A hard and cynical act for a hard and cynical audience…
What They Say:
Miss Piggy is livid when Kermit books Elizabeth Banks as a guest on her late-night talk show; and Fozzie meets his girlfriend’s parents in the premiere of this mockumentary-style series starring Jim Henson’s lovable puppets.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
It’s pretty hard to believe it’s been a little more than fifteen years since the last time The Muppets have had to hold a prime-time show on their own. Times have changed a lot since then, as has the taste of American culture. The only sketch comedy show really left on the dial is Saturday Night Live, and as such America’s favorite felt actors have been forced to make some drastic changes to their act. Gone are the days of their Vaudeville acts and catchy showtunes. Instead, the Muppets take on the realm of the late-night talk show in a mockumentary in the style of The Office, where the celebrity guests still show up, but now Miss Piggy runs the show. The stable of characters over the years are now relegated to the producer’s room of this new project, and Kermit is now forced into the role of both the show’s producer…and the ex of the host.
And here lies one of the big problems I had with this first episode of the series, it focuses too much energy on Kermit and Miss Piggy’s relationship failings. What made the characters work before was the sense that as pushy and selfish as Miss Piggy, and as delusional and ignorant of what’s right in front of his face as Kermit could be, the two genuinely loved each other. While I’m confident the two will patch things up by the season finale, how the two treat each other now that they’re no longer an item (and by extension the new rather subservient pig in Kermit’s life) seems a bit cynical. There were also a couple jokes about Piggy’s weight that bordered on uncomfortable.
As much as Kermit and Piggy’s relationship in this new series so far is a flop, the other romantic subplot in the episode was a surprising hit. Fozzie Bear is now tired of the life of a bachelor, and he’s found a human girl who has caught his eye (after a series of misunderstandings about being a ‘bear looking for love on Tinder’). This night he’s off to meet her parents, who are unfortunately a little less than understanding about their daughter dating a creature of the forest. Several misunderstandings about salmon and where he does his business later, he feels as if he’s failed to impress them, so he invites them to Piggy’s show to show them he’s a big shot. Weirdly the same cynical tone that sank Kermit and Piggy’s storyline worked here pretty well. Fozzie is already a character accustomed to jokes of self-deprecation, so his natural awkwardness lent itself perfectly. Honestly I kinda wish this was the main plot point of the episode.
Other bits that worked were Scooter’s attempts to stall Elizabeth Banks so Miss Piggy doesn’t realize she is a guest on her show (the two have bad blood after an audition for The Hunger Games) and Dancing with the Stars host Tom Bergeron being Kermit’s emotional punching bag. Also Animal recounting his time on the road with musical guest star Imagine Dragons lead one of the big surprise laughs of the episode.
There is one other major problem I had with this initial outing, and that is the complete lack of Walter. Walter did an amazing job in the 2011 movie reboot of the franchise as the analog for the audience, and even in Muppets Most Wanted seeing him as the fan who made it and who gets to work with the people (err, Muppets) he idolizes was a nice treat. His complete absence in this new series was felt, and I feel as if the perspective of a naive outsider would have helped ground the show a little. A little optimism would have also worked wonders to cut the odd negativity this pilot gave off.
In Summary:
The word of the day for The Muppets episode 1 is cynicism. While the tongue-in-cheek approach worked for shows like 30 Rock and The Office, including the wholesome family-friendly Muppets of the post-Jim Henson era in this kind of comedy just feels a little wrong. Most of the jokes landed successfully, and the belly-laughs were plenty. It’s just a little jarring. Hopefully this new attitude feels a little more natural in later episodes.
Grade: B-
Hah, quite a surprise to find The Muppets on here. I hear that Kermit and Piggy have parted ways. Kermit has a new mate now too.
Frankly, I find this incarnation of The Muppets a perversion of what was Jim Henson’s best. In the interest of disclosure, I have not watched the first episode but I have seen clips and from what I’ve seen, I do not like it. As a person who grew up watching Sesame Street and The Muppet Show, it makes me sad to see these beloved characters acting like petulant and cynical adults in conventional sitcom roles. I would rather remember The Muppets how they were than when they’ve become.