The ask Jim Lewis thread is now open

[minor muppetz]

Yes, YAY Jim! He's being so kind, he's really a great guy. Anyway, he told me that he'll be travelling for a while, but I did send him the questions, so he'll answer them whenever he gets back.

Hmmm... I wonder if maybe he's working on a certain Muppet mockumentary that's been announced... (no, that wasn't a question)

 

[theprawncracker]

hey guys! Jim's back with more answers! Keep the questions coming!

More Answers to More Questions
Jim Lewis

"My question is about Beauregard. He disappeared, I've heard, because he was difficult to write for, (understandable), then reappeared with a few lines in Muppet's Tonight, was at breakfast in MFS and appeared in almost every theatre scene in VMC. Obviously, everything is collaborative and specific character lines/etc are lost, but I wondered if you knew whether Beau had a reason for reappearing? Was it just chance that pulled him out of a puppet box for VMC, or was he originally given lines? Is he a character you can see returning in a world where movies tend to focus on very few main characters?"

I really don’t know the story behind Beau’s use in those various productions. For me, speaking generally, the answer is simple: Certain characters drive a scene or a story (e.g. Gonzo, Fozzie, Pepe, Rizzo, and of course Kermit and Piggy, to name but a few). Some characters are great as punctuation to a scene (e.g. Statler & Waldorf, Sam, Animal). Beauregard falls into this latter category. But his reactions tend to be so subtle and heart-tugging, that he can only be used in certain situations. Jerry Juhl was a master of this—using Beau to evoke comedy and emotion at the same time. I am not a master of subtlety, so I don’t always think to put Beau in a scene. That’s my excuse. I’ll work on it.

"You seem to be trying in your writing to bring the Muppets back to being the way they really where during The Muppet Show, Do you think that will include bringing back some of the regulars that have slipped away into the background?"

The Muppet Show is the gold standard: Inspired silliness. Ecstatic foolishness. Sweet Madness. Call it what you will. Capturing that spirit is certainly the goal. I’d love to see some of the old regulars re-appear; the Muppets are a grand repertory company and no one ever really disappears, they are simply touring in some other unseen production.

"I have a question. It's about Rowlf. Lately, I've noticed a very big push to get him back into the reigns of a main Muppet character again. I love this. Is this a concious effort? Or did it just sorta happen?"

Rowlf was such a great Jim character, that I think there was an initial hesitance (and awe) to trying to re-create him and re-capture the magic. But as time passed and confidence grew, we’ve tried. Like Kermit, Rowlf is an aspect of Jim Henson’s personality—a wry, pun-loving, novelty-song-singing raconteur. To me, he’ll always be a mainstay of the Muppets. I, too, hope we can continue to use him.

"In a world where CSI's and murder mysteries are the primetime entertainment (and the occurence of family entertainment is slowly going down), how do you keep in that same heartfelt feeling and optimism in your writing?"

"Also, do you feel that the positive and fun attitude in your writing is genuine and comes from you? In other words, do you identify with the messages that you communicate in your fun, simple way of writing, or is it simply that you are portraying the characters that you have to write for?"

The Muppets initially reflected the spirit of Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Jerry Juhl, Jerry Nelson, Don Sahlin…the list continues. They entertained themselves and we got to watch. How can you not love that and want to be part of it? Having had an opportunity to play a small role in the Muppet world, I’m an optimist. I believe the glass is always half full…even if it is a dribble glass. Ahhh! Funn-ee!

"Thinking back to all of your writing projects, of which project are you the most proud and why? Also, which project do you feel came the most short of what you originally envisioned?"

My personal favorite among my own projects is "Muppet Classic Theater" which I co-wrote with Bill Prady. It was done relatively soon after Jim’s passing, and it was in many ways a re-gathering of the clan. It was fun. Plus it’s just silly, with no great message. I’m fond of it and hope it sees the light of DVD someday. As for "most short" of what I envisioned: I’d rather not say—not just because I want to be coy, but rather because I can’t think of a really good "short" joke to end this answer with. (Or proper grammar, apparently).

"Do you have a favorite Muppet movie and/or classic Muppet Show episode, and if so what are they and why do you like them so much?"

