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Sam and Friends BookTravellingMatt
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Since so many people have asked how I write an outline, I thought I'd give you a rough idea of how I do it.
First off, much like Jim Henson, I listen to a lot of music. Music has always been a big part of my life (I don't play an instrument, but I do sing and I have a very extensive record, cassette and CD collection). I love most forms of music, but I've found that the songs that really lend themselves to Muppet imagery are from the genres of alternative rock (usually from the 70's and 80's or thereabouts) and Broadway showtunes, mainly from the songbooks of Rodgers and Hammerstein, or Lerner and Loewe...sometimes a Cole Porter tune or two will work. These showtunes are what I grew up listening to and I still find them to be treasures, and a lot of them lend themselves to the Muppets. For example, I thought Stanley Holloway's two big numbers from "My Fair Lady" ("With A Little Bit O' Luck" and "Get Me To The Church On Time") would be perfect vehicles for Fozzie Bear to perform in "UK spots", and when I heard "Reviewing the Situation" (from "Oliver!") after some time, I found it to be the perfect song for Uncle Deadly to sing. In the alternative rock category, I usually reserve those kinds of songs for the Electric Mayhem, but I found that songs by bands like They Might Be Giants or Ween lend themselves to a lot more Muppet imagery (particularly TMBG). That's why I devoted the bulk of TMBG's outline to their songs. They write such bizarre lyrics that one can't help but wonder what the Muppets would do with them. Sometimes I pick songs for the band judging by which member of the group would do a good job on vocals (i.e. Dr. Teeth for any tunes by the Mighty Mighty Bosstones or Louis Armstrong, Janice for Dave Matthews Band songs, Floyd for Bob Dylan songs, although Floyd can sing just about anything he's given).
Also, the more obscure the songs, the better. Jim went with this formula and created classic spots like Scooter singing "There's A New Sound" (an old novelty record whose original version can be found on a Dr. Demento compilation) or Floyd and Scooter singing an obscure oldie called "Mr. Bass Man" (a song that I have found the original of and when I DJ at a restaurant, I have made it a pretty regular part of my repertoire). With me, I struck gold when I was copying a two-CD set called "From Avenue A To The Great White Way", a collection of Yiddish vaudeville songs which I highly recommend. I was making a copy for the father of a friend of my uncle's (hope you got that straight) and a song happened to catch my ear. It was sung by a Yiddish theatre/film actor named Jacob Zanger and was entitled "Gevaldt! Di Nerven!" (in English, "Help! My Nerves!"). Mr. Zanger's voice sounded remarkably like Boober Fraggle...so I used Boober singing this song as a UK spot in an outline, and it became the foundation for one of my most beloved running gags (every time someone says anything incorporating the word "nerve", Boober would pop up and scream "MY NERVES! AAAAAHHHHH!!!!").
Another thing I do is pay attention when watching TMS reruns on DVD or any other form. It gives me an idea of how the shows were pretty much run. I think a lot of my jokes would have worked quite well on TMS. And do not be discouraged if certain characters are hard to write for. I find that writing a Veterinarian's Hospital sketch is a million times easier than writing a Pigs In Space one, which is why you see more of VH in my outlines. The more truly awful puns you hear, don't be afraid to use them for Fozzie or Rowlf...since they used them the most. I've also found out that the Electric Mayhem and Statler & Waldorf are also very easy to write for. I've even found a way to get Dr. Strangepork into a few more things too.
One of the biggest things I've learned is that the pantheon of Muppet characters goes beyond "The Muppet Show". There were tons of characters on other shows that would have fit in QUITE well in the theatre. Usually these characters were performed by Richard Hunt. I thought of some hilarious premises when I was thinking of characters outside of the TMS regulars (or irregulars), such as Don Music getting flustered...then getting heckled by Statler and Waldorf, or Forgetful Jones getting hired because he was a friend of Scooter's uncle, resulting in chaos with whatever job he takes because of his short term memory (or lack thereof). That explains why you see so many long-lost Sesame Street characters or Fraggles hanging around.
As far as the guest stars, I usually try to pick those who would've fit in pretty well with them, or who would've been out of place, but in a comic way (i.e. the Rex Harrison outline Gorgon Heap and I collaborated on). Their chemistry with the Muppets makes or breaks an outline. One of the ones that fit in quite well with the Muppets (and this was QUITE obvious) was Bob McGrath...so well that I turned it into a working script which I sent to the Henson company as a sample of what I can do. (Note to self: next time go the "sane" route and just send a resume. Much like Sesame Workshop, they don't take input from outside writers.)
Finally, this is one of the best things I can suggest you can do: throw your ideas at a friend. In the case of most of my outlines, the victim...er, friend was (and still is) Skeeter Muppet, and I am eternally grateful to her for listening to all my wild and crazy ideas (and in some cases, building on them). It's definitely made our friendship much stronger. I've also taken the compliments of the rest of you into consideration. Also, find some friends who you play well off of and make it a team effort. I think my collaboration with Gorgon Heap was a tremendous success, and the bits that Byron and I have come up with have made people both laugh and think we were insane at the same time. So Skeeter Muppet, GOrgon Heap, Byron, and everyone else, I thank and love you all for dealing with a wild and crazy guy.
So there you go...that's how I do it. Hope that gives you all a bit more insight.
Statler: "You bet it gave us more insight!"
Waldorf: "Yeah...before we just HINTED at the fact that writers are nuts...now we REALLY believe it!"
Both: "DOHHHH, ho ho ho..."
(Don't those two EVER shut up?!)
First off, much like Jim Henson, I listen to a lot of music. Music has always been a big part of my life (I don't play an instrument, but I do sing and I have a very extensive record, cassette and CD collection). I love most forms of music, but I've found that the songs that really lend themselves to Muppet imagery are from the genres of alternative rock (usually from the 70's and 80's or thereabouts) and Broadway showtunes, mainly from the songbooks of Rodgers and Hammerstein, or Lerner and Loewe...sometimes a Cole Porter tune or two will work. These showtunes are what I grew up listening to and I still find them to be treasures, and a lot of them lend themselves to the Muppets. For example, I thought Stanley Holloway's two big numbers from "My Fair Lady" ("With A Little Bit O' Luck" and "Get Me To The Church On Time") would be perfect vehicles for Fozzie Bear to perform in "UK spots", and when I heard "Reviewing the Situation" (from "Oliver!") after some time, I found it to be the perfect song for Uncle Deadly to sing. In the alternative rock category, I usually reserve those kinds of songs for the Electric Mayhem, but I found that songs by bands like They Might Be Giants or Ween lend themselves to a lot more Muppet imagery (particularly TMBG). That's why I devoted the bulk of TMBG's outline to their songs. They write such bizarre lyrics that one can't help but wonder what the Muppets would do with them. Sometimes I pick songs for the band judging by which member of the group would do a good job on vocals (i.e. Dr. Teeth for any tunes by the Mighty Mighty Bosstones or Louis Armstrong, Janice for Dave Matthews Band songs, Floyd for Bob Dylan songs, although Floyd can sing just about anything he's given).
Also, the more obscure the songs, the better. Jim went with this formula and created classic spots like Scooter singing "There's A New Sound" (an old novelty record whose original version can be found on a Dr. Demento compilation) or Floyd and Scooter singing an obscure oldie called "Mr. Bass Man" (a song that I have found the original of and when I DJ at a restaurant, I have made it a pretty regular part of my repertoire). With me, I struck gold when I was copying a two-CD set called "From Avenue A To The Great White Way", a collection of Yiddish vaudeville songs which I highly recommend. I was making a copy for the father of a friend of my uncle's (hope you got that straight) and a song happened to catch my ear. It was sung by a Yiddish theatre/film actor named Jacob Zanger and was entitled "Gevaldt! Di Nerven!" (in English, "Help! My Nerves!"). Mr. Zanger's voice sounded remarkably like Boober Fraggle...so I used Boober singing this song as a UK spot in an outline, and it became the foundation for one of my most beloved running gags (every time someone says anything incorporating the word "nerve", Boober would pop up and scream "MY NERVES! AAAAAHHHHH!!!!").
Another thing I do is pay attention when watching TMS reruns on DVD or any other form. It gives me an idea of how the shows were pretty much run. I think a lot of my jokes would have worked quite well on TMS. And do not be discouraged if certain characters are hard to write for. I find that writing a Veterinarian's Hospital sketch is a million times easier than writing a Pigs In Space one, which is why you see more of VH in my outlines. The more truly awful puns you hear, don't be afraid to use them for Fozzie or Rowlf...since they used them the most. I've also found out that the Electric Mayhem and Statler & Waldorf are also very easy to write for. I've even found a way to get Dr. Strangepork into a few more things too.
One of the biggest things I've learned is that the pantheon of Muppet characters goes beyond "The Muppet Show". There were tons of characters on other shows that would have fit in QUITE well in the theatre. Usually these characters were performed by Richard Hunt. I thought of some hilarious premises when I was thinking of characters outside of the TMS regulars (or irregulars), such as Don Music getting flustered...then getting heckled by Statler and Waldorf, or Forgetful Jones getting hired because he was a friend of Scooter's uncle, resulting in chaos with whatever job he takes because of his short term memory (or lack thereof). That explains why you see so many long-lost Sesame Street characters or Fraggles hanging around.
As far as the guest stars, I usually try to pick those who would've fit in pretty well with them, or who would've been out of place, but in a comic way (i.e. the Rex Harrison outline Gorgon Heap and I collaborated on). Their chemistry with the Muppets makes or breaks an outline. One of the ones that fit in quite well with the Muppets (and this was QUITE obvious) was Bob McGrath...so well that I turned it into a working script which I sent to the Henson company as a sample of what I can do. (Note to self: next time go the "sane" route and just send a resume. Much like Sesame Workshop, they don't take input from outside writers.)
Finally, this is one of the best things I can suggest you can do: throw your ideas at a friend. In the case of most of my outlines, the victim...er, friend was (and still is) Skeeter Muppet, and I am eternally grateful to her for listening to all my wild and crazy ideas (and in some cases, building on them). It's definitely made our friendship much stronger. I've also taken the compliments of the rest of you into consideration. Also, find some friends who you play well off of and make it a team effort. I think my collaboration with Gorgon Heap was a tremendous success, and the bits that Byron and I have come up with have made people both laugh and think we were insane at the same time. So Skeeter Muppet, GOrgon Heap, Byron, and everyone else, I thank and love you all for dealing with a wild and crazy guy.
So there you go...that's how I do it. Hope that gives you all a bit more insight.
Statler: "You bet it gave us more insight!"
Waldorf: "Yeah...before we just HINTED at the fact that writers are nuts...now we REALLY believe it!"
Both: "DOHHHH, ho ho ho..."
(Don't those two EVER shut up?!)
