Showing what could have been...

[The Count]

Thanks TA and Bear. Steppin' Out Bunsen & Beaker is the only packaging that has my name credited in the "Special Thanks" section. And to think... I'd have passed on it if my closest Canadian friend and business partner hadn't pointed it out to me.

Anyway, I'm gonna try to explain the "Special Thanks" as best I can, the way I explained it to my family.
Not sure if the trend will continue with the SS releases or any other releases... But...
1 Don't go blatently asking to have your name on the back of a Palisades Toys action figure boxed release. If it happens, it happens.
2 The "Special Thanks" section is for two groups of people's names.
a. One group of names gets printed up in that section cause they've contributed comments or ideas or suggestions to make the final product better than what might have been seen up to previous moments. Those little touches that put the stuff above and beyond what we once knew and placed the Muppets figures at the top of our wishlists.
b. The second group of people's names are those people that Palisades wants to thank cause of things they've done, contributed to the flow of support for the product, been helpful on the boards... Stuff like that. Not necessarily cause that person's name has anything to do with the release their name appears on, just that said opportunity was the first Palisades had to thank said people.

As for what I did that merited such thanks... This is pure speculation on my part, but I think it was back in 2003 when everyone was submitting ideas for S7-11.
See... Ken came here and started a thread asking people to come up with their idea lineups for five series. There were to be four members in the lineups, two playsets, and at least one exclusive per series. Some people posted in the thread here at MC, while others posted in the thread at Palisades' forums. Course, some people got extra-inventive and went all out carrying on to a total of 14 series in their posts. What I did was put all the suggestions into a neatly-organized table format. Kept giving me a headache whenever someone new would post and make me have to start a new table to incorporate their suggestions.
I still have that table on file, and could send it to whoever's interested in seeing what the fans came up with for those series.

Anyway, I'm glad Ken revealed what would've been the 2005 release calendar. Gives us something to shoot for in the customs department.
Hope this helps and have a good night.

 

[theprawncracker]

I'd love to see that table Count! You could PM it to me or e-mail it to me at ryguy102390@hotmail.com

 

[The Count]

OK, will send it to you Ryan. Lemme check a couple of things to see which method I send it though.

 

[The Count]

OK, sent it via E-mail Ryan. Hope you get it, took me three tries to get it to accept the attachment.

Hope you enjoy the table and the ideas put forth by the fan community waaaay back when.

 

[DTWolf]

I know the Count is right that the lineups had to be diversified, and I do realize that some variants were just an inexpensive way to add more figures with only the cost of minor resculpting or accessories (like Vacation Fozzie and Vacation Pepe). But I have to basically agree with Bear's comments about variants above. Yes, I own an Adventure Kermit, and I did finally break down and buy the "Muppet Treasure Island" figures, but--really, the variants got old. I had no interest in buying most of them, and I wish Palisades had channeled those resources and effort in a different direction. Maybe Patrol Bear Fozzie sold better than a Security Guard Bobo would have (Fozzie's better known than Bobo, although his "Bear on Patrol" incarnation isn't)--or maybe not.

The one that really drives me insane is Usher Scooter. An open spot on the next to last series to make it into physical stores, and it was taken by a character variant who had all of five seconds of screen time in a single movie (Muppets Take Manhattan). I don't care if the popcorn popper was cool (as all the reviews say), it's depressing.

I know, it was a great toy line regardless. Palisades did far more than anyone could have expected them to. But still--some of the choices they made make me shake my head a little. . . .

Oh, well. It's way too late for second guessing. Not too late for regrets, though!

