RedPiggy]

not really Muppets tonight was at the time tying to being in new characters...remember at the time they were still trying to figure out what to do after the loss of Jim and Richard and frank was basically almost out the door

Yeah, but we can't lay the blame just with Jim's passing, as Jim was alive during JHH and it had some of the same exact problems.

 

[Katzi428]

Did ever host SNL?
Having would be cute . But you can only get so much of talking about cookies. (Just my opinion...don't shoot me.)

 

[Drtooth]

Speaking of which, several weeks ago I saw some episodes of Muppets Tonight on youtube. In retrospect, one of the biggest flaws of the show was that The Electric Mayhem was NOT the house band. Instead, they had a new band.

What were they thinking?

Its funny. The cold opening of the pilot episode is the only time that members of the Electric Mayhem were seen on Muppets Tonight.

As a matter of fact, that cold opening included several classic characters that were either never seen again or seen very little on the show after that.
That was the biggest flaw of the show.
The fact that Frank Oz was not available a lot was a kiss of death for Muppets Tonight. Too many new characters, not enough classic characters.

These characters were yet to be recast. Muppets Tonight HAD to be a next generation show because Jim and Richard were gone and Frank had a foot out the door, and his characters were rarely seen. They could have had them as silent background performers, and Jerry and Dave were there all the time... we could have had Floyd and Zoot talk... Animal too if Frank was in the episode... but Janice was yet to be recast, and Dr. Teeth's biggest line since Jim died (but before he had a perminant recast) was "Shalom!" in MFS. I don't see the problem with ALL of the new characters... most of the pigs, Poodlepants, and Bubble Guy were pretty lame as far as characters go... but Johnny and Sal were brilliant... as was Van Neuter and the duo of Pepe and Seymore.

But what REALLY made MT uneven as a show was the fact they didn't really have a good feel for it in the first season, leading to a strengthening second season that was rushed to cancellation just as the writers found themselves.

Now, we have stronger recasts of characters... Eric Jacobson was a BOOM to the Muppets, Scooter and Janice are finally recast (with someone who has been recast for Richard roles years earlier in Sesame Street), and Matt's taking up Jerry's characters. if we had a new Muppet show NOW, we'd have Rowlf, Scooter, the Mayhem, and all those guys. But back then, you got to remember, they didn't know to what extent they wanted to use Kermit, and with so many lost characters, you need to bulk the series up somehow to fill in the missing gaps.

That said, the Mayhem wasn't the studio band in Jim Henson Hour... but they were in a Muppets take over AFV special.

 

[minor muppetz]

not really Muppets tonight was at the time tying to being in new characters...remember at the time they were still trying to figure out what to do after the loss of Jim and Richard and frank was basically almost out the door

I have a feeling that if a new Muppet TV series were made they won't make the mistake of introducing so many new characters at once while only a handful of classic characters get plenty of screen time. I felt confident of this even before the Disney buy-out. Sure, Statler and Waldorf: From the Balcony had many new characters (even if most of the "new" characters were recycled obscure puppets) but that wasn't a TV series (and I view it more as a spin-off), but the foreign Muppet TV seems to have included more classic characters and very few new ones, and The Muppets' Kitchen (which is online and shouldn't count) only has one new major (muppet) character.

In the "Ask Jim Lewis Thread" Jim Lewis said that Muppets Tonight was meant more as a "next generation" Muppet show, but I feel like if the show includes "Muppet" or "Muppets" in the title then most fans would expect the classic characters from The Muppet Show to be more prominient. And until "The Muppet Show" came along I'm sure most people didn't associate the Muppet name most with any speciffic Henson creations (as the name had been used to describe any Henson puppet creation by then, and still did in productions with original characters afterwards, only "Muppet" wasn't in the title).

 

[Cojo Art]

SIX REASONS WHY COOKIE MONSTER SHOULD GET TO HOST SNL
http://www.artsucks.com/blog/2010/dec10/cookie-monster-hosting-snl.html

 

[GonzoLeaper]

