Review: The Muppets

Show: The Muppets
Network: ABC

When it was announced that the Muppets would be returning to TV in their own show on primetime, I was more than a little excited. I’m not as big a fan of the Muppets as some might be, but I have always loved their particular style of humor and wit.

Pros:

The writing was good; it felt somewhat natural. Well, as natural as talking wads of felt and fabric can be.

Cons:

As much as it pains me, this show had a lot of faults.

For starters, it was dark. I mean, the maudlin Kermit was a brash departure from his usual go-with-the-flow kind of character. He was borderline depressed throughout the whole episode, even when he was interacting with his new pig girlfriend—whose character is so underdeveloped that I don’t even know her name off the top of my head. This leads into my second complaint.

It was far too serious for a Muppets show. The serious overtones of Kermit and Miss Piggy’s breakup were the main point of the show, and led to the revelation of why and how the two fictional characters broke up: after more than 40 years, Kermit finally got fed up with Piggy’s disregard for his feelings. Another situation that was kind of played very heavy-handed was the overt allusions to antisemitism when the character of Fozzie bear meets his girlfriend’s parents for dinner. The parents make generalizations about bears that Fozzie finds uncomfortable, while the mother tries to be polite and ends up being too sensitive. And none of the jokes were on point. They all seemed to miss the mark just slightly. And gone was the humor and intelligent wit that they had been a staple of the Muppets for many years. It was all just…dry.

My final letdown was that the show isn’t breaking any new ground for the Muppets. This is an “update” from the original 1970s show where the Muppets are struggling to put on a television variety program—only now they are using the format (and possibly the set) for The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon with Miss Piggy as the talk show host. Only with the reality show premise of The Office that is so overdone in comedy now that even Gonzo pokes fun at the cliché. If they really wanted to draw me in the writers could have done something different, like have them running a talent agency representing all kinds of bizarre clients—some being the celebrity guest of the week. 

Is it worth your time?

It really depends on how big a fan you are of the Muppets. If you are a casual fan, like myself, you might find this show dry and lackluster. If you are a die-hard fan, you might like it just because of the fact that something you like is back on TV and that might blind you a little to the shortcomings.

Will I keep watching?

The show has set up that Kermit and Miss Piggy will be getting back together, and that will probably make things a little more normal. But truth-be-told, I don’t have high hopes for this show. I think society has changed too much and we apparently want our kids watching primetime sitcoms that emphasize sex jokes, white guilt, and more stereotypes than you can name. Gone are the days where the Muppets used clever writing to disguise innuendo; where anyone can watch and laugh. I will watch another two episodes, but if I don’t get the Muppets I know and love, I’m done.