Your Thoughts: Studio DC Hosted by Selena Gomez

[CensoredAlso]

I think that the writers have been trying too hard with the Miss Piggy/Kermit dynamic. Some people blame Piggy for being downright abusive. Some people blame Kermit for being insensitive or cruel. They just need to tone it down some. Yes, there should be quite a bit of tension and karate chops, but they need to pull back and show more tender, real moments between the two, at least once in a while.

Yeah I believe someone here said one problem is we're mainly seeing them just in brief interviews so it's coming across unbalanced.

 

[Baby Gonzo]

Yeah I believe someone here said one problem is we're mainly seeing them just in brief interviews so it's coming across unbalanced.

Yeah. I think that's the major problem. I guess it's like hearing the punchline without the rest of the joke. It might be funny to see Miss Piggy karate chop Kermit, but that's not the only part of their relationship.

 

[dwmckim]

Okay, i've read through the entire thread and have made mental notes to things i wanted to comment on though most have eventually been touched on and nearly exhausted! But i will point out my feelings on the current Disney push since it's dominated the last half of the thread:

We've seen _intentions_ and _beginnings_ of pushes referenced in the Times article before - but the difference between the previous ones and now is that it seems like in the past whenever there's been an attempt to bring the Muppets back in a big way with several different media niches and small/big projects, either (a) the Muppets would come under new ownership or (b) once bought by Disney, anytime whichever head of the Muppets division would get off to a good start on their Muppet-reintroduction plans, they were replaced with someone else and everything Muppet-at-Disney would be scraped back. Chris Curtin was off to a running start and was replaced thanks to internal Disney politics. Russell Hampton (i may not have the name right but i think so little of him i don't care) never really should have been in charge of them and didn't really have much a plan or seem to think of them as more than "a property we swallowed so we can release already made stuff on dvd and collect the money" and thankfully did not last long. Lyelle Brier was next and while she is still there, her initial plans got set back not because of another change in ownership but because of the writers strike. Had the strike not happened, i think we would have seen this level of push for the Muppets occuring almost around this time last year. I really think she both "gets" the Muppets as well as how they work and is doing a great job of getting them where they need to be - Aside from the web stuff (muppets xd and youtube), Studio DC just happens to be the first quasi-major project and because it's marketed to a younger crowd may not be as exciting to some of us veteran Muppet-freaks, but it is necessary and perhaps in some ways all for the best that the tweens got in their early and first - this will only help the projects (like Santa) that are aimed at multi-generations. (Keep in mind the original plan was going to be the next big Muppet project was going to be a network special on elections and political humor which would totally have reeled in the adults, but was scrapped and the Christmas special originally planned for next year moved up due to the fear that there would be no repeat/resale value in something so locked into a specific time). Keep in mind much more will be forthcoming that we don't know about yet!

I'm glad the Studio DC specials are getting heavy DC rotation and reception, but it still seems like more could be done on the channel - there should be commercials for the dvds and at the least ads for Disney's OWN muppets website - a lot of the regular Disney Channel shows have commercials for their websites and how much of them have frequently updated original content? There should be at least a crawl saying "Want to see more Muppet madness? Check out Muppets.com" (and once there, there will be ads/clips for the dvds).

Now on to some earlier stuff...

Piggy's number with Cheetah Girls was a highpoint for me...not as much the singing but the moves - this was Diva Piggy at her best, those "heaving movements" at the start and the arm waves (and in response to how are they doing that, i think things like those arm waves and some of the stuff from Bop to the Top where with the benefit of some CGI touch ups - hey as long as they're removing the arm wires, why not go whole-hog...if the porcine subjects of the topic at hand will pardon the expression). That's actually a great example of technology helping and bringing out the best of the Muppets rather than "replacing" them as often is feared in discussions pertaining to digital enhancements. Of course at the end, Piggy was doing a different kind of "heaving" but still, this was really a classic Piggy moment!

This one was better paced, i think because the first one was basically getting out of the way all the stuff that was originally taped as interstitials before it was decided to include them in a show (in DC 1, you could easily divide the first and second halfs into two distinct parts with some small links between them to tie them into the Studio DC concepts, whereas in DC 2, it was just a whole buncha stuff intermixed in each half). I also personally liked how the talent appearing in the second one where generally more _talentED_ than those in the first, though that's not a blanket statement! (I do think Miley is a talented singer if not as strong an actress and gets overshadowed by her own hype and i don't really care much for the two younger stars that were with Statler and Waldorf but they found a way to use them well). Too bad the actors from Life With Derek haven't been included as i would rank the acting on that show better than the rest of the current DC crop (but then if i'm not mistaken, that was originally something Disney acquired from somewhere else?)

I'm not overly concerned with things like "where's Bunson - Beaker was there but now Bunson!" or "Rowlf should have had a scene" - this kind of thing always happens with a new production; fans have this checklist of all the major and minor characters and flip out when their fave isn't there...there's only so much that can be done in a 20 minute show (even in a 90 minute movie, there's only so much you can do). So who "wasn't" there doesn't bug me so much - Bunson has been used well over the last several years, and Beaker has often been used in ways without him and this was a perfect way to include him! I'm more hyped but what we DID get between the two - Snowths, Scooter (speaking!), all of the EM with lines! Camilla.

