The Muppets Episode 4 - Pig Out

[Phillip]

Tonight make plans to watch "The Muppets" new episode "Pig Out" at 8|7c on ABC. Then join the discussion immediately afterwards in the Muppet Central Forum.

Episode 104 - "Pig Out"

The gang runs into Ed Helms on a crazy night out at Rowlf's Tavern, where they dust off their favorite karaoke routines, but Kermit is annoyed when no one shows up for work the next day. Meanwhile, Fozzie has an unfortunate accident.

If you missed "Pig Out" or if you want to watch it again, this episode is now on-line.

If you saw "Pig Out" please like this post and share your thoughts below.

 

[JimAndFrank]

Notes I took during watching the show:

· Oh my, here we go with Sam’s crush in Janice! Poor thing, he really has no clue on how to get her attention!
· My PHD also stands for ‘Pretty Hard Drinking”! Nice to finally see a little moment with Bunsen and Beaker there.
· Beaker NAILED the Miss Piggy impression!
· Wait- Did Statler just say ‘a$$ over teakettle’?
· Ed Helms is my favourite guest thus far. He really didn’t do much, but that’s okay because he just jumped in and had a heap of fun with the script.
· Pepe’s nearly conking out at ‘Love Shack’!
· The Swedish Chef doing ‘Rappers Delight’- my life is complete and I can now die peacefully.
· "If it happens outside of work, we don't owe an explanation”-Bunsen and Beaker again!
· Crikey, between Beaker, Statler and Kermit, Steve is all over this episode, and nailing it too!

A STATLER and FOZZIE storyline?! See this is why I love this show so much! Old dynamics are being explored here to their full potential! I’m loving this! Face it, Statler getting smacked in the face by a t-shirt was pure and total karma. Pity it didn’t get Waldorf too! Fozzie is such a sweetheart, even after all the crap they have given him over 40 years!

Puppetry Highlight:

Kermit fiddling and crossing one leg over the over in his very coy way while talking to Piggy in her dressing room!

Highlight of the Week:

BRAVO KERMIT! Some people think that manipulating Piggy is what makes Kermit a bit of a jerk. However, I see it as Kermit simply being a boss protecting his business by putting the show first and his friends second. And if you really think about it, by putting a quick stop to the partying, Kermit was protecting his friends from having a reason to be fired, so he really was acting like the older brother/father-figure of the group he has always been

Kermit’s smug giggle of triumph at the end was well deserved and reminded me why he is my favourite Muppet and Steve is my favourite performer!

 

[antsamthompson9]

The episode was a lot of fun. I thought it was funny how Sam got a crush on Janice. Of course, the best part was the karaoke. I loved the Swedish Chef rapping and the high notes Beaker hit during I Got You Babe. I hope they release a soundtrack for this, so we can hear the full versions of all the songs.

 

[Ruahnna]

Fozzie seemed more like himself, sweet but gullible.

Kermit was a grouchy, dictatorial fussbudget who uses and manipulates those he claims are his friends so he can have a show. He has become a parody of himself, exactly what the tabloid press would say he was like.

I don't like him like this.

 

[Muppetboy09]

I swear, these episodes keep getting better and better. Shame that the ratings will still probably go down I think my favorite part of the night was when Piggy agreed to join the crew for drinks, and Pepe kept saying to Kermit, "What did you do? What did you do?" Just the way he said it had me in stitches!

 

[charlietheowl]

Pretty good episode. I like the idea of Sam having a thing for Janice, the traditionalist, staunch conservative, button-up guy having feelings for the exact opposite person than he is. It adds depth to his character, something that has never really been explored throughout the years, and it's things like this that will help the show in the long run.

Again, my biggest quibble remains the same: too much going on. I feel like the Statler/Fozzie bit could have had another scene, maybe Fozzie finding Statler at his house or something and some more back-and-forth. Or Statler threatened to sue ABC. Something more.

Sort of aside: I think, though it's hard to compare since the characters are so diverse, that Sam's puppet looks the best out of all of them. Like in HD you can see the feathers and everything, and he just looks really well-put together. He's one design that has really improved over the years.

