The problem with the Muppet Babies concept was that Piggy was a terrible role model for potential young female viewers but is the only female character among the immediate portion of the Muppets. Other official Jim Henson characters were considered including Janice, even Fraggles and Sesame Street but not only would mixing franchises have caused confusion, it was decided that the second female character needed to counter Piggy. Not only to keep that bossy diva attitude in check but also to represent a defiance of gender stereotypes. Hence Skeeter was created as a twin sister of Scooter whose tomboyish style constantly challenged Piggy, it was suggested at times that she even challenged Piggy's affections for Kermit. At the same time Skeeter was established as a strong character who could stand well on her own hence the fan response to her absence from the live action films. There was a loose explanation offered by the Henson company that she'd become an explorer and disappeared in the Amazon.
Janice was still given an appearance in one episode of the animated series but she wasn't received well. Her unique deep toned voice was not translatable to child form. I'd like to add that personally I felt that she also had more of a teenage appearance which is not the most believable as relatable to the Muppet babies.
If anyone knows 80's cartoons like
I know 80's cartoons, there
always had to be a sporty kid. Group of kids type shows
always recycled the same character tropes, and this carried well into the series Arthur, a cartoon that premiered in 96. The
difference is that in a good cartoon, these tropes don't tend to stick up as much (unlike Pink Panther and Son, where the one dimensional character traits stick out like a sore thumb)... and with The Muppets, you already had the funny character (Fozzie), the hipster/musical character (Rowlf) and the overall everyman (Kermit). Scooter's computer nerd-dom was completely fabricated, however. Not completely out of character, but Scooter was more awkward geeky than a full on stereotypical nerd.
Skeeter was born out of double necessity. To add a female character to the cast (of course, performed by a male voice actor) and to add a sporty kid to the show. What Muppets are even remotely sporty? Louis Kazzagger? Janice wouldn't have fit in the role, she's too laid back. Wonder why they didn't just use Annie Sue, actually.
As for Janice, something tells me she would have been a recurring character if the show continued into another season. But let's face it... there is no Muppet fan that doesn't think the final season isn't...well... in the nicest terms, off. It was nice to see Statler and Waldorf in animated form (oddly, as
positive characters who loved the kids), but then there's Bean. As in "the character the writers didn't know what to do with" Bean. Instead of being the parody of the "cuteness" the Muppets were starting to be caricatured as, he was the chronically depressed buttmonkey that was
just there. It's a shame that Janice never became a cast member or having the entire Electric Mayhem band pop on the series as kids of varying ages (lost opportunity, anyone?).