 

[minor muppetz]

here is what accessories I would have included with the line-up that was listed.

series 10
baby kermit and piggy with rocking horse
rowlf as dr. bob with sketchoscope, operating table, doctors bag and diploma
sal manillia with banana, penguin, robin and piece of cake
uncle deadley with ghost, skull and cendleobra

series 11
baby gonzo and rowlf with maracas and piano
nurse janice with hat, heart pump and cow
bobo with hat, badge and fan
louis kazager with microphone, scoreboard, baseball diamond and diamond display

series 12
baby fozzie and scooter with maracas and toy plane
nurse piggy with bean bunny, foo foo and hat
mahna mahna with the two snowths
mulch with cabnet, brain, jar and fan mail

series 13
patrol link with hat, handcuffs, wanted poster and octopus
dr. teeth 2 with hat, eyboard and album
clueless morgan with shovel, pick, sword and rat
rat pack with 3 rats and cheese

series 14
swamp kermit with banjo, strap, log and bush
photographer gonzo with camera, camera strap, bellhop rat, realistic chicken and photos
seymour and pepe with elevador operadors manual
andy and randy with hero sandwhiches

 

[The Count]

Hey guys. The first entry from the "Would've Been" 2005 calendar is now in my collection. But how, if Palisades won't be making any from the S10-14 posted above? Well, first of all... S10 is being released, as exclusives.
OK then, how did I get one of the entries from the remaining four series? Answer: Custom figure. Got the figure finished, accessories and all.
Just gotta take a few more pics, name 'em, and save them to the master CD. After that, it's a matter of showing off the great custom figure I got here in the collection.

 

[Moran9969]

After watching many episodes from the Season 1 DVDs... here's my wish we had list.

George the Janitor (loved the 'at the dance' sketch)
Mildred (gotta have George's partner)
Hilda (although she was only in the 1st season, I thought she was hillarious)
Wayne and Wanda (they killed me especially the sawing in half sketch)
Classic Gonzo (Hey if they can have a classic Chef why not Gonzo?)
Classic Piggy (Hey if they can have a classic Chef why not Piggy?)
Muppy (loved when he would bite Kermit)
Link in Smoking Robe (outside of the PIS sketch he would be seen backstage)

Treasure Island Bunsen
Treasure Island Beaker
Treasure Island Fozzie
Treasure Island Piggy

Bean Bunny
Sal Manilla
Bobo Bear
Modern Gonzo
Modern Statler & Waldor

And even though Wizard of OZ wasn't the greatest Muppet outing... would love to see figures made from their characters.

 

[minor muppetz]

After watching many episodes from the Season 1 DVDs... here's my wish we had list.

George the Janitor (loved the 'at the dance' sketch)

If he was released, I think he should have come with a mop, old style mop bucket (if there was a budget problem, then a re-use of beauregards mop bucket), a water bottle (for planting), a sponge, and if there was any room left, the lead-singing ragg mopp.

Mildred (gotta have George's partner)

If she were released, I think she should have come with a pack-in character, like lenny The Lizard, Boppity or Gloat.

Hilda (although she was only in the 1st season, I thought she was hillarious)

If she was released, I think she should have come with a sewing machine and a pack-in of either baskerville, green hunchback frackle, or droop (somebody visually appealing).

Wayne and Wanda (they killed me especially the sawing in half sketch)

I am not sure if they could have come together (unless they were an exclusive), but if they were released, I think they should have worn their outfits from their first appearance. accessories they could have had: wayne- a caine, Lenny the lizard, a snef, the dancero, and/ or Boppity. wanda- an umbrella, baskerville, french bread, and/ or the scoffs.

Muppy (loved when he would bite Kermit)

I think Muppy could have been a pack-in character (maybe coming with j.p. gross or a variant of either scooter or rowlf), but if released on his own, he could have come with a "The Muppy Show" sign, glass of milk (with straw attached), a box of dog snacks, and a water dish. or baskerville could have been packed in with him.

 

[The Count]

Well... Muppy was nominated as one of the almost 70 candidates for the great Muppets Pack-In Contest. But Muppy got eliminated in the first round of cuts when Ken said that Muppy wasn't rully that iconic. And if he had the chance as to which pooch pack-in could/would/might get made waaaay back then, he'd tend to favor Foo-Foo since it could've been packed with one last variant of Piggy like Nurse Piggy that'd've made sense... Since you'd need all three Vet's Hospital character/figures to have a whole set.
But we know those dreams have long since evaporated. Just hoping for great things with the SS line, and whatever customs we the fan community come up with.