I'm w/ the Jim Henson Hour.
Here's where Marky gets all furry...
Bring back The
Muppet SHOW.
It's what people identify with the most, it'd be the easiest thing to pitch, and it would
BY FAR generate the biggest buzz. The whole SHOW aspect of the show works so well because it's TIMELESS. The Jim Henson Hour wasn't as timeless, and Muppets Tonight wasn't either. Both of those shows, as good as they were for many reasons, are not remembered now by the general public. Why? They weren't the Muppet Show.
They messed up the formula. The variety show, the theatre, the guests - the show had such a great flow it seemed to write itself (which is ironic because of the geniusly frantic writing styles). The songs, the explosions, the canned laughter, the manic feel - THAT is what people want from the Muppets.
"Oh, but they HAVE to do something fresh and new!"
To which I say...
a) No, they don't.
b) Gee folks, maybe bringing something back after so long - faithfully - IS fresh and new!
Not guest spots on Martha Stewart.
Not some Direct-to-DVD 'movie'.
Not some trendy (see DATED) forgettable stab at conventional TV lampooning.
Not the "New Style, Humor for the New Millennium Clifforized" Muppet SHow.
People want the Muppet Show Back.
For the general Public, The Muppet Show = The Muppets.
Not us, the muppetcentral forum dwellers who own a pile of DVDs, nor the extreme collector who keeps stats on which puppet appeared here, when or where... the general public.
Why, apart from some good movies, has any attempt to bring them back fizzled? Because it wasn't THE
MUPPET SHOW!
I remember reading, way back, when that German company owned them - there was a newspaper article say that they were going to do just that... bring back the Muppet Show as if the time between 1981 and (I think) 2001 was just a hiatus. BRILLIANT! I cheered!
Every single person I told (and I told EVERYONE I knew!) was excited about the thought of The Muppet
Show coming back.
"Right On!"
"It's about time!"
"Good, cuz that last show with that dreadlocked thing sucked!"
"Awesome!"
So, call me opinionated - I am. And it's my opinion that the only thing they should bother doing at this point is to
BRING BACK THE MUPPET SHOW!