The second issue of Muppet Robin Hood will be released this week (See our review of #1 here). Today, we've got a Q&A with writer Tim Beedle.

TOUGH PIGS: The obvious first question: How did you get the Muppet Robin Hood job? Were you approached by Boom!, or did you seek it out?

TIM BEEDLE: Actually, I’m very fortunate in that I worked alongside Paul Morrissey, the editor overseeing all of BOOM!’s Muppet and Pixar titles, when he was at TOKYOPOP. I was the editor on both Return to Labyrinth and Legends of The Dark Crystal, so Paul knew of my love and admiration for Jim Henson’s work, as well as my complete obsession when it came to the Muppets. When Paul landed at BOOM! and learned he would be editing Muppet comics, I imagine I was one of the first writers he approached. Most likely because he knew he’d never hear the end of it from me if I wasn’t.

TP: Whose idea was it to do Robin Hood as the first Muppet adaptation comic?

TB: Well, I believe Paul made the decision to launch BOOM!’s line of adaptations with Muppet Robin Hood rather than any of the other ones that had been pitched, but the idea of adapting that particular legend was mine. When Paul approached me about pitching ideas, he told me that BOOM! wanted to do a line of Muppet parodies in the vein of Muppet Christmas Carol and Muppet Treasure Island, so I thought about some stories that might make sense for a line of comics like that. We wanted the adaptations to be based on classics and I wanted to take advantage of the fact that these were comics rather than films, so budget and sets weren’t an issue. We could do something epic if we wanted to.

At the same time, I wanted to do something that felt appropriate for the Muppets. For example, I thought briefly of adapting a Jules Verne book like 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, but that just didn’t feel like a natural fit for the Muppets. Robin Hood just struck me as something we could have a lot of fun with, and it offered a big enough cast and story to include not only the really popular Muppets everyone knows and loves, but some of the more obscure ones as well.

Plus, it was an action story, so we could have swordfights, archery and Muppets riding on horses, without having to stress over how it could be done technically with puppets. Finally, in my opinion, Robin Hood is a legend that hasn’t been appropriately skewered yet. Yes, there’s Robin Hood: Men in Tights, but as much as I love Mel Brooks, I don’t think that’s one of his better movies. I figured the Muppets could do a much better job of parodying it.

TP: When you started working on the comic, were you aware that the Muppets had done the Robin Hood story on an episode of The Muppet Show? Have you seen the episode, and if so, did it influence your writing in any way?

TB: I’ve seen the episode, but I don’t consider it a full-on adaptation any more than I consider the Mark Hamill episode to be “Muppet Star Wars.” I see that version of Robin Hood as more of an extended skit performed on the show. After all, the real story that drives that particular episode is Piggy’s anger at losing out on the role of Maid Marian to Lynn Redgrave. The Robin Hood story was just the onstage texture.

That said, I think it’s a really great episode that came along when the classic Muppets were in their prime. Because of that, I deliberately avoided rewatching it until after I’d gotten well underway in scripting the comic since it would’ve been tempting to lean on the casting choices and humor of the episode a bit too much. All things considered, I’d say that particular episode really wasn’t much of an influence on my writing. However, I do include a small shout-out to the episode in the third issue. A character shows up briefly in our story that fans of the episode will recognize.

TP: How did you decide which Muppet would play which character from the Robin Hood story? Were any of the parts especially challenging to cast?

TB: Some of them seemed obvious to me, but others were more challenging. Clearly, Robin and Marian were pretty obvious (with all due respect to Ms. Redgrave). Little John was a bit of a challenge, but once the thought of Sweetums taking on the role entered my mind, I couldn’t let it go. Fozzie shows up as Friar Tuck in the second issue, and that seemed like a pretty clear choice to me as well, though for a reason that won’t be completely obvious until you read the issue (let’s just say that Friar Tuck plays a much different role in this version of Robin Hood than he usually plays).

I had a lot more trouble with the villains than the heroes because the only Muppets that stand out as “villainous” are pretty obscure, like J.P. Grosse. In the movies, this problem was usually addressed by casting a human actor as the chief villain (Michael Caine in Muppet Christmas Carol and Tim Curry in Muppet Robin Hood), and when it came time to put together the cast list, I suddenly understood why. Fans who grew up with the original show tend to think of all of the Muppets as being part of a close family of performers and it just doesn’t feel natural to imagine them doing harsh things to each other.