Loved the "less talka talka, more Wocka Wocka line" especially probably because as a One Life to Live addict, one of the characters on there (diner owner Mo) is known for exasperating his staff by constantly remarking "A little less Talk-ie, a little more Work-ie", and this totally reminded me of that!

Finally the whole Floyd question - someone posted (anonymously) on a "comments" thread on Muppets NewsFlash that Floyd was looped by Jerry Nelson on the first DC, and while i find it a bid odd that he would be uncredited or that they would go through the trouble of having him do so for essentially a four-word line, it did sound like Jerry's Floyd so i am apt to believe that (yet while still not 100% convinced without more concrete evidence). However, i can state without any shred of doubt that if that was the case, Jerry did NOT loop the voice for Floyd in DC 2!

 

[frogboy4]

Nicely said DW! It is always a pleasure to read your posts and articles. I didn't know the bits about Russell Hampton. The Muppets have had so many hoops to jump through. It seems that now they're finally getting somewhere.

 

[Traveling Matt]

One thing I believe is very important to keep in mind is the fact that much has changed about the Muppet staff, our society and the world in general since their 1970s and 80s popularity height. It is essential to understand that very, very delicate balances exist when two or more people work on anything together, in any form of labor, in any field. There are countless intangible elements that come into play, especially in the arts. And even more so in the entertainment business, which is one-half entertainment and one-half business.

A very delicate balance existed long ago when Jim was alive and everything was a playland. The Muppets were on top of a world that was just right for them, with a seemingly endless output of productions that we today consider classics.

Henson, and now Disney, has been trying since 1990 to recreate that balance, a balance that once existed because involved were the right people at the right time. That was the key to the Muppets’ success and at the helm, of course, was Jim. It’s been said that Jim’s greatest ability (of many he had with which we are so familiar) was his talent for sniffing out the right people for the job. That began with his first hires: Jerry Juhl and Frank Oz, the two people considered most essential to the Muppets after Jim himself.

I don’t want to recall the entire history of Jim’s career, but my point is that any success exists (regardless of how easy it is to see or identify) because the right people are involved at the right time. Who the right people are and what the right time is are variables, frequently recognized only after the fact. The constant is that special and sensitive balance that does indeed exist. Always.

 

[rexcrk]

Too bad the actors from Life With Derek haven't been included as i would rank the acting on that show better than the rest of the current DC crop (but then if i'm not mistaken, that was originally something Disney acquired from somewhere else?)

AFAIK, Life with Derek belongs to Disney the way Nightmare Before Christmas does (er.. sorta). They don't actually MAKE it but they show it on their channel.

It's a fantastic show though and I think it would be great if they could've been in one of the Studio DC's (season 1 is actually coming out on DVD soon )

 

[Vic Romano]

I think that the writers have been trying too hard with the Miss Piggy/Kermit dynamic. It's as though they've gone so far in their writing that it's lazy. It's like saying "Things aren't funny? Let's make the pig psycho!" Some people blame Piggy for being downright abusive. Some people blame Kermit for being insensitive or cruel. They just need to tone it down some. Yes, there should be quite a bit of tension and karate chops, but they need to pull back and show more tender, real moments between the two, at least once in a while.

Wow, very well said. Great observation, it really put the whole thing into perspective for me.

 

[dwayne1115]

I think that the writers have been trying too hard with the Miss Piggy/Kermit dynamic. It's as though they've gone so far in their writing that it's lazy. It's like saying "Things aren't funny? Let's make the pig psycho!" Some people blame Piggy for being downright abusive. Some people blame Kermit for being insensitive or cruel. They just need to tone it down some. Yes, there should be quite a bit of tension and karate chops, but they need to pull back and show more tender, real moments between the two, at least once in a while.

Well having a close relationship with a Muppet writer (Jim Lewis) I'm a little bias on this, but I think in AVMMXM Jim got the Kermit and Piggy relationship down pat. Though out that whole movie both Kermit and Piggy needed each other, and I think that is really where there relationship has grown apart. With just mostly doing Interviews like they have lattly, both Kermit and Piggy want to promote themselfs as the leader of there relationship, and nether one of them needing the other. When hard times hit however both the Frog and the Pig need each other to be stong, and that is what we need to see more of.

 

[Redsonga]

If that is the case, they're going to have to keep making these and develop a pattern. (And not just show one Muppet movie where they're playing other characters).

There were kids who did like the Muppets before this though. Not all kids need to be told something is cool (thank goodness, heh). The problem has been that not enough classic material has been made available.

Like I said before, it could work well with a balance of DC and the older films. I never 'got' any of The Muppet Movie's jokes when I was little but that never stopped me from enjoying them . And I think, even if some of this next generation needs DC as a stepping stone they may feel the same way if they give the older movies a chance on Disney channel on the weekends or something . After all, it can only help the new muppet and FR movies IMHO

 

[ploobis]

I noticed Jerry didn't dub over Floyd in the second Studio DC show. Maybe because Floyd had only one line and maybe they thought nobody (except us fans) would know the difference.

I knew it was Jerry dubbing Floyd's voice in the first Studio DC show, Maybe Jerry's coming back!