This could be really funny or really awful. I'm honest kinda tired of these campaigns to get various people to host Saturday Night Live. Okay, it worked for Betty White (and I wonder if she actually really started it going, which I doubt- her agent, perhaps. But I tend to think it was more her fans nostalgic for The Golden Girls days that got it rolling.) And I watched that episode and it was awful. All it proved was that Betty White may have played a fairly innocent prude on The Golden Girls (but I do love Rose!)- but she can be just as vile and crude as any of the others who are on SNL.
I would have some major concerns with any Sesame Street character being on such a show and connected with the level of raunchiness the show is known for. (Of course, I know Grover has been on Jimmy Kimmel's show and there's been other such appearances on late night shows- and that's just as bad.) But surely Sesame Workshop must have limitations on what can and can't be said with the characters. Unless they're going with the reasoning that little kids wouldn't be watching these shows so it doesn't matter because what they don't know won't hurt them.
Of course, parents might see these shows and might be really disgusted if the cute, totally clean characters they watch with their kids on Sesame Street are doing suggestive and dirty jokes on late night TV.
Oscar the Grouch seems like a much better choice for SNL in any case- or perhaps Benny the Rabbit- but he's been retired for quite a while.
I would prefer it be someone from The Muppet Show, (though I don't really care for any of the Muppets to be raunchy)- but at least with this show, I know that it is not primarily aimed at children but at adults as well. I could sooner see Pepe doing a SNL gig than Cookie Monster.
But I suppose any new appearance for The Muppets is always welcomed.

 

[Gonzo's Hobbit]

Yea that's a good point now that you mentioned it. I loved the short video and quite honestly I think it works better as a parody than an actual thing now that I think about it. (granted I don't watch SNL so I don't have much context to be saying this in) I don't know how much they're willing to do with the Sesame Street character but any time they are out of a family context it just doesn't seem right. I saw the last half of the Scrubs episode that they're in and while it didn't get raunchy, some of it seemed a little weird.

 

[beaker]

I have a feeling that if a new Muppet TV series were made they won't make the mistake of introducing so many new characters at once while only a handful of classic characters get plenty of screen time. I felt confident of this even before the Disney buy-out. Sure, Statler and Waldorf: From the Balcony had many new characters (even if most of the "new" characters were recycled obscure puppets) but that wasn't a TV series (and I view it more as a spin-off), but the foreign Muppet TV seems to have included more classic characters and very few new ones, and The Muppets' Kitchen (which is online and shouldn't count) only has one new major (muppet) character.

In the "Ask Jim Lewis Thread" Jim Lewis said that Muppets Tonight was meant more as a "next generation" Muppet show, but I feel like if the show includes "Muppet" or "Muppets" in the title then most fans would expect the classic characters from The Muppet Show to be more prominient. And until "The Muppet Show" came along I'm sure most people didn't associate the Muppet name most with any speciffic Henson creations (as the name had been used to describe any Henson puppet creation by then, and still did in productions with original characters afterwards, only "Muppet" wasn't in the title).

I agree, the classic Muppets should be front and center. Have the main core of Kermit, Piggy, Gonzo, Fozzie, Pepe, Animal, Rizzo, Beaker, Bunsen, Sam, Janice, Bobo, Beau, Big Mean Carl, etc.

But I say we DO need new characters. There needs to be a strong new vibrant lead female co-star, Im thinking Skeeter. Also I'd like to see new monsters, maybe frackles.

Btw, I saw some of the French TV episodes of their "Muppets" show. It wasnt so much the foreign language and culture that threw me off or the fast talking, but just the whole overbright gawdy tacky set, lighting and feel of the show I really did not care for. The puppets looked extremely well crafted, though I just can't include it as an official Muppet production in my view.
It's funny that the one new character they made(Denise), the purple lady, ended up in a Muppets.com skit if I recall.

 

[GoboDeadly95]

Yea that's a good point now that you mentioned it. I loved the short video and quite honestly I think it works better as a parody than an actual thing now that I think about it. (granted I don't watch SNL so I don't have much context to be saying this in) I don't know how much they're willing to do with the Sesame Street character but any time they are out of a family context it just doesn't seem right. I saw the last half of the Scrubs episode that they're in and while it didn't get raunchy, some of it seemed a little weird.

Sometimes though they do have really funny stuff that isn't overly explit. Like their parody of Broadway shows I don't think had any swears or nasty subtext at all. But I don't remember. I too don't watch it that often but my best friend does.

 

[Drtooth]

Sometimes though they do have really funny stuff that isn't overly explit. Like their parody of Broadway shows I don't think had any swears or nasty subtext at all. But I don't remember. I too don't watch it that often but my best friend does.

This situation always brings this thought to my mind.

Julie Andrews actually swears like a sailor. Or Swore like one in the old days. She just has so many family friendly roles, we tend to forget that. She was also a huge fan of Monty Python. Same thing you could say with Betty White. She played a lot of cute little folksy naive characters, and you wouldn't expect to think of her in certain situations... that's the extent of her appearance on SNL.

Now, I'm sure there will be some sort of filter on Cookie Monster, but this is LIVE TV. I would hate the extent of his appearance to be "He's a kid's character and he's in adult situations!" We've all seen that before. Family Guy did it, than 90% of adult swim, and eventually the internet.

Anything, even the most vile shocking disgusting joke possible CAN be funny if done cleverly. The only thing that worries me is that the writing is FAR from clever now. But if Cookie is on it, I'll watch it no doubt.