On top of that, I wanted to provide substantial roles to as many Muppets as I could, so we actually have three main villains in our story: Prince John, the Sheriff of Nottingham and Guy of Gisbourne. Finding Muppets to play all three was hard.

Prince John hasn’t shown up yet and I don’t want to give him away, but when I hit on the idea of using this particular Muppet in the role, I got excited because it just felt fun. Plus, for some reason, he’s a Muppet you don’t see as being particularly close to most of the others, so he works well as a villain.

However, the Sheriff and Guy went through a bit of recasting. Originally, I had Gonzo playing the Sheriff and Rizzo as Guy, but Disney really seemed to like the idea of Sam as the Sheriff. So Rizzo became a Merry Man, Gonzo became Guy and Sam—who I was originally going to use as Will Scarlet—became the Sheriff. And I think it’s worked out really well. Sam and Gonzo are so utterly different that I’ve been having a blast teaming them up. They’re the oddest couple imaginable.

TP: We were pretty surprised to see Hilda make an appearance. What inspired you to include such an obscure character? Will we see any other similarly little-known Muppets in later issues?

TB: Absolutely. As I said, part of the appeal of doing Robin Hood is it has a big cast. I knew from the start that I’d be able to feature all sorts of cameos within the structure of the story. Plus, since this is a comic book and not a film or TV special, we don’t need to worry about whether the original puppeteers would be available or how the characters would come off with a different performer if not. In other words, the sky’s the limit for what characters you may see! I’ve unofficially branded issue #3 the “cameo issue,” so expect to see a bunch of familiar faces in that one. However, we have a couple fun ones in issue #2 as well.

As for why I used Hilda, one of the unfortunate truths about the Muppets is that there are only two female Muppets who are particularly well known: Piggy and Janice. That means you need to be a little creative when it comes to casting female characters. I wanted Marian to have a few female companions so that she’d always have someone to interact with when she’s away from Robin, and Hilda is such a great early Muppet. She definitely seemed to fit the role of the dressmaker to me. I think that may be Hilda’s only appearance, though. Marian has a slightly younger companion in the next couple of issues. I’ll let your readers speculate as to who that might be. *smiles*

TP: How close are you sticking to the source material? How are you deciding what to include and what to leave out? Have you studied any other adaptations (e.g. the Disney animated movie) as part of your preparation for the comic?

TB: I’m very familiar with most of the better known adaptations—the classic Errol Flynn movie, the Disney version, Kevin Costner’s Prince of Thieves, even Robin McKinley’s Outlaws of Sherwood. I still think the Flynn version is best if anyone’s looking to watch the legend brought to life on screen.

However, I’m not really concerning myself too much with any of those, or with staying too faithful to the legend. My thoughts are that anyone who wants to experience the story of Robin Hood probably isn’t going to start with this comic. Rather, I’m writing this story for Muppet fans, and as such, the legend is just a loose framework. I certainly haven’t thrown it out entirely. All the famous elements and characters are there. But we’re clearly taking some big liberties with it, and they only get bigger as we go on. In fact, Monty Python and the Holy Grail is more of an influence on the way I’m approaching this adaptation than any Robin Hood film or book. I think that movie’s one of the strongest examples of how to use a famous story as framework for absurd comedy.

TP: How much input did you have regarding the choice of artist for the book?

TB: On just about any licensed comic book project, the writer is going to have very little say in who the artist is. I think you pretty much know that going in. However, Paul did ask me if I had any thoughts or suggestions. I offered up a couple of names, but it was Paul who suggested Armand Villavert, Jr. I’ve known Armand for a few years, so I was thrilled for this chance to work with him. He’s a good guy and a big fan of the Muppets. The minute I saw his sample pages, I knew he’d be a great fit.

A project like this is really pretty difficult for an artist when you think about it. Not only does an artist have to accurately reproduce dozens of distinct characters in a way that pleases the fans, but he or she has to draw them doing elaborate actions that there really isn’t any precedent for. I mean, as far as I know, the Muppets have never had a staff fight over a river. If you think about it, that’s a difficult thing to draw, especially considering the two combatants are Kermit and Sweetums. Sweetums is at least five times the size of Kermit! Any staff that Kermit could reasonably wield would be little more than a twig for Sweetums. How could he possibly stand a chance in that fight? The cool thing about Armand is he can pull stuff like that off in such a way that you never ask those kinds of questions. He makes that staff fight look like the most natural thing imaginable.

