Sometimes, a show comes back from a brief hiatus and blows people away. They won’t often realized how much they missed it until it returns. Unfortunately, this was not one of those times. The Muppets episode this week relied almost entirely on its celebrity cameos and brought very little else, save for a mildly substantive story about Gonzo conquering his fears. Unfortunately, it felt like a bit of a chore to watch at times, which is indicative of how the season has progressed so far.
This week on The Muppets: Miss Piggy is obsessed with promoting her new product, Piggy Water. Gonzo wants to attempt a comeback as a stuntman, so Kermit gets Piggy to agree to let him do it on the show. Scooter has a “near death experience,” so he wants to do something risky and edgy. Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Dave Grohl guest star.
This episode really didn’t land with me. I’ve not quite put my finger on why, but my theory is this: Up Late with Miss Piggy is not outrageous enough. It’s a relatively straightforward late-night talk show, but in today’s landscape, it feels tame. If it were real (I’m perfectly aware that it isn’t) there’s no way it wouldn’t be conquered in the ratings by Kimmel, Colbert, and Fallon. That’s just the truth. Too often, using the show as its backdrop, they’re doing relatively safe bits that just aren’t funny enough. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, for instance, sang a nice duet with Piggy, but what did he do on The Tonight Show? A lip sync battle. In fact, some of their best bits came from outside the landscape of the show entirely (like Ed Helms at the bar, or Reese Witherspoon at the Habitat site).
In terms of using the show to facilitate the ridiculous, I did appreciate the drum battle between Dave Grohl and Animal at the end. That’s the kind of ridiculous bit that The Muppets needs to keep everything moving and funny and fresh. It still didn’t really go far enough, though. Gordon-Levitt’s arc was redeemed by his brief tenure at the poker table. THAT was funny.
Even though it really didn’t land (no pun intended), the Gonzo story was my favorite part of the episode. As a life-long Muppet fan, I can appreciate Gonzo’s stunt-man roots. The Great Gonzo is the Gonzo we all know and love, and to visit that, even as a brief nostalgic look, made me feel warm and fuzzy inside. It wasn’t particularly well-crafted, but it acknowledged the show’s roots better than most of the previous episodes.
As always, here are some of my favorite quotes/moments from the episode:
- “That. Was. Awesome!”- Gonzo, after falling and almost dying
- “What is my purpose?” “Based on that story, it’s not telling stories.”- Scooter and Pepe
- “I’m in like turtle necks and gold chains.”- Pepe playing poker
- “People don’t care about plots, you know what they care about? ACTING!!”- Joseph Gordon-Levitt had the best bit
- “Is that the real moon, or just a department store one?”- Zoot
- “There ain’t no real moon, not since the ’70s!”- Floyd Pepper…what are those guys smoking?
- “We should’ve made you out of Twinkies and Ding Dongs!”- Bunsen Honeydew
- “All I ask is that when you hit the wall and explode, you do not curse.”- Sam the Eagle takes his censor job very seriously
- Of course, the drum battle between Grohl and Animal stole the show.
This episode of The Muppets really didn’t do it for me, but it still had some positive aspects to it. I would suggest that the series lean on its guest stars a little harder, and play up the ridiculous a little more. I like that the characters are humanized, but…they are still puppets.
What did you guys think? Did you enjoy the episode? Let us know!
The Muppets airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on ABC.
[Photo credit: Andrea McCallin/ABC]
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