Will Muppet Fandom Continue To Be Underground?

[Drtooth]

I agree with this. And no offense Beaker, but I think your definition of a "true" Muppet fan is wholly incorrect. For one, some Muppet fans, such as myself, cannot afford to buy every bit of Muppet merchandise, especially considering how expensive it can be. The Palisades toys have shot up in price on sites such as eBay, and as much as I'd love to get the Palisades Scooter bust, I'm currently unemployed and don't have the cash.

I think he would agree to you on the buying every single piece of merchandise, as would I... I didn't even get the whole series of regular run figures. I'm missing Marvin Suggs. There's no call for that unappreciated and obscure a character to be worth that much. Even though I wanted the Rowlf and Backstage it was hard to find to being with and even if I had the expenses for it, I don't know what I'd do with it. It's HUGE! I didn't see the point in another Swedish Chef repaint. And I can only assume Uncle Deadly's price has jumped up over the moon since the movie. I don't even have most of the Fraggle Rock series on DVD... Heck, I just got that first season and that was just last year! Money is a horrible thing not to have when you're a fan of something. Especially if you have extremely diverse tastes (but thank Frog I was able to get all the Fisher Price Mr. Men show figures... I waited 20 something YEARS for Mr. Men merchandise). I kinda like everything and wish to collect everything. I don't even have the money to focus on one thing. Maybe comics, but that's it.

Yeah, Enterprise seems to be almost universally hated except for a small group of Trekkies, and I think that's partly why they're afraid to do a new Trek show. And it seems like there's no end to how badly Lucas can ruin the ST franchise. Apparently they're bringing Darth Maul back in the Clone Wars show despite how inconceivable it is that he survived after Phantom Menace.

I'll take all the inexplicable Darth Maul possible. The problem I have with Star Wars 1 is that he was the BEST THING about the movie and only in it for like 10 minutes. Really... George should have cut the racing crap in half and focused more on who Darth Maul was and what his over all role in the movie was. Honestly, I'm one of the few people who liked what they saw of the Clone Wars episodes. They aren't great by any means, but they work MUCH better than the movies do. Acting and directing's better at least. Still, I prefer the Genndy Tartikofsky 2-D series better... GT has always been one of my favorite cartoonists, and he brings a broad amazing style wherever he goes.

 

[CensoredAlso]

Honestly, I'm one of the few people who liked what they saw of the Clone Wars episodes.

I saw them for awhile, they actually were pretty good at times.

 

[Puckrox]

And no offense Beaker, but I think your definition of a "true" Muppet fan is wholly incorrect. For one, some Muppet fans, such as myself, cannot afford to buy every bit of Muppet merchandise, especially considering how expensive it can be. The Palisades toys have shot up in price on sites such as eBay, and as much as I'd love to get the Palisades Scooter bust, I'm currently unemployed and don't have the cash.

I'm pretty much in the same boat. The idea of buying the Palisades toys and all the plushies and replicas and every shirt I can find would be amazing; however, college has left me broke with barely enough money each month to buy groceries. Maybe someday I can afford all the Muppet merchandise I want... but yeah, I don't think you have to frequently spend money in order to be called a true fan. I think it's the amount of love you have for the characters, the amount of respect you have for the Muppeteers, the amount of knowledge you are willing to take in, and just that feeling where you need to watch everything Jim Henson/the Muppets have ever touched. That's been the case for me, at least.

And there's so many other ways to prove that you are a true Muppet fanatic! Writing fanfiction, long/deep discussions about the character, overall excitement whenever they're brought up in passing conversations, thinking about them constantly, still getting that warm-fuzzy feeling while watching a Muppet movie even though you've already seen it a gazillion times, and so on. I went and wrote up a six minute slam poem about Muppets, and I think that was a great way to display that I'm a true Muppet fan. So, yes, I don't think money has to necessarily factor into the equation.

 

[Drtooth]

I'm pretty much in the same boat. The idea of buying the Palisades toys and all the plushies and replicas and every shirt I can find would be amazing; however, college has left me broke with barely enough money each month to buy groceries. Maybe someday I can afford all the Muppet merchandise I want... but yeah, I don't think you have to frequently spend money in order to be called a true fan. I think it's the amount of love you have for the characters, the amount of respect you have for the Muppeteers, the amount of knowledge you are willing to take in, and just that feeling where you need to watch everything Jim Henson/the Muppets have ever touched. That's been the case for me, at least.

Yeah... if it weren't for my lack of money, I'd ransack the Disney Store for everything they have a couple times over. Thing is, I want to see LOTS and lots of merchandise, but I know I'll only be able to get like a tenth of it. It's not so much what you can buy or own, so much as the willingness to want most of it I think he's getting at. Plus, I'd LOVE to have the discipline to be a superfan of just one thing, but there's so much I like and so much I want to collect. Any given shelf I have has Muppets, Ninja Turtles, Kinnikuman, Dragon Ball, one of many Disney Ducks, Nightmare before Christmas, and/or some weird obscure thing only I would know or care about on it. And that's the stuff that has merchandise I was and am able to get. If only there was a Jay Sherman action figure.

Fandoms are funny. Look at Nightmare Before Christmas. That film didn't do super duper great when it first came out... it had great praise but not too big of an audience. Disney treated it like a red headed step child... but through the magic of home video it found a grand scale audience. And even though it was partially because of emo goths, the film came back with a huge cult following, and Disney embraced Jack and Oogie Boogie as part of their overall main characters. NBC stuff pops up in Disney Stores around Halloween annually. And if it wasn't for that big kick in the pants of home viewings, this would be a forgotten underground film.

 

[Puckrox]

It's not so much what you can buy or own, so much as the willingness to want most of it I think he's getting at.

I agree with this whole heartedly. As long as you've at least got that want for the objects, than you're definitely a fan. And, I mean, I know a lot of people who are fans of things who just don't buy merchandise because they're not materialistic people, so even not wanting, y'know, everything you see also doesn't disqualify you from being a true fan.

Plus, I'd LOVE to have the discipline to be a superfan of just one thing, but there's so much I like and so much I want to collect.

Yes, yes, yes! While Muppet merchandise is something I long to have, there's still so much Doctor Who, Disney, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Lost, etc. merchandise I want as well. I end up being torn so many times whenever I do have a bit of money to spend on myself, because there's just too many things to get!