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Contrarian_Eh t1_jdvw582 wrote

Why do they keep trying these different formats... a reboot of the original format could be great, i.e. guest stars and performance sketches.

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meowskywalker t1_jdvznjg wrote

This is my thing, the best parts of the mockumentary show were when they just gave up and made Miss Piggy’s show the Muppet Show by including all the same dumb skits. But to be fair, when they tried a straight up reboot/sequel type thing in the nineties it was also a failure. Maybe they’re still shy about it because of that.

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Kevbot1000 t1_jdwzdhu wrote

Muppets Tonight was amazing.

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Morgneto t1_jdy2cyd wrote

And it's like the only Muppets thing not on Disney plus! I really want to go back and rewatch it.

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jingobean t1_jdy47dx wrote

I actually found the full series on YouTube awhile ago!! Super not amazing quality,but def worth it & still watchable! I just double checked and the videos are still up,just search "Muppets Tonight 1x01" and enjoy :D

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jelatinman t1_jdweft2 wrote

I distinctly remember liking Kermit at the yoga retreat.

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occono t1_je0ogc2 wrote

I watched the 90s reboot as a kid on British tv, had no idea it flopped. Explains why I don't remember it going on very long.

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meowskywalker t1_je0q1mp wrote

I thought it was a Disney Channel show when I was a kid, but it had already been cancelled on ABC before I even knew it existed.

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OneGoodRib t1_jdx1l0i wrote

The original format relied on audiences being nostalgic for vaudeville. What they needed to do was make a reboot more like Mad or SNL - which ultimately the difference is really the style of the theater and Fozzie's jokes.

I think The Muppets (2015) would've worked way better if instead of "let's follow the private lives of the muppets who are writers for Miss Piggy's late night talk show", they did more of a 30 Rock thing - where some of the Muppets are writers for a new live Muppet variety show, and some of them are the stars of that variety show. So we'd get some backstage and production shenanigans and also get to see actual sketches, and there'd be plenty of organic room for celebrity guest stars.

Also while I'm here, it still bothers me that the only muppets in the audience for Miss Piggy's show were Statler and Waldorf. They couldn't have peppered the audience so it was half Muppet, half human?

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elderberrykiwi t1_jdx6hhn wrote

Why is Gonzo so clearly Tracy Morgan to me?

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talldrseuss t1_jdx8khv wrote

I mean miss piggy was pretty much Jenna and Kermit was Liz. Rizzo the rat and Pepe the prawn were the writing guys. I basically describe the 2015 show as the 30 Rock muppets. Which is why I loved it

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DisturbedNocturne t1_jdx86wv wrote

If I recall, they did eventually shift from Miss Piggy's show being a talkshow to a variety one, but most of the focus of the show was still on the behind-the-scenes stuff. Had they used that format and included sketches, it might've worked well. I think it was just too far away from what people expected of a Muppets television show.

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YakMan2 t1_je02o8r wrote

Muppets 2015 was really finding its footing by the end, it's a shame it didn't get one more season.

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---reddit_account--- t1_jdx402u wrote

The original format was a parody of variety shows like the Smothers Brothers and Laugh-In. I imagine they've been reluctant to go back to that format because they think modern audiences won't be familiar with that genre.

The 2015 Muppets show changed it to a late-night talk show, which I think made a lot of sense because that is a similar genre that also has celebrity guests, but one that modern viewers actually know.

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TL10 t1_jdvxw0x wrote

THANK YOU! I've felt like for the longest time this was the most obvious way to go. It's actually crazy they haven't explored doing that for so long now.

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LFC9_41 t1_je3ggmr wrote

All the reboots are great though. Not really their fault no one watches.

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elister t1_jdx1faq wrote

They kinda did that with Muppets Tonight (1996), so instead of a stage show, it was a TV Studio.

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DoctorThunder t1_jdwqg6m wrote

Heck, for that matter we need them to put Muppets Tonight onto streaming. It was the classic format and I still felt like that worked well.

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AcusTwinhammer t1_jdxg7x0 wrote

Rights issues, I believe. It took them a while to get all the stuff on the original Muppet Show cleared, I can only imagine what it costs to get the rights for something like Prince. Probably too much for a show that didn't do all that well to begin with.

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YakMan2 t1_je03b4j wrote

> get the rights for something like Prince.

One of the gags from his episode is the only thing I remember from that show.

>Rizzo: All right, all right. So you made a song from the breakfast menu, but I'll bet you five bucks you can't do it again.

>Prince: I'll take that bet.

>Rizzo: Hah!

>Prince: Yo, Seymour!

>Seymour: Yeah?

>Prince: What's for desert?

>Seymour: Raspberry sorbet.

