# 'The Muppet Show' returning to television **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 4, 2015, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-muppet-show-returning-to-television/716831 "2015-04-04T20:53:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2015, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-muppet-show-returning-to-television/716831/41 "2015-04-10T20:31:41Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > Sorry I beg to differ. Muppets from space was tolerable if disappointing. For true vileness one must look at [The Muppets Wizard of OZ](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Muppets%27_Wizard_of_Oz). Although perhaps you weren’t counting it because it was made for TV. No, _Muppet Wizard of Oz_ is better than _Muppets from Space_. I (vaguely) remember enjoying MWoO when it was originally broadcast. It may have helped that I had modest expectations, or that (IIUC) what was broadcast was shorter than what wound up on the DVD version, or that I’m a fan of the book but a non-fan of the Judy Garland movie. I tried to watch _Muppets from Space_ once but have blotted it from my memory; I’m not even sure I got all the way through it. But I think the main reason I’m more charitable toward _MWoO_ than _MfS_ is that _Space_ is a movie _about_ the Muppets, while _Oz_ is a movie that uses the Muppets to retell/parody/have fun with a classic story. In classic Muppet Show terms, movies like _Oz_ (and _Christmas Carol_ and _Treasure Island_) are analogous to the onstage acts, while movies like _Space_ (and the original _Muppet Movie_ and the new _Muppets_) are analogous to the backstage bits. And so they deserve to be judged by different standards. ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2015, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-muppet-show-returning-to-television/716831/42 "2015-04-11T10:56:28Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > Sorry I beg to differ. Muppets from space was tolerable if disappointing. For true vileness one must look at [The Muppets Wizard of OZ](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Muppets%27_Wizard_of_Oz). Although perhaps you weren’t counting it because it was made for TV. Yeah, it’s the made-for-T.V. status that kept it out of consideration in my ranking. I don’t remember it very well at all, and I know I wasn’t impressed, but like **Thudlow Boink** I approach television specials with lower standards than theatrically released feature films. I went in very excited to see _Muppets from Space_. It was a new Muppet Movie ferchissakes! It followed _Muppet Treasure Island_, which was awesome and it came out immediately after the series run of the _Muppets Tonight!_ T.V. show which was also awesome! I had _every right_ to expect to love this movie. And it sucked. _Muppets Wizard of Oz_ was simply uninspired. _Muppets from Space_ was offensive. If it wasn’t that it was so forgettable I’d say that it had sullied the brand. ---
**Author:** ![alted315](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/cc9497/32.png) [@alted315](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alted315)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2015, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-muppet-show-returning-to-television/716831/43 "2015-04-11T12:16:40Z")
wish list of guests, my 1st would be Jack McBrayer and Triumph the insult comic dog ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2015, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-muppet-show-returning-to-television/716831/44 "2015-04-11T12:28:13Z")
> [@alted315](#): > > wish list of guests I don’t really have a personal wishlist, but in the most recent movie, _Muppets: Most Wanted_, Ricky Gervais, Ty Burrell, and Tina Fey gave some of the best “Actor co-starring with Muppets” performances ever. Some actors interact with the Muppets as if it’s a novelty or an in-joke. The best know to interact with the Muppets as their co-stars …like _Kermit_ is my co-star not Steve Whitmire the puppeteer performing Kermit. Gervais, Burrell, and Fey were perfect. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2015, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-muppet-show-returning-to-television/716831/45 "2015-04-11T14:59:37Z")
> [@bienville](#): > > I don’t really have a personal wishlist, but in the most recent movie, _Muppets: Most Wanted_, Ricky Gervais, Ty Burrell, and Tina Fey gave some of the best “Actor co-starring with Muppets” performances ever. Some actors interact with the Muppets as if it’s a novelty or an in-joke. The best know to interact with the Muppets as their co-stars …like _Kermit_ is my co-star not Steve Whitmire the puppeteer performing Kermit. Gervais, Burrell, and Fey were perfect. I’ve always thought the best guests (on both the Muppet Show and Sesame Street) were the ones who interacted with the muppets as if the muppets were real. There’s a certain degree of suspension of disbelief involved with the muppets that can be shattered by a guest who acts toward the muppeteer instead of the muppet. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2015, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-muppet-show-returning-to-television/716831/46 "2015-04-11T15:25:10Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > I’ve always thought the best guests (on both the Muppet Show and Sesame Street) were the ones who interacted with the muppets as if the muppets were real. There’s a certain degree of suspension of disbelief involved with the muppets that can be shattered by a guest who acts toward the muppeteer instead of the muppet. Do you have any examples of a guest acting toward the muppeteer? I think I know what you mean, but I’d be curious to see it again while watching it in this context. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2015, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-muppet-show-returning-to-television/716831/47 "2015-04-11T15:45:10Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > Do you have any examples of a guest acting toward the muppeteer? I think I know what you mean, but I’d be curious to see it again while watching it in this context. I’m trying to remember which ones I thought weren’t synching with the muppets but it’s been a LONG time since I’ve actually seen any episodes. I’ll have to research a little and get back to you on that. ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2015, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-muppet-show-returning-to-television/716831/48 "2015-04-12T10:24:48Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > Do you have any examples of a guest acting toward the muppeteer? I think I know what you mean, but I’d be curious to see it again while watching it in this context. I can’t pull out a specific example off the top of my head, but for me it’s not so much that I notice anyone in particular being _bad_ at it but rather that I notice the ones who are particularly _good_ at it. All the guests are professional performers to some extent (even the politicians who’ve appeared on Sesame Street, and I say that without snark). So it’s not like anyone is ever looking below the set to talk to Frank Oz instead of looking at Fozzie’s face. But some of the guests just really connect in a special way- not looking _at_ Fozzie’s face like it’s a prop but rather looking _into Fozzie’s eyes_ and finding a connection in the same way you’d find a connection looking into a human’s eyes. Julie Andrews nailed it. John Cleese nailed it. Peter Sellers nailed it. Bernadette Peters nailed it. Cloris Leachman nailed it. Charles Grodin nailed it. I really can’t think of anyone who was so bad that it stands out in memory. Like I said, it was being _especially_ good that made guests really stand out. The Muppets team could make sure that all of their guests at least came off looking good. It’s possible some guests had trouble adjusting and settling in, but the Muppets team took responsibility for helping their guests understand the vibe and the format and the style. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Angel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d26b3c/32.png) [@Johnny\_Angel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Angel)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2015, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-muppet-show-returning-to-television/716831/49 "2015-04-12T17:55:56Z")
_pant_ _pant_ Did I make it in time… _pant_ to be the first to make a… _pant_ joke about… _pant_ a ‘gritty reboot’? _collapse_ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-muppet-show-returning-to-television/716831.md?page=2)