The Muppets 1.09: Going, Going, Gonzo
Gonzo and Uncle Deadly listen to Kermit.
As much as I loved The Muppets‘ first episode, the show still started off with a few growing pains that revealed themselves more in ensuing episodes, mostly in regards to finding the right Muppety tonal balance. Initially, the show seemed so concerned with establishing itself as something closer in anarchic spirit to the earlier Muppets versus the kid-friendlier versions of the years since Jim Henson’s death that it neglected some of the warmth and heart that was also always intrinsic to the Muppets. And at the same time, that anarchy still felt as if it was being kept a bit in check, with nary a chicken or dancing penguin in sight and a sometimes-too-conventional framework.
While even more zaniness could still help things further, in the past few episodes, the show has improved by leaps and bounds in that regard. The humor has the bite mostly lacking in some of the previous Disney Muppet productions while at the same time, the sense of kindness and love between the characters has been restored. One qualm I had still had up to this point, however, was the series’ presentation of Gonzo, who went from being a fun-loving daredevil to a vaguely quirky comedy writer here. In theory, it’s a great job for Gonzo but from his fake-online-persona plot up to this point, the show seemed to be regressing him to the unsure-of-himself, sadder little guy he was at the start of The Muppet Show rather than the lovably overconfident weirdo he became.
And then this episode, “Going, Going, Gonzo” came along and not only directly addressed all of my Gonzo concerns but made his rediscovery of himself into both a comedic and emotional arc as funny as it is surprisingly soulful and uplifting, a perfect blending of both halves of the whole that make up Gonzo’s unique personality. Basically what happens is that, due to a backstage mishap caused by Sweetums sneezing and breaking his headset, thereby missing his cue to lower a prop moon on stage for Piggy and Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s duet of “Fly Me to the Moon,” Gonzo gets accidentally swept up in some wires and ropes, shot up to the ceiling, flown around, and finally sizzled by a heat lamp before smashing into the craft services table. “That…was…AWESOME!” he cries out, in the most Gonzo way imaginable. What might have been a horrific experience for anyone else instead actually reawakens in him a desire to revisit his stuntman past and specifically to once again try the “stunt that got away”.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt flies Piggy to the moon.
Apparently, years ago, he had been planning to be shot out of a cannon over Cactus Gorge but had backed out at the last moment, losing his nerve and presumably setting in a motion this more play-it-safe era of his life. Which, retroactively, makes a great deal of sense. Gonzo of all…erm…people is defined by his (some might say) foolhardy bravery and for him to actually freeze up likely set off an identity crisis that led to his losing confidence in other areas of his life, as well, making him doubt himself as he never had before, perhaps even convincing himself he needed a more conventional object of affection than a chicken (Am I stretching a bit here? I kind of don’t care.).
And so the momentary rush of this unintended stunt reminds him of his true self and helps lead him back to himself. But that isn’t to say that that goes off without a hitch, either. While he wants to jump right back into being the old Gonzo–or at least wants to want to–his familiar over-confident air actually proves to be a facade he’s putting on to cover up the fact that he’s terrified. He may claim to ignore the fact that his old daredevil suit doesn’t fit the way it once did–Deadly has to squeeze him into it like Gone With the Wind‘s Mammy getting Scarlett O’Hara into her corset–but things have changed. He isn’t as young or fit as he once was and, on top of that, this time around, he’s had years of not only not doing crazy stunts but of even being intimidated by the idea of doing crazy stunts again to get over mentally.
And what’s beautiful about how the show handles this is that it doesn’t just reflect on Gonzo’s character but others as well. Kermit’s continued character rehabilitation is even further strengthened in his scene with Gonzo at Rowlf’s, once again proving himself a truly great friend by convincing Gonzo to skip the stunt (he realizes that his schnozzy friend is more than a little hesitant to do it) in a way that will allow him to save face. Earlier, Kermit had only been able to convince Piggy to allow Gonzo to do the stunt on her show if he would submit to not only wearing a suit with ads plugging her new product, Piggy Water but even agree to be called “The Great Gonzo Brought to You By Piggy Water” from now on. One of the episode’s best running gags, however, is that, despite its name, Piggy Water is far from a health drink. At the start, Kermit reveals that this “water” apparently has 30 grams of fat, and here he informs Gonzo that “the FDA is investigating if it has the right to be called water at all. I heard it might fall into the category of sauce”.
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