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jingobean t1_jdy53le wrote

The full series is up on YouTube! Rough quality,looks like someone's old vhs recordings off the TV,but 100% worth it and still watchable lol. Just search,"Muppets Tonight 1x01" to find the uploader.

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CaptainBoobyKisser t1_jdza03l wrote

I liked the version that was like The Office. I'm just glad The Muppets are still getting work.

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LiveFromNewYork95 t1_jdvz43w wrote

The 2015 Muppets series on ABC was a gem

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DrengisKhan t1_jdw4gaz wrote

Yeah I thought it was such a clever reinvention of the show. You read the wiki page and it’s pretty decent reviews across the board then I got to the part that reminded me it got Karen’d out of existence:(

“The group One Million Moms, an offshoot of the American Family Association, began protesting The Muppets, citing it as "unsuitable for family viewing", and calling for boycotts against it immediately after ABC picked it up, long before the series debuted.[63][64][65] The Muppets later parodied One Million Moms' critique in their twelfth episode, "A Tail of Two Piggies", as the One Million Angry Parents Association represented by three protesters.[66][third-party source needed]

The Parents Television Council also criticized the series for not meeting "family viewing" guidelines and suggested a boycott, based on the mockumentary format of the series including mentions of plastic surgery, "inside" business language being used in a crude manner, and the Muppets in a bar consuming alcoholic beverages.[67]

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Seeking_the_Grail t1_jdw83w7 wrote

Is that really why it failed? I remember liking it was was bummed it was dropped so soon. The first few episodes where rough, but I fel like it picked up.

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AlanMercer t1_jdwn44s wrote

The protests from the parent groups were just dumb. It was three kids in a trench coat trying to look important. People had forgotten that there were racy jokes on the Muppet Show and even some stuff on Sesame Street that they used to throw in for the parents.

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DisturbedNocturne t1_jdx8wyv wrote

When that show debuted, it was definitely a little frustrating to hear people talk about how awful it was that they were gearing the Muppets more towards adults... as if that wasn't how they were initially. One of the earliest Muppet specials was titled Sex and Violence, because they wanted to make it clear that it was geared more towards adults.

Though, I suppose, it just goes to show you how Disney has bungled their ownership and how much they frequently misunderstand them.

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KiritoJones t1_je1kd6g wrote

So weird because growing up I always thought muppets = for adults and sesame street = for kids. Maybe that's just because sesame street was something I actively watched and the only reason I knew what muppets was was because my mom had some old muppets merch. It's strange but not surprising that soem group would get all up in arms about it though, especially since it was still just a ABC sitcom, so it's not like it was that vulgar.

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JohnnyAK907 t1_jdwvhxi wrote

No. The fact that the ratings were dogshit for a series of that pedigree and a production/promotional budget of that scale is why it was cancelled.

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OneGoodRib t1_jdx1vpa wrote

I don't think so, those angry parent groups were complaining about it before it even aired and it went on for 15 episodes. It just wasn't pulling in viewers.

I mean if ABC pulled every show that had angry parent groups upset, there'd be nothing on the network.

Muppet productions are expensive - the Muppets themselves cost a lot to make and maintain, not to mention if they need different costumes - and if the show just isn't pulling in ratings it's not worth it to keep it on the air.

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jelatinman t1_jdwes67 wrote

Haha yes the episode when they get drunk is funny.

I liked the show and it may have a cult following. However, it didn't connect with the public and setting up shots for continuous puppet action can't be easy.

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AnotherSoulessGinger t1_jdx6mrn wrote

The same people would also freak out to learn The Muppet Show pilot was titled “Sex and Violence”. The Muppet Show was never intended to be a children’s show, from the jump.

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elmatador12 t1_jdym1bm wrote

Jim Henson and Roald Dahl are known for their kids stuff but both have an amazing collection of things geared toward adults. Weird as shit, but awesome.

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ckingdom t1_jdx85ka wrote

The writing was actually great. I read the scripts before watching and laughed.
Watched the show, and the timing and delivery fell flat. Format did not work. Low energy and bad pace for Muppet characters and jokes.

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214ObstructedReverie t1_jdzslr7 wrote

> Low energy and bad pace for Muppet characters and jokes.

They needed to channel 30 Rock to make that show work, and it feels like they didn't even try.

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Theworldssmallestdad t1_jdvvxdt wrote

This is awesome I had no idea it was happening. ANIMAL ANIMAL ANIMAL

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stumpcity t1_jdw2iw9 wrote

This sounds like a really interesting way to try doing a Muppet Show without it being either in the shadow of, or scrambling to be absolutely the opposite of, The Muppet Show.

