The RHLC!

[FletchySRF3088]

And I've noticed something - a lot of times, Wembley gets teamed up with one of Richard's characters - the Wizard, the Genie, the Spiderfly, Mudwell...and so on. So you've got a point - Richard and Steve must have worked well together...

Yeah, that's something I've been thinking about lately - Richard and Steve working together. There was the pairing of Scooter and Bean Bunny in the Disney World special, which I think is a shame we didn't get to see more of.

I think Steve clearly loves and respects Richard as much as we do. He's taken over two of his major characters since his death, Beaker and Statler (after Jerry Nelson retired). He's said a number of times how he doesn't know exactly where Beaker came from within Richard but tries his best to remain faithful to what was created first by that person and keep that character going in new and different ways that won't destroy the character. I remember the episode of the MuppetCast with Steve, where he spoke about how he sees Beaker's homelife and how he's this shy, introverted character that can't talk but can express himself on the internet. And that's where some of the viral video's came from (Dust in the wind, etc).

I also remember Steve talking about when he first took over Statler and trying to decide if he should make it like Jerry Nelson's original, Richard's from TMS onwards, or Jerry's after Richard's death and Steve said he decided to aim to make it more like Richard's Statler and IMO, it really does sound so close to Richard's.

I think it's also interesting to note that Steve's a fan of the MuppetCast and listened to the Richard Hunt tribute. I remember Steve saying that an important factor in getting David Rudman to perform Scooter and Janice was the story about Richard and David going travelling together. Steve pushed for that to happen and also pushed to get the folks in charge to listen to Jerry Nelson's request to get Matt Vogel to do his characters. I always get this impression of Steve as someone who's taken charge, maybe in recent years, maybe since Jim and Richard's deaths, but he seems to be a big factor in getting the Muppets back to where they were and to keep going. He seems to have also pushed to get more of Jim, Richard and Jerry's characters permanant performers and give their creations the treatment and respect they deserve. I really admire Steve for all he's done since Jim and Richard died.

Sorry I've gone on forever here! Didn't expect it to be this long

 

[Skye]

Well, well, well, look who's back in town - hi, Carrie, how's it going? It's great to see you again - we've not seen much of the old guard lately, heralde and Fragglemuppet and the others.

I love that song, too, and that episode - 23 minutes of Richard-related goodness. He always did seem to love playing the somewhat shifty (and downright evil) characters.

Thanks, Erin; it's great to be back! It's going pretty good in my neck of the woods. Hope everything is great with you, too. Now that you mention it, hopefully some time soon, heralde and Fragglemuppet will find their way back, too. And MeepBorkMeep, too. Have a big ol' reunion!

Lol, I love how Richard would play shifty characters. But it always makes me melt when his characters have their sweet and heart-warming moments, too.

And I was just thinking about this exact same thing again the other day... how often Richard and Steve would work together. I wouldn't doubt at all that they worked extremely well together and respected each other a lot. It's definitely fun to watch/listen to them together!

I still wish I could have actually been there while they were filming, just watching them do their thing. That would have been incredible.

 

[dwayne1115]

I miss Richard a whole lot, I think he was really the young soul of the Muppets.

 

[Muppet Newsgirl]

dwayne1115: True, that - it reminds me of something Jim said during the "Down at Fraggle Rock" documentary: "If Gobo is the head of the Fraggles, Red is the engine." It's the same with the Muppet performers in real life: Jim was the leader of the pack, while performers like Richard were the engine, the lifeblood.

Skye: I know...it would have been the most fun to be able to sit on the sidelines and watch the Muppets go through their paces - and from what we've seen in heard in outtakes, it must have gotten really nutty on the set sometimes - Frank having Miss Piggy attack everyone after the other puppeteers tease him about missing his cue, Richard doing the impromptu shows for all the kids - super good times.

 

[MartyMuppets]

I just want to drop in and say hello to everyone.

I currently don't have internet at home and I'm working on remedying that but I miss you all.

 

[MartyMuppets]

My post yesterday was much shorter than I would have liked but I didn't have much time left to spare at my internet cafe.
However I have a friend who is working on finding a good recommended ISP plan for my budget and I hope to be back full time sooner rather than later.

I do miss you all and it's good to see you posting here again Caroline.

I especially miss talking to my sweet Muppet Baby however. If any of you are unaware Michelle and I are in love and she's planning to come to Australia to meet me in 2012.

I'm so excited sweetie.

 

[Nekoshema]

hope everything works out for you guys. glad to hear you're doing well. not much happening in my life, looking for a new job and might be moving in with a friend of mine in, like, 6 weeks maybe. [he's a little unorganized to say the least, he's being kicked out of his house november 1, and has yet to look for a place. hence why i'm moving in, he needs someone to pay bills and make sure he doesn't die. oh well, he'll do the laundry so it'll work out... badly, but still ] if that happens, though, i might disappear for a little bit as well. oh yea, my body's failing me so i might not be able to do the AIDS walk this year. see, my current job has me running up and down flights of stairs for 7 hours at a time carrying bins of dishes, and my joins [specifically lower back] is mad at me, so i can't move very easily anymore, need to take these pills and do these core exercises to get better, if i can walk without falling over by saturday i'll go.

 

[Muppet Newsgirl]

Best of luck to you, Marty!

Wow - really sounds like you're up to your neck in a lot of things, Nekoshema. Take care of yourself, and try to get some rest.

Which city are you doing the AIDS Walk in? New York had theirs in the spring, and I know other cities have theirs in October.

 

[Wanda]

Sorry to butt in and if this is old news, but I've been listening to Music, Mayhem and More (the 25th anniversary Muppet CD) and found something that made me smile.

If you listen to 'We've Got Us' with just the right ear piece in (or it might be just the left...) towards the end, you can hear Mr Hunt clear as day, trilling along.

At 'Cause what we've got they can't smother,' til the end.

He's a little unsure as he has a big jump between 'but' and 'we've' (I totally sympathize Mr H!) which is rather sweet.

Sorry, it's very random lol. Sometimes it helps to be deaf as you pick up on little gems like this!

 

[Nekoshema]

that's neat, i'll try and find that.

my email did it again and didn't tell me someone posted [good thing i checked again] i live near toronto, it's in september for me, i couldn't go but i'm better now, so long as i'm not running up and down the stairs, for some reason the only person who won't listen to that fact is my boss. ah well, i'm quitting soon anyway. my buddy found a place, two bedroom, the people living in the three bedroom are moving out in a few months, so when that happens he'll move into that one, so i have no clue when i'm moving. [it's him, me, and another guy. he's recently decided to move in with the other guy in the two bedroom... i think, he never said] work may be a pain, it's gotten to the point where i've got no music, no break, no meals, and i'm cleaning and restocking rooms. one hand it sucks cuz i went to school to be a chef, on the other hand, i spent yesterday in the cellar sing 'Just a Dream Away' and 'Six-String Orchestra'