The Muppets return with a new take on a mockumentary – or is it a “Waka-umentary”?
By Matt Fowler
TV’s new spin on the beloved Muppets – from Bob Kushell (3rd Rock from the Sun, American Dad!) and Big Bang Theory’s Bill Prady – piggybacks off some of the more mature, real-world elements introduced in the 2011 Jason Segel co-penned film, in an attempt to bring in viewers who grew up adoring these lovable Jim Henson-created variety show players. And seeing as how The Muppets already come complete with a showbiz angle and a meta-style of humor, one would think it wouldn’t be difficult to give them a soft update for the TV landscape of 2015.
Inserting them into the faux documentary TV comedy format however, as this new show does, feels like the lesser of all available options as the show becomes more about servicing that gimmick than the characters. The combination may sound good out loud, but in execution it proves to be not that inventive. Basically, it’s taking an older property and square-pegging it into something modern audiences might find more digestible. Another example might be rebooting Nightmare on Elm Street using the “found footage” horror format. The two properties are so specific that they run the danger of clashing and canceling out what makes them each great individually.
And so that’s sort of what happens here. Not wholly though, but enough to sort a put a slight damper on this project, which happens to be one of the Fall’s most eagerly anticipated new shows. Because – don’t get me wrong – there are funny moments here in the premiere episode, “Pig Girls Don’t Cry.” But there’s also an odd vibe that makes Kermit, Piggy, Fozzie, and the gang feel more commonplace than usual. By saddling up to darker jokes – like gags about AA, workplace sex affairs, and such – The Muppets sadly become like other modern sitcoms. And the humor then becomes about The Muppets saying the types of jokes that you’d hear on other shows instead of being themselves.
Still, even as a straighter-than-anticipated comedy, “Pig Girls Don’t Cry” has some joy nestled within it. A lot the episode is devoted to world-building though. Things some viewers may already know if they’ve read any article about this show in the past few months. It’s about the inner workings of a late night talk show hosted by Miss Piggy. Kermit, her ex, is the beleaguered producer and Fozzy is the warm-up act/announcer. Gonzo writes jokes, Sam the Eagle is the network censor, Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem is the house band, and so on. In fact, part of me thinks that the second episode might feel a bit more freeing since it won’t be filled with set up, but the same can be said for the starts of most shows.
Denise and Kermit, outraging purists.
The big pitch here though – the swerve/twist, if you will – is that Kermit’s dating someone new. A new pig, in fact. Denise from marketing. An item that was used to spark a mini-controversy a few weeks back in an effort to give the show more of a buzz. And a weird item to play out on the show since it more or less points directly to puppet sex. Well, that and the fact that Fozzie himself is dating a human woman (Riki Lindhome) and is actively trying to win over her disapproving parents. It’s an element that, more often than not, is off-putting. The show is basically daring you not to think about puppet bear/human intercourse and/or Kermit’s scorching swine fetish.
The talk show format, like the old ’70s series, affords the show a chance to bring in guest stars and the premiere uses Elizabeth Banks (who Piggy mysteriously hates), Dancing with the Stars’ Tom Bergeron, and top knot rockers Imagine Dragons well. One particularly funny moment that springs to mind is a studio lot tour involving inept producer Scooter and Banks, which may involve Scooter being hurled from a golf cart more than once. Also, it should be said, that seeing the Muppets is never a downer. I just wish they were allowed to shine a bit more here and for it to not feel like they were doing “The Muppets meet The Office.” Which is an amusing concept, certainly, if you’re craving a 5-minute video spoof.
At times, ABC’s The Muppets feels like less like an attempt to bring the Muppets back to TV than it does an attempt to create a new, familiar-formatted TV comedy that just so happens to star The Muppets. It’s as if nothing is truly safe from the “darker, edgier” reboot clause. But it’s not a total loss. In the end, it’s still about these characters all working together to air a TV show and that in itself manages to create some funny moments throughout.
The Muppets premieres Tuesday, September 22nd at 8/7c on ABC.
