The Muppets’ primetime TV special was a great 30-minute episode replicating the format and tone of Jim Henson’s original The Muppet Show. Sabrina Carpenter hosted the episode. I heard that if the show does well, they might make the Muppets into a TV series.
Here is my loose review.
Loved it! Absolutely loved it! True to the original. Relevant to our times. Big score. I hope there’s more.
It was good how they made the set rickety.
Kermit’s mug at the start, with the chip at the bottom of the mug.
Rowlf’s piano at the beginning was kinda shaking around.
When Piggy knocked down Kermit’s door, it felt like a cheap set. then they did some silly sawdust flying in.
The opening act was a bit too edited for me. I think the original Muppets would do their acts in mostly one take. You can tell Carpenter’s opening song was a college of multiple edits. I can see how they wanted to make the first act have some oompf to it, so it feels contemporary and quick. Although, it was nice they set it in a bar scene to make it more authentic feeling.
The second act with Gonzo was perfect. Jump right into the quirky weirdness. Plus, brilliant how it wasn’t an entire act, it got cut off because of Gonzo’s mistake. Someone said on Bluesky: Muppets being flung through the air will always be comedy gold.
The rats doing The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” was so quirky, it fit the weirdness of the Muppets
Miss Piggy was starting to get annoying in the duet, but they ended that scene perfectly with Carpenter and Piggy singing.
I liked how they included a bunch of random no-name Muppets. That is true to the original. Someone online made the point that every act featured a famous Muppet. The original would often have acts with no known Muppet. But c’mon. They ain’t gonna make an entire act in their first show be full of no-namers.
They did a great job bringing in unknown Muppets, like the pig dancing with Piggy.
Would have liked to see more authentic and improv interaction between humans and Muppets. The closest they got to that was when Carpenter was picking off wood chips from Kermit. The rest was too planned.
but some of the scenes, they didn’t try to polish it too much. Like that Rats on the Street. It was polished with the lights. But the actual motion of the Muppets themselves was… clearly Muppets and not perfect.
It was pushing the limits of the physicalness of the Muppets. And that’s what they are about. Being creative with their physical nature. Like when Carpenter was throwing around Muppets in the opening act.
oh, and Piggy had two very good… what do you call them. When she pushes someone aside with a straight arm.