"The Muppet Movie". It has that ‘we’re all in on this joke/accept the premise and you’ll love the bit" spirit that makes the Muppets so much fun, and it’s such a character piece for all the characters, a chance to really explore who they are. As for classic episodes of "The Muppet Show": I love the John Cleese episode. And Peter Sellers. And Zero Mostel. Oh heck, let’s watch ‘em all, okay!

"Jim, when writing 'Before You Leap' were you influenced at all by Kermit's previous book 'One Frog Can Make a Difference'?"

No. I didn’t really look at that earlier book. It’s far more earnest than what Kermit and I wanted to do in "Before You Leap". It was all about the message; "Before You Leap" is about anything that popped into the frog and my head.
"Have you and the other Muppet writers discussed the fact that the movies that were most successful were the ones that had romantic themes?"

That’s a good point. I think the Muppets are a big love affair, amongst the characters, between the characters and the audience and, oh yes, there’s the whole pig and frog scenario, too. It’s all about making us care about the characters and what happens to them. And when you care about what happens to frogs and pigs, bears and whatevers…well, that’s not just something special, it’s downright strange.

 

[minor muppetz]

Here is my new question: Do you happen to know what special effects were used to make bubbles come out of Bill the Bubble Guy's head? Of course, that's assuming that you got to see the puppet in person, and saw how it worked.

 

[RKUNKLER]

Hey Jim do you think that its possable to have The Muppet Show back on air with new seasons to continue the show?

 

[dwayne1115]

hey yall im back and i have a computer now thanks to the wonderfull people at wal mart (my Job) and the great people at rent a center for leting me rent a laptop from them. These qustions where so good and the answers where wonderful. prwan i think if you want me and you can take truns sending Jim the qustions, since i am busy with some other things i cant really say at this point. Just let me know.

Here is my Question

Some people say that what the Muppets reeally need is for Frank Oz to come back in some way ethier directing or even muppetering. What do you think?

 

[theprawncracker]

Hey Dwayne, really, I'll do it however you want. I'll send the questions to Jim all the time, or we can take turns, whatever works for you my friend!

I also have a question for Jim...

Has Jerry Nelson's recent retirement been the only reason we haven't seen Robin the Frog around hardly at all anymore? Because some of Jerry's other characters, such as Floyd, Lew Zealand, and Crazy Harry have all been recast wonderfully, and I'm wondering why the same hasn't been done for Robin.

 

[dwayne1115]

yea thats cool i still want to send in some qustions every now and then to though. cant let ya have all the fun lol.

 

[Beauregard]

Hey Jim, thanks for answering all our fan-bop questions! I don't have a question right now (well, I have about a hundred actually, but...) but I wanted to say that I love the direction that the Muppets seem to be moving in at the moment, and athough as fans our job is to want "more" (More Beau, more Rowlf, more Robin, more romance, more Stufffffff) we really do appreciate everything you guys are doing for the Muppets at the moment and look forward to the future.

 

[dwayne1115]

I like the fact that some things that we have brought up about the muppets and the writing that jim says "he will try and work on that" i think that really means a lot. somone out there is listing to us.

 

[minor muppetz]

I know that I already asked a question, but I realised that this question that I asked the last time around must have been missed.

One of the main differences between The Muppet Show and Muppets Tonight (and there were a lot of big differences) is the fact that while each episode of The Muppet Show always had only one human guest star (occassionally two, or a group), Muppets Tonight frequently had cameo appearances by other celebrities who weren't billed as guest stars, some of whom even had their own subplot (the only time multiple celebrities were biled as the guests was in the episode with Coolio and Don Rickles, and I am surprised that Don Rickles was billed as a second guest star. His screen time didn't seem to differ much from George Takei's screen time in the Andie McDowell epsiode, or Gilbert Godfrieds screen time in the Dennis Quade episode, and those actors didn't get billed as guests, and the Coolio/ Don Rickles episode also featured appearances by other celebrities), and sometiems there were just other human extras (non-celebrities). The Muppet Show never featured any cameos by any humans who weren't billed as guest stars. Do you know why the decision was made for Muppets Tonight to feature more celebrities than just who Kermit announced as the guest star? Of course, the MupeTelevision segments from The Jim Henson Hour did also feature other humans besides the guest stars, usually Christopher Langham, but also the actors in the Fashion Doll Channel sketches, and of course Jim Henson in the introductions.