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I've been thinking about this quite a bit lately, and maybe I am thinking too much, but does anybody else wonder if maybe the MuppeTelevision segments of The Jim Henson Hour are what TV Tropes calls an "old shame" to The Jim Henson Company?
There's the fact that aside from Clifford hardly any of the new characters continued to be used (and many that were were recycled as new characters, most of the ones used only in the background without any major alterations being ones who were very seldom used on the series).
In An Evening with Jim Henson and Frank Oz, Jim talks about the show, stating that he was hoping/planning for some of the specials to get released on home video (and I've read that there are foreign laserdiscs of the show, MuppeTelevision and all, though the packaging apparrently only promotes/emphasises the second half hour specials). Of course all of the specials and Storyteller episodes would eventually air on TV while the only solo MuppeTelevision broadcasts were on TV in Canada after Disney got the rights. Part of the blame could be on the shows format. It makes me wonder what Jim had in mind for reruns if the series had become more successful.
The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson does not show any MuppeTelevision clips, though it does show a clip of Jim with the white lion and clips from some of the specials. The World of Jim Henson barely shows any clips. There's a montage of scenes from the show, mainly focusing on the specials. It does show a clip from the Bobby McFerrin episode, from the graffitti scene. It also shows clips from controll room scenes from InnerTube and The Secrets of the Muppets. I remember when I first saw that documentary, I had recalled seeing the show but mainly only remembered the MuppeTelevision stuff, and when I saw that montage I was unaware it was focusing on the series... It seems it just suddenly shows a montage, without any real discussion of the series.
Finally, the recent book Imagination Illustrated has a section on The Jim Henson Hour, but it seems to ignore MuppeTelevision for the most part. It briefly mentions the Muppets running a show, and there are design sketches for Clifford and Waldo included, but otherwise the focus is on the specials.
I could be thinking too much as to whether the Henson Company would be ashamed of MuppeTelevision or wouldn't want to acknowledge it much. I think the segments are really great and shouldn't be something to be ashamed of (even if it wasn't a ratings hit). Maybe the company is more proud of all the other stuff to come out of the show.
There's the fact that aside from Clifford hardly any of the new characters continued to be used (and many that were were recycled as new characters, most of the ones used only in the background without any major alterations being ones who were very seldom used on the series).
In An Evening with Jim Henson and Frank Oz, Jim talks about the show, stating that he was hoping/planning for some of the specials to get released on home video (and I've read that there are foreign laserdiscs of the show, MuppeTelevision and all, though the packaging apparrently only promotes/emphasises the second half hour specials). Of course all of the specials and Storyteller episodes would eventually air on TV while the only solo MuppeTelevision broadcasts were on TV in Canada after Disney got the rights. Part of the blame could be on the shows format. It makes me wonder what Jim had in mind for reruns if the series had become more successful.
The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson does not show any MuppeTelevision clips, though it does show a clip of Jim with the white lion and clips from some of the specials. The World of Jim Henson barely shows any clips. There's a montage of scenes from the show, mainly focusing on the specials. It does show a clip from the Bobby McFerrin episode, from the graffitti scene. It also shows clips from controll room scenes from InnerTube and The Secrets of the Muppets. I remember when I first saw that documentary, I had recalled seeing the show but mainly only remembered the MuppeTelevision stuff, and when I saw that montage I was unaware it was focusing on the series... It seems it just suddenly shows a montage, without any real discussion of the series.
Finally, the recent book Imagination Illustrated has a section on The Jim Henson Hour, but it seems to ignore MuppeTelevision for the most part. It briefly mentions the Muppets running a show, and there are design sketches for Clifford and Waldo included, but otherwise the focus is on the specials.
I could be thinking too much as to whether the Henson Company would be ashamed of MuppeTelevision or wouldn't want to acknowledge it much. I think the segments are really great and shouldn't be something to be ashamed of (even if it wasn't a ratings hit). Maybe the company is more proud of all the other stuff to come out of the show.
