Palisades Series 7 Official Line-up

[Luke]

Yeah there do seem to be the same people desperately hyping the wave - i say lets just let people have their opinions and see how it does in the end by itself - after all there have been people who have both liked and disliked things in this thread and the poll results are fairly good. Palisades are more than capable of advertising/promotion themselves although of course we support them but 'Muppet Central' is supposed to be an independant fan forum. Anything commercial is supposed to go in the 'for sale' forums and that URL plug from Uncleduke was a bit gratutious, not needed to make the point. I don't think anybody was attacking him or the great service he provides, just pointing out the obvious whether he has an ulterior motive or not and he did omit that he has a special offer on this specific wave (plug, plug) and that the majority of his customers are dedicated Palisades collectors who buy from him because he is known to them from the forums. It doesn't really have any emphasis on how people 'outside' will react to this series good or bad.

Speaking as a fairly knowledgable Muppet fan, i think it's laughable to say that hardcore collectors will "snap up" Johnny Fiama. Even Henson have been using him, Sal and Clifford less nowadays with only minor parts. Sure he will be popular with that group more than any other, he will sell amongst them, and there are quite a few who might collect all 3 versions even but he has never had mass popularity to that extent either. The stars here for the hardcores are Robin and Beau with Robin having the potential to get lots of sales amongst the casual fans too, he has crossover appeal. Also yes the waves have been coming out in roughly the same time frames but there were unavoidable delays with the earlier series so it does seem that these are coming out a little thicker and faster. I have noticed that myself - i preferred the slower approach myself with the delays because it means people will be able to afford to buy more over time but thats a personal thing.

 

[frogboy4]

I'd say to non-fans, Kermit and Robin are the hottest figures. To mainstream fans it's Beau and Kermit and to the hardcore fan market it's Johnny and Beau.

I don't agree with the assumption that Henson doesn’t favor Johnny. He was recently on the telethon; he's one of the few Muppets ever to appear on Larry King, he had a prominent role on MT and smaller roles in MFS and the Christmas special. Along with being Barretta's favorite character, I think we'll see much more of him. Remember this wave comes out next year. There's at least six months before these begin to hit shelves and there is this rumored project in the works. Johnny could make another appearance right before this wave. I'm not saying he's the strongest guy out there, but he is strong enough.

And don't forget about the power or personal presence. Many gripers of the line have done a 180 when they saw these figures in stores. Sam Arrow is a perfect example. Now people want to see the Ghost of Sam Arrow. I'd buy that, but personally I find the idea a snoozer.

As for favoring retailers, Muppet Central often points members to the best deals. I don't endorse Boxing Cow. I've never bought anything from them. Personally, I get everything from EB. But this is the only current option to guarantee purchase of all 6 series seven figures. I sometimes wonder why individuals devise or seek out a negative side to situations. Uncle Duke has had a good track record from what has been stated. I see no problem with him promoting his site, especially since it is all legal, and authorized products from a licensed dealer. He should be able to mention his site without being criticized. Such personal criticism skates the lines of forum regulations. Talking about where to buy Muppet Stuff (just like the continuing relationship to Ken or the Monopoly Guy) does not.

 

[Luke]

I see no problem with him promoting his site, especially since it is all legal, and authorized products from a licensed dealer. He should be able to mention his site without being criticized. Such personal criticism skates the lines of forum regulations. Talking about where to buy Muppet Stuff (just like the continuing relationship to Ken or the Monopoly Guy) does not.

He provides a great service and there's no problem with him promoting his site as long as it's made clear thats what he's doing and not posting here using the opportunity to 'plug' which i think maybe came across the wrong way on this occasion which is unfortunate and i'm sure not the case. It's the whole reason why we have the 'for sale or trade' forum so everybody knows that's what someone is doing and is clear on it. Same reason we have 'fun and games' for when people want to post a joke about fake Pepe dolls and we don't all rush to the stores. I've been here for years - regulations or not that is always how things have been done since day one. I agree the way the post was worded bordered on personal criticism though but the point made was perfectly legitimate. With Ken and Monopoly guy while it is commercially orientated they are able to participate in a general discussion without mentioning their URL every time they mention a product or company name and they don't sell products directly here.