One last little thing I’ll add is that while I can’t take credit for Armand, one of the names I suggested to Paul was Amy Mebberson. Paul was already familiar with Amy’s work and was speaking to her about the Pixar comics, so I can’t claim to have fully gotten that ball rolling, though I do believe that I was the first person to get behind the idea of having her draw the Muppets. Amy has such a natural gift for comedic timing. It’s one of the best I’ve ever seen. I can’t wait to see what she does with Muppet Peter Pan. Seriously, Amy Mebberson and Grace Randolph? I’m telling you guys now, that book is going to be AWESOME!!!

TP: What kind of notes or feedback have you gotten from the Disney people?

TB: Disney’s notes have been very constructive and helpful, and they’ve made some great suggestions. As you know, we have Jim Lewis approving each of these comics and his feedback has been invaluable. Giving credit where it’s due, it was Jim who suggested using Louis Kazagger for the sports announcer in the first issue. I had completely overlooked that character when writing that scene, but Louis was the perfect choice.

The character suggestions we’ve gotten from Jim Lewis and Disney have been great, but they’ve also been really helpful when it comes to figuring out the balance between character and role. That’s trickier than you may think. After all, Robin Hood as a character is much different than Kermit the Frog, so how much “Kermit” can we bring to the role? There’s been a fair bit of back-and-forth between me, Paul and Disney on those sorts of things.

TP: Are there any plans for you to work on future Muppet comics after Robin Hood wraps up? Are there any ideas that you're itching to do?

TB: I’d love to do more with the Muppets, but nothing’s set in stone at this point. If BOOM! asks me to write another series, I certainly wouldn’t turn them down. I suppose whether or not I get the opportunity probably depends a lot on how well Muppet Robin Hood performs. So far it seems to be doing okay, so my fingers are crossed!

I do have a second pitch in at BOOM! for another Muppet adaptation. I’m not sure I should reveal it here since it may or may not happen, but it’s another large-scale adventure story that also has great opportunities for humor. I think could be PERFECT for the Muppets. In fact, just between us, it was actually my favorite of my two initial pitches. As proud as I am of Muppet Robin Hood, I think this other one could be even better.

TP: The age-old question: Who’s your favorite Muppet?

TB: You know, this question was a lot simpler before I started writing Muppet comics. I’ve noticed that I’ve become really fond of some Muppets who I never gave much thought to before when I discovered what a blast they are to write. Janice is one example of this. She has easily become one of my favorite characters in Muppet Robin Hood.

As for my favorite Muppet all around…well, can I choose two? My favorite on the show was always the Swedish Chef. His segments still crack me up no matter how often I’ve seen them. However, I also really like Rowlf. I always admired how he could play the straight man as well as the clown. And he narrated Dog City, which I thought was a lot of fun!

Our thanks to Tim Beedle for sharing his answers with us! Click here to talk about Muppet Robin Hood and other Muppet comic books on the Tough Pigs forum!

ToughPigsRyan@yahoo.com

Labels: comics/magazines, interview

In honor of Sesame Street being old enough to be your mom, Black Dog and Leventhal Publishers is releasing Sesame Street: A Celebration, a 304-page hardcover book with 1,100 photographs, loads of behind-the-scenes materials, and a DVD (just in case reading just isn't your thang). Not just that, but the publisher provided ToughPigs with some sample pages of the new book! And we'll do with those pages what we do with everything: Put it online for the entire world to read. You are most welcome.

Sesame Street: A Celebration is due in stores in November, 2009 and will retail for $40.

Click here to discuss 40 years' worth of Sesame Street on the ToughPigs forum!

Labels: books, Sesame Street

Hey, remember when Tough Pigs' close personal friend David Beukema wrote some terrific and entertaining haiku for season one, season two, and season three of The Muppet Show? Sure you do. Now guess which season he's doing haiku for this week.

TIME'S UP! It's season four. Go for it, David!




Thanks again to David for the groovy haiku! And big thanks to Muppet Wiki for huge major assistance with images! Click here to talk about moldy truffle jokes and kosher hats on the Tough Pigs forum!

Labels: guest bloggers, poetry, The Muppet Show

[Important note: The review below claims that The Muppet Show Comic Book #4 would be released on June 24th. This information was taken from the official Boom! Studios website, but has since proven to be completely untrue. Tough Pigs apologizes to Muppet fans, comic book fans, and our elderly Aunt Cloise for any confusion caused by Boom! making us dirty liars. The Muppet Show Comic Book #4 will, in fact, be released... someday. Who can tell with these silly comic book companies?]

