The TV Specials

[Mo Frackle]

Studio DC Almost Live: Don't get me started. One of the worst muppets specials ever made. Bad idea putting people like Miley Cyrus or The Jonas Brothers with the Muppets. The only part I liked in either one was Kermit singing and dancing with Ashley Tisdale and Miss Piggy trying to outshine the "competition". And they're planning on bringing it back, has Disney not learns anything from the first time, it turned out to be a total flop!

Sarge made a good point. Those specials simply weren't made for us. They were made for the next generation that weren't familiar with the Muppets. And it seemed to go over pretty well with them. I wouldn't be surprised if that at least got the Muppets a few more fans (though now I'm sure it's grown a lot, especially with the last movie).

 

[CensoredAlso]

Hey, Cinderella (1969) - I grew up this one; probably one of the first Muppet related projects I ever saw. Looking back now I love how it tries to be a parody of your typical fairy tales, especially with the inept Fairy Godmother, lol. And long suffering Kermit having to deal with prejudice against frogs ("Testimony from a frog isn't admissible either.") Lol

The Muppets on Puppets (1970) - Really special piece of history; should be put in a time capsule. Thankfully The Paley Center for Media took up the task.

The Great Santa Claus Switch (1970) - Hmm, three words: Rough but sweet.

The Frog Prince (1971) - Again, a huge part of my childhood. I used to sing the Brave Sir Robin song while playing on my swing set. I used to combine the words "nobleofbearing" into one phrase because I had no idea what I was saying, lol.

And amazingly enough, this special has never left me. For my entire life and even to this day I have the song Melora and Robin sing together memorized and think of it often.

The Muppet Musicians of Bremen (1972) - Again, grew up on this as well. I remember the human characters terrifying me a bit, lol. And looking back now I'm surprised at how low paced it seems compared to the others. Back then I never noticed.

The Muppets Valentine Show (1974) - Honestly, I saw it once and didn't feel compelled to see it again, lol. It just didn't have that Muppety edge.

The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence (1975) - Much better attempt at a Muppet Show pilot. I know you're supposed to hate Nigel, but I like his subtle, dry humor. Still it probably was a little too subtle for a weekly TV show.

Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas (1977) - CLASSIC. Everyone else can go home! The effort put into this special can never be bested, from the gorgeous Paul Williams soundtrack to the exquisite puppet building and performing. We are not liking to see this level of quality again.

The Muppets Go Hollywod (1979) - Hard to sit through the whole thing. Like others have said, too much time on the guest stars. Still, there are a few highlights such as Johnny Mathis singing "Never Before," really gorgeous.

John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together (1979) - Welllll, heh, this is a much better CD than it is a TV special, lol. Still, it does help me get in the mood around Christmastime. I like that it included the Nativity story. And nothing beats Kermit and John Denver's conversation ("He croaked." "He died?" "No he croaked. Help, Help he croaked!") Lol

The Muppets Go to the Movies (1981) - Grew up with this one as well, thanks to Nickelodeon's Muppet Matinee! I love it so much I actually typed out the script for my Dad and I to perform for my Mom. And I can't believe I just admitted that, lol.

Of Muppets and Men (1981) - This needs to be on DVD. Period.

The Fantastic Miss Piggy Show (1982) - Again, thank you Muppet Matinee! I also saw this special again a couple years ago at The Paley Center. At one point someone commented "It's so dated!" Lol, and I can't argue the point. But that's OK, the great thing about the Muppets was how in tune with pop culture they were (as they proceeded to tear it down, lol).

Rocky Mountain Holiday (1983) - You know I miss the days when a plot wasn't required for a special, lol. But anyway, lovely soundtrack too; I still have the original album.

The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years (1986) - Another Muppet Matinee find! This and Henson's Place helped foster my love of documentaries.

The Christmas Toy (1986) - Grew up with this, watched it all year round. But though I loved it, it also terrified me with all the dark hallway shots and toys freezing, lol.

The Tale of the Bunny Picnic (1986) - This special was of great comfort to me during a difficult time in my life. "We've been living for Spring" indeed.

A Muppet Family Christmas (1987) - Remember seeing the original TV broadcast with my parents. Truly epic.

The Song of the Cloud Forest (1989) - Very atmospheric and creative; touching songs.

The Muppets at Walt Disney World (1990) - Honestly, I don't hate it, but I didn't like how inconsiderate the gang was to Kermit somehow.

The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson (1990) - Remember watching the original TV broadcast with my parents. I'm glad they weren't afraid to address the issue of death with children.

Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree (1995) - Have not seen it, but I did read the Tough Pigs review!

Studio DC: Almost Live (2008, both specials) - Didn't see them, probably never will.

A Muppet Christmas: Letters to Santa (2008) - Honestly, a little bland. Nice attempt, but probably won't see again.

 

[Drtooth]

Here's the thing about Studio DC. It was NOT made for muppet fans. You can just tell from watching it that it was an experiment to see how receptive the target age group would be to see their favorite stars interacting with the Muppets.

Words of wisdom. I have no desire to see them, nor do I care about them. They seem the most dated relics of all the Muppet specials, but they were first and foremost made to see if tweeny boppers would like the characters enough to drag their parents to the movie. In fact, it was a noble effort as lame as the Disney Tweenybopper shows were. They came out at a time when Disney only cared about marketing that stuff, and that phase thankfully passed.

