Why do we always come here?
I guess we’ll never know.
It’s like a kind of torture.
To have to watch the show.
Seriously, I guess all the web clips released over the past several years are sort of a warm up with the new technology, not to mention new writers and muppeteers. I guess we’ll all still enjoy Beaker getting hurt and the Chef’s recipes going all wahoonie shaped.
I bristle at remakes and revivals being preemptively dismissed just for being remakes or revivals (I was a defender of the Mr. Peabody movie early on), so I’m biased towards optimism about this, but if they are trying to make “The Muppet Show but 40 years later” … well, a lot of the guests on the original are dead.
Sandy Duncan is still around and that’s all I care about.
A lot of the success of the original MS was the quirky nature of many of the guests, of the first season, especially. And that wasn’t so much deliberate as it was a product of circumstances. They were filming in England (thus the plethora of English and continental European guests), they were (at the time) virtually unknown, didn’t have any kind of huge budget, and they had to take what they could get as far as booking talent. It worked beautifully to help create the madcap attitude of the show (Charles Azanavour? Who in America even knew who Charles Aznavour was (besides Liza Minnelli?), but if they’re planning on recreating that, it may not work as well done deliberately.
Just had to chime in to say that I absolutely loved Muppets From Space. One of my top ten favorite films. Who could dislike the “Happiness Hotel” musical number? Jeffrey Tambor … probably his best work (best that I have seen). Classic, classic stuff.
I once met Arlo Guthrie & asked him about his appearance on the show. He loved telling stories about how it all came together.
The revival of the show is a good, good thing. The world needs the Muppets as much now as at any time in the past.
Here’s an idea - move The Muppet Show to Comedy Central and have it replace The Daily Show. A political muppet show would be a real hoot - imagine Miss Piggy reviewing the latest Fox News snafu (she’d be upset that they didn’t mention her). Waldorf and Statler could be correspondents, interviewing other old cranky white men. It could mix in elements of the Cobert Report as well. What do you think?
Paul Williams, Candice Bergen, Steve Martin, Luke Skywalker, and Alice Cooper are still around too. I wonder if Alice Cooper would try to get the Muppets to sell their souls to Satan (insert “Owned by Disney” joke here…).
I will watch this show. That is all.
Happiness Hotel is from Great Muppet Caper, not Muppets From Space.
I will watch it for Statler and Waldorf, those two could make me laugh like nothing else.
Waldorf: What did you think of Humpty Dumpty?
Statler: Terrible. I hate off-the-wall comedy.
Statler: Remaking old TV shows never works.
Waldorf: Shut up, you fool! We’re getting a paycheck.
We can call it Spitting Image.
That being said…I’d watch it!
That’s not a bad idea. They would lose the ability to straight-face interviews and call out politicians or other newsmakers on their stupidity but on the other hand, getting the same politicians and other newsmakers to seriously talk to a muppet would be hilarious.
Statler: Remaking old TV shows never works.
Waldorf: Are you saying this one worked the first time around?
I wonder if they’ll work in the OK Go revamp of the Muppet Show Theme Song.
You don’t think Jim would have wanted it to end with him, do you?
Anyway, I hope that they revive the variety show format. They could do a lot of clever stuff with guest stars.
Remember when they did the Star Wars-themed episode with Mark Hamill (who revealed some hidden singing talents), Threepio, Artoo, and Chewie? Imagine what they could do with the cast of The Avengers!
Or have Hugh Laurie in character as Dr. House on a Veterinarian’s Hospital sketch.
Then, when Hugh and Rowlf duet on a piano for the closing number, we could have a surprise visit from Stephen Fry (a surprise to Hugh, as well).
Christopher Lee (a trained singer) in Dracula regalia, singing “Night Waltz (The Sun Won’t Set)” from Sondheim’s A Little Night Music, in a crypt with other Muppet vampires including The Count.
Johnny Depp, in character as Jack Sparrow, singing and dancing “Moonlight Becomes You,” with a full-body female pirate Muppet–who changes appearance every time she enters a moonbeam.
ANY of the current-day Doctors. Or ALL of them.
There were moments when I though Matt Smith was a Muppet, who was passing as human.
(Missed the edit window)
To build on Hermione’s idea, someone from Dancing with the Stars could judge the dancers in the “Ballroom” sequence, which was always one of my favorites. “One, two, three, DIP!”
nm
“You know, my marriage was wrecked by something really stupid.”
“What was that?”
“My husband.”
Sorry I beg to differ. Muppets from space was tolerable if disappointing. For true vileness one must look at The Muppets Wizard of OZ. Although perhaps you weren’t counting it because it was made for TV.