This Wednesday, June 24th, is the release date for The Muppet Show Comic Book #4, by the series' regular writer and artist Roger Langridge. This is the last issue of the Muppet Show comic... until next month, when it returns with a new #1 as The Muppet Show Comic Book: The Treasure of Peg Leg Wilson for another four-issue run.

So the series is ending, but it's not really ending, it's just starting over again, four months after it started the first time, and going four more months until it ends again and then starts again. This kind of insanity is actually considered normal in comics.
So, the first thing I want to say about issue 4, which is the "Miss Piggy's Story" issue, is that I love both covers. Cover A, as seen above, has Piggy looking every bit as glamorous as Marilyn Monroe. Cover B is a Sound of Music deal, with Piggy's fellow Muppets apparently none too thrilled with her Julie Andrews impression.

One thing we've been wondering about since this series began is whether it would have guest stars. It seemed unlikely, as it'd be pretty hard to get Tom Hanks or Meryl Streep into a comic book. But this issue begins with Kermit and Scooter trying to track down a guest star for the show. And who are they trying to get?


That's right -- "Kim Jarrey." They throw around a bunch of other silly spoof names, and I don't know if it's because of some kind of crazy legal issues or just because it's funny that they don't use real names, but it works. It would probably be a little jarring to hear them talking about current stars anyway, as there haven't really been any indications as to whether this comic book series takes place now, in the 1970s, or somewhere in between.

Unfortunately, all the good guest stars are too expensive for The Muppet Show's meager budget, so they end up with Madame Rhonda, a psychic. Also she's a pig, but that's neither here nor there.


Would The Muppet Show really book a psychic as a guest star? How much can she really bring to a variety show? Well, they once scheduled Angus McGonagle, the Argyle Gargoyle Who Gargles Gershwin, which is a pretty limited talent, so I'll buy it.

As always, the comic alternates between backstage drama and onstage acts, but this time nearly all the acts are tied in to the theme of psychic ability. It's a departure from previous issues, and I could have done with a few more un-themed sketches, but it's still fun.

There's a Sam the Eagle bit, with Sam written completely in character. Sometimes I get a little tired of modern Muppet writers emphasizing only Sam's patriotism -- on the show, he was concerned with morality and sophisticated entertainment as much as Americanism. But Langridge manages to get that across even with Sam standing in front of a huge American flag.

But isn't this supposed to be Piggy's story? Well, Madame Rhonda is the driving force of this issue's backstage story, but Piggy quickly becomes its center. Madame Rhonda tells all the Muppets their fortunes, and they all fall for her schtick, but when Piggy gets her palm read, she misinterprets Rhonda's warning and becomes convinced that Kermit is going to leave her for another woman.


The thing is, there aren't that many female Muppets, so Langridge proceeds to draw Piggy seething while Kermit talks to just about all of them, including one character I never thought I'd see in comic book form. But that's the beauty of these comics... A Muppet who wouldn't be worth the time and expense to rebuild for a quick cameo in a TV special can appear in one frame of a comic with no fuss. What a great medium! Unlike Madame Rhonda.

That's all I'll give away about the backstage plot, but there are some other nifty things going on here, including a Veterinarian's Hospital sketch, and a Pigs in Space, which provides another example of Langridge's knack for clever uses of the comic book format to do things that can't quite be done onscreen.


Oh, and speaking of characters we never thought we'd see again... Guess who shows up on page fourteen?


It's the Talking Houses from season one of The Muppet Show! So that's clearly meant for the true fans in the audience, as most people in the world would have no memory of those guys.

Also notable: Toward the end of the story, the action moves to a location outside the Muppet Theater. As far as I can remember, this is the first time the comic has done this. And the TV show almost never did it... In fact, the Loretta Lynn episode is the only instance I can remember.

So the big question here is, How is the characterization of Piggy? Latter-day Muppet writers have had a hard time pinning her down, because it's so tempting to just make her go around yelling and hitting people. In this comic book, Piggy does get angry and violent, but it's all for the love of her frog, which is not as frustrating as the one-dimensional Piggy who karate-chops everyone, no matter how contrived the reason. And she gets to act in sketches and do musical numbers, which is something TV movies and specials haven't really allowed for, but it's good because it's so easy to forget that Piggy is an accomplished performer.

