Muppet Haunted Hotel

[Luke]

Originally posted by beaker
Yes, you are one for telling it like it is! To be honest, some of your pessimistic views on Palisades line and the Fox show are far from mine, but that is why we have a forum!

Maybe i see your views as pessimistic too Cory - certainly your stance on KSY up until today was extremely pessimistic. As for the Palisades line, i like it a lot now - but yes, i needed some convincing on some aspects and a lot of what has gone on is unlike stuff we've been through before. As for the Fox show i have no idea what you are talking about - i questioned how Fox would handle it when we were discussing how 'Greg' was handled by them way back, and i said that in my opinion i didn't think they would go for an all out edgy style, but more of a mix between new and old. I wasn't dissing it, and i don't feel thats a pessemistic view - i'd actually enjoy that and think it's the right approach.

Please try to get your facts right before even beginning to imagine you are 'crossing swords' with me - basically i take it all in fun - you are entitled to your opinion and i've got mine. It's not a personal thing for me.

 

[radionate]

No Cory, I don't mean that you are on drugs to enjoy KSY. I mean you are just cracked out period. With this whole "it was a farce" routine.

 

[beaker]

Pessimism is a rocky road. It's a defense mechanism to be cautious...remember Muppetfest last year? I said no way in heck it would be cancelled, and you said there was a chance...and boom some billionare in the middle east cancelled everything.

>>>>Please try to get your facts right before even beginning to imagine you are 'crossing swords' with me - basically i take it all in fun - you are entitled to your opinion and i've got mine. It's not a personal thing for me.<<<<

Indeed, unfortunately I think a lot of people for get to take things all in fun. That's what were all here for, to discuss and have fun and inspire!

 

[Zack the Dog]

I'm sorry Cory but that is just absolute bull - the Muppets might not be around even in a few years time BECAUSE of the EMTV/financial situation. They could get sold onto a company that might retire them after a bad project or they could be sold to a company who just wants the video library and doesn't care about the characters, or EMTV could go into liquidation - JHC could get split up and the Muppet puppets could be sold to someone who just wants to put them in a museam - all VERY possible things if the business side went belly up - of course we hope it won't happen, but don't be so sure of yourself, there's absolutely nothing you or the fans could do in this situation.

Hi Luke,

could this really happen? i mean the Muppets just disapearing like that, just think Kermit the Frog never seening the light of day again! i mean it would be just like if Bugs Bunny,Mickey Mouse or scooby doo were to just vanhising. there wouldn't be anyway possabile to keep the characters going? steve, dave, bill, Eric, jerry and everyone out there their jobs?

if that were to happen, I don't think it ever would, but i'm not saying i don't belive that could happen, i just don't know much on that subject. i would hope Kermit would be then a reg on Sesame Street maybe even a few other classic muppet characters. Animal screem the ABC'S, Fozzie joke of the day, cooking heathly food with the swedish chef hosted by Rizzo the rat, Miss Piggy's Travle Trips, and Bean Bunny's World....wait a second?


Zack)Rowlf the,The Muppets Move to Sesame Street, a new movie idea!!!but there already are Muppets on sesame street....well has the word "muppet" ever been said on Sesame street?Dog.

 

[Luke]

Originally posted by Zack the Dog
could this really happen

Hey Zack,

Yes, technically it could happen - but it's just one of about ten possible scenarios and one of the least likely. It could only really happen if something happened to EMTV before they had a chance to sell the Henson Company, they sold to somebody who didn't want to use the Muppets but wanted the Henson tape library, or if something happens much further down the line with the new owners that they decide to bench the characters. Thankfully there would be quite a lot of interest in JHC if it was available at a bargain basement price so all this should be prevented, even in an extreme situation but the point was that yes, it could possibly happen - so someone saying the Muppets are 'safe' from these kind of scenarios is just very misinformed.

When the company was sold to EMTV, the Henson's lost most of their control over what can happen to the Muppets in the future - they are no longer in the hands of someone who might be concerned about how the characters are used by any new owner, they are being sold by a bank who just needs to get the most amount of money possible by any means neccasary. If you were a billionaire and wanted to buy the Muppets and keep them in your attic performing shows for you and only you then you could, and there's nothing anyone else could do about it.

There are a couple of other similar properties in the UK (also traditional nostalgic childrens favorites) that have actually gone this way, and also others that have been bought by inexperienced companies who have totally misued them and ruined what the characters once had.

 

[Zack the Dog]

Thanks Luke, that's pretty interesting, I would conster that worse case senrio,well, because it is.

If you were a billionaire and wanted to buy the Muppets and keep them in your attic performing shows for you and only you then you could, and there's nothing anyone else could do about it.

