Muppet Freak is back...kinda

[dwmckim]

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I agree with your Muppet-appearance choices, particularly the monsters...but I would add Newsie (even in nonspeaking bits, such as being an audience member during some of "Muppets Tonight", he has the same serious slightly disapproving air which not even Sam can bring off, which just makes the silliness even sillier) and Lewis Kazagger -- although he's been neglected most shamefully for a long time. I still felt his sudden appearance to comment on the impromptu Holiday Diamond Baseball Classic was what really made that scene!

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I did consider both (and knew i'd probably hear from you if i left Newsman out!) - but i wanted to stay pretty true to the group i had originally compiled in my head way back since i was a kid watching the final couple of seasons of TMS - and at the time both characters felt like they were enough part of the fabric and not as much of a rare treat when they showed up as the others i narrowed the list down to. But agreed post-TMS, it always feels special when they get included - even just seeing Newsman in Muppet Magazine was always fun and i think i literally cheered when Louis was brought out of obscurity during the early 90's Good Morning America appearances...they'd both be "honorable mentions"

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Just a side note, i know i haven't updated as much the last couple of weeks but while doing the blog has helped with a lot of stuff i'm dealing with in the background, it's still a gradual process rather than an overnight one and i had been falling back into the staying-in-bed-for-extended-periods-of-time habits the last two weeks...but more is on the way soon - including an article that's bound to be pretty controversial and cause some discussion...but it's all stuff that needs to be said about a very important monkey wrench thrown into the world of Muppet Fandom - and thus far no other Muppet site's been brave enough to tackle this issue!

 

[minor muppetz]

I don't think Louis Kazagger was very common on The Muppet Show. He was rarely used outside of Muppet Sports (kinda like how The Newsman was rarely seen outside of Muppet News), a recurring segment that only appeared in 8 episodes. And it seems like it was a treat to see certain major characters during the last three seasons: Those years there really wasn't much Dr. Teeth, Sweetums, or Crazy Harry, yet those characters appeared quite a bit in the first two seasons and were featured in The Muppet Movie.

Growing up, I felt like up until The Muppet Christmas Carol it was a treat to see Bunsen and Beaker. They were never exactly rare, but even then they didn't seem to be around as much as I would have liked. They weren't in every episode of Muppet Babies (and until the last two seasons were the only recurring characters NOT in every episode), Muppet Labs appeared less often in the last two seasons (it seems seasons 2 and 3 were where most of the skits appeared... And Nickelodeon did cut a few Muppet Labs segments), they were only in one episode of The Jim Henson Hour (most likely due to Richard Hunt's limited availability), and the two weren't given a featured role in The Muppets Take Manhattan (ignoring a scene from the storybook).

I've been trying to think about what characters I would have viewed as making a Muppet production extra special. Before I actually saw episodes of The Muppet Show, there were quite a few characters I noticed in the movies, specials, and in clips chosen for the compilation videos, who I was surprised NOT to see very often on The Muppet Show (some it took me a long time before seeing an episode with them). These characters include Geri and the Attrics, Louis Kazagger, Flecther Bird, The Devil, and Behemoth. I guess I'll include Thog and Lips in this list, though they were in the opening so technically it didn't really take me that long to see them in an episode.

 

[dwmckim]

Added:

"Muppet Freak Orders Chicken Soup"
http://muppetfreak.blogspot.com/2012/05/muppet-freak-orders-chicken-soup.html

Basically an "I'm still here" post since it had been awhile since my last update, but with some fun visuals including a reference that ONLY Muppet fans would get.

 

[newsmanfan]

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*taps foot waiting*

Do I need to mail you some garlic to go in that soup? Maybe frozen chicken soup...too darned hot otherwise!

Hoping you resume posting soon.
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[dwmckim]

The main reason for delays as of late has been my spotty net connection...i can get on for a little bit and then goes out for longer - made my provider aware of this and i'm hoping to have stuff up at the end of the week.

 

[newsmanfan]

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*baited breath beginning to smell bad*

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[dwmckim]

Added:

Question: What do you do if your spotty internet connection keeps you from devoting the amount of attention you want to give to your Muppet fan blog?

Answer: You create a post like this one...
http://muppetfreak.blogspot.com/2012/05/my-connection-is-not-rainbow-one.html

 

[dwmckim]

Added:

Purple Hand o' Fate
http://muppetfreak.blogspot.com/2012/05/purple-hand-o-fate.html

 

[minor muppetz]

If you have to go without internet in your home for awhile, couldn't you go to a local library and post articles on the library computers? I don't know how it is with all libraries so yours may be different (I assume there's a library iny our town) but my local libraries allow internet access, though only people with library cards are allowed to use the library computers (but it doesn't cost anything to have a card) and are limited to up to an hour a day. Just a thought.

 

[dwmckim]

Trust me, i'm WELL familiar with library computers - since my own webtv is so antiquated, i'm often at the library anyway to access/accomplish things i can't do at home. However - no car/subpar Phoenix bus systems + Phx library hours being scaled back over the years + slow computers at the libraries + the hour (if i can get a full hour) taken up by other tasks stilll = no Muppet Freak if i can't do anything at home.