9.23.2015

Television: The Muppets, "Pig Girls Don't Cry"

I guess I missed the pilot, but whatever.

This show feels like something that was in development around the same time 30 Rock got started and The Office was big. Which is to say, it feels a few years too old. They hang a lampshade on how the whole documentary angle is overdone (thanks, Gonzo), but go through with it anyway. And it doesn't really work for me. Because none of it is actually all that compelling or interesting.

The episode focuses on (a) Miss Piggy being Miss Piggy (that is, a diva) and not wanting Elizabeth Banks on her late night talkshow, (b) Fozzie meeting his girlfriend's parents, and (c) Kermit gaining a spare tire due to stress eating.

You see how I get 30 Rock + The Office. There's the faux documentary angle, there's everyone working together, but the setting is showbiz absurdity à la 30 Rock. And yet The Muppets falls short of either of those shows.

Also, Kermit's new girlfriend's thick Southern accent really bothers me for some reason.

In the end, I didn't laugh. I felt like they were mean to Tom Bergeron. I don't watch his show or anything, but still, he seems like a nice guy. Why are they poking fun at him exactly? And making Fozzie a central story was . . . Well, Fozzie never was one of my favorites, so maybe that's just me.

Sigh. I was just so underwhelmed. And I love the Muppets, so I really wanted to like this show. It's really too bad.

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