The Muppets 1.06: “The Ex-Factor”
Piggy and Kristin Chenoweth do a duet.
After a few fun but uneven installments, The Muppets was finally back to glorious form in last night’s episode, “The Ex-Factor,” which might very well be my favorite of the series so far. It may not be as all-out hilarious as many of its predecessors but it features a lovely story that cleverly subverts several expectations from previous entries and, perhaps most importantly, helps restore balance to Piggy, who had even just last week been in danger of transforming into a too-cartoonishly-selfish character without Kermit as her anchor to the real world.
In a number of ways, this one features some of the show’s best character writing for Piggy and Kermit up to this point, or at least since the premiere.
Read MoreThe Muppets 1.05: “Walk the Swine”
Reese Witherspoon visits Piggy on “Up Late”.
I had been eagerly anticipating Reese Witherspoon’s visit to The Muppets for quite a while. As a small, plucky, determined, blonde Hollywood star with an unexpected edge (and documented diva behavior, at times), she seemed the perfect foe for Piggy, and while it would be nice to eventually see Piggy cross paths with another female star who she doesn’t harbor jealousy or resentment towards, Piggy never has been the plays-well-with-others-who-seem-like-they-might-try-to-hog-her-spotlight type.
Particularly in this case, for, as we learn in this episode, Piggy was also up for the role of June Carter Cash in Walk the Line but lost out to Reese who–to add insult to injury–then had the gall to win an Oscar for it. Kermit
Read MoreThe Muppets 1.04: “Pig Out”
Ed Helms rocks out with Sweetums and Bobo.
After a mostly fun but slightly shaky third episode, The Muppets rebounds…mostly in its fourth outing, “Pig Out”. If there’s one thing this show has been absolutely fantastic at, it’s been finding new ways to explore these classic characters, paying respect to their past incarnations while either planting little seeds that yield fresh revelations and perspectives or simply reasserting what we’ve always known and loved about them in entirely fresh ways.
A great example of the former in this one is the sweet little reveal that Sam the Eagle has a huge crush on Janice. Sam has never been the most–for lack of a better word–human Muppet. The reason that he’s so perfectly cast as a network standards and
Read MoreThe Muppets 1.03: “Bear Left Then Bear Write”
Kermit and Fozzie drink at Rowlf’s bar.
The Muppets‘ third episode, “Bear Left Then Bear Write,” is the first one of the new series that left me feeling a bit conflicted. Overall, it was a collection of some wonderful moments, many of which made me laugh out loud, but it also featured at least one significant disappointment.
As much as I enjoyed the first two installments, there was one major Muppet who was curiously missing, and that is Rowlf. As I covered in a post here only yesterday, Rowlf was once the superstar of the Muppets, before Kermit ascended to the central position, and although from The Muppet Show onwards, he wasn’t on the same level as Kermit, Piggy, Fozzie, or Gonzo, he was still considered one
Read MoreThe Muppets 1.02: “Hostile Makeover”
Romance for Piggy and Groban.
The Muppets‘ second outing, “Hostile Makeover,” is possibly even funnier than its first, and that’s saying something, as I found the premiere one of the most laugh-out-loud, jam-packed-with-hilarity Muppet productions in years, with more great jokes per minute than some entire post-Jim projects. Co-creators Bill Prady and Bob Kushell, along with their team, really understand writing economy, taking full advantage of every single millisecond of screentime they have so that even though, thanks to commercial break inflation, they have fewer minutes per episode than The Muppet Show had, they manage to make the Muppet world and stories they conjure up feel every bit as fleshed-out and lived-in as the classic from which this show sprung. This episode has two subplots going besides its main story–none of which feels like it gets short shrift–and still has time to weave in
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