 

[The Count]

Let the reviews begin. *He said, knowing his post will be ziffled by the time I'm finished writing and actually post this.

So the episode begins with Fozzie prepping the crowd for another episode of Up Late...
1 Driving tips in LA, a yellow light apparently means it's time to update your Facebook status.
I just updated my Facebook status to "Bored!"
2 T-shirt cannon, was that Gonzo's Old Betsy and repurposed into new service? And the T-shirt cannon claimed Statler as a victim.
3 The karaoke was fun... But my most favorite part/line of the episode is when Statler's carted off on a stretcher to County Medical Hospital...
Uncle Deadly: "Kermit, if you need my help, I'm good at hiding things."
And I love the implied unsaid line that would have followed that, "especially dead bodies."
4 Rully like the thought of attending astral projection class, saying she'll be both there and at the studio at the same time. Then again, Gonzo has a better method, he simply records himself in case of being away at conventions all week.
5 The feelings that Sam thinks Janice has for him... What? Someone tell our Beauregard that these production peoples are reading his fics as well, seriously, Sam and Janice? *Plug for Bo's dead Sam+Janice MTI fic found in the 2014 FLI thread.
6 The karaoke concert... Best part of the show so far.
7 Not surprised that Loveshack was one of the songs during the karaoke montage. Years ago, on the last cruise I went on with my family, I loved to go to the Johnny Rockets restaurant on the boat and listen/sing with the classic rock & roll music. And every single night there was a group of kids that would come in, take the stage, and rock out to that song.
8 Sam singing The Wind Beneath My Wings, yes!
9 Bunsen and Beaker sing I Got You Babe, excellent.
10 Don't Stop Believing...
11 Chef belting out Rapper's Delight, hip hup upchuck der boogi to be!
12 Scooter is racking up so many points on the adorkable/just like us meter.
"Good grief, you're right! Listen to me, I'm swearing like a sailor!"
Rully? "Good grief" is your version of swearing like a sailor?
13 Seeing the entire cast hammered the next day, again, I feel these people are reading all of our fics.
*Plug for WebMistressGina's Shotsky's and Monday Monday series.
14 So Kermit resorts to trickery akin to breaking up Piggy and Grobin to get the cast back to working on the show while the diva jets off to another celebrity shindig.
15 Statler and Fozzie had some nice interaction beyond the heckler/comedian dynamic. And yet the old man's crumugenous ways surface as he suckers the bear into the old "anything I can do for you" routine.

Good episode, looking forward to next week's.

 

[Drtooth]

This series has gotten much better with every episode. While I liked the show so far, this episode was a vast improvement in terms of the Kermit/Piggy dynamic and that wonderful Statler and Fozzie storyline.

Seriously. That Fozzie subplot has been coming for years. I really like how Fozzie actually felt bad for someone who was constantly crippling his self esteem and felt that horrible about hurting someone, even someone who he didn't much like. Then to have the hecklers screw him in the end. Out of the main characters, I really think Fozzie has some of the best bits in the show.

The main act, however, stuck with me. The staff is so afraid of and annoyed by Piggy that they refuse to invite her along, and even Kermit expects the worse. But in the end, they all loosen up, have a great time, and Kermit has to be the bad guy for wanting his crew to actually work. Some great bits with Scooter, and Chef's Rapper's Delight was a wonderful Muppety moment. Loved Beaker's impersonation of Piggy. Great to see them in an episode again. And Yolanda's finally name checked. Seriously, she's my favorite new(ish) character on the show. Glad to see more female Muppet characters, and ones that work.

That said (and I'm putting this in spoilers because this is so incredibly hot button)

Spoiler

They just freaking outed Bunsen and Beaker. After years of subtle innuendo (starting with MT at least), I'm glad the characters finally came out as a couple. Ernie and Bert nothing, Bunsen and Beaker were my LGBT Muppet picks. Seriously, that Flowers on the Wall video couldn't have been more obvious. Congratulations to them.