So, yeah. This is an okay Miss Piggy.


And that does it for the first run of Muppet Show comics. I've enjoyed these character-focused issues, and while I think there's still some potential in that format (Floyd's story? Beaker's story? Animal's story?), I'm looking forward to the Peg Leg Wilson arc, and I'm still pretty thrilled to have new Muppet stuff on a monthly basis.


Click here to discuss this issue and geek out about the Talking Houses on the Tough Pigs forum!

Labels: comics/magazines, review, The Muppet Show

How lucky are we that we can go into any comic book store and actually purchase and read not one, but two Muppet comic books? Not lucky enough, because BOOM! Studios is bringing us a third comic in the form of Muppet Peter Pan.

Writer Grace Randolph was awesome enough to answer a few pressing questions about the comic for us. We'll have at least one more Q&A with Grace after the comic's debut, so stay tuned for more! Now let's settle down and listen to Grace Randolph and her insight into the frog that never grew up.

ToughPigs: How did you get involved with BOOM! Studios?

Grace Randolph: Paul Morrissey was my editor on a few different projects over at Tokyopop, so when he took over BOOM! Studios’ Disney line I asked if I could pitch a few ideas. Happily my Muppet Peter Pan pitch sparked his interest and Disney’s, so it was off to the races!

TP: Where did the idea for Muppet Peter Pan come from? Was it your pitch, or did BOOM approach you with the idea?

GR: It was kind of a mix, really. Disney and BOOM! had decided that in addition to The Muppet Show comic book (awesome book!), they were going to publish a Muppet Storybook comic book as well. So I pitched three different storybooks ala Muppets and Peter Pan was everyone’s favorite.

TP: Were you a Muppet fan before this project came about? Who are some of your favorite characters?

GR: Yes! I love the Muppets! I’d watched The Muppet Show when I was a kid and I’ve seen all The Muppet movies – I’d say my favorite is A Muppet Christmas Carol. As for favorite characters, of course I love Kermit but I’ve always had a soft spot for Sam the Eagle. Also my sister loves Pepe the Prawn and Bean Bunny, so they’re special to me too.

TP: In Muppet Peter Pan, what Muppets play which characters? Will there be any surprises for the fans?

GR: There sure will be some surprises – especially if I don’t ruin them here! So sorry, I can only divulge the casting of the main characters as they’re already on the cover of the main book. Kermit plays Peter Pan, Miss Piggy plays Tinkerbell, Janice plays Wendy, Scooter plays John and Bean Bunny plays Michael. Also I believe the solicitation for the book mentioned that Gonzo plays Captain Hook.

TP: How are you changing the Peter Pan story to fit in with the Muppets' sensibility?

GR: Actually, I’m trying to stick with the original Peter Pan story as closely as possible. As I said above, my favorite Muppet movie is A Muppet Christmas Carol and that was a very close adaptation of Charles Dickens’ original story. So what I’m trying to do is simply put the Muppets in that world and, since the Muppets are naturally funny, voila! Muppet Peter Pan becomes a comedy but one which is still as touching and charming as James L. Barrie’s classic story. Personally I believe those are the best stories, ones that work on many levels.

TP: What kind of research have you done to prepare for this comic?

GR: To be honest, I know the Muppets and the story of Peter Pan so well that I haven’t had to do too much research. I did look into the origin of Peter Pan which isn’t often included in other adaptations, and I also have a Muppet Whatnot named Josh who was very helpful explaining the intricacies of Muppet culture that we non-Muppets aren’t privy too. Having an inside man was a crucial part of my process.

TP: Have you seen any pages from Amy Mebberson yet?

GR: I have and oh boy is everyone in for a treat! I’m very lucky to have a great artist like Amy on the book because she’s got great comedic timing. I put a lot of humor in the book, some of it subtle and visual, and to really sell the jokes the art has to be just perfect. Amy is also giving it that wonderful storybook feel we all love.

TP: Do you have a dream comic that you'd like to write featuring the Muppets?

GR: Um, I’m writing it. Hehe. But in all seriousness, it’s just an honor to write for the Muppets and get to play in that world. Hopefully there’ll be more opportunities in the future.

TP: What is it about Bean Bunny (who has been mostly absent in recent years) that made you want to bring him back?

