The Muppets

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Muppets headed back to TV?

Muppet Show to return to TV after 27 years

By Chris Irvine
Last Updated: 6:40AM BST 28 Aug 2008

Kermit the frog and friends could return in the first new Muppet Show TV series for 27 years.

The Jim Henson-created characters may be on their way back thanks to a new Disney Film.

In the movie, written by Forgetting Sarah Marshall star and writer Jason Segel, the Muppets reunite to save their studio with one last variety show.

Should the film go well, it opens up the possibility of a television programme, also written by 28-year-old Segel.

A source said: "Jason is a massive Muppets fan and is seen as the man to finally bring The Muppet Show back to TV.

"It will obviously have all its old fans but Jason's comedy is hugely popular with youngsters so it will open it up to a whole new audience."

The source added: "If the movie script is popular Jason will write the TV series too. He is already coming up with ideas for it."

Although there have been a number of spin-offs, including Muppets Tonight in 1996, The Muppet Show originally ran from 1976 to 1981, and made famous characters such as Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear and Gonzo - the show won an Emmy in 1978 for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series.

In the original series, Kermit, arguably the world's most famous frog, was the show's stage manager, attempting to keep order amidst the chaos, while being pursued by Miss Piggy.

The Muppet characters went on to star in a number of movies including The Muppets Take Manhatten, The Muppet Christmas Carol and Muppets from Space.

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Muppet Wiki

I love their site logo - very clever

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Henson Co. picks up 'Happytime Murders'

Comedic puppet noir not intended for the kids

By Borys Kit
Oct 14, 2008, 08:15 PM ET

Updated: Oct 14, 2008, 10:28 PM ET
The Jim Henson Co. has picked up a spec that might signal a daring turn into adult territory for the company behind Kermit the Frog and Fozzie Bear.

"The Happytime Murders" is a comedic film noir murder mystery that will fall under the company's Henson Alternative banner, a division that develops projects not intended for children. Brian Henson is on board to direct.

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I sang the song "Rainbow Connection" in a competition and got to the finals.
I used to be crazy over the muppets.

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Historical lens on the Muppets, ageless, forever young

Guest stars help Sesame Street stay current

Forty years of sunny days on 'Sesame Street'

40-year-old ‘Sesame Street’ could use some repairs

Turning 40 stinks.

“Sesame Street” may be in the mood to celebrate its milestone, but take it from a woman who hit the Number of the Day last week: The midlife crisis is all it’s cracked up to be.

I dyed my hair an unfortunate shade. “Sesame Street” created the unfortunate Abby Cadabby Flying Fairy School.

These are the knee-jerk reactions when you’re (rightfully) worried that you’re becoming irrelevant, that you’re invisible.

That’s certainly the case for “Sesame Street” in my house. My three girls - 9, 5 and 2 - have occasionally flirted with Elmo (and to a lesser extent, Big Bird and Ernie), but their full-blown affairs have been with “The Backyardigans,” “Max and Ruby” and “Dora the Explorer.”

When we sat down to watch the screener of the first episode of “Sesame Street’s” 40th season (today at 10 a.m. on WGBH, Ch. 2), Eleanor, 2, threw a mini-tantrum: “I want Dora!”

After the first half-hour, I couldn’t blame her. I’ve always felt the hourlong show is 30 minutes too long. The new format - four longer segments broken by host Murray Monster’s bits - is a stretch.

In one segment, Big Bird considers moving to a new habitat, but it’s unclear why preschoolers need to meet a sleazy real-estate-agent character.

As for Abby Cadabby’s animated fairy school, I will quote my third-grader: “Booor-ring!” Eleanor, flopping on the couch, concurred.

Zoning out until Elmo’s arrival, I remembered how beloved “Sesame Street” was for me and my sister. I could smell the stench in Oscar’s trash can and loved playing “One of These Things Is Not Like the Others.” The Martians made me giggle, but my heart belonged to Grover.

When Mr. Hooper died? I was too old to be watching, but I still cried as though I’d lost my favorite blankie.

Back then, there were few - no? - other options for young kids, but today there are so many good ones that “Sesame Street” doesn’t seem as crucial.

The show veers from the puppets to clay animation to 3-D animation, all interspersed with filmed segments with kids.

Why not blow up the hourlong model and replace it with tighter, more focused half-hour shows?

Puppeteer Kevin Clash, who voices Elmo, deserves to stand alone. The routine of “Elmo’s World” is perfection with its cast of Dorothy the fish, Mr. Noodle and Piano.

Parents who grew up with “Sesame Street” wouldn’t recognize - or like - much of the show these days. A new version of “Sunny Days” opens the show with animated chalk art, another desperate midlife attempt to change to keep up).

But I was jealous of the celebrities - Michelle Obama, Sarah Jessica Parker and Jake Gyllenhaal - who get to meet the monsters I adored.

Speaking of monstrous, hitting the 40 milestone does give pause for reflection. The new book “Sesame Street: A Celebration - 40 Years of Life on the Street” (Black Dog & Leventhal, $40) is a gem - and costs far less than Botox or a convertible.

There are four decades’ worth of behind-the-scenes stories for fans including a photograph of the earliest Big Bird and great interviews and insight from producers. On the challenge of creating popular female monsters, executive producer Carol-Lynn Parente said, “If Cookie were a female character, she’d be accused of being anorexic or bulimic. There are a lot of things that come attached to female characters.”