Thoughts: A new modern version of THE MUPPET SHOW on Disney Channel?

[CensoredAlso]

I'd say HIMYM is the best traditional-esque sitcom since Seinfeld went off the air.

Well at this point we're just getting into personal preference. I just never got into Seinfeld.

 

[Drtooth]

Yes, but Seinfeld was a hugely popular sitcom and for some reason it's regarded as one of the greatest of all time. Though, if you watch the first episodes, it's a wonder they took that chance with it. I also understand the popularity of Friends, but I never got it at all. it spoke for a generation, sure...

The REAL stinker sitcoms were in that post Seinfeld era... ABC's terrible family sitcoms (though I shamefully admit to digging George Lopez's one) that tried a little too hard to be the 1980's TGIF style family sitcoms... the myriad of Friends/Seinfeld/Will and Grace wanna bes that lasted a season or less and quietly disappeared. They even tried a BAD US remake of Coupling. The sitcom was all but dead... and all the sudden, The Office, Two and A Half Men (I know your feelings about the show, but I'm mentioning it for the sake of an example), and HIMYM popped up... thus saving the sitcom, albeit not quite as we know it. Things go in cycles... you get a bunch of really good movies, TV shows or something, then a bunch of meh ones... then bad ones, then terrible ones, then you get great ones again. Like how I feel about 1970's cartoons... the 60's brought a bunch of great ones, then one because so popular everyone copied it for a decade. Then someone did something else, and things changed. That's the nature of entertainment.

 

[CensoredAlso]

Things go in cycles... you get a bunch of really good movies, TV shows or something, then a bunch of meh ones... then bad ones, then terrible ones, then you get great ones again.

I just don't think we're going through an entirely normal cycle. I think there is a downward trend and I'm not sure it's going to fix itself anytime soon. The money isn't being spent to create quality shows; it's all going to Reality because it's cheaper. Even with the quality shows that are around, the formulas are going stale. How many more crime dramas do we need? And that hasn't changed for ages. And I'm just personally not amused by the majority of sitcoms. I don't think what's happening is normal.

 

[Drtooth]

The fly in the ointment is reality TV right there... the fact that it is cheap and pathetically easy to produce (in most cases, anyway... I wouldn't doubt the "Let's worship some lazy tarts that are suckling off their rich parents" shows cost as much as Terra Nova does). If the writer's strike happened 2 years later than it did, they'd never be hired back and we'd only see various bad Survivor clones again. They are written, just by non-union types. I wish that the Screen writers union got that in their demands, to have them forced to be union laborers... then we would see those TV guys panic and give them anything they want.

I don't like the mutant influx of crime dramas... we do have too many of those, but they are all solid action programs for what they are. All clones of each other, yes... but solid. It seems it's a fad that hasn't gone away yet. Personally, I prefer comedy crime dramas like Monk and Psych. The only medical drama I'll give the time of day is House. That's the only really good one anyway. Too bad it's always opposite something else I like to watch.

My only major concern after that is the lack of kid's programming, and we all know what I blame for that.

Still, I think a new Muppet series could be possible if Disney takes the chance with something outside the demographic, like they did with Phineas and Ferb. That show's popularity exploded, and it's got a cross generational appeal. The only appeal with the tween coms were suburban moms that were pretending to be cool for their spoiled brat daughters. With P&F, you get the appeal of Agent P and Doof. Little kids love it, adults love it too. You have to hand it to a cartoon series that does that.

 

[mupcollector1]

I would love to see a new Muppet TV series, I've been writing to Disney for years about it. But I would like to see it on ABC other than Disney Channel. Or even if possible Comedy Central would be great. If there was a new Muppet series, I pray to God that it would be as good as Muppets Tonight. I LOVE THAT SHOW! It was a modern version of The Muppet Show but the irreverent humor was still there, the slapstick, the explosions, the monsters, the classic rock songs, all where there. Sure there was more new characters then the classic characters but it's always been that way for The Muppets. Before The Muppet Show, there was only Rowlf and Kermit, and everyone else was either new or recycled puppets to be turned into a character like Gonzo. Then The Jim Henson Hour was pretty good. A little too enviramentally activist but still an awesome show even though it's been rarely seen since it's original airing.

If there was a new Muppet show and they allowed freelance writers, I would just love to join in on the writing. Writing comedy is my thing and The Muppets have always been my top #1 favorite comedy tribe EVER.