GR: It’s very simple really. Bean Bunny got this role because of his work in The Muppets 3D ride at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Orlando. I’ve been going to Disney World for years and every time I go, I stop by and watch this 3D movie. It’s very funny and well done, especially considering I haven’t gotten tired of it yet! And Bean Bunny is such a cute character here that I felt he was the perfect choice to play Michael. Plus, as I said, my sister likes him so I also included Bean Bunny as a nod to her.

TP: Has it been a challenge to have to mix two different franchises while staying loyal to them both?

GR: Yes, but it’s one of those challenges that when you get it just right, it’s very fulfilling. The great thing about the Muppets is that they’re so dynamic, and each character has so much personality, which means they don’t just live in another world but add to it. Therefore I’m happy to say that while you might be familiar with the Muppets and Peter Pan, this is a whole new story that feels fresh and exciting while still maintaining the qualities that made each property so beloved in the first place. At least that’s the plan.

TP: Do you have a message you want to relay to the fans?

GR: The Muppets are in good hands!

Special thanks to Grace Randolph for taking the time to chat with us!
Click here to discuss alternate uses for pixie dust on the ToughPigs forum!

Labels: comics/magazines, interview

If it's Thursday, that means it's time for more Muppet Show haiku from Tough Pigs' own David Beukema! David has already taken on season one and season two, so this week he's tackling season three. Take it away, David!

Labels: guest bloggers, poetry, The Muppet Show

My Week is for weeklong article series, just as it was before.

Fun Stuff is for lists, horoscopes, Halloween parades, and all the other nutty pieces that otherwise defy categorization.

Your Two Cents is basically the section that used to be called Soapbox, where you'll find all the stuff involving TP readers' contributions to the site.

Labels: internet, ToughPigs

Another month has gone by, another issue of The Muppet Show Comic Book has come out, and we've got another Q&A with Roger Langridge!

Read our review of this issue by clicking here!

Remember, if you've got questions for Roger Langridge, feel free to e-mail them to me and I'll include them in next month's Q&A. Enough about me, let's get to the good stuff!

ToughPigs: I love the two-page spreads at the beginning of each issue (as well as the gag of the Electric Mayhem dressed in different costumes for each one). Is this something you’ll be continuing after this first 4-issue arc?

Roger Langridge: In The Treasure of Peg-Leg Wilson I'll continue with the spreads, but they'll be backstage instead of onstage. And in the arc after that one... well, you'll just have to wait and see! But yes, I like to establish a bit of chaos nice and early, and those spreads seem as good a way as any.

TP: We've been seeing some minor background characters popping up in the background -- some of which are familiar (the Fazoobs, Koozebanians, etc), and some of whom appear to be your original designs. Are you keeping a character bible for the new creations and are you naming them? Do you plan on being consistent with individuals re-appearing in multiple issues, or are they just abstract background filler?

RL: I'm winging it! Really, I'm working at such a rate on these things that I don't have a whole lot of time to be precious about character sheets, as useful as they are. One of the nice things about drawing a comic is that I don't have to set aside time and money to make new Muppets - I can just make them on the fly!

TP: You’ve had original or whatnot characters sing songs in the comic. Will you have any of the Muppet bands (The Electric Mayhem, the Jug Band, the Country Trio, etc) sing in future issues?

RL: There's an appearance by a hillbilly character from the show in TOPLW #2 who gets to sing at both the front and back ends of that issue. And TOPLW #1 has a closing number which prominently features the Electric Mayhem, although Miss Piggy ends up doing the vocal honours there. I'm glad you mentioned the Jug Band - I'll make a note of that...

TP: Did you use a cryptogram-like language for the alien in the Pigs in Space sketch, or are they just random symbols?

RL: Oh, completely random. I hope I didn't send anybody scurrying off to decode it!

TP: In the latest comic, you addressed the issue of Gonzo’s species. Did you hear any comments regarding fact that Muppets From Space tried to claim that he is an alien? (By the way, the fans are very pleased to find that Gonzo’s alien heritage is not canon.)

RL: I haven't seen that one - to my shame, as my friend Paul Peart-Smith designed Space Gonzo for that movie. Anyway, nobody mentioned that to me, either at Disney or through less formal channels, until about a week ago when a friend brought it up. Too late to do anything about it by then!

On whether or not it's canon, I imagine you could reconcile both stories if you wanted to - by putting Muppet Show #3 earlier in the chronology than Muppets in Space. But it's probably best not to worry too much about these things as long as the story is good.

