The Muppets... and thank goodness

[Tonguez]

Admittedly, that was a formula from 40 years ago - a formula that isn't currently used by pretty much any other show any more.
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I dunno, Punch and Judy is over 300 years old and still gets an outing and Avenue Q has had a good run off broadway running a satirical 'adult' version of the sesame street formula. Cirque du soleil reinvented the circus which is essentially what the Muppet show was (yeah we need more Gonzo being fired from a canon and boomerang fish)

I think the Muppet Show could have updated its formula and been topical and 'cool' even as a variety show, maybe easing people in via more focus on backstage interactions and guest appearances. The point would be to do its whole take on celebrity, modern theatre and life within the Muppets own world. They might have revived the variety show formula and created a good theatre sit-com.

Your insight about parody needing to have respectfulness to the subject material is on point though

 

[Scott DeWar]

Well, Burbank - that explains the snide and cynical. it is the attitude of choice there.

 

[Morrus]

I dunno, Punch and Judy is over 300 years old and still gets an outing

Where can I watch the worldwide megahit Punch & Judy TV show?

 

[Ovinomancer]

I dunno, Punch and Judy is over 300 years old and still gets an outing and Avenue Q has had a good run off broadway running a satirical 'adult' version of the sesame street formula. Cirque du soleil reinvented the circus which is essentially what the Muppet show was (yeah we need more Gonzo being fired from a canon and boomerang fish)

I think the Muppet Show could have updated its formula and been topical and 'cool' even as a variety show, maybe easing people in via more focus on backstage interactions and guest appearances. The point would be to do its whole take on celebrity, modern theatre and life within the Muppets own world. They might have revived the variety show formula and created a good theatre sit-com.

Your insight about parody needing to have respectfulness to the subject material is on point though

You're aware that Henson's vision was that the Muppets lived and worked in the real world, right? That The Muppets is actually going back to what Henson wanted?

Since The Muppet Show went off-air, the Muppets have had a weird trajectory in their branding, from closer to Henson's vision in Muppet's Tonight to what Disney tried to do with rebranding the Muppets as a kids thing. The Muppets is actually trying to go back to roots and step over the mish-mash mess. Of course, people who've identified with the Muppets during that time will have culture shock, but even The Muppet Show was edgy and bitingly satirical under the absurdity. Heck, Henson originally named the pilot The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence.

 

[Herobizkit]

Chalk me up as a fan of the current Muppets. It's a little bit too "The Office" for me, but the talk-show format is a decent one. I like that the Muppets have changed with the times and are dealing with real-world day-to-day issues as they're supposed to BE in the real world.

There is at least one joke per episode at which I genuinely laugh out loud.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

So far I liked the show, and it seems to have been getting better even.

The show's first episode might have been more on the cynism side of things, but it seems it's not that "extreme".
For example. Ms. Piggy's little revenge for Kermit asking her for a gift for his new girlfriend was a lot more subtle then I initially expected - [sblock]I expected she would have put the wrong name on there, but she used "their song" instead - something really only Kermit would notice. [/sblock]

I guess what I would like to see more is the songs being actually shown in full. But I guess that is difficult with the time they have for an episode, and their might be concerns that some people would be turned off by it?