Could TMS Be Considered a Sitcom

[Muppet Master]

TV Land doesn't care anymore. They've flat-out stated they no longer have an interesting in catering to older audiences and introducing younger generations to classic television, and instead are focusing more on producing their own original sitcoms with has-been actors.
I doubt those ratings. In the case of "violent" episodes, they'd probably receive a TV-Y7-FV at best.

What we really need is a puppet channel. You've got niche networks for animation, westerns, preschool programming, reruns of shows from the past twenty years... with all the puppetry work out there, it shouldn't be too difficult to come up with a channel dedicated to puppetry work. There's dozens of programs that would right at home on such a channel (some Henson, some not):

ALLEGRA'S WINDOW
BARNEY AND FRIENDS
BEAR IN THE BIG BLUE HOUSE
BETWEEN THE LIONS
BIG BAG
BOOBAH
THE BUGALOOS
CAPTAIN KANGAROO
THE CHARLIE HORSE MUSIC PIZZA
CRANK YANKERS
D.C. FOLLIES
FAR OUT SPACE NUTS
FRAGGLE ROCK
THE GREAT SPACE COASTER
H.R. PUFNSTUF
THE JIM HENSON HOUR
JOHNNY AND THE SPRITES
KUKLA, FRAN, AND OLLIE
LAMB CHOP'S PLAYALONG
LIDSVILLE
THE LOST SAUCER
THE MR. POTATO HEAD SHOW
THE MUPPET SHOW
MUPPETS TONIGHT!
PRYOR'S PLACE
THE PUZZLE PLACE
SESAME STREET
SIGMUND AND THE SEA MONSTERS
TELETUBBIES
THEODORE TUGBOAT
TINY TOTS
WIMZIE'S HOUSE

And those are the ones I can think of off the top of my head.

TV-Y7-FV, TV-Y, or TV-Y7 are only for kid shows that air on Qubo, PBS, Nick, or channels like that. TMS would most likely get a TV-G rating like most classic shows like The Brady Bunch, TV-Y7 is out of the question, but TMS is rated TV-PG in the UK, well at least for TMS season 2, and the others are TV-G, so it is possible it gets TV-PG, but most likely it would get a TV-G, though when VMX and MTM were on TV, they both got TV-PG, and the LGMHS got a TV-PG-D, so not out of the question. Also, why would we put the muppets on a channel meant for toddlers, at least a family channel.

 

[Gonzo14]

If you watch certain episodes, especially later in the series when there is a strong backstage plot-line, it may seem like a sitcom. The biggest difference I see is that there aren't many (if any?) story lines that cross multiple episodes. Whenever there's a plot (such as Cluckitis, the murder mystery, etc), it's contained to that episode and the next week the show is reset for us to enjoy something new.

 

[Muppet Master]

If you watch certain episodes, especially later in the series when there is a strong backstage plot-line, it may seem like a sitcom. The biggest difference I see is that there aren't many (if any?) story lines that cross multiple episodes. Whenever there's a plot (such as Cluckitis, the murder mystery, etc), it's contained to that episode and the next week the show is reset for us to enjoy something new.

After the second season, the show could be a sitcom, as with the first episode of season two where Fozzie wants to hip, and besides a few numbers that episode is like one in a sitcom series, and many more are like that.

 

[Muppet Master]

Though considering that a sitcom is a situational comedy, and TMS is a comedy, and situations, I think the show counts as a sitcom on some level or other, so it is not much of a stretch.

 

[snichols1973]

When looking at more than a few lists of best sitcoms, I kept seeing TMS listed on there. I know TMS is a variety show, but could it be considered a sitcom. A sitcom is defined as a situation comedy. So what are your thoughts, could the situations make TMS qualify as a sitcom or not?

According to Wikipedia, a sketch comedy comprises a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called "sketches", commonly between one and ten minutes long. Such sketches are performed by a group of comic actors or comedians, either on stage or through an audio and/or visual medium such as radio and television. Often sketches are first improvised by the actors and written down based on the outcome of these improv sessions; however, such improvisation is not necessarily involved in sketch comedy.
An individual comedy sketch is a brief scene or vignette of the type formerly used in vaudeville, and now used widely in comedy and variety shows, talk shows and some children's television series (such as Sesame Street).
Sketch comedians routinely differentiate their product from a "skit", maintaining that a skit is a (single) dramatized joke (or "bit") while a sketch is a comedic exploration of a concept, character or situation.

Programs such as The Carol Burnett Show, Saturday Night Live, SCTV, In Living Color, etc., fall into this classification, and while Seinfeld is often called "a show about nothing", it follows its own structure: a story thread is presented at the beginning of every episode, which involves the characters starting in their own situations. Rapid scene-shifts between plot lines bring the stories together. Despite the separate plot strands, the narratives reveal the creators' "consistent efforts to maintain the intimacy" among the small cast of characters.