TP: In Peg-Leg Wilson, will the Animal subplot continue through all four issues, or is it just in the first one? If it’s the latter, then what can we expect to see in the other three?

RL: The Animal subplot runs through all four issues, being resolved by the end of issue #4. As do a couple of other subplots. This arc is an attempt to keep a lot of plates spinning in the air for four issues while at the same time making each issue as satisfying on its own terms as possible. It's turning out to be tougher than I expected! But I'm writing the final issue at the moment and I think it'll all hang together by the end. Just about.

TP: Are there any Muppet characters you aren’t allowed to use? Either via Disney mandate or your own personal censorship.

RL: I'm not allowed to use the Sesame Street Muppets, alas. I keep trying to sneak Ernie and Bert in there and they keep taking them out again!

TP: Will you have Lips play with the Electric Mayhem, or do you consider him not to be an official member of the band?

RL: It's not so much that he's not an official member as that I don't really know what to do with him. He seems not to have a clearly defined personality, and is kind of surplus to requirements in the stories I've written so far -- though if I can find a way to work him in that seems natural, I'm all for it.

TP: Now that we know what Gonzo is, what is Scooter?

RL: He's a gofer. I thought everybody knew that. (Seriously, his uncle is human, so I guess he's just got a good suntan.)

TP: How far into Peg-Leg Wilson are you? Are you already preparing for the third arc?

RL: I've got rough plots worked out for the next arc, yes, but they need another going-over before they'll be ready to go. Partly to address some concerns from Disney, partly to streamline it a bit for my own benefit after seeing how little breathing room I had in the Peg-Leg Wilson arc. I'm learning every issue!

Thanks again to Roger for taking the time to chat with us!
Click here to deduce Scooter's species on the ToughPigs forum!

Labels: comics/magazines, interview, Roger Langridge, The Muppet Show

In honor of our new fancy Twitter icon (Twidder? Twitterbug?), let's check out some more art by ToughPigs' own Smig!

First up, Smig is continuing his character spotlight illustrations with a few familiar faces (and one whose face might not be the first thing you notice).

Labels: fan art, Smig

Last week I posted a set of haikus written by Tough Pigs' close personal friend David Beukema, one for each episode of season one of The Muppet Show. Today David's back with a complete set of haikus for season two. So without further ado, here's some haiku!

Labels: guest bloggers, poetry, The Muppet Show

Here's a secret: one of my all-time favorite Muppets isn't one that is seen regularly like your Grovers or Gonzos. Chances are you don't own any merchandise or DVDs with him in them. He doesn't even speak the Queen's English. I have a soft spot in my heart for Moishe Oofnik, Rechov Sumsum's resident hobo.

Fun Fact #1: Moishe might be the only Sesame Street Muppet to have gotten drunk on-screen.

Thankfully for me and the rest of Moishe's fan club, SISU Entertainment just released "Meet Oofnik the Grouch", a new DVD featuring everybody's favorite Israeli garbage-dweller. The DVD boasts three full episodes of Rechov Sumsum, plus bonus clips. The total running time came to about an hour, which already trumps the domestic Sesame DVDs, which usually come to about half that.

Fun Fact #2: "Meet Oofnik the Grouch" translates into "Meet Grouch the Grouch." It's like using your "PIN number" at an "ATM machine".

This being a foreign production, the video is naturally in Hebrew with English subtitles. While that wouldn't bother you or me, that's the one factor that might turn kids off. Vicariously, that might turn you off too if you're the one who little Timmy keeps asking "What did he say? Now what did she say? Now what did he say? Can I have more caffeine? I like turtles!"

Moishe, as you would guess, is just like his American counterpart, Oscar. They're both jerkfaces, they both live in trash cans, and they're both probably one step away from going postal on all of their neighbors.

In the first episode, Moishe demonstrates what he does when he's angry: he plays his noisemaker, which calms him down (why a Grouch would want to calm down is beyond me). Noah, the orange monster, has another method for cooling off, but he won't show it since he's not actually mad. In classic Grouch form, Moishe emasculates Noah for not being capable of anger, which of course makes him infuriated. Then Noah reveals his secret method as he begins adding numbers ("One and one are two, two and two are four..."), and the magic of mathematics sedates him into a near slumber. Though Moishe has been defeated, he still gets props for being able to piss off a kid in just 10 seconds flat.