To a hardcore Muppet fan IMO Robin rates higher than Johnny. We haven't seen much Robin merchandise ever and he is original TMS era. I think Johnny comes close seeing as this is 'frog scout' and not naked, but not quite. I don't see Johnny as being unpopular, nor do i see hardcore's wetting their pants over him like i do with Tux Gonzo or Lew Zealand so i agree with what you said about not strongest, but strong enough. I'm sure he will do as well as expected, maybe better if with Sal but then i can see that argument from both sides (as does Ken) and they'll make money from Sal being an additional product. The key to Henson using Johnny & Sal has been 'minor parts' over recent years - the Larry King thing was specifically to promote a show (MT) that was focused on these new characters. They are pretty much used the same as background characters nowadays although the strategy right now is to push some of the old TMS era background fan favorites so maybe a reason why their role in VMC was quite a small one as there were a lot of those kinda cameos to fit in. It was great they used them in the telethon but unusual - i have a feeling that was Brian who wanted to get back into doing some puppeteering now he co-owns the place again rather than any sign of things to come but it's great to get those characters back out there. J&S are really growing on me as characters since the MT days where i found them a bit annoying - small doses seems to work well with them i have to say.

 

[frogboy4]

Uncle Duke provided a two-sentence plug that was on topic. It was merely part of a post that had other information. He's not some unknown guy popping over here to hock pirated DVDs. He is a regular contributor to the forum. He did not break the rules as this moderator sees them. There is no need to complain further. Please move on.

 

[MuppetQuilter]

I'll be buying the full series, but that can't be a surprise. I think the Johnny repaints will be a lot of fun and help move a lesser-known figure. Knowing Ken and Palisades, I suspect they've gone a bit further in differentiating the three Johnnys than has been done with the previous chase figures.

As far as what makes one wave more appealing than another, I think a lot of that is completely subjective. If you never saw MT, Johnny probably isn't high on your figure wish list. If Beau is a fav or you loved MTI... Anyway, my point is one person's #1 wave will be another's least favorite. Over all I think Palisades has done a good job of mixing up the waves-- well known key Muppets, fan favorites, and lesser known characters.

I also think sometimes we over analyze all this just a bit.

 

[Fozzie Bear]

Get it??!

I also think sometimes we over analyze all this just a bit.

Let me get out my book of Freudian Psychology and think about that statment for a while...

 

[Luke]

Let me get out my book of Freudian Psychology and think about that statment for a while...

**** - this is a forum for hardcore Muppet fans, if i can't have a ten page discussion about the color of Janice's underpants then i'm through with this place and joining a Rugrats site.

 

[Fozzie Bear]

tee hee...I thought that might be a funny thing to say.

 

[Crazy Harry]

I suspect they've gone a bit further in differentiating the three Johnnys than has been done with the previous chase figures.

Johnny comes with a record sleeve and a photo frame. Each of the three will have a different image in these two accessories.

 

[Luke]

tee hee...I thought that might be a funny thing to say.

Thank Yew !!! LOL - Back to the subject at hand. The poll results so far aren't too bad at all for like the main Muppet site. Could be a bit better, but obviously it's a wave where they have targeted different figures at different types of people. I think it'll do respectably well, although my fear with waves like these (6 & 7) is that if there was a trend of the obscure figures not selling well at the mainstream retailers they might pull out but i'd hope not. It's a hard job they have because this mixed wave approach is good because each person will have a favorite but bad because they'll always have some figures that people dont want as much.

I like the way Series 5 is much stronger because even though it has the themed character and the more recent MT one they are ALL guys who are huge favorites with both the hardcore fans and also the casual fans. It'd be good to see more of that type of wave, although it's great they try to do some more obscure characters that are just really popular with the hardcores but i kinda think it'd be better for us all overall if they cut that down to one every two waves and used a secondary or maybe a Vacation/Superhero themed main character in the available space. It might make the line last a little longer and i don't think anyone would have a problem as long as the end result looked cool and we at least got some of the more obscure fan favorites over time.