The Muppets are now in week two of their of their latest television venture. So far, I think they still have something special and successful going. The comedy is smart, rich, and funny, and the characters (though they are Muppets) feel genuine and real. Sometimes, week two can be more indicative of how a show will perform, and if The Muppets continues to deliver week two-caliber episodes for the rest of the season, I can say that I will most definitely be satisfied.
This week on The Muppets: Kermit sneakily finds Piggy a date to the People’s Choice Awards (Josh Groban) who then becomes her boyfriend. There are mixed reactions to Piggy having a boyfriend, because it makes her pleasant and the show terrible. Fozzie is invited to a party at Jay Leno’s house, but insists on taking a souvenir.
I will admit that I thought The Muppets second showing was down a little from the pilot episode. The pilot presented a fresh concept and established a whole new world. The second episode, however, was filled with celebrity cameos and leaned a little more on the format of the new show. It wasn’t bad necessarily, but it felt a little different than the pilot.
I actually really liked the appearances from real-life celebs. Jay Leno, Josh Groban, Lea Thompson, and Laurence Fishburne all made the most of their limited time on camera for maximum comedic effect. If there is one thing that The Muppets seems to have mastered in its short time on air, it’s the celebrity cameo. All of these are impressive talents, but it takes a special show to use them all in such unique ways.
If we’re talking about things I didn’t love (which is hard to come up with in The Muppets because…well, Muppets), I wasn’t a big fan of the “Fozzie steals stuff from Jay Leno” plot. Some of it was amusing, but most of it just made me a little uncomfortable. Fozzie should be a little more cheesy and quirky, and a little less of a weirdo.
Overall, though, I found “Hostile Makeover” a solid follow up to a solid pilot. The writing is still smart, and the “modern twist” to the Muppet format seems to be working out well. And boy, is it funny.
As always, here are some of my favorite quotes/moments from the episode:
- “Maybe I can make it into a saxophone.” If you watched the episode, no explanation is needed.
- “How dare you try to calm me down with cake. Give me that cake!!!”- Miss Piggy
- Lea Thompson being on Kermit’s “list.”
- “Kermit has come up with some kind of a plan to make the Grobans and Piggy fall in love.”- Pepe the Prawn
- Does anyone else want to make the Swedish Chef talking about Piggy and Groban their ringtone?
- “Since they’ve been going out, I’ve been waking up to my alarms instead of my own screams.”- Kermit about Josh Groban and Piggy
- “I was just talking toilets with Jay Leno!”- Star-struck Fozzie
- “You pre-show cry? Animal pre-show cry!”- Animal
What did you guys think? Did you enjoy this episode? Did you like it better or worse than the pilot? Let us know in the comments!
The Muppets airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on ABC.
[Photo credit: Eric McCandless/ABC]
