Muppet Mockumentary Pilot Filmed

[SarahOnBway]

Sometimes it's better to look for something fresh, don't you think?

Well, I still believe the Muppets can be fresh. They just have to be handled in the right way. VMX wasn't long ago at all and I will stand by TV movie as a return to the traditional Muppet atmosphere, but keeping it new. Fresh, if you will.

 

[muppet baby]

ABC's upfronts came out yesterday with no news of a Muppet series, but that's still okay because we've heard that it will probably be a miniseries before an open series. But I'd still like to hear something!

You know, everyone [TV critics] is talking about the great lack of sitcoms on TV right now. Of the classic sitcoms, the few that are incredibly popular (Two and a Half Men, Rules of Engagement) are HORRIFICALLY TERRIBLE, and the few that are good (How I Met Your Mother and apparently New Adventures of Old Christine, which I don't watch) have mediocre ratings. Scrubs and The Office, while critically acclaimed, are still sometimes lacking in ratings (Scrubs more than The Office), but the fans of these shows are so zealous that NBC will not cancel them. Like Arrested Development, deemed by some as "the greatest comedy ever made" neither of them are in the "classic" sitcom style.




Everyone gets their comedy from hour-long "dramedies" like Desperate Housewives or Ugly Betty, so much so that people have said that the half-hour comedy may be an endangered species. I really think that NOW is the time for a new Muppet show! What do families watch on TV? I know that my family watches "Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader" together (how lame is that?) and, I hate to admit it, "House". My 8-year-old sister (she turned 8 on Sunday!) LOVES to be able to say "Mommy lets me watch medical shows". When I was a kid we had TGIF, now what? The War at Home? I don't think so.

Comedies in the traditional sitcom format are struggling. Why? Because most of them are terrible. There is a definite need for an actually funny comedy that everyone can watch. Sound like the Muppets anyone?

There are my 2 cents. 4 paragraphs worth of it.

I know what you mean about the way that sitcoms are going , really they are not great anymore, i wish though that we could get some Muppet's back on TV oh wow that would be so great , i really miss the TGIF times that was so great Full House , was my show i never missed a week of it .
i also had Dr Quinn Medican woman That was my weeks of TV , so sad now that kids only have mostly medical shows now .
i hate that so much , my mom is a nurse and we get enough of that with her Job .

TV has just gotten Crazy thank God for TV shows box sets now and we can get the classics in our home again i am getting the full house sets Muppet's Dr Quinn and some other Great TV shows , also some other TV reuns on satellite .
i hope that we can see Muppet's tonight in reruns or DVD very soon . although i am loving Desperate housewives that is the only weekly TV show that i will watch .
It is really funny , i like that though i hate to say it but it is true about that one show .

Thank God for Books i love to read as well .

 

[Marky]

I remember Muppets Tonight being a bit flat, compared with what the troupe did when Jim Henson was around. I remember really wanting to love Muppets Tonight, but even then, so much of the magic just wasn't there.

I'm not sure if they'd be able to pull it off these days - it IS owned by Disney now, and aside from Dave Goelz and Steve Whitmere, who's left?

Don't get me wrong, Disney OWNS theme parks and animation, and movies like Pirates, etc. I just be leery of what they'd do with them now... maybe a few commercial spots and DVD releases are what they should stick with.

As much as I enjoy the odd new TV movie, I'll bodly step up to say that I consider the true magic of the Muppets as something that should be considered in the past tense. That's not to say that the old movies and TV stuff can't and shouldn't live on - it should. It's timeless.

But the mockumentary pilot thing - if it's anything like what they stuck onto the 50th Anniversary DVDs, and it probably is... you see where I"m going?

I'm more into what new things can spring out of puppetry, I guess. I will ALWAYS love the Muppets. The Real Muppets. The kind which shoot out of canons, fire elephant guns at turkeys and sit around softly singing with John Denver.

 

[muppet baby]

I remember Muppets Tonight being a bit flat, compared with what the troupe did when Jim Henson was around. I remember really wanting to love Muppets Tonight, but even then, so much of the magic just wasn't there.

I'm not sure if they'd be able to pull it off these days - it IS owned by Disney now, and aside from Dave Goelz and Steve Whitmere, who's left?

Don't get me wrong, Disney OWNS theme parks and animation, and movies like Pirates, etc. I just be leery of what they'd do with them now... maybe a few commercial spots and DVD releases are what they should stick with.

As much as I enjoy the odd new TV movie, I'll bodly step up to say that I consider the true magic of the Muppets as something that should be considered in the past tense. That's not to say that the old movies and TV stuff can't and shouldn't live on - it should. It's timeless.

