The TV Specials

[CensoredAlso]

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).

Well remember this was 1981, those movies probably weren't officially considered classics yet. In contrast The Golden Age of Hollywood of the 30s and 40s had achieved iconic status.

 

[Scooterforever]

Well remember this was 1981, those movies probably weren't officially considered classics yet. In contrast The Golden Age of Hollywood of the 30s and 40s had achieved iconic status.

Yes, I suppose that's true. My fav part was probably the Swedish film segment; from what I remember, Sam introduces it, b/c he thinks it's going to be sophisticated, but it turns out to be some goofy film starring Swedish Chef.

 

[Drtooth]

Ah yes. Muppets at Walt Disney World. It takes an obvious infomercial for the park and makes it so much fun and so engaging, it's impossible to notice.

That is, unlike every time Disney forced a sitcom to go there. I know Rosanne's staff didn't like it.

 

[D'Snowth]

I've finally seen all of THE CUBE in its entirety, and I have to say that this thing is really incredible. I mean, it is so ahead of it's time: it's only 1969, but this is the kind of thing that wasn't the norm on network television until a couple of years later when ALL IN THE FAMILY paved the way for edgier TV (oh, and don't show this to people who aren't avid followers of Jim Henson, they'll probably fall into a coma when they hear swearing in a Henson production).

It's really disturbing too, but not in a bad way, in a good way: you really feel what The Man In The Cube feels, you feel just as frustrated and confused as he does by all of these strange and bizarre people who keep just walking in on him, and walking out just as quickly and mysteriously, and just as much as he wants to get out of the Cube, that's how much you want him to get out.

I also really enjoyed the on-screen cameos made by both Jerry Juhl and Jerry Nelson.

 

[Mo Frackle]

Finally saw "The Great Santa Claus Switch" and "Muppet Musicians of Bremen."

Liked the puppetry in both specials. And the puppets, for that matter. Never really noticed how creative the designs of the frackles are. Plus the special features Thog in perhaps his largest role. How can you not find Thog loveable?

Liked the idea of using puppets as humans for "Bremen." Also dug the marionette work in the Catgut/rats musical number.

I'll have to rewatch to give a really solid opinion, but I did find both specials to be a bit slow in spots. "Bremen," moreso.

Also enjoyed most of the Muppet/Henson documentaries ("The Muppets on Puppets," "Of Muppets and Men," "Secrets of the Muppets," "The World of Jim Henson). Hopefully I'll be able to add the "In Their Own Words" doc to this list.

Guess that Lady Gaga special should be mentioned. I remember it having some fun moments here and there (though none of those moments were without Muppets in them). Nice to see Gonzo and Rizzo re-teamed, the return of Lips, Dave's ad-libs as Zoot, Bill's ad-libs as Bobo, etc. Don't really have much of a desire to see it again, though.

 

[Erine81981]

Finally saw "The Great Santa Claus Switch" and "Muppet Musicians of Bremen."

Liked the puppetry in both specials. And the puppets, for that matter. Never really noticed how creative the designs of the frackles are. Plus the special features Thog in perhaps his largest role. How can you not find Thog loveable?

Liked the idea of using puppets as humans for "Bremen." Also dug the marionette work in the Catgut/rats musical number.

I'll have to rewatch to give a really solid opinion, but I did find both specials to be a bit slow in spots. "Bremen," moreso.

Also enjoyed most of the Muppet/Henson documentaries ("The Muppets on Puppets," "Of Muppets and Men," "Secrets of the Muppets," "The World of Jim Henson). Hopefully I'll be able to add the "In Their Own Words" doc to this list.

Guess that Lady Gaga special should be mentioned. I remember it having some fun moments here and there (though none of those moments were without Muppets in them). Nice to see Gonzo and Rizzo re-teamed, the return of Lips, Dave's ad-libs as Zoot, Bill's ad-libs as Bobo, etc. Don't really have much of a desire to see it again, though.

Do you mean first time or in a long time?

 

[GonzoLeaper]

Yay for a thread about Muppet specials! I LOVE them! (Okay- most of them.) I consider them an important part of The Muppets, for sure. Thankfully, I've been able to see most of them- and the vast majority of them still are not on DVD. I'd love to see these all get DVD releases some day. I still need to see The Great Santa Claus Switch. That would be a fun, new-to-me Christmas special to see this year.

 

[Drtooth]

Guess that Lady Gaga special should be mentioned. I remember it having some fun moments here and there (though none of those moments were without Muppets in them). Nice to see Gonzo and Rizzo re-teamed, the return of Lips, Dave's ad-libs as Zoot, Bill's ad-libs as Bobo, etc. Don't really have much of a desire to see it again, though.

While anything can be said for any post-Jim Muppet project, I find this one just a frustrating collection of "what could have beens." And the thing is, if it was a standalone Gaga special, it wouldn't have been too bad (provided your a fan). But the problem with that one is obvious. A throwaway to both promote her latest album and MMW, and all the potential the special could have had turned into weak combinations of admittedly good Gaga performances and decent Muppet segments that would have worked slightly better as internet shorts, and like 2 actual Gaga and Muppets bits that aren't really that fleshed out and don't have much care behind them. That one song where the Muppets are cheaply superimposed on to make sure it's a "Lady Gaga and Muppet special" was beyond embarrassing, even if it's just from a technical standpoint. They didn't even interact with the other guests, being a huge disappointment.

Like I said before, it's obviously a Lady Gaga special with the Muppets thrown in last minute. Even the awkward 90 minute runtime just screams "afterthought." it robs us from a good collaboration between the two, which is the worst thing about this special.

 

[GonzoLeaper]

Not exactly strictly a Muppets TV special, but what about Julie Andrews' "One Step into Spring"? I may have missed it, so sorry if this is old news- but does anyone know what happened with the DVD that was supposed to be coming?....