The 10 Worst Muppets?

[Drtooth]

Some of his choices have that *** factor in them and i think its because of his limited knowledge of the Muppets - once he committed himself to the concept, it reads like "um...oh boy...now i have to come up WITH ten Muppets for the list". If you can think of about 50 Muppets off the top of your head, you're likely to have a weaker list than fans that can think of thousands.

Honestly, big fan I am, I couldn't even think of 10 Muppets I disliked enough to say worst. I had to combine them with SS characters. I would have listed Fleet Scribbler, but, frankly, I just got TMS season 3 this year (I'm POOR! We all should know that by now) and I haven't gotten to an episode that really features him yet. It is a general consensus that he's a terrible character, but it wouldn't be fair to not rewatch episodes with him first. After all, it was YEARS since I've seen actual episodes of TMS before the DVD releases.

Bunson - the author cites that Bunson doesn't work because he's nothing without Beaker. But while Muppet Labs really took off in season two, Bunson was far from a flat straight man - there's this marvelous wild quirkiness to Bunson that always makes him a treat to watch (even in those first season appearances) There's this underlying kinkiness to him from the feel of a softened dish setting him all a quiver to his tsstsstss laugh to his burning desire to twiddle Phil Van Neuter's ears that just captures my heart whether he's with Beaker or not. It may be funny seeing Beaker suffer all manner of physical indignity but Bunson's reactions alternating between concern, amusement, or indifference are often what sells them.

Uh... nice rebuttal on Bunsen's part but... snicker.. you kinda spelt his name wrong! I totally agree, Bunsen and Beaker both make each other. Beaker needs Bunsen's boarderline sadistic experimentation, and Bunsen needs to be the foil of someone. His alone segments don't work because he was doing a 2 person comedy routine by himself all along. Had he been a little more maniacal (say, like VanNeuter) his crazy experiments would have been funnier solo... but he's got too mild mannered an attitude to work by himself. Think about it, would Statler and Waldorf's snarky comments about the Muppets performing be as effective if there was only one of them? No. Then it becomes just one crazy old coot making comments to himself with no snappy play off of someone else. Ernie and Bert have been known to work solo, and sometimes it's pretty entertaining (Doin' the Pidgeon, Honker Duckie Dinger Jamboree) but they work best when they play off each other (or have someone else, like Lefty or Grover). So I would consider that was a sort of unfair comment on the list's part. The Bunsen segm,ents in season 1 were just an unfinished concept that needed to evolve.

Oddly enough, I was going to state that so far, I liked Wayne without Wanda. She was holding the gag back.

 

[Krazedmuppet]

alright, you knew I couldnt resist- and I cant pass up a chance...


1. ELMO (dont care if this is supposed to be classic muppets- he is still a muppet)
2. Mokey (ducks from flying pies) I dont know why, I never related to her at all and found her boring)
3. Bobo
4. Wyane and Wanda
5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 are all Elmo (I dont really hate 2-4, just not my favorite)

 

[MeepMeepBork]

I never liked Sam the Eagle. He drives me nuts. His lines in The Great Muppet Caper ("You are all... WEIRDOS.") and Muppet Christmas Carol ("It is the American way... It is the BRITISH way...") make me laugh, but whenever he starts to give a speech about decency or what have you, I just wanna scream, "SHADDUP, YA STUPID BIRD. WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING ON THE SHOW IF IT APPALLS YOU SO MUCH."

 

[D'Snowth]

alright, you knew I couldnt resist- and I cant pass up a chance...


1. ELMO (dont care if this is supposed to be classic muppets- he is still a muppet)
2. Mokey (ducks from flying pies) I dont know why, I never related to her at all and found her boring)
3. Bobo
4. Wyane and Wanda
5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 are all Elmo (I dont really hate 2-4, just not my favorite)

So Katie, do you like Elmo?