But the mockumentary pilot thing - if it's anything like what they stuck onto the 50th Anniversary DVDs, and it probably is... you see where I"m going?

I'm more into what new things can spring out of puppetry, I guess. I will ALWAYS love the Muppets. The Real Muppets. The kind which shoot out of canons, fire elephant guns at turkeys and sit around softly singing with John Denver.

Well yes the muppets will never be the same with out jim but they are doing good , all the same .
i really loved muppets tonight though yes it did have it's flat moments he he he .
i can't wait for the re-runs to comeback on some station or dvds that would be so great although i sound like a broken record .
it will always be a faveriie when it comes to the muppets he he .

 

[muppetperson]

I may have some news soon.Communication has started and I can tell you that Disney IS committed to getting new entertainment for the Muppets.It just takes some time

 

[crazed gonzo fa]

That's good to hear.

 

[Kar Ma]

I think what many want is the old Muppet show magic. I believe that magic can still exist but we simply need to update the guest artists. Can you imagine how many people would watch the Muppets if Justin Timberlake and/or Beyonce Knowles guest starred?

The Muppets themselves would still be the same. The reality is they now exist in a different time where different issues are more openly addressed (compared to 10-20-30 years ago). I think that is why Kermit is so recognizable. His character has continued to keep up with the sign of the times. Also, Miss Piggy is still so loved cuz she represents the empowerment of femininity.

Even though there is a lot of terrible television there is also an increase in better television (like LOST, 24, and I still looove the slight oldie X-FILES). I think many are tired of sitcoms. They repreat the same jokes and circumstances over and over. Also, they pay the live audience to be there. So, doing an audience-free show might be more financially pliable. I don't really know that but it's, at least, logically sound.

The SIMPSONS got their start on the Tracy Ulman Show (or whatever it was called). Why can't the Muppets have a spot like that? Talk shows, besides dramadies and crime and medical shows, are all over television. Oh. Can you imagine a Muppets episode with Oprah? Women who watch her show have kids. What do kids like? Puppets. I'm imagining the Muppets coming on her show. I think even Oprah would let her guard down for Kermie and friends.

 

[TheJimHensonHour]

Disney also needs to remember that the muppets aren't just : Kermit, Piggy, Fozzie, Gonzo, & Rizo.
It's a countless number of monsters, freaks, weirdos, and watnots!
Something thats been missing for me with the muppets for years and is sadly missed since the days of the jim henson hour.

 

[SarahOnBway]

Disney also needs to remember that the muppets aren't just : Kermit, Piggy, Fozzie, Gonzo, & Rizo.
It's a countless number of monsters, freaks, weirdos, and watnots!
Something thats been missing for me with the muppets for years and is sadly missed since the days of the jim henson hour.

I def agree, but I actually think, specifically with A Red and Green Christmas, that Disney did a better job of not filling it with those five. The Electric Mayhem had two songs, Rowlf had a song, Pepe, The Swedish Chef even had a song! Personally I was wishing there were more group numbers because I felt Gonzo-jipped (sp?) but that's just me.

One thing I think Disney really needs to remember is what Jerry Juhl said he didn't discover until the second season of TMS--that the Muppets' best episodes are character-based, with the antics backstage just as important if not more so than the antics onstage. I think that's definitely key, and what I missed the most during Muppets Tonight.

Also, of course, speaking of MT, Disney still has to make sure that Kerm, Piggy, Gonzo etc are prevelant, because I remember thinking throughout Muppets Tonight "...Where's Kermit? Why is he in so little of this?" I hardly knew who Clifford was when I first watched MT ("Oh, he was in The Muppets at Walt Disney World, right?") and I bet if I was confused why Clifford was hosting (although it makes perfect sense looking back on it now to give Kevin Clash a large role like that) the casual viewer was even more confused.

 

[muppet baby]

oh yes i remember now that was the only thing that bugged me about Muppet's tonight was the fact that Kermit was not on there very much Looooooooo Sara on Broadway i am so glad that you brought that up ! thanks .

The new Muppet's are so much fun , but yes the classics are always the best ! one thing that i really miss also are countless what nots and freaks as you said that we do not get to see very much anymore those are so fun to (oh well ) maybe they will bring them out in more specials i hope so that would be so great .

Though yes disney is putting a lot of Kermit fozzie and miss piggy and gonzo out there , i sure wish though that they would broaden that also to more movies and also to merchandise .
Maybe they will someday there is always hope .