When a show that exerts flashes of greatness falls flat, it’s really discouraging. The Muppets, so far in it’s freshman season, has been really hit or miss. When it’s on (like last week) it’s a fantastic, relatable sitcom that works. When it’s off (like this week), it’s a collection of some amusing gags with mostly hollow characters. Nobody loves Muppets more than I do, so I hate to put them anywhere near that category, but this episode just didn’t work very well.
This week on The Muppets: Kermit is sent by Piggy and Denise to a spa to recover from his nervous breakdown. At the spa, he meets Jason Bateman, who is also having trouble finding his zen. While Kermit is away, Scooter is left to run the show with disastrous results. Sam the Eagle attempts to put the moves on Janice.
The Muppets does a lot of things well. It uses its characters really well to craft some really funny moments. On occasion, it shows serious heart and soul. However, this episode did none of that. It tried really hard to explore more of Kermit’s character, but since they did the same thing in the previous episode, it just falls flat. I might’ve found the whole thing more interesting if they had spent less time on Kermit and more on Scooter. But, since they structured it the way they did, they didn’t give enough Scooter to make that story interesting, either. I could tell all of the things that were supposed to be funny, but they all felt gimmicky and didn’t flow at all.
It’s no coincidence that some of the best and funniest characters were not used well or at all in this episode. Rizzo and Pepe were out of almost the entire episode. Animal had a goofy bit part. Even Beeker, Bunsen Honeydew, and the Swedish Chef were pushed aside for the likes of Sam the Eagle and Janice. When experimenting in a new show, you have to continue to use the proven characters who can bring eyeballs to the TV and still make the stories funny and interesting.
Jason Bateman was probably the worst-used guest star they’ve had yet. I love Jason Bateman, but I can’ t believe they’d totally waste a good guest appearance like that. It (for the most part) felt really forced, and all those moments fell flat for me. Kermit can be a really strong main character for the show, but he felt forced into the spa without really earning it, and therefore forced into everything with Jason Bateman. It was a total mess.
This episode wasn’t totally devoid of humor, so here are some of my favorite quotes/moments from the episode:
- “I’ve never mopped a floor before. Can’t be that hard. “- Chip, the IT guy
- “Kermit THE Frog” “Jason THE Bateman”- Kermit, your sarcasm isn’t lost on me
- “My experiments in cryogenics cost me my chair at Berkeley”- Bunsen Honeydew
- “I’m no captain, okay. I’m the other guy who dressed up like a lady and snuck into the boat. I’m ashamed, but I’m alive”- Scooter, in a Titanic scenario
- “This is where we should put Hollywood”- the oldest saying in Hollywood
- As generally unfunny as this episode was, I was delighted to hear Rainbow Connection at the end. Just beautiful.
Still containing some funny gags, “Pig’s In A Blackout” could not deliver anything below the surface at all. It tried, but felt way too forced and failed miserably. I hope to see some improvement coming soon, because when this show is on, it can do no wrong.
What did you guys think? Did you like the episode more than I did? Let us know!
The Muppets airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on ABC.
[Photo credit: Andrea McCallin/ABC]
Follow Us
Totally off-base review. This was easily the best episode of the series.
Opinions. You’ve got ’em. I’ve got ’em. I explained mine. You didn’t. We’re both to blame.