But there are a lot of positives to that special. Among others, that was the first appearance of David Rudman's Scooter. The fact they even used Scooter for that thing makes me happy. And look how much he was featured in LTS and the film. That comes quite a ways from Adam Hunt's Scooter Cameo in MFS. And we all remember how big a deal that was.

 

[animalrescuer]

I forgot to mention some other specials before:

The fantastic Miss Piggy show: I saw this special not too long ago, I like it, but I wish the other Muppets were a little more involved here.

The Muppets at Walt Disney World: It's funny how all the characters go to all the areas in the park, even interact with the Disney characters in the park including Mickey Mouse, that's my favorite part of the special!

Letters to Santa: Not the best, but they were finally taking a step in the right direction after going downhill for some years, but they can only get better after the latest movie.

 

[GonzoWaltsfan]

Some of these I don't remember seeing, the ones I did see I loved. I think A Muppet Family Christmas and Letters to Santa were my favorites yet. The first one had every thing in it, even a clip from Muppet Babies and the songs and Gonzo/Animal interactions was fun too, very rare to see.

 

[Scooterforever]

I've seen most of the specials listed, but I flat-out refuse to watch Studio DC: Almost Live, seeing how I can't stand the teen stars Disney cranks out of their factory. I probably like Frog Prince best, since it introduces Sweetums, one of my favorite Muppets. Taminella Grinderfall scared me silly when I was a kid. Muppets At WDW comes in a close second; the musical numbers were great, particularly Rockin' Around the World, and seeing Charles Grodin play another Muppet villain was cool. The Indiana Jones Stunt Show finale was awesome too. I got to see The Muppets Go To the Movies on the big screen about a year ago when we went to The Museum of the Moving Image to see the Jim Henson exhibit. It was a real treat. One complaint; they seemed to focus exclusively on films from the 30's-50's, which seemed ridiculous given the classic films that had come out since (Godfather and Jaws, to name a few). Maybe we'll get a Muppets Go To the Movies part 2 that spoofs the classic films they missed in the first one.

 

[cjd874]

I've seen "Muppets on Puppets", "Valentine Show", "Sex & Violence", "The Muppets Go Hollywood," "The Muppets Go to the Movies," "A Muppet Family Christmas," and the Studio DC specials. I love them all, well most of them, for different reasons.

MOP: A fun behind-the-scenes look at the early work of Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Jerry Juhl, & Don Sahlin. A bit slow in some parts, but it's good overall.

MVS: THIS is where the original Koozebane sketch came from, folks! Thog's duet with Mia Farrow is adorable, too. The "Froggy Went a Courting" song is hilarious, too.

S&V: I'm still sad about the lack of scenes with Kermit. But everything else was great. My favorite parts were the pencil skit, the birds in the trees, Dr. Teeth's song "Love Ya to Death," and the Mount Rushmore jokes. And that Gene Shalit Muppet. Dead on.

MGH: A bit slow, I agree with some people saying that there's too much focus on the movie stars. But whenever the Muppets appear, they end up stealing each scene they're in. Miss Piggy singing "Babyface," Zoot in the orchestra pit, Floyd & Rita dancing, the Swedish Chef's meatballs, etc.

MGTTM: "If you do not wish death, how about a rubber chicken?" XD
I also loved the 3 Musketeers, the Roman chariot race, & the Tarzan scene. Plus "Act Naturally," one of the greatest Muppets covers EVER.

MFC: Everyone's here. Kermit, Miss Piggy, Gonzo, Robin, the Count, Big Bird, Gobo, Red, Mokey, and even Doc. Not to mention the Two Headed Monster as Santa Claus. Need I say more?

Studio DC: ...........

 

[Drtooth]

Maybe I was in a bad mood when I first watched it, but I really think the Valentine's Day special was just completely inferior to Sex and Violence. Then again, S&V is so much undiluted Muppet Madness that it's a roller coaster of freaking insanity. I really wish there was some way we could have got that as a series. The V-Day one can't help look like Full House in comparison... with all of it's dreaded (ulp) coherence!

 

[Erine81981]

Here's my list of specials i enjoy.

Emmett Otter's Jug Band Christmas: Kermit riding his bike. Love the songs.

The Muppets Valentine Special: Can't get enough of Kermit riding a bike, muppet characters and the songs.

Muppets Family Christmas: ENJOY! Plus Sesame Street and Fraggles what else don't you like.

The Christmas Toy: Love see toys come to life. I used to play with my toys hours on hours acting out my own stories with my own characters.

The Muppets Musicians of Bremen: Love the use of how they moved the characters, songs and couldn't stop from laughing at the fat farmer dude.

The Frog Prince: Another one of those specials was seeing how they would make Robin, Kermit and the other frogs jump. And seeing Sweetums for the first time as a bad guy character. Funny stuff.

The Muppets 30th Anniver. Special: Seeing lots of Muppet characters and looking back at old footage of shows like Sesame Street and also hearing about new stuff coming from Jim Henson too.

 

[Erine81981]

Add two more.

The Tale of the Picnic Bunny: Every year seeing this just made my easter. Love the story and the characters. Everytime i watched it i wanted the dog to bite his master everytime he was mean to him. So when he did i would whoop and hollar saying "You Get Him Dog!"

The Muppets at Walt Disney World: After seeing this ever since then i wanted to go to Disney World so when i went i just couldn't keep from thinking that Kermit and kin are out there somewhere watching or even having fun after hours.