Your Thoughts On "Muppets Tonight!"

[MeWantCookie]

While I don't think anything can measure up to the original Muppet Show, Muppets Tonight was pretty good. It had some very funny moments. I especially liked the Garth Brooks episode where he kept wanting to do anything but a country song.

I remember that one too! Didn't he try to sing "If I Were A Rich Man?"

 

[Gorgon Heap]

TMS is my favorite show. Is, was, and always will be.

That said, I wanted to like MT but didn't. IMO it represented beginning of the shift in tone that characterizes many of the Muppet productions today. I agree with Heralde's "teenagers acting like adults" comment. The humor was less subtle, less layered, less intelligent (absent the Jerry Juhl touch). The musical numbers were short to the point of non-existence. The new characters were pretty broad, not nearly as complex as their forerunners. The guest star 'flashback' sketches got old quick, as did most of the regular features (which were foundationless), as did Andy & Randy Pig and to some extent Big Mean Carl.

As far as the 'adult' humor, when did 'adult' become synonymous with innuendo? Is it not possible to appeal to adults (or perhaps the term 'grown-ups' would be more appropriate) without being inappropriate? What was adult about the humor on TMS was the intelligence and wit, not cheeky innuendo. Just like guest stars vs. guest hosts, the general populus doesn't know the difference anymore. Think of what they did to Scooby-Doo and the upcoming Alvin & the Chipmunks on film- modern, 'grown-up' (but really the opposite) revisitation that has nothing to do with the source material.

The show had its moments (I can point to several that stand out) but never fired on all cylinders. Sketches and the characters therein had a tendency to be pretty random, and the show never felt cohesive. The show's move it along pace might've worked if they hadn't tried to incorporate the backstage elements. The attempt to mix old and new characters only served to marginalize both sets, never allowing for the depth of character that distinguishes the classic Muppet productions.

I may post more thoughts later. It's been a long week.

David "Gorgon Heap" Ebersole

 

[CensoredAlso]

As far as the 'adult' humor, when did 'adult' become synonymous with innuendo? Is it not possible to appeal to adults (or perhaps the term 'grown-ups' would be more appropriate) without being inappropriate? What was adult about the humor on TMS was the intelligence and wit, not cheeky innuendo. Just like guest stars vs. guest hosts, the general populus doesn't know the difference anymore. Think of what they did to Scooby-Doo and the upcoming Alvin & the Chipmunks on film- modern, 'grown-up' (but really the opposite) revisitation that has nothing to do with the source material.

I totally agree; what passes for clever humor and genuine emotion has really gone down these days. It's like all this couterfeit humor and emotion keeps trying to push its way in and replace everything that came before. As I said before, it's like the movie makers and audiences are trying hard to convince themselves that this stuff is grown up, but it's really more like a child trying to be mature. And this recent trend of remaking classics, they just don't tend to measure up to the same quality writing or character development.

Actually it seems like all of Hollywood has gone that route. Only a few years ago, characters in movies looked mature, experienced, worldly. Now they are all suppposed to look college-age and pretty. And they try to pass it all off as grown up, but it very obviously isn't.