The Muppets... and thank goodness

[Umbran]

I've had several problems with the new show. Primarily, it is... cynical, which is distinctly un-Muppetlike. Another being that they made Miss Piggy into the primary antagonist of the show - she's not supposed to be perfect, but it was a couple steps too far, for a show that otherwise doesn't have a major female presence. All in all, in this show the Muppets are their own worst enemies, and they often treat each other poorly. I'm not a fan of this treatment.

Thankfully, the show is mediocre in the ratings. Not great, as you'd want from such a brand, but not horrible either. CBS has apparently realized this, and is making an attempt to fix it. Bob Kushell (best known for Big Bang Theory) has been the Executive Producer and showrunner, and he's being replaced.

News is that Kristin Newman (known for "That 70s Show, "Chuck", "How I Met Your Mother" and "Galavant") looks to be the replacement.

I'm hoping she understands what makes them the Muppets, and uses them better.

http://variety.com/2015/tv/news/the-muppets-bob-kushell-showrunner-out-1201633158/
http://deadline.com/2015/11/the-mup...ushell-exit-kristin-newman-reboot-1201606360/
http://www.tvguide.com/news/the-muppets-showrunner-bob-kushell-exits/

 

[Ovinomancer]

Whereas my wife and I love the new Muppet Show. It's immediate watching on the DVR. I can fully understand why many might not like it, and why it's doing so so in the ratings, but I find the current incarnation hilarious. And it's fully in line with what Jim originally had in mind for the original Muppet Show, but couldn't get on the air.

 

[Scott DeWar]

Well, there seems to be a rift building between miss piggy and Kermit, apparently

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7oJ2GlOldY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w62j3Eo0RxQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FPi0LZkUOQ

then there are the jokes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDpUAqQPnzM

 

[megamania]

Though I have not seen it, it feels like a typical tv show but uses Muppets as a draw. Won't last long if so.

 

[Eltab]

Bleah (to quote Snoopy).
The version from my childhood had the virtue of being entertaining. This one feels like a re-tread.

 

[Henry]

Like Ovi, I went the opposite way -- I hated the 70s/80s version of the Muppets, and used to find it just too silly when I was a kid. I've been liking the new one much better, it had humor that I enjoyed. If they change it too much back toward the simplistic style with all sight gags and little to it, there will be nothing to interest me...

...which perhaps is for the best, I suppose a talking puppet show SHOULD work better with kids than adults.

 

[Umbran]

Like Ovi, I went the opposite way -- I hated the 70s/80s version of the Muppets, and used to find it just too silly when I was a kid. I've been liking the new one much better, it had humor that I enjoyed. If they change it too much back toward the simplistic style with all sight gags and little to it, there will be nothing to interest me...

Except that the recent movies have not been "all sight gags and little to it".

And Muppets Tonight was not "all sight gags and little to it"

I will submit (though not get into an argument over) that the original TV show and earlier movies were not as you describe, with "all sight gags and little to it". While there were some sight gags, yes, the Muppets are the icon of humor that Pixar has of late mastered - humor that works on multiple levels for kids *and* adults.

The issue at hand is not the intelligence of the humor, but the cynicism. The world doesn't need more cynicism and infighting. And we have *tons* of cynical humor around anyway. But optimism is the classes/levels/and fireballs of the Muppets - the sacred cow that you cannot kill without changing the nature of the thing in question, and the thing that made it stand out and be successful.

 

[MarkB]

I've partly enjoyed the episodes that have aired in the UK so far, and also found parts of them uncomfortable - in particular, the concept of human/muppet sexual relationships is just too icky. But some of the humour works, and they're nicely plotted.

But what really irks me as a fan of the original is that I primarily think of the muppets as performers, and this is a show in which they don't get to perform. I want me some sketches, some skits, and yeah, even some song-and-dance routines.

 

[Scott DeWar]

I think the Muppets has gone to the birds.

[sblock=proof]

 

[Henry]

Except that the recent movies have not been "all sight gags and little to it".

You say "potato", I say "Jason Segel." i just couldn't finish the Muppets Movie with Segel and Adams, it was too sentimental for my taste (this from a guy who liked Second Hand Lions) and I never watched the Most Wanted one, I assumed it was more of the same. I think it's that same cynicism that I find refreshing about it, making the characters seem more 'human' than they've ever been to me, but by how it's not doing well in the ratings, I'll assume that the Muppets people want is the Muppets that are just not my cup of tea any more.

And Muppets Tonight, thanks for cluing me in - i never even knew that existed! Did it ever get much publicity? I don't even remember hearing about it back in that time frame.