The Brand New Ask Jim Lewis Thread

[minor muppetz]

I'll ask a few questions, and one or two can be selected at a time. I'll be out of town in two weeks, and am not sure if I'll have internet access then.

Do you know whose decision it was to have Seymour and Pepe go from being elevador operadors in the first season of Muppets Tonight to being cooks in the second season, and why the change was made?

Was a script for Billy Bunny's Animal Songs started before Jim Henson died?

I know that you wrote the Muppet Sing-Along entitled It's Not Easy Being Green, and you probably wrote the Best of Mupets Tonight epsidoe of Muppets Tonight. When writing a script for a compilation, do you already write in what clips are there, or does somebody else usually decide on what clips get included?

One really good Mupets Tonight sketch that only appeared in one epsidoe was Gonzo and Rizzo's Incredible Discoveries. Do you hapen to know whether this was intended to be a recurring segment or was it always meant to be a one-shot sketch?

 

[Beauregard]

Rather random little question, wondered if you've ever heard of the MC Muppeteer fan clubs entitled BBB, SSS, SWAEHB, or DADA? And if Bill, Steve or Dave know that they have some delightfully mad fans out there who very occasionally and *ahem* harmlessly plan kidnapping them because they are so awesome?

 

[Beauregard]

Well...I think it's high time this got a Bump, and some new questions! (Hope these haven't been asked before...Dwayne, would you check the archieves? )

Do you have an opinion on Penguins? Can they talk ('Well, Excuse us for liiiiiiiiiving' Muppets Take Manhatten) or can they merely quack (Muppet Christmas Carol, etc)? Which is funnier?

Why rats? Surely they should be concidered filthy disease-carrying critters, and yet within the Muppetverse they are cute, money-making, hungry critters. Is the fact they should be there a part of their appeal?

Did you write the intro for the TMS Season 3 trailer, with Kermit and Piggy, ending in Piggy falling upon her beloved? It made me laugh, and reminded me of your kind of a gag.

Is J.P. Gross truely dead? He left the Muppet Theatre to the Muppets (lucky, concidering he could have left it to Scooter who would probably have turned it into an organic coffee house!), but is he dead, or hibernating?

Will we see Muppets driving vehicles again soon? Sure, there was the tour-bus in Mwoo, but I'd love to see something akin to Dr Teeth in the EM bus, or Beau in the taxi again.

Loving the elevator clips on the website. Truely inspired.

 

[Beauregard]

I have a few more questions (since I seem to be the only one asking this month...).

Do you know/can you speculate, on why Gonzo made no mention of his beloved, Camilla, in Muppet's From Space? He was overly concerned about leaving his friends, but made no mention of his loved one. Any thoughts?

 

[theprawncracker]

Hey Jim, Ryan again...

Can you tell us if you wrote the new bonus material on the upcoming "The Muppet Show: Season 3" DVD set?

Can you also tell us why there haven't been any updates on the Muppets Disney XD site recently? I assume they're just finalizing them all currently, just wondering. Thanks Jim!

(And Dwayne, a piece of advice, I think maybe you should send off the questions we have so we can start this thread up again.)

 

[dwayne1115]

I will work on sending some questions off this afternoon. There seems to be so many good questions i don't know how i will be able to pick the ones i send this time around.

 

[dwayne1115]

hey gang,


I just sent off the questions k

 

[dwayne1115]

Here ya go some cool answers to some questions. I may send some more tomorow becuase we do have a lot right now.



Ask Jim Lewis Questions& Get Answers





From Dwmckim: You've written extensively for The Muppets in both printed material to be read and scripted material to be performed. How would you describe the differences - is one form harder than the other, do you prefer one over the other, what was it like making a transition when you first started, etc.

Great question. I started out in print. Even before I wrote a word for the Muppets, I was most comfortable writing print. In school, I was lousy at science and math, but I loved to write. And so I became a journalist, because that’s the only way I could make money writing. But after awhile, and through the grace of God and Jim Henson, I got to write for the Muppets. At first, in print, at “Muppet Magazine” and then for videos and eventually TV and other projects. But, I’ve always found the print writing easier, not only because it’s the form I began with, but because I find the writer has more control than he does with a script. At the same time, script writing is a joy because you see and hear what you’ve put down on paper turned into magic by the best performers in the world. (And it pays better, too).





From Minor Muppetz: One really good Muppets Tonight sketch that only appeared in one epsidoe was Gonzo and Rizzo's Incredible Discoveries. Do you hapen to know whether this was intended to be a recurring segment or was it always meant to be a one-shot sketch?

Castigate me to within an inch of my life (which is very close), for I cannot remember exactly what this sketch was. Can you refresh my memory? Better yet, maybe we can get Disney to release the whole series on DVD, so we can all refresh our memories. Sorry I’m no help here. Glad to hear it was funny. If no one else remembers it perhaps I’ll recycle it as a brand new idea. Like Fozzie’s jokes, my best original ideas are old.











From Beauregard: Do you have an opinion on Penguins? Can they talk ('Well, Excuse us for liiiiiiiiiving' Muppets Take Manhatten) or can they merely quack (Muppet Christmas Carol, etc)? Which is funnier? And Why rats? Surely they should be concidered filthy disease-carrying critters, and yet within the Muppetverse they are cute, money-making, hungry critters. Is the fact they should be there a part of their appeal?

Penguins. Love ‘em. Yeah, they have been known to talk, but I am of the “Wack-Wack!” school on this. It’s just funnier than having another talking character. And they’re such a great pack animal. Put a couple of penguins in a scene and they’ll do their best to take it over and wreak havoc…..
As for Rats. I love ‘em. They are the Teamsters of the Muppets. (And I love Teamsters, too…just in case anyone out there is a union member). They really do all the hard work around Muppet productions. They do their jobs, they tote the barges, lift the bales and they love to complain. (In short, they’re a lot like me.) I think we like the Muppet Rats so much because they really speak their mind. Ralph Kramden and Ed Norton with tails. The greatest!




From Dwayne (Me) Do you know/can you speculate, on why Gonzo made no mention of his beloved, Camilla, in Muppet's From Space? He was overly concerned about leaving his friends, but made no mention of his loved one. Any thoughts?

I don’t know why he didn’t mention Camilla. Her omission was not intentional. It’s an oversight. You’d think someone would catch it. But we didn’t. (This happens. I, for instance, neglected to mention the wonderful Richard Hunt in the “Before You Leap” book. Mea culpa.) If there was a chance for “do-overs” we’d correct both these mistakes.

 

[theprawncracker]

Great questions, and answers! Thanks for sending them off Dwayne! I look forward to more if they're to come!

 

[MrsPepper]

Thanks for posting that, Dwayne!

And thanks to Jim for the fantastic answers. You always answer patiently, with insight and humour and it's much appreciated!