TMS Season 2 Box Set - 2007 Release?

[Beauregard]

Allow me to applaud the post above me.

 

[crazed gonzo fa]

Some good things can't last forever . Kids wanting to watch Family Guy? And I quote: I think I'm going to be violently ill...(Beau and Prawncracker ziffled me) You got a good point Prawncracker.

 

[Marky]

Sorry I'm going to have to disagree with you on that. As sad as it can be, kids don't want to see something with holesome messages have like the Mupepts. Believe, I've wacth many kids, and I'm always trying to entertain them with the Muppets. At least a good four out of five of them, usually don't want any part of it. I'm sorry Marky, but you really can't blame Disney too much for the Muppets, as you've put it, lack of hipness. Even before Disney owned the Muppets, they still won't really hitting as big as they did in the 70's and 80's. Muppet Christmas Carol and Muppet Treasure Island, did ok. Muppets From Space was a total flop. Kermit's Swamp Years did little to nothing. And IAVMMCM, I don't think it did too much to help either.

Like I said I have wacth many people's kids in the past year or so, and trust me, I'm always trying to get them turned to Muppets. So far the only one I've gotton though is my little nine year old cousin. Most of the kids I wacth would rather wacth my Family Guy DVDs, or the the very least my Pixar Disney DVDs. But Muppets, no way. Muppets just aren't really what kids want nowadays, besides probably Elmo. It's sad but true.

Actually, I think you've just proven my point! But to be fair, what films/shows do you show people to try to get them into the Muppets?

I feel 'The Muppets' work better when they're not necessarily attempting to target 'childen'. It been well-documented (and is obvious to its fans) that the original series was not aimed at kids. It was simply made to make people laugh and/or trip out. Henson already had Sesame Street for the kids (which, btw, was better when he was around, too).

Now... IAVMMCM is, IMO, a great piece of evidence for my "Disney Killed the Muppets" disposition. It wasn't made that long ago (right before the Dis-deal I believe). IAVMMCM was aimed primarily at us Gen-Xers first who like their 'wholesome' entertainment to be genuinely funny. It was rated PG, not G. It was both an exercise in nostagia and a test-marketing on NBC's behalf. Joan Cusak was brilliant in it, and their was some great wit in the writing. It did not seem like it was written by a focus group. It was snappy and irreverant. It had chases, cartoonish violence, adult innuendos, everything that Disney has bled them dry of. (I also appreciated the dreaded Clifford's abscence).

Now the worst Muppet material I have ever seen by far are those terrible Pepe Profiles. There is no spark there at all. They have that trite, Disnified feeling to it, which is what killed Oz for me as well.

 

[crazed gonzo fa]

It was snappy and irreverant. It had chases, cartoonish violence, adult innuendos, everything that Disney has bled them dry of. (I also appreciated the dreaded Clifford's abscence).

.

Ms. Bittermen: You know, not everything I say is an innuendo.

 

[Marky]

Ms. Bittermen: You know, not everything I say is an innuendo.

...oiling your chair...

 

[Teheheman]

It's true. They were better before Disney bought them because they weren't trying to aim it towards kids. Now, they are trying to aim it towards tweenagers who are basically Disney's bread-n-butter. I think that Family Guy, with all the references to the Muppets, might give them a little more of a pop culture comeback because you'll see a lot of teens buying the Muppets because they saw Kermit on Family Guy(I know it might not happen, but who knows? It could work.) BTW, the point that was made about the Muppet Show DVD? If they were really worried about it, they would have put it out on DVD when they said they were going to, and not push it back 3 or 4 times. The Simpsons and Family Guy get on DVD when they're supposed to. Other Disney projects get on DVD when they're supposed to, and they are of high quality, why can't Season 2 of the Muppets? If they keep dragging their feet on this, they'll never release it.

Daniel

 

[JJandJanice]

Actually, I think you've just proven my point! But to be fair, what films/shows do you show people to try to get them into the Muppets?

I feel 'The Muppets' work better when they're not necessarily attempting to target 'childen'. It been well-documented (and is obvious to its fans) that the original series was not aimed at kids. It was simply made to make people laugh and/or trip out. Henson already had Sesame Street for the kids (which, btw, was better when he was around, too).

Now... IAVMMCM is, IMO, a great piece of evidence for my "Disney Killed the Muppets" disposition. It wasn't made that long ago (right before the Dis-deal I believe). IAVMMCM was aimed primarily at us Gen-Xers first who like their 'wholesome' entertainment to be genuinely funny. It was rated PG, not G. It was both an exercise in nostagia and a test-marketing on NBC's behalf. Joan Cusak was brilliant in it, and their was some great wit in the writing. It did not seem like it was written by a focus group. It was snappy and irreverant. It had chases, cartoonish violence, adult innuendos, everything that Disney has bled them dry of. (I also appreciated the dreaded Clifford's abscence).

Now the worst Muppet material I have ever seen by far are those terrible Pepe Profiles. There is no spark there at all. They have that trite, Disnified feeling to it, which is what killed Oz for me as well.

