Muppet Classic Theatre: An early Muppets Tonight?

[beaker]

I recently saw the Muppet Classic Theatre vhs and came to the conclusion that this has got to be almost like a pilot, or at east an early forerunner for Muppets Tonight. The intro to it feels very similair to MT, it even has a lot of the MT specific Muppets like the singing Elvises, Andy/Randy, etc.

What I really liked was the all penguin orchestra(where else have we seen an all penguin orchestra?)

Yeah, its an early 90's Disney released straight to video cheapie(like a lot of those 1993 era Disney released JHC vhs specials) but still, I was able to find some funnysubtle humor(usuallyw ith Piggy, gonzo and Rizzo)

Anyways, you can definately see how they got the template and look for Muppets Tonight from thsi vhs.

(My only complaint is the commercial for Kermit Unpigged...my gosh that ahs to be the lamest JHC project to date)

 

[BoyRaisin2]

Originally posted by beaker
(My only complaint is the commercial for Kermit Unpigged...my gosh that ahs to be the lamest JHC project to date)

Kermit Unpigged or the commercial for Kermit Unpigged? And why?

Though on my lame JHC project list, it'd have to be "Elmo in Grouchland," the first Henson project in which I confidentally say I "didn't like." Though Animal Jam may join the list.

 

[beaker]

Re: Re: Muppet Classic Theatre: An early Muppets Tonight?

Originally posted by BoyRaisin2
Kermit Unpigged or the commercial for Kermit Unpigged? And why?

Though on my lame JHC project list, it'd have to be "Elmo in Grouchland," the first Henson project in which I confidentally say I "didn't like." Though Animal Jam may join the list.

Oh Kermit Unpigged in the commercial and album was just a mess. Listen to 'Drive Me Crazy'...no offense to anyone, but it sounds like a very bad Kermit impersonation on there and much of th ealbum. Luckily Whitmire has got Kermit down to a ***** science now(The Craig Kilborn gues spot, more Kermit sounding he could not be) Also, what the heck were they doing covering lame late 80's pop drivel in late 1994 when that cd came out?

As for Elmo In Grouchland...it was nice as it was one of two big screen Muppet features that year...but um, yeah the movie sucked big time.

 

[Luke]

'Kermit Unpigged' wasn't THAT bad - it was just a funny project type thing and enabled fans of the artists on the album to get into the Muppets too.

 

[scarecroe]

I love Kermit Unpigged. In fact, there's really not a song on it I don't like. It's even got one original song with Kermit and Robin.

I wish they'd used the photo done for the parody calendar though.

1. She Drives Me Crazy - Kermit The Frog And Miss Piggy
2. Daydream - Vince Gill And Kermit The Frog
3. On Broadway - George Benson, Clifford And The Rhythm Rats
4. All I Have To Do Is Dream - Linda Ronstadt And Kermit The Frog
5. Born To Be Wild - Ozzy Osbourne And Miss Piggy
6. Mr. Spaceman - Jimmy Buffett, The Great Gonzo And Rizzo The Rat
7. Bein' Green - Don Henley And Kermit The Frog
8. Wild Thing - Animal, Floyd And Kermit The Frog
9. Can't Get Along Without You - Kermit The Frog And Robin
10. All Together Now - The Muppets With Harry Smith

 

[WiGgY]

I don't think kermit unpigged was a bad project either. Wild thing kind of got on my nerves a bit but that's about it. And I think we should remeber that Elmo in Grouchland is for children! It is not meant to be entertaining for anyone over the age of like 5. Follow That Bird was actually a good movie though. Then again, I haven't seen it since I was like 10. I can see smaller kids being a little scared by that movie though. I know it killed me to see Big Bird being dragged away from his home.

 

[beaker]

Originally posted by WiGgY
Follow That Bird was actually a good movie though. Then again, I haven't seen it since I was like 10. I can see smaller kids being a little scared by that movie though. I know it killed me to see Big Bird being dragged away from his home.

Agreed...that opening Patton sendoff with Oscar was too much!
But yeah, seeing Big Bird bird napped like that was a bit disturbing. Btw, I think that was the last Muppet film to actually be filmed out in the open in real life...been closed sets sadly ever since.

 

[WiGgY]

And then they painted him blue and made him sing that song. What were they doing to kids at that time? I guess a kids movie that deals with real issues is better than Elmo looking for his blanky. Kids shows use to talk to kids on a real level, what happened?

Edit: Oh! And the original point about MCT being a pilot for MT. That's an interesting point. Andy and Randy pig were in it as were the three elvis puppets but Gonzo was the host. Maybe they were toying with the idea of having Gonzo host a muppet show. I think MT would have benifitted from Gonzo hosting MT. He did a lot stuff anyway. He would have made a better host. Clifford was ok but all he did was introduce stuff. Gonzo would have been a host and actually done bits as well.

Besides, he would have been next in line to host, except maybe Fozzie, but he was never much of a leader.

What if Gonzo hosted MT? Do you think it would have done better?

 

[BoyRaisin2]

Originally posted by WiGgY
And I think we should remeber that Elmo in Grouchland is for children! It is not meant to be entertaining for anyone over the age of like 5

That's something that always perplexes about my love for the Muppets and how I critique their shows. The bulk of Henson's shows are FOR young children, yet I care that '80s SS is better than '90s SS, Bear and Fraggle Rock are cool yet (today anyway) I couldn't stand Animal Jam (the elephant's cool though), and EIG blew (didn't even bother watching the rest when I saw it on Disney), while I thoroughly enjoyed FTB. Interesting...OK, not really.

 

[Chilly Down]

Intriguing question, Wiggy. On the one hand, people (including myself) have complained about an overexposure to Gonzo in the '90s, and this would have certainly added to that. On the other hand, he has much more personality than Clifford, so it's hard not to imagine him (or most other classic characters, for that matter) making a better host. This is not a rip-on-Clifford session; I just think his character needed more time to develop before being thrust into the spotlight.

And while I'm glad you enjoyed MCT, Cory, IMHO it's the worst post-Jim production. I loved MCC and I liked many parts of MTI, but MCT doesn't even have the saving grace of good production values or a strong overall story. It's the most "kiddified" of the Disney productions (not counting the compilation videos). Even the performers seem bored.

To answer the intial question, I don't think MCT was considered a template for MT so much as a testing ground for new characters. In the past, many great characters have come out of specials first (Gonzo and Thog in Santa Switch, Robin and Sweetums in The Frog Prince, Bean Bunny in Bunny Picnic), so this was a good way for them to test out a few characters who did eventually make it into the cast...at least for a while. Of course, none of us know for sure; that's just my speculation.

As a side trivia note, the next time you watch the excellent PBS documentary "American Masters: The Worlds (?) of Jim Henson" (which was filmed around the same time), take note of the puppets in the background behind Brian Henson during his interviews. The Wolf from MCT is clearly visible in the background.