Muppet Questions # 6 and # 7 Answered
Adam asked me the following two questions a long, long time ago:
At Tuesday, September 27, 2005 5:15:34 PM, Adam said...
Is there any Muppet characters that you have no interest in? Conversely, are there any characters that made you laugh every time?
Well, Adam, thank you for asking. Sorry it took me so long to get around to answering you.
I'm going to list every Muppet character I can think of, in four different groups that represent how much I do or don't like them:
"LOVE 'EM"
Rowlf the Dog
The Great Gonzo
Robin the Frog
Sweetums
Animal
Kermit the Frog
Statler
Waldorf
Rizzo the Rat
Janice
Pops
Muppet Newsman
Gaffer
"LIKE 'EM"
Scooter
Fozzie Bear (although sometimes he irritates me enough to drop him down into the next group - but it's not really his fault; the writers often use him to create problems that can further the plot)
Sgt Floyd Pepper
Zoot
Dr Teeth
Lips
Mahna Mahna
Beauregard
Clifford
"TOLERATE 'EM"
Crazy Harry
Lew Zealand
Miss Piggy
Swedish Chef
Sam the American Eagle
Camilla the Chicken
Dr Bunsen Honeydew
Beaker
Nigel
Captain Link Hogthrob
Dr Julius Strangepork
Marvin Suggs
Pepe the King Prawn
Lewis Kazagger (Muppet Sportscaster)
Thog
Wayne & Wanda
Bobo the Bear
Bean Bunny
Seymour the Elephant
Johnny Fiama
Sal Manilla the Monkey
"CAN'T STAND 'EM"
Annie Sue
George the Janitor
J P Grosse
Hilda
Mildred
Gladys
Foo-Foo
Muppy
The Mutations
Uncle Deadly
Elmer Otter's Jug Band (all of 'em)
Any human-replica Muppet they created (even the ones that parodied Jim Henson, Frank Oz, etc.)
Dr. Phil Van Neuter
Mulch
Andy & Randy Pig
As you can tell, I'm a bit of a puritan when it comes to the 'new' Muppet characters, although not in every instance. Some of the new characters (introduced in later seasons of The Muppet Show or in Muppets Tonight!) had me very unimpressed, but I still support each regular character as part of the cannon, nonetheless.
So to answer Adam's questions, those in the top two groups always make me smile, and those in the bottom group are the characters I have next-to-no interest in. (Those in the other group don't really register with me either way - but I have no real problem with them).
Specifically: Rowlf, Robin, Sweetums, Animal and Gonzo will generally make me laugh (or will at least bring a smile to my face) no matter what they do, and I'll all-but-switch-off when characters like Andy & Randy Pig, Elmer Otter's Jug Band, Uncle Deadly, The Mutations and Annie Sue appear on screen.
If there are any characters in the above lists that anyone doesn't recognise, let me know in the comments so I can 'introduce' them to you properly - no matter which group they're listed in. :)
posted by BEVIS @ 8:04 am
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10 Comments:
BEVIS princess needs some cheering up. we both do. what do you recommend we start with, movie wise? what is the best introduction to the muppets? are the tv shows available on dvd?
and you may have covered this in a previous posting, in fact i think you did, but what is your real objection to miss piggy? was it she just became too much of a parody?
Sheriff of Nothing, he's OK, but I always tired of the same joke being done in a slightly different way. He's certainly not on my "CAN'T STAND 'EM" list, though.
MelbourneGirl, definitely start with The Muppet Movie (the most simple*, innocent and heart-warming of the bunch, in my humble opinion), and if interested, continue through the other movies in chronological order. That means:
The Muppet Movie
The Great Muppet Caper
The Muppets Take Manhattan
A Muppet Christmas Carol
Muppet Treasure Island
Muppets From Space
The characters and story-telling noticeably evolve somewhat, so if you started with the more recent ones (which I've found slightly less satisfying than the earlier ones - but still brilliant, don't get me wrong! - but maybe I'm just getting old) and then went back to watch an earlier one, you might think the earlier ones weren't as snappy or something, which I don't think is a fair assessment of their crafty brilliance at all.
MG, I'm very sorry to hear that you and Princess need some cheering up. (I guess Neighbours wouldn't be helping - it's all junk where characters treat each other poorly, as you said yourself, so it's not really very uplifting when you're feeling down.) Hopefully the Muppets will fit the bill and you'll both be highly entertained. If you are able to get your hands on a copy of The Muppet Movie to start 'at the very beginning', you may get a feeling for what it is about them that I love so much. And especially why both Rowlf and Robin (who only appears briefly at the very start, but asks Kermit a question that Princess might want to ask you) hold a special place in my heart.
Also, the song about three-quarters of the way through the film, sung by Gonzo around a campfire, is a beautiful little number - which sounds like it might be appropriate to you in your current situation (although I don't pretend to know what that is).
Sure, some of the cameos in particular are dated now, but it's still a great movie to chase away the doldrums. :)
I hope you enjoy it and thank you for asking. Let me know what you think after you've seen it, and whether or not Princess liked it. (It's alright if she didn't, or you didn't manage to find a copy / didn't want to watch it; I'm a big boy and I can take it!)
As to whether the shows are available on DVD, the first season certainly is (it came out in time for my birthday in August!), but I'd suggest maybe starting with the original movie and see how you go from there. The first season will set you back $50+ and I don't even know if you can hire it (yet?), and the only other option is the 'Best Of' DVDs and videos, but these are hard to get and presumably costly ... and I think only available from TimeLife (and eBay).
I'll answer your Miss Piggy question in a special post tomorrow.
* I don't mean 'simple' in a negative way at all.
The "Best of..." discs are available on Amazon so I'm presuming you could order them in at Borders also.
True, but I'm not sure that's the best way to go anyway. You miss out on stuff that way, and the episodes are all taken out of order, etc.
Anyway, buyers' choice!
What's a 'muppet'? ;-)
Seriously though, I didn't recognise half of those characters. I found it kind of funny how you added in (the muppet sportscaster) next to one name, when there were so many others that I didn't remember. Can't you read my mind or something. ;-)
Which was the movie where Kermit sings Rainbow Connection? I seriously couldn't stand that song and wanted punch him, but other than that he's a harmless sort of fellow that frog.
My good friend Kat and I ARE Statler and Waldorf.
thanks bevis, this is good. will let you know how we go. might be a couple of weeks, we have lots on over the next little while. it'll be a real nostalgia trip for me too.
John B: Yes, Kermit opens and closes The Muppet Movie with 'The Rainbow Connection'. I actually love the song, but I can see why someone would find it coma-inducing.
As for the characters you didn't recognise, I could possibly try to explain each one for you, but the likelihood that that'd help is slim. I could link a photo of each one to their names, but some would be very hard to come by, and it'd take too much time anyway.
Plus, I don't think people are quite that interested! :)
Suzanne: Are you comparing yourself and your friend Kat to crotchety old men who sit on a balcony and make cruel jokes at other people's expense, only to laugh at them so hard that you end up stealing the limelight yourself?
If so, well done!
MG: Oh, MG. It's so terrible what happened to you. (Everyone, if you haven't visited MG's blog today - Monday 24th October - go do so now.) Thanks for asking about the best Muppet movie to cheer you and Princess up. Hopefully it will help (when you get around to it), and I'm glad I could feel like - in some small, insignificant way - I've helped. :)
I absolutely LOVE the muppets!!! I just have to disagree with you on one thing, though: Pepe the Prawn makes me laugh so hard I almost pee my pants.
Then you've got problems I'm not qualified to help you with, I'm sorry.
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