Though they also could've stripped their clothing to hook electrodes to each other...it IS Bunsen after all.

I'll admit the Sam and Janice thing seemed a little awkward, but then I realized something. The Jungle Boogie music video basically shows that deep down, Sam wants to let loose but can't. Janice is a free spirit, so clearly he sees something special in that. I hope they follow up on that, even though it's obviously one sided.

 

[LaRanaRene]

Notes I took during watching the show:

· Oh my, here we go with Sam’s crush in Janice! Poor thing, he really has no clue on how to get her attention!
· My PHD also stands for ‘Pretty Hard Drinking”! Nice to finally see a little moment with Bunsen and Beaker there.
· Beaker NAILED the Miss Piggy impression!
· Wait- Did Statler just say ‘a$$ over teakettle’?
· Ed Helms is my favourite guest thus far. He really didn’t do much, but that’s okay because he just jumped in and had a heap of fun with the script.
· Pepe’s nearly conking out at ‘Love Shack’!
· The Swedish Chef doing ‘Rappers Delight’- my life is complete and I can now die peacefully.
· "If it happens outside of work, we don't owe an explanation”-Bunsen and Beaker again!
· Crikey, between Beaker, Statler and Kermit, Steve is all over this episode, and nailing it too!

A STATLER and FOZZIE storyline?! See this is why I love this show so much! Old dynamics are being explored here to their full potential! I’m loving this! Face it, Statler getting smacked in the face by a t-shirt was pure and total karma. Pity it didn’t get Waldorf too! Fozzie is such a sweetheart, even after all the crap they have given him over 40 years!

Puppetry Highlight:

Kermit fiddling and crossing one leg over the over in his very coy way while talking to Piggy in her dressing room!

Highlight of the Week:

BRAVO KERMIT! Some people think that manipulating Piggy is what makes Kermit a bit of a jerk. However, I see it as Kermit simply being a boss protecting his business by putting the show first and his friends second. And if you really think about it, by putting a quick stop to the partying, Kermit was protecting his friends from having a reason to be fired, so he really was acting like the older brother/father-figure of the group he has always been

Kermit’s smug giggle of triumph at the end was well deserved and reminded me why he is my favourite Muppet and Steve is my favourite performer!

I have subtitles on my TV. Statler DID say it!

Has anyone else noticed that Pepe has ceased saying "Okay" to punctuate every sentence?

 

[minor muppetz]

This was a great episode. The best one so far. With the show not being as heavy on songs as (most) previous productions, having the characters have a karaoke night made up for the lack of songs.

So Kermit doesn't get invited to these? I figured it'd be his choice. Then again, we only hear it from Kermit, telling Piggy that they don't want to invite the bosses. It's possible that they do invite Kermit and he says no, and that he just said that to make Piggy feel better. Or maybe he didn't come to the one Piggy came to, to play up the lie.

It's disappointing that, despite taking place at Rowlf's tavern and being mentioned quite a bit, Rowlf doesn't appear in this episode (unless I missed him in the background). In fact it would have been nice if some of the customers were characters not shown working on the show.

This is the first episode where Zoot doesn't talk. Were there any drug references involving the band (though I didn't notice the drug reference in the previous episode)?

I feel like the Fozzie and Statler plotline should have had a little more. We don't even get anything out of this subplot between the second and last commercial breaks. I also wonder, can shooting t-shirts into the audience really hurt a person like that (that's how Maude Flanders was killed on The Simpsons, after all)? Shooting shirts out into the audience seems more like something Crazy Harry would do, but then the plotline wouldn't involve Fozzie.

I was surprised that it was Statler who had the accident, since the plot description said that Fozzie was involved in an accident. It didn't say that Fozzie hurt Statler. When I hear somebody is involved in an accident, I expect that person (or that person's vehicle) to have been injured.

I hope there are more episodes like this in the future. It'd be great if there was a Muppet karaoke special (I think one of my April fools jokes in 2014 was about one).