It seems like each episode of TMS has quite a bit of secondary story lines as Kermit tries to keep his cool while juggling the duties of backstage managing and hosting.

Muppet Wiki gives the following synopsis of TMS:

The Muppet Show is a half-hour variety show in which Kermit the Frog and the Muppets put on a weekly musical/comedy revue at the Muppet Theater. Unfortunately for them, things never quite go according to plan, for the Muppets or their weekly guest stars.
....

The action in each episode was balanced between the on-stage acts and the frantic activity backstage (one of the very few exceptions is ep. 110, in which almost all sketches and skits are depicted on-stage). The concept is reminiscent of old-time radio shows like The Jack Benny Program, where the star struggled to put on a weekly show amidst personal problems and an often uncooperative cast.

 

[Drtooth]

I'd say it barely would qualify as a work-com if you take in the behind the scenes plotlines. The ones that aren't fawning all over the guest stars and have moments of character development, anyway.

I'd say, towards the end, MT could very well qualify, since they managed to squeeze as much plot as possible into the behind the scenes story. To the point that they actually took the action outside the studio. While I'd usually come up short for any reason that MT would be superior to what they did on the Muppet Show, I'd say that episodes like "Beaker goes on a Star Trek Cruise" and "Johnny Runs Away from Home" nailed it. Even the Muppet Show Comic Book, free from having the ability for real guest stars noticeably stepped up the game with even better examples. It even managed to get in movie quality hidden depths. I love the Clinty Wacky story arc where it's revealed that Scooter actually wants to be a writer.

If there ever is a new Muppet series, I hope they can take that cue and make the backstage bits much more sitcom like, focusing on the characters instead of just the guest stars.

 

[Iscah]

Even though it's primarily a variety show, I think it's secondarily a sitcom.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sitcom
A situation comedy, often shortened to the portmanteau sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, with often humorous dialogue.​

They have characters, they have a common environment, they have humour. I don't see why it can't qualify.

And even more interesting, further down the page (and with a particularly relevant bit about variety shows!):

Characteristics
As opposed to stand-up comedy and sketch comedy, a situation comedy has a storyline and ongoing characters in, essentially, a comedic narrative. The situation is often composed of comedic sequences set within a family, workplace, or among a group of friends.

In the 20th century and before, comedy sketches were presented within a variety show and mixed with musical performances, as in vaudeville. The emerging mass medium of radio allowed audiences to regularly return to programmes, so programmes could feature the same characters and situations each episode and expect audiences to be familiar with them.

Sitcom humor is often character driven and by its nature running gags evolve during a series. Often the status quo of the situation is maintained from episode to episode. An episode may feature a disruption to the usual situation and the character interactions, but this will usually be settled by the episode's end and the situation returned to how it was prior to the disruption. These episodes are then linked by the overarching storyline, driving the show forward.​

So I think they definitely count - other than having a real "overarching storyline", though the characters subtly develop over time. But it has character-driven story and usually returns to the status quo after each episode.

 

[Muppet Master]

Even though it's primarily a variety show, I think it's secondarily a sitcom.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sitcom
A situation comedy, often shortened to the portmanteau sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, with often humorous dialogue.​

They have characters, they have a common environment, they have humour. I don't see why it can't qualify.

And even more interesting, further down the page (and with a particularly relevant bit about variety shows!):

Characteristics
As opposed to stand-up comedy and sketch comedy, a situation comedy has a storyline and ongoing characters in, essentially, a comedic narrative. The situation is often composed of comedic sequences set within a family, workplace, or among a group of friends.

In the 20th century and before, comedy sketches were presented within a variety show and mixed with musical performances, as in vaudeville. The emerging mass medium of radio allowed audiences to regularly return to programmes, so programmes could feature the same characters and situations each episode and expect audiences to be familiar with them.

Sitcom humor is often character driven and by its nature running gags evolve during a series. Often the status quo of the situation is maintained from episode to episode. An episode may feature a disruption to the usual situation and the character interactions, but this will usually be settled by the episode's end and the situation returned to how it was prior to the disruption. These episodes are then linked by the overarching storyline, driving the show forward.​

So I think they definitely count - other than having a real "overarching storyline", though the characters subtly develop over time. But it has character-driven story and usually returns to the status quo after each episode.

That seems about right.

 

[ceelos]

Isn't 30Rock considered a live action Muppet Show? That's a sitcom.

 

[Muppet Master]

Isn't 30Rock considered a live action Muppet Show? That's a sitcom.

Ya, there are tons of articles that say it ripped off TMS, but the thing is TMS had all those numbers, and comedy sketches that 30 rock did not, but it still counts.