On Thu, Sep 24, 2015 at 1:10 PM, M-D November <[email protected]> wrote:
> > I do hope we get to see more of some of the traditional '2nd tier' > characters (more PEPE, please!), and I'm disappointed in the lack of Rowlf > in episode 1, but I know he'll show up eventually as the owner of the bar > across from the studio. And I hope the guest stars remain as game as > Elizabeth Banks and Tom Bergeron. Only time will tell. > I also noted Rowlf's absence. The first thing that came to mind was that the character was so close to Henson that they retired him. I haven't been watching much of the work between the shows so he probably shows up there. As for guest stars, I assume it's going to be like The Larry Sanders Show, a good way for actors to show they are hip and can joke about show business. And the muppets will always be the target of the jokes so they'll look good. > > And for the people who claim that Disney/Henson should have just brought > back the old variety show format...well, honestly, how relevant are 70's > style variety shows in 2015? The networks keep trying to bring the format > back - Maya Rudolph, anode course, NPH's ironically named "Best Time Ever" > - but audiences aren't biting. (I'm not including America's Got Talent, > since a) that's a competition series first, and b) it's a summer show.) > Henson and the Muppets were always at their strongest comedically when the > material they're working with is relevant - a variety show format worked in > the 70's because the format littered the TV landscape. And it worked for > the 2011 movie because the movie was specifically playing off the nostalgia > factor. But for a weekly episodic series in 2015? I just don't see it > working. <[email protected]> > The format of the show they were staging on The Muppet Show wasn't variety, it was vaudeville. Variety shows had repertory players (like SNL) do sketches between musical acts. On The Muppet Show, watching the acts go back and forth behind Kermit at his desk backstage, it's clear that they are novelty acts that go on, do a stunt, and go off. And the onstage show was a live show, not a televised one. Vaudeville had a short life span - it could only begin when train lines connected cities and those cities built hotels and theaters, and it ended when movies and radio became the main sources of entertainment. Even though most young people watching The Muppet Show had no knowledge of vaudeville we could enjoy the fast paced action of getting acts on and off stage and the problems of dealing with a firetrap theater. The major reason that The Muppets would not work as a variety show is that The Muppet Show had two musical numbers with the guest star (unless the guest star was unmusical) and one or two more with just the muppets. The music scene has since become fragmented and finding acts to appeal to the mass market is a challenge. Plus, as those of us who are waiting for the next season of The Muppet Show DVDs well know, music acts bring music rights issues and The Muppets is smart to steer clear of that. -- -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