Well really I try to show almost anything Muppets, mostly the movies, everything from "The Muppet Movie" to "The Muppet Wizard of Oz, I do agree that a lot of the DVDs the kids want to wacth from my collection (Family Guy and such) aren't really shows that kids should be wacthing, which is way (going back to my earlier statement.), I go ahead and show them some Disney Pixar movies, instead.

I do agree with you Marky that IAVMMCM was a better Muppet film than say, Muppets Wizard of Oz, but still it's not like it made the Muppets into the huge stars they were in the 70's and 80's.

I do also think Prawncracker made a good statement.

I don't know why everyone here is thinking that Disney won't release TMS season 2. Season one was a huge seller, there is money to be made. Disney is a bussiness, first and formost. Think about it for a moment,please, why in the world would they spend all the money that they did for the rights to the Muppets and the Muppet library and do nothing with it. When Micheal Jackson bought the rights to the Beatles songs, he didn't just sit on it, nope he made millions selling thoes songs to commericals and "best of" cds and all that good stuff. Disney will do the same, there is no way they would spend all the money they did on the Muppets and do nothing with them.

Maybe Disney is taking longer with the Muppet Show season two, because this time it will be uncut episodes. Did anyone think about that?

 

[Bear Man]

You're judging Disney on what exactly? One DVD release, another delayed one and Muppets Wizard of Oz, and from that you're claiming they've ruined them and are never going to do anything good, ever, ever again. Please commence the wailing and gnashing of teeth now.

It annoys me more than I can articulate the tendancy to criticise big corporations, simply because they have the gall to have been successful in creating a brand. McDonalds? The sole reason the world is so fat. Microsoft? Pure evil intent on global domination. Disney? Souless and uncreative. The fact is, that as companies become successful they grow. If they don't grow, they aren't able to continue to innovate, to continue to produce goods and services - they aren't able to meet the increased demand that is created through their previous successes, and therefore they fail and go under.

It's not as if there was huge demand for Muppet productions before Disney bought them, and I would almost guarantee that had Disney not acquired them, they would have even less visability than they do now. Step outside of your little closed fan community and see exactly what the demand is for Muppets in the outside world - it is not that popular. But, of course, Disney should take a loss on a DVD set by releasing it when the few fans want it, instead of taking time to develop a proper marketing strategy and hopefully have at least some mild success.

You know what? I couldn't get all the way through Muppets Wizard of Oz - didn't like it much, and yeah, that Christmas special was better (although not by that much). But you're judging Disney on ONE production in two years? Come on! How much Muppet rubbish appeared BEFORE Disney bought them? Muppets from Space was terrible, Muppet Christmas Carol was more dripping in Disney-fied sugar than Oz was, Muppets Tonight flopped like a bad pancake...I could go on and on. There were periods under Henson and the German owners (whose name escapes me currently) where the Muppets were under-used, or completely silent, and for a good time longer than two years (and let's not forget that in the two years Disney has owned them, we have one original series DVD set, a new TV movie, and a commitment to providing high-end collectibles).

Bein Green is right - it is what the Muppets stand for that is no longer popular in mainstream entertainment, and the way forward that I see is the "retro" market. Marky - Disney has been responsible for quite a lot of "hip" franchises recently (although I think if anything is described as "hip" these days it's a fairly good indication that it's not!), and to say the Muppets aren't "hip" because of Disney is ridiculous. It takes years to create a brand, and even longer to re-create a brand that has been allowed to stagnate and not evolve with the times. The blame for THAT mistake cannot be placed with Disney. Sure, there were attempts by JHC (Muppets Tonight, for example), but the focus on Sesame Street and child-focussed, family-friendly Muppet films in the intervening years between the original Muppet Show and the attempt to update positioned Kermit and co. in the wrong place in the eyes of the public. Give Disney a chance - see if they can be succesful in it, and be prepared to see some failures.

I will give you this - the unfortunate thing is that, because of the culture we live in now, and because companies like Disney have huge responsibilities to shareholders, there is less freedom to experiment than in the past, failures are not tolerated, and if a property like the Muppets start to be seen as a failure, it is more likely to be discarded than have huge amounts of money thrown at it to see if they can make it successful. That's not Disney's fault though, that is a simple fact of life.

And for those that think the Muppets would be better off if they were still with the Jim Henson company, let's not forget that they've sold them off twice now...it seems to me that they don't want to be throwing money at a property that is probably past its prime...

 

[JJandJanice]

I have to agree with Bear Man there.

A lot of fans here are just really upset that the Muppets are no longer with the JHC (believe me, I think that's a bummer too.). But as Bear Man said, Disney should be given more of a chance that what a lot of the fans here are giving them. It is going to take time, that should go without saying. Bein Green is also right that in "today's world" the Muppets just aren't as popular, like I stated about trying to get some kids into it.

In fact I remember I was wacthing this little four year old boy (or somewhere around that age) and he was looking for some toys to play with, I try to give him a little Kermit toy and he said "I think he's dumb" I was bummed out about that, almost heart broken.

 

[Beauregard]

...oiling your chair...

...decorate your tree...