Ideas for Muppet books thread

[minor muppetz]

I thought I'd start a thread about our ideas for Muppet books. What are your ideas?

Here are some of mine:

1. Notes from Jim Henson. This book would include notes that Jim Henson wrote about his various productions. I've read that Jim henson kept detailed notes on everything he worked on, and that he never threw them away and The Jim Henson Company saved all of his notes. Perhaps henson, Disney, and Sesame Workshop could make an agreement (similar to whatever agreements they made for the It's Not Easy Being Green book) to include excerpts from Jim Hensons notebook, with info on each show, movie, special, and many performers and characters. Perhaps Disney could also make a seperate book with hensons notes on The Muppet Show (and maybe also movies), Sesame Workshop could make a book with hensons notes on Sesame Street, and maybe The Jim henson Company could try another book with just henson productions (Fraggle Rock, The Dark Crystal, Emmit Otters Jug-Band Christmas, etc.).

2. The Muppet Show Book 2. This would be a sequel to The Muppet Show Book, with sketches not included in the first one plus segments from the last three seasons. I'll post what skits I'd like included later.

3. a Muppet Dictionary, similar to the Sesame Street Dictionaries. Featuring as many characters from The Muppet Show, The Jim Henson Hour, Muppets Tonight, and the movies as possible.

I'll post more ideas later.

 

[erniebert1234ss]

good one about the Jim Henson's notebook! Maybe we can get his REAL thoughts on the Muppet Show guest stars!

BJ

 

[minor muppetz]

For my "Notes from Jim Henson" idea, here is how I would have the chapters laid out:

introduction
Chapter 1: the early works of Jim henson
Chapter 2: Sesame Street
Chapter 3: 1970's specials
chapter 4: The Muppet Show
Chapter 5: The Muppet Movies
Chapter 6: The Dark Crystal
Chapter 7: Fraggle Rock
Chapter 8: Follow That Bird and Sesame Street specials
Chapter 9: Muppet specials, commercials, and video projects
Chapter 10: Muppet babies
Chapter 11: The Storyteller
Chapter 12: Labrynth
Chapter 13: The Jim Henson Hour
Chapter 14: additional projects (including unproduced productions)
acknowledgements
index

 

[minor muppetz]

A good idea for the "Notes" cover would be to have a big picture of Jim henson and then, on the side, a colum of three small pictures. One with the muppets, one with the sesame street muppets, and one with the fraggles.

Here are ideas for some additional books featuring notes by Jim Henson:

Jim Henson's Notes from The Muppet Show
-Chapter 1: show development (including notes about the 2 pilots)
-Chapter 2: Songs and Sketches
-Chapter 3: Sets
-Chapter 4: Characters
-Chapter 5: The Show's Cast & Crew
-Chapter 6: The Guest Stars

Sesame Street Notes from Jim Henson
-Chapter 1: Ernie & Bert
-Chapter 2: Big Bird and Oscar
-Chapter 3: working with humans
-Chapter 4: animation and film
-Chapter 5: Various Characters
-Chapter 6: Great moments

Jim Henson's Fraggle Rock Notes
-Chapter 1: the shows ideas
-Chapter 2: the cast and crew
-Chapter 3: Fraggles
-Chapter 4: Doozers
-Chapter 5: Gorgs
-Chapter 6: Doc and Sprocket
-Chapter 7: additional creatures
-Chapter 8: international changes
-Chapter 9: Jim Henson's characters and directing

Another book could be for both The Dark Crystal and Labrynth, called "The Dark Crystal & Labrynth: Notes from director Jim Henson"

 

[minor muppetz]

ultimate guides

Another idea would be Muppets: The Ultimate Visual Guide. This would be part of the "Ultimate Visual Guide" collection of books from DK Books, which includes Disney: The Ultimate Visual Guide, Looney Tunes: The Ultimate Visual Guide, Star Wars: The Ultimate Visual Guide, Batman: The Ultimate Visual Guide, Spider-Man: The Ultimate Visual Guide, and so on (the only books I have in this collection are the Disney and Looney Tunes ones). These books are great.

In addition to that, we also need Ultimate Visual Guides for Sesame Street and Fraggle Rock.

it would also be great to have a Muppet Show book similar to the Simpsons: A Complete Guide To Our Favorite Family (and it's sequels).

 

[minor muppetz]

complete guides

Here are some ideas for how my complete guide idea would be worked out.

Each episode would have 1-2 pages devoted to them (maybe it could be like the recent Simpsons complete guides and have two-page spreads for every episode). There would be a few pictures from every episode, with at least one picture of the guest star. There would be a section listing the shows plot, a small "playbill" listing all of the on-stage acts seen or mentioend in that episode (perhaps green font could be used for skits that were seen, purple font could be used for skits that we didn't see all of, blue font for skits that were mentioned but not seen, yellow font for skits where the on-stage performer interracted with Statler and Waldorf or the cast, orange font for skits that partially took place backstage, and red font for skits that we didn't see all of and had interraction with the cast). There would be a section for quotes, a small box for fun facts, and a box for "stuff you might have missed", as well as a box for Statler and Waldorfs ending comments (or anything different that happened at the end) as well as a box for the cold opening. At the side of the page would be a profile bar on a character from that episode.