Oh, Luke, you didn't know??? I AM a billionaire! Thanks for that great idea! The Muppet are safe now in my extreamly large attic with full theather! Anyone want to come over to my house?!?! My mom baked muffins!!

Maybe I don't have a Dr. Teeth repaint, but I have Dr. Teeth himself! Oh wait! i'm a billionaire, I now have 12 dr teeth repaints!;-)

Zack)Rowlf the, Oh, I just feed the cat, do I have to feed the puppetieer's too Ma?Dog.

 

[beaker]

>>>they are being sold by a bank who just needs to get the most amount of money possible by any means neccasary. If you were a billionaire and wanted to buy the Muppets and keep them in your attic performing shows for you and only you then you could, and there's nothing anyone else could do about it.<<<

There are people in the government who do virtual millitary strategy and worst case scenarios with computers. So in that sense, anything is possible if you wanna get out there. But to the above statement, I could write a 4000k email detailing a thousand reasons why this is absolutely implausible.
That said, realisticly coming up is a very crucial time in Muppetdom.

As the sale looms, it is not totally implausible to wake up, log onto MC, and read Variety reports financial disaster hits em.tv with a foreign bank holding all assets. This sort of thing happens(you referenced WWE in another thread...an din that case what I just described happened to ECW until WWE bought that out) So this becomes a question of the Muppets being at the mercy of a bank or company. I remember when it was reported on MC way back when about em.tv buying JHC. Boy was I mad, and even more mad when they sold all the Sesame rights solely to Sesame Workshop. Ugh. One need point to Formula One to see how em.tv handles things, and indeed press statements from em.tv had this big spiel about the possibilities they have with the Muppets.

The strange thing is I would guess only people in media business, puppeteers, JHC employyes, and the online Muppet community even know a company called EM.TV owns the Muppets. EM.TV is never shown on any fine print or logo on Muppet products, and that's good. Disney on the other hand if they bought it...

But to the basic fundamental question of the possibility of one day Muppetdom as we know ending, I say no. You can draw out all kinds of scenarios or 'what ifs'...but the basic fact is even though some uninformed people out there think the 'Muppets' are just some trend or nostalgic trip ala Garfield, Punky Brewster or HR Puffinstuff, they would be greatly mistaken. From kids in Washington DC going to malt shops circa 1950's to troops stationed in Vietnam circa 1970 given some comic relief from Muppet guest appearences on Ed Sullivan...to virtually every kid haven grown up on Sesame Street for 30 years plus...and to a lesser extent TMS, Muppet Babies, and FR...the Muppets have been delighting people for half a decade, and will be forever as time as we know it.

 

[Drtooth]

Muppets Cheapest Movie? It sounds so much like a Monty Python idea!

 

[Drtooth]

Also, I agree with Beaker's anger over EMTV returning the Sesame Characters to CTW. No we'll have no more "Connie Stevens type Muppet Show episodes with Sesame characters singing Musical numbers," No more "MFC crossover with ANimal and Cookie, or Oscar and Rizzo" (too bad! They'd make a great team!)

EMTV did make a few bad discisions, but at least they didn't fade.

Though, I'd have preferred if Henson found some sort of financial independence!

 

[Luke]

Originally posted by beaker
But to the above statement, I could write a 4000k email detailing a thousand reasons why this is absolutely implausible.

Cory, if it's not too much trouble, could you let me know some of these reasons and back them up (in the business, not fan sense) with some facts. The scenario i mentioned is totally possible, and could definitely happen if other things went badly. Yes, the Muppets are big icons and part of history, and will forever remain within us, but that has absolutely NOTHING to do with the business side which is what we are talking about here - on paper they are a media property like any other and the stuff that could happen in the event of sale/bankruptcy is the same as what can and has happened to other media properties - this is what matters to a bank. The Muppets have absolutely no more protection than say 'The Transformers' do !

It's all about money, that's it. If you have the cash, you could buy them and do what you liked. You seriously think that Allen & Co would say no to ANYONE who offered a high price for the company ? Thats just not how it works i'm afraid buddy. All we have to hope from a fan point of view is that the Muppets are bought by someone respectful of the brand, who will actually use them well, and someone who will have the resources to let the Henson Company do what they want to do in the future. That's not a 'given' though and we have no 'right' to say this must happen - for all we know another 'EMTV' style company could come along, or even the Henson kids, afraid of what will be done with the Muppets if they get into the wrong hands could buy them, retire them and stick them in some Henson museum because they are upset with the way the EMTV sale went and want to keep their dads characters secure.

All this is not what i think should happen to them, or what i want to happen to them but my point is that they have no actual protection against this from happening, and that we should be aware of the risk. Just turning a blind eye or kidding yourself could provide an awful suprise one day !