Could Between the Lions ever come back?

[ConsummateVs]

Well, I just think it's a cute concept that would be fun to see.

 

[fuzzygobo]

If Between the Lions ever did come back (again, don't hold your breath, folks) I would like to see Gus have a bigger role.
For those who may remember, Gus was a bunny (with screaming orange hair) that couldn't read as well as some of the others.
I'm sure there are many kids that can identify with that. Gus was not dumb, just a little slow.

 

[BlakeConor14]

I think that we need to reboot the show but the entire show is about Artie Smartypants
And they play Dance in smarty pants on a loop

 

[salemfan]

Well, I just think it's a cute concept that would be fun to see.

Why is a game show similar to Wheel of Fortune in which Theo hosts the show and Cleo turns over the letters a cute concept that would be fun to see?

 

[salemfan]

If Between the Lions ever did come back (again, don't hold your breath, folks) I would like to see Gus have a bigger role.

fuzzygobo, why shouldn't people expect to see a reboot of Between the Lions?

 

[Buff Beaker]

If Between the Lions ever did come back (again, don't hold your breath, folks) I would like to see Gus have a bigger role.
For those who may remember, Gus was a bunny (with screaming orange hair) that couldn't read as well as some of the others.
I'm sure there are many kids that can identify with that. Gus was not dumb, just a little slow.

Wasn't Gus autistic ?

 

[Blue Frackle]

Why is a game show similar to Wheel of Fortune in which Theo hosts the show and Cleo turns over the letters a cute concept that would be fun to see?

 

[fuzzygobo]

fuzzygobo, why shouldn't people expect to see a reboot of Between the Lions?

A few reasons.
1) puppet shows are wildly expensive. Gotta build special sets, hire puppeteers, all this stuff that doesn't come cheap.
Government grants only go so far, then you need to rely on corporate sponsors. Towards the end of the show's run, Chick Fil-A was a sponsor. Not everyone may like their political alignment, so possible boycott.

2) In the hands of Christopher Cerf, he managed to crank out 130 episodes. They were all uniformly good. Even if they reassembled the whole cast and crew again, the bar has been set impossibly high, it would be disappointing if it fell below the standard set by the original.

In England there once was a BBC series called Fawlty Towers, starring John Cleese of Monty Python fame (he even guested on the Muppet Show).

Fawlty Towers lasted 2 seasons, one in 1975, one in 1979. Six episodes per season. Twelve episodes total. Ranked one of the finest British comedies ever.
John Cleese has been asked a lot over the years to produce another season, but he always refused. Those twelve episodes are untouchable. Expectations for another season would be so high, any shortcomings would be disastrous.
I'd worry the same with Between the Lions. Maybe Christopher Cerf could create a new show. Maybe the focus could be on reading. Maybe there can be some new puppet characters, but it wouldn't be the same show.

If it were up to me, I'd rather start from scratch instead of rehashing the past.

Case in point: "The Connors" ain't "Roseanne".

Was Gus autistic? That was never fully explained. The point wasn't to focus on if we was autistic or not, only that he wasn't as fast a reader as the others. But he was cute.

 

[Buff Beaker]

A few reasons.
1) puppet shows are wildly expensive. Gotta build special sets, hire puppeteers, all this stuff that doesn't come cheap.
Government grants only go so far, then you need to rely on corporate sponsors. Towards the end of the show's run, Chick Fil-A was a sponsor. Not everyone may like their political alignment, so possible boycott.

2) In the hands of Christopher Cerf, he managed to crank out 130 episodes. They were all uniformly good. Even if they reassembled the whole cast and crew again, the bar has been set impossibly high, it would be disappointing if it fell below the standard set by the original.

In England there once was a BBC series called Fawlty Towers, starring John Cleese of Monty Python fame (he even guested on the Muppet Show).

Fawlty Towers lasted 2 seasons, one in 1975, one in 1979. Six episodes per season. Twelve episodes total. Ranked one of the finest British comedies ever.
John Cleese has been asked a lot over the years to produce another season, but he always refused. Those twelve episodes are untouchable. Expectations for another season would be so high, any shortcomings would be disastrous.
I'd worry the same with Between the Lions. Maybe Christopher Cerf could create a new show. Maybe the focus could be on reading. Maybe there can be some new puppet characters, but it wouldn't be the same show.

If it were up to me, I'd rather start from scratch instead of rehashing the past.

Case in point: "The Connors" ain't "Roseanne".

Was Gus autistic? That was never fully explained. The point wasn't to focus on if we was autistic or not, only that he wasn't as fast a reader as the others. But he was cute.

Wow, you make really good points ! I hope that Chris could work with Sesame Workshop to solve the money issue. I think it would be super cool if they crated a new show as well. Sorry about thinking Gus was autistic. My best friend who is autistic, loves the show and he always believed Gus was autistic like him.

 

[BlakeConor14]

A few reasons.
1) puppet shows are wildly expensive. Gotta build special sets, hire puppeteers, all this stuff that doesn't come cheap.
Government grants only go so far, then you need to rely on corporate sponsors. Towards the end of the show's run, Chick Fil-A was a sponsor. Not everyone may like their political alignment, so possible boycott.

2) In the hands of Christopher Cerf, he managed to crank out 130 episodes. They were all uniformly good. Even if they reassembled the whole cast and crew again, the bar has been set impossibly high, it would be disappointing if it fell below the standard set by the original.

In England there once was a BBC series called Fawlty Towers, starring John Cleese of Monty Python fame (he even guested on the Muppet Show).

Fawlty Towers lasted 2 seasons, one in 1975, one in 1979. Six episodes per season. Twelve episodes total. Ranked one of the finest British comedies ever.
John Cleese has been asked a lot over the years to produce another season, but he always refused. Those twelve episodes are untouchable. Expectations for another season would be so high, any shortcomings would be disastrous.
I'd worry the same with Between the Lions. Maybe Christopher Cerf could create a new show. Maybe the focus could be on reading. Maybe there can be some new puppet characters, but it wouldn't be the same show.

If it were up to me, I'd rather start from scratch instead of rehashing the past.

Case in point: "The Connors" ain't "Roseanne".

Was Gus autistic? That was never fully explained. The point wasn't to focus on if we was autistic or not, only that he wasn't as fast a reader as the others. But he was cute.

Very VERY well put.
Between the lions was extremely lucky to manage 10 seasons as by season 4 the money ran out and they only managed to continue to make the show as they moved the show out of New York and Boston and to elsewhere as it was cheaper to film there. But even then the number of episodes decreased because it was so expensive to make
Defunctland covered the topic really well in their video I suggest watching it