Muppets Now Episode 4 - Sleep Mode

[MuppetSpot]

I don't know if anyone else felt this way, but Aubrey Plaza was very stiff and she didn't really have as much chemistry with the Muppets like RuPaul did. Plus she wasn't even looking at the puppets.

 

[Luke]

I thought this one was below average, a little flat and boring.
I guess seeing the Electric Mayhem, and Pepe in the video call were the highlights, as well as the Joe from Legal sketch.

It all just runs too long for me, the pacing is bad, and that just makes the average writing seem even worse. It would have probably been better in the 10 minute chunks originally planned, but even then i'm not sure the set up of the talk show, game show, cooking show works. It's too formulaic for The Muppets who were all about chaos and variety.

It's Muppets 101 that the pig is best used in small doses, but she has a bigger role than Kermit or any other Muppet here which I don't think has ever been done before. That really doesn't work - and why does she take so much abuse from Uncle Deadly? Piggy has her insecurities, but rage usually builds up and we start seeing the karate chops, not just a little flounce off screen, we need more "Code Red"

I know that Bill and Jim Lewis were behind this. But the wider story team seem to be lacking in much understanding or feeling for the characters - it's some of the guys who did the recent live shows but I know Kirk Thatcher had a bigger role on those and only directed a small part of these so maybe it's his hand missing creatively from this that has sucked the Muppet magic out of it. Also with the live shows they had a wider cast and bigger guest stars to play with and it's generally quicker sketches with punchlines. The people behind this just seem to either lost their way with the format changes or haven't really understood how the Muppets work best on TV. It's cool and Muppet-esque, but its not REALLY The Muppets.

This feels like you could put any other group of puppets up there doing the same script and you wouldn't notice much of a difference.

 

[Cookie3001]

Now I've heard plenty of people say they didn't like it but this was my personal favorite so far. I found it very funny and entertaining and also was glad to see Miss Poogy return even if she didn't do much.

 

[Old Thunder]

I don't know if anyone else felt this way, but Aubrey Plaza was very stiff and she didn't really have as much chemistry with the Muppets like RuPaul did. Plus she wasn't even looking at the puppets.

Not looking at them could just be a trait of hers, a lot of people avoid eye contact while talking due to anxiety and such. You sort of stare off into space so you can better focus on what you’re saying.

But otherwise... yeah. I think it was a bit more creative what they did this time around, but it was really boring. Like you said, the chemistry wasn’t there, and RuPaul had far more with them last time. Aubrey is a terrific actress and a terrific interviewee, so it’s a shame that she was wasted here like that.

 

[Cookie3001]

I'm starting to really worry about this show. We're only four episodes in and it's already getting plenty of criticism, this one looks like it was most hated out of them all.

One thing that annoys me is the fact that people are still complaining about Matt's Kermit. It's been 3 years now for god sake, people need to just get used to it if they want more Muppet content being made

 

[Luke]

One thing that annoys me is the fact that people are still complaining about Matt's Kermit. It's been 3 years now for god sake, people need to just get used to it if they want more Muppet content being made

I agree. It's about far more than just the voice. Matt is an excellent performer who brings Jim's naughtiness and mischievousness back to Kermit, and he's just fantastic with any character he takes on.

 

[Cookie3001]

Even if people don't like his frog they need to understand that they can't just remove Kermit from the Muppets. He's the glue that holds them all together. Also I'm glad he's not the focus of this whole show, that's what makes it so different

 

[tutter_fan]

Is it just me, or do we need more of Joe the legal weasel, and at least some skits with newsie? Who's with me on this?

 

[Cookie3001]

I personally dislike Joe so I'm glad we haven't been seeing much of him

 

[Timhodge]

I've been out of the loop, I'm surprised to hear that people are still complaining about Matt's Kermit. I was SUPER unimpressed when he first took over, but having seen very little Muppet stuff since then, I was shocked at how good I found him to be in Muppets Now.

I am also surprised that nobody seems to like Muppets Now much. I'm loving it, every segment has something to offer. Sometimes you get one that's Not That Great, but guess what? A whole lot of TMS episodes are dreadful. For my money, MN is closer in spirit to TMS than pretty much anything the Muppets have done since then and I love it.

Maybe we're seeing a new side of the Chef, a more antagonistic role for him, but I'm enjoying it a lot, hope we see Beverly in other places. As with the recent Scooter renaissance, it's nice to see recast characters being embraced rather than sidelined. The Swedish Chef is not an easy character to perform convincingly, but Bill Barretta does a brilliant job - as he does with everything.