The next episode features Avigile, a purple girlie-girl monster who speaks in the third person, much like another dude we know. Avigile tells Moishe that she wants to play with him, but like any self respecting Grouch, he tries to get rid of her by telling her that he's bringing out the dreaded "karambula." Avigile, shaken with fear, runs away to the safety of the grocery store where the clerk informs her that a karambula is just a star fruit. She introduces Avigile to some other fruits, and then Avigile goes back to Moishe's hovel to tell him that she still wants to play. Unfazed, Moishe then tries to scare her by threatening to bring out the "pasiflora," which Avigile coincidentally just learned is just a passion fruit. She then laughs right in Moishe's face, boasting that she's smarter than the homeless guy. And then I guess they played a game or something, we'll never know for sure. Moishe will apparently stoop pretty low to get rid of annoying children, even to go as far as threaten them with fruit.

Fun Fact #3: Monsters hate vitamin C.

In the third episode, everyone is playing "The Dwarf and the Giant," which is pretty much Secret Santa, but with a slightly politically incorrect name. Moishe is excited to get a Stinky Garbage Cake, which is made of mango peels, spinach, and rotten cucumbers. Unbeknownst to Avigile, Moishe is her "dwarf" and buys her a jar of the very best Spoiled Sardine Jelly. The ungrateful brat deduces who bought her the gift and says that it's the worst present she's ever gotten, with Moishe standing right next to her! Even though he already spent good money on the Grouch delicacy, Moishe disguises himself as Groucho Marx and forces himself to buy Avigile a "nice" gift. Kids these days, they're never happy.

There's a good deal of extra Moishe Oofnik sketches on the DVD in case you're not happy with just three. (C'mon, the guy is on the cover! Give the Grouch his screen time!) There's a sketch about Moishe wearing a watermelon peel as a hat, one where Moishe asks everyone in town to make as much noise as they can so he can fall asleep, and one where he thinks that kids never have anything important to say (and then ignores Avigile's warnings that the sign over his trash can is about to fall on his head). One sketch in particular involves Moishe trying to teach the kids at home that everyone is the same, which seems to be a valuable lesson for kids in the Middle East. He is then immediately countered by every person in town who tells Moishe how they're nothing like their neighbors. And then they all fought a war over the Gaza Strip, which is why you should always listen to Moishe Oofnik, kids.

Because the DVD contained full episodes, a few dubbed versions of our Sesame Street made the cut, with one Muppety skit for each one. A sketch I've never seen featuring Oscar, Grungetta, and a few other Grouches as cavemen inventing the word "Scram" (subtitled as "Get Lost", which is obviously not one word) was in the first episode. Bert singing "I've Got to Be Clean" also appeared, which proved to us that Bert has a lovely singing voice, even when he's singing in Hebrew. The last had another new-to-me sketch about Two Nosed, a kingdom of people with two noses ("They can sneeze twice at the same time!" What an astonishing mutant power!), where the king and queen won't allow their daughter to play with Elmo. They said it was because he only has one nose, but we all know it was because Two Nosed is constantly at war with Elmo's World.

All in all, I had a great time watching and rewatching this DVD. Moishe Oofnik is hilarious in his jerkitude and filthiness. And because it's a foreign product, every sketch is brand new to us. If you don't mind a little light reading while you watch your Sesame, this DVD is highly recommended.

Click here to visit SISU Entertainment's website, where you can order this DVD, as well as other Rechov Sumsum and Shalom Sesame DVDs and merchandise.
!לחץ כאן כדי לשוחח על אשפה בפורום הטאפ-פיגס
(Translation: Click here to talk trash on the ToughPigs forum!)

Labels: DVD, review, Sesame Street

Lucky for you fans who enjoyed A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa, the movie is being released on DVD on September 9, 2009! Just in time for Patriot Day.

The DVD will contain the hour-long TV movie, as well as 15 whopping minutes of special features, including deleted scenes and a documentary about searching for Santa Claus (hint: he's hiding in a terrible Tim Allen trilogy).

Unfortunately, the suggested retail price for the DVD is $26.99. $26.99??? For 75 minutes of mediocrity?? There must be some kind of added bonus; some extra feature that will make us foam at the mouth to give Disney our hard-earned Canadian dollars. Well, there is. The DVD boasts a "Eye-Catching Collectible O-Sleeve!"

Wait. What the crap is an O-Sleeve? Let alone an Eye-Catching Collectible one.

I don't have all the answers, kids. Nor do I have the energy to