The Muppet Hierarchy

[Drtooth]

If this was a favorites Hiarchy, Fozzie would be first on my list! Then the rest, etc. etc. then the ending would be
Various anything Muppets
Various talking vegetables,
Various incidental props
Andy and Randy pig.

 

[Chilly Down]

I'm not sure if the question is "Who do you want to be the top characters now?" or "Who do you think are the top characters now?" Quite a few people, it seems, put Piggy and Fozzie near the top of their list for "now," which would make sense for the first question but not the second. In terms of how much the writers use them and overall popularity, here's how I see the hierarchy:

The "classic" list:
Kermit
Piggy
Fozzie
Gonzo
Rowlf
Scooter
Floyd
Animal
Statler & Waldorf
Bunsen & (especially) Beaker
Swedish Chef

Sorry, I had to go to 12. Any less would have seemed to be a glaring omission to me.

I think Animal was always popular, even back in the old days before Muppet Babies. Quinn, you make a good point about Janice being featured more, but she was largely the "straight man" to Dr. Bob or just used in musical numbers. Animal was a laugh-getter and often useful in backstage plots, so I don't think it's out of place to rank him high. The litmus test: I can think of lots of classic Animal merchandise, such as a Fisher-Price stick puppet as well as a large hand puppet. I can't think of anything like that for Janice.

The "now" list:
Kermit
Gonzo
Rizzo
Pepe
Clifford
Statler & Waldorf
Bobo
Bunsen & Beaker
Piggy
Animal
Swedish Chef
Fozzie

This second list focuses more heavily on how much they're used by the writers nowadays. As you can see, there's some disconnect between the two lists, which may be why there's such been such a falling away of interest. Of course, since Frank isn't that active anymore, and since Jim and Richard passed away, we can't put all of this on the writer's shoulders. Also, it is good to emphasize newer characters from time to time -- I doubt many would argue with Pepe's or Bobo's rise in popularity. But I don't understand why we don't see more of Jerry's characters, and I don't think I've exaggerated the overusage of Clifford and the underusage of Frank's main characters. I think the return of those characters to the forefront (whether by Frank or someone else) could do a lot to help the Muppets' hurting image right now. That does seem to be the direction that they're going.

I'd like to see Rowlf return to this list, and Scooter to at least come back to supporting-player status. I wouldn't be averse to Sal joining this list soon, but it's too soon to tell if that's the direction they'll take. And of course, with the new movie and series, presumably more new characters will be introduced and current characters will be moved around some more. So this list is always subject to change. But this is how it looks from where I'm sitting right now.

 

[Janice & Mokey's Man]

Originally posted by Chilly Down
Quinn, you make a good point about Janice being featured more, but she was largely the "straight man" to Dr. Bob or just used in musical numbers. Animal was a laugh-getter and often useful in backstage plots, so I don't think it's out of place to rank him high.

Ahem...

*laughs as everyone thinks, "Whoa boy, get outta the way Chilly! You just p.o.'ed the Janice-meister!" *

If you watch a lot of the VH's, you'll see that Janice wasn't as "largely the straight man" as Piggy was. Notice how Piggy also gets flustered with Janice's quirkiness and idiosyncracies like she does with Dr. Bob's hijinks.

Keep an eye out for just what a great comedy team Janice & Rowlf made---you can tell they had a blast together, and they both got to be funny---but yes, Rowlf got to be cornier and have more jokes.

So, in short, I guess I can't really say you said anything that was really wrong, I just wanted to clarify for my gal.

 

[Fozzie Bear]

The ice cream goes in the freeeeezer...

 

[Chilly Down]

Byron,

Don't worry, I wasn't trying to diss Janice. There's nothing wrong with being the "straight man." Kermit is often the straight man -- er, frog -- to the zanier other characters, and I don't think many would deny that Kermit is a triumph of characterization. If every character were always zany all the time, the show wouldn't be funny, because there'd be no one for them to bounce off of. So when Janice does her job, she does it well. And yes, Janice does have her witty moments too.

But I understand your need to defend your girl. I'll put aside my essay on Why Mokey Isn't a Core Fraggle now. (Just kidding!)

 

[Janice & Mokey's Man]

Yeah, you better be kiddin'!