The problem with trying to actually just do The Muppet Show in modern times is that it's a variety show, and variety shows are dead, and have been dead for decades now. Trying to modulate the atmosphere of the Muppet Show to be about a late night talk show was an okay idea, but trying to make it The Office (or Larry Sanders, even) just didn't work.

Picking characters people like, but don't know a lot about, and making it about a side of the entertainment industry that isn't just "Let's put on a show, gang!" is a really smart way to sidestep a lot of what tripped up everything post "The Muppets" movie with Segel/Adams.

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OneGoodRib t1_jdx25j2 wrote

Except SNL is a variety show and isn't dead, and AGT is also a variety show and isn't dead.

The Muppet Show was a loving homage to Vaudeville which had died 40 years earlier. The issue isn't it being a variety show, the issue is it being a variety show that's harking back to a style of comedy that's 100 years old at this point.

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stumpcity t1_jdx37xw wrote

Saturday Night Live is a sketch comedy show. Yes, there are still music performances, this seems almost done not because people actually care about the music performances (people mostly hope the musician shows up in a sketch) but out of tradition.

America's Got Talent isn't a variety show it's a reality competition show.

The issue is that it's a variety show, and people don't like variety shows anymore, because media is so splintered and the means by which people consume media is so democratized that the very idea that made variety shows possible basically doesn't exist anymore.

The Muppets trying to put on a show is a fine framework for interpersonal dramas that lead to really funny situations. The show being a variety show is a terrible choice in the 21st century. This show seems to have figured out a way around that.

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brp7568 t1_jdwd7zv wrote

Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem rule so I'm looking forward to this

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jthomasplank t1_jdwhsua wrote

For the love of Kermit, why isn't this called MUPPET MAYHEM?? Disney does not understand that the word Muppet is an adjective as well as a noun.

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speedydan t1_jdzt938 wrote

Do they still have the awful voice for Kermit?

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JohnnyAK907 t1_jdwu5qu wrote

Why is Animal eye-f*cking that box of Kleenex?

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WebHead1287 t1_jdxxj7o wrote

Article says this is the first show since 2015 but there was literally one like two years ago if that

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Lord_Bloodwyvern t1_jdy0vo7 wrote

They should do Muppet versions of other series. Each season is a different show. Or maybe two shows a season. I mean, who wouldn't want a Muppet Game of Thrones. Or a Stranger Things with Miss Piggy as Eleven.

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mackinoncougars t1_je0bme1 wrote

Woah, Tahj Mowry! I haven’t seen him in ages.

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Secure-Badger-1096 t1_je0zv1q wrote

Lisa: Dad, what's a Muppet?

Homer: Well, it's not quite a mop, it's not quite a puppet, but man...

[laughs hysterically]

Homer: So to answer your question, I don't know.

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JEM-Games t1_jdy51e1 wrote

I’m looking at all of the Muppets projects that have come out since Disney bought it. They have no idea what to do with this IP.

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honeybunch111 t1_jdzlsvt wrote

Funny how Disney will do every type of Muppet show other than the one people want to see.

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Contrarian_Eh t1_jdwo5t7 wrote

Petition to bring back Crazy Harry

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DoctorThunder t1_jdwrgom wrote

Crazy Harry never left, he was most recently featured in Muppets Haunted Mansion.

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jelatinman t1_jdwekfp wrote

I'm glad they're trying but nothing has really stuck in terms of Muppets content on Disney+. Muppets Haunted Mansion was fun and cute but I don't know anyone who watched it.

EDIT: Goddammit, Lily Singh is in this.

I'm indifferent towards her, but there's a pretty vocal hatedom for her that'll probably be in the comments.

For context: Lily Singh was a YouTuber who was among the first to go "mainstream" in that she got a latenight show on NBC. It was pretty forward thinking - as a show airing so late at night, they pretty much made content for the Internet by a YouTuber. But it forced her into this dying late-night show box with writers who just weren't a good fit. It's hard to deny some of her monologue's white people jokes (which in itself is a tired topic in standup, even with conservative white males saying hateful rhetoric) didn't hit hard enough. The show wasn't as confident in itself as the similar-in-concept-but-far-better Amber Ruffin show. With that and bad interviewing skills, the show was a bomb. But they're not the worst jokes I've heard about cis straight white males (of which I am one, though on the left). I'm glad she's moved on from the show, but potentially would have a better career if she stuck to YouTube over Hollywood.

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OneGoodRib t1_jdx2hjo wrote

I'm not excited for her either, but someone pointed out elsewhere that it's been long enough that her style of comedy may have changed... and also she's not the writer or main attraction of this show. So there's probably not going to be a lot "white guys, am I right?" jokes.

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