Kill the Mup-pet, kill the Mup-pet, kill the Muuuuuu....

ABC has ordered a script and five script outlines for "America's Next Muppet," a reality TV parody in which viewers may actually get a chance to pick Kermit and Miss Piggy's latest colleague....

No! Stop it now!

The Muppets are dead. They had a great run, from the 1950s to the 1990s. Kermit Thee Frog is welcome to make all the award ceremonies and cameo appearances he wants. If Miss Piggy makes more pizza commercials, I won't mute them. DVD reissues? Bring 'em on.

But ABC has made a huge mistake thinking it can make the Muppets (which it acquired in 2004) relevant to a new generation. Technology has moved on. Society has moved on. There is no reason to watch unfamiliar puppets when CGI can create fictional creatures that are a whole lot more interesting. No, we aren't ruling out the possibility that a Muppet-inspired critter, like the ones on the long-lamented "Farscape," could spice up a live action program cast mainly with humans. But that requires imagination and creativity, something more than just commenting on pop culture phenomena, which the Muppets haven't done to any great effect since the "Treasure Island" movie 10 years ago.

When the "Family Guy" parody is funnier than anything you've done in a decade, it means you're done.

Link: Variety.com - Muppets pull strings at ABC.

Comments

[Kevin Marousek]

I respectfully disagree. This sort of venue is the Muppets playing to their strengths. The concept has potential. Whether those in charge of the Muppets can make the concept work is up for debate.

[Aaron]

Well put, and that segues nicely into this feedback from reader Robert Bishop:

Aaron,

As a longtime fan of the Muppets who non-ironically
considers Kermit the Frog to be his role model, I had
to write in after your declaration that the Muppets
are dead. I don't think that's the case at all. I just
think the powers that be have lost sight of the brand
-- that which makes the Muppets, the Muppets. And it
is a massive bummer indeed that they've fallen into
the hands of a conglomerate that simply doesn't get
them.

At their best, the Muppets were never the "types" that
they've since degenerated into. Go back and check out
The Muppet Movie again and you'll see that while there
was always a certain comic anarchy present, they were
also characters rich with human motivation. There was
Kermit, who left the swamp only because he wanted to
make everybody happy. Fozzie, who was insecure but as
lovable as he was loyal. The Great Gonzo, who was just
happy to be here and full of endless optimism. It's
that attention to detail that puts them in a league
with the best of what present day CGI has to offer --
we're talking The Incredibles and Finding Nemo here.
Regardless of the style in which their stories were
told -- Muppet, puppet, cartoon or whatever -- they're
all easy to relate to no matter what stage of the game
you're at.

Now it seems their current bosses have lost sight of
all that and decided the point of the Muppets is
simply to be wacky for the sake of being wacky, and
the louder and more one-dimensional better. In short,
comic anarchy minus the inspiration, with diminishing
returns that have yet to convince the bigwigs
otherwise. However, maybe all it'll take to bring the
Muppets back is the right script -- and please note
that script will be neither another tired adaptation
or parody -- plus a director that truly understands
what makes the Muppets special.

Anyways, I hope all that makes sense. As much of a
letdown as recent projects like The Muppet Wizard of
Oz have been, I can't help but think there's another
act left for Kermit and friends -- one that isn't
America's Next Muppet. Sigh. All this said, I would be
hard pressed not to tune in for Muppet Survivor.

[inturnaround]

Entertainment has moved on from puppets? I don't think so. Surely it can't be because of CGI. CGI is only as good as the people writing and animating the material. It's not the way it's presented, that's the mistake that Disney made when they 86ed their entire 2D feature animation division.

I think puppets (and specificially the Muppets) are still viable as a storytelling mechanism. I think the turbulence of the 90s for them has certainly settled down and I'd like to see what Disney can do with a project they originated (Wizard of Oz having been originally a production for Fox).

A faux reality show, while already been done, can certainly benefit from a Muppet spin. I'm not the only one who thinks so.

[Mark Jeffries]

The problem is that the key creative people who made the Muppets the Muppets are all gone. Jim Henson, of course. Frank Oz is making movies. Jerry Juhl, the writer who no doubt kept Jack Burns from turning "The Muppet Show" into "Hee Haw" with puppets, passed on recently. It's hard for any organization to survive these losses, even with the best intentions--and the replacements just aren't the originals.

I would hope that "America's Next Muppet" would turn things around, but it's hard to really get excited about it.