I can’t get rid of the smile on my face. Why? Because The Muppets season finale was so darn adorable.
I know, I know, I think I’m one of the few fans of the Muppets reboot. Following a creative ad campaign last summer, the show premiered to a lot of hype and build-up. But it seems viewers weren’t ready for a more mature Muppets gang – ratings steadily declined throughout the first half of the season.
It’s easy to understand why this new take on the Muppets may not be everyone’s cup of tea. Kermit and gang were never your average kids’ fare, of course – they always had a healthy dose of somewhat adult humor thrown in with the zaniness. But the latest incarnation takes things one step further. These Muppets drink and go to bars after work; they crush on co-workers (who could have guessed Sam the Eagle had a thing for Surfer Girl Janice?); they even make subtle pot jokes. Heck, if this were on HBO, there’d probably be plenty more adult language and situations.
They also pull off some really funny dialogue, but you have to listen closely to catch all of it. (Miss Piggy’s assistant and confidante, Deadly, is particularly hilarious and the Swedish Chef rapping during a karaoke session? Priceless.) Saying the show employs a “sophisticated” humor may be overstating things, but viewers who were expecting sight gags and Crazy Harry blowing things up every episode were probably disappointed. (Ok, Crazy Harry did make an appearance in the season finale, but it was super-fast.)
To be sure, the show struggled a bit to find its identity, especially in the first half of the season. The “mockumentary” style, made so popular by The Office and Modern Family, didn’t work quite as well here. These are puppets, after all, with limited ability for the facial expressions and deadpan stares that worked so well for John Krasinski and company.
And in the first few episodes, the tone seemed a little, well, mean. Kermit, fresh off his break-up with Miss Piggy, appeared too harsh and jaded, while Miss Piggy, of course always a diva, came off as overly cartoonish and caricature-like. There were glimpses of the old Muppets heart (like the episode devoted to Kermit’s and Fozzie’s friendship), but the show took a while to find its footing.
A retooling and some production staffing changes during the winter break produced a re-energized second half of the season. Most importantly, the show’s heart was back and back in a big way. Miss Piggy, enlightened from her trip to Argentina to find herself and with the world’s cutest penguin in tow (seriously, it will make you want a pet penguin, or at least a pet penguin Muppet) became much more sympathetic and less the butt of jokes. Meanwhile, our Kermie returned to being more of the good guy/Jimmy Stewart hero that we all remember, as he slowly comes to the realization that he does, in fact, love Miss Piggy (well d’uh!).
The last batch of episodes also did a better job of balancing nostalgia with a fresh take. The new character Big Mean Carl (according to the Google, Carl apparently actually debuted several years ago but who knew — he’s new to me) continued to deliver jokes, while old fan favorites were better integrated into the show. The season finale gave nods to Rowlf and the Veterinarians Hospital skit from the original show, the “Ma na ma na” singers, and Dr. Bunsen HoneyDew and Beaker. Yes, the corny musical guest in each episode is a little awkward, but it is a Muppets staple so I’ll give it a pass.
Pepe the Prawn also shines in the season ender, as the captain of “Team Love,” the camp of Muppets in favor of a Kermit/Miss Piggy reunion (“I said ‘but love’!”). Will love win out in the end? Will our star-crossed lovers find their way back to each other? Will the Muppets even return next season? I’m not sure; the mid-season retool may not have been enough to boost ratings. Which is too bad, because I think these grown-up Muppets would have caught on if folks had given them a chance. But even if we’ve seen the last of Kermit and company on Tv for a while, it’s nice to know that they ended in a good place, with their funny bones and, most importantly, their heart well in tact.
plainspokencriticblog 