 

[theprawncracker]

Bea{Yeah, I'd be the first to admit he wasn't developed in an obvious way, but watch the episode with him and the rats and Miss Piggy and if you don't cry...well, you're more a man than I.}regard

Beau, Miss Piggy is more of a man than you!

 

[D'Snowth]

Beau, Miss Piggy is more of a man than you!

OH! BURN AGAIN!

 

[Frogster]

These have been fun to read, it's interesting to see other people's reasons on why which ones aren't their faves. Steve's Kermit and Jacobson's Piggy and Fozzie aside, here's my list:

10. ANY new Muppets Tonight character that isn't named Seymour, Pepe, Johnny, Sal or Bobo
9. Hilda (I never got her)
8. George the Janitor (I'm just glad we got Beau later on, even though it took me til Season 4 to like him)
7. Telly Monster (too much of a pushover)
6. Wayne & Wanda (yeah I get it, you can't make it through one number, now where's the Electric Mayhem?)
5. Mr. Poodlepants (Yes he deserves to be mentioned twice)
4. Abby Cadabby (I don't catch the show anymore cuz I'm in my mid-20's, but from what I've caught, of all the new, disappointing Muppet monsters on SS in the last 20 years, she takes the cake, except my number one on the list. Remember when Grover used to be Super?)
3. Andy & Randy Pig (Aside from Poodlepants, these two were so cringe-worthy and awful that they've earned the right to be named twice)
2. Bear from SS (I have hated that voice since I was a kid, and he's still just awful)
1. ELMO (And he should be YOUR number one, too! It saddens me that the main Muppets on the Street besides Big Bird and Oscar are this guy, Telly, Bear, Abby and Zoey. Hey kids, did you know when I was your age, Cookie Monster only ate cookies, Kermit gave us the news, and we had a Two-Headed Monster? It's gotten so easy to please young ones these days.)

 

[Krazedmuppet]

These have been fun to read, it's interesting to see other people's reasons on why which ones aren't their faves. Steve's Kermit and Jacobson's Piggy and Fozzie aside, here's my list:

10. ANY new Muppets Tonight character that isn't named Seymour, Pepe, Johnny, Sal or Bobo

I agree with that, I forgot about them, they were kinda funky especially that one guy with the hair that was greenish white... dont remember his name (too lazy to look it up)

 

[Krazedmuppet]

So Katie, do you like Elmo?

I <3 him he is my favorite, why would you think otherwise?

 

[frogboy4]

I really don't want to be a hater, but Elmo is only good in Jim Henson's era and in modern times when he works off-the-cuff in interview situations. It's taken looking at some of these old unearthed clips lately that prove there was value in the little red guy in the 80s.

The Muppets Tonight lineup was a reaction to the Muppet Show's cancellation by Jim. He felt that that dynamic had run its course with the characters in that configuration so new ones were made for Muppets Tonight. I feel that there's been a lack of clear vision and can-do spirit at Henson since Jim's death. Few people have his sort of magic. The Muppets would have had a few years of moderate fame and faded into permanent nostalgia without Jim at the helm.

Muppets Tonight was launched without a clear idea of what the Muppet brand was doing. The show comes off as hap-hazard and after its time. Personally, I like Van Neuter, but he replaced Bunsen and Beaker in stead of complimenting them. Clifford’s fine, but he edged out Kermit and that just makes people uncomfortable. Andy, Randy, Spamela and Bobo had some humorous moments, but you can’t have a legit Muppet program without Fozzie Bear and Miss Piggy. Also, why the frog try to replace the Electric Mayhem? It isn’t like the new band spoke much. Most folk felt offended by the Muppet interlopers even if they miraculously knew of the program and could locate its on-again, off-again timeslot after Urkel. Oh, and the Deep Dish Nine spaceship wasn’t as attractive as the Swinetrek. I think the Henson production team had finally figured this out right before ABC lowered the axe.

It’s all about the classic characters. I mean, what if they made a new Fraggle Rock and replaced all the title roles? Ick. We love new characters, but not at the sake of old ones.