The book would be done like this:
Season 1 theme (pictures, lyrics, and script)
Fozzie's opening jokes
Gonzo's gong hitting
profiles on Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie, and Gonzo
Season 1 episodes
Season 2 theme (see "season 1 theme")
Comments from Statler and Waldorf (season 2 openings)
Gonzo's Horn Blowing
listing of muppets getting eaten
Season 2 episodes
Season 3 theme (see above)
more comments from Statler and Waldorf (plus other things that made the openings different)
List of explosive muppet moments
Season 3 episodes
Season 4 theme (ditto)
Even more comment from Statler and Waldorf (plus other things that were different in every opening)
Miss Piggy's Karate Chops
season 4 episodes
Season 5 theme (see other themes)
behind-the-scenes photos
Season 5 episodes
profiles on characters who didn't have profiles in any episode
Who performs who

 

[zns]

I have another idea. How about a book on the artwork of Michael Frith?

 

[minor muppetz]

season 1

I have been thinking about one of my ideas, "A complete guide to The Muppet Show", and thought it might be nice to list what characters i would give profiles of for which epsiode page.

Here is a list of season 1 episodes with what characters would have profiles:
Juliet prowse: Muppy (or Scooter, or Mahna Mahna, or The Snowths)
Connie Stevens: Zoot (or Nigel The Conductor, or Lydia, or The Mutations, or Wayne and Wanda, or Mahna mahna)
Joel Grey: Baskerville (or Gorgon heap, or wayne and wanda, or Rowlf, or Hilda, or Green Frackle)
Ruth Buzzi: The Gogolala Jubilee Jugband (or Robot kermit, or Blue Frackle, or Wayne and Wanda, or Floyd)
Rita Moreno: Animal (or The beatnik, or Marvin Suggs and The Muppaphone, or The Guru, or The Country Trio)
Jim Nabors: Scooter (or The Gogolala Jubilee Jugband, or The Houses, or dancero, or Dr. Teeth)
Florence Henderson: The Guru (or Lenny The Lizard, or male and Female Koozebanian creatures)
Paul Williams: Beautiful Day Monster (or Screaming lady, or Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, or The Houses)
Charles Aznavour: Mildred
Harvey Korman: Thog (or Animal, or T.R. Rooster, or Muppy, or Robin)
Leena Horne: The Ragg Mopps (or Muppy, or Zoot)
Peter Ustinov: Cyntia Birdley
Bruce forsythe: The Snerfs (or The gawky Birds, or The Duck)
Sandy Duncan: The banana (or The Crocodile, or Hilda, or Sweetums)
Candace bergan: Andre The Artist
Avery schriver: Dr. Teeth (or Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, or George The janitor)
Ben Vereen: Droop (or Crazy Harry, or the two-headed singer, or screaming lady)
Phyllys Diller: Hilda
Vincent Price: Gorgon heap (or behemoth, or the ghosts, or Tom, Dick, and harry)
Valerie Harper: George The janitor (or Bernie, or The clodhoppers)
Twiggy: Uncle Deadley
Ethel Merman: irving Bizarre (or vendaface)
Kaye Ballard: Trumpet Girl (or country trio, or Nigel The Conductor, or Thog, or Floyd)
Mummenshaz: Vendaface (or zelda Rose, or wayne and wanda)

 

[minor muppetz]

Season 2

Here is a list of season 2 episodes along with characters who can have profiles in those episodes.

Don Knotts: The gingerbread men (or beast of the week, or Big Mama, or Floyd)
Zero Mostel: Behemoth (or Timmy Monster, or Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, or Beaker, or Granny The Gougher)
Milton berle: Zelda Rose (or Big mama, or Blue Frackle, or Green Hunchback frackle)
Rich Little: Lenny The Lizard (or Mildred, or The newsman)
Judy Collins: J.P. Gross (or Koozebanian Phoob)
Nancy walker: berlington bertie (or Crazy harry, or Rowlf)
Edgar Bergan: T.R. Rooster (or The Chickens, or Link Hogthrob)
Steve martin: Mary Louise (or Lobbock Lou and His Jughuggers, or the Zuccinni brothers, or baskerville, or lenny The Lizard)
George Burns: Fleet Scribbler
Dom deluise: Merdidops (or Luncheon Counter Monster, or Doglion, or Big Mama, or Cow)
Elton John: The Swedish Chef (or Dr. Strangepork, or janice)
Julie Andrews: The beaver (or The Zuccinni brothers, or timmy Monster)
Cleo lane: Ma bear (or Blue Frackle, or green frackle, or Baskerville)
Rudolph Nureya: Sam The Eagle (or The pig ballerina)
Lou Raws: The sleeze brothers
Petula Clark: Mickey Moose (or The Bossmen, or T.R. rooster)
Bernedette Peters: Robin
Terresa Brewer: The newsman
madeline kahn: The Mutations (or Lobsters, or Doglion)
Bob Hope: The Horse
jaye P. Morgan: Nigel the Conductor
Peter Sellers: Link Hogthrob (or Rowlf, or dr. Bunsen Honeydew, or beaker, or Quongo)
Cloris leachman: Kermit The Pig (or The Pigs, or Sweetums, or Doglion, or Chop Liver Monster)

 

[minor muppetz]

There's one season 2 episode I forgot to list.

John Cleese: Sweetums (or Lobbock Lou and His Jughuggers, or Koozebanian Spooble, or The parrot)