Reasons for Character Selections for TV Appearances

[jvcarroll]

It seems that arm-rod puppets take precedence over live-hand puppets when character choices are considered for Muppet appearances. That's one of the reasons why characters like Pepe have received so much exposure in the past. Don't get me wrong, I love the prawn and he's a very sharp wit, but unlike Rowlf or Dr. Teeth, he only requires one performer. I think that's also why Fozzie has taken a back seat to Piggy. The lack of projects and exposure for Fozzie is another reason, of course. We'd probably see more Animal if he were a little more talkative.

So I guess that's why we've mostly seen Kermit, Piggy, Gonzo, Pepe and Rizzo when a character is needed for a TV spot while the others are less frequently used for such assignments. If the TED conference is any indication then Scooter could get a lot more exposure. Walter will probably make the rounds a lot now too.

 

[Pinkflower7783]

You do have a point and I have never thought about it like that before. But I think we should exclude Kermit and Piggy for obvious reasons of why they make the most TV appearances. I think a lot of it has to do with time. Like depending how much air time they have. Because as you saw with GMA back in Nov more of them were on there because they were on for most of the show. Fozzie was on the Chris Moyles show *BBC show* back in Jan but they had 22:00 of air time so that gave more time for Eric to change up characters. I mean if they have only have like 3:00-4:00 min of air time the time constrant having to switch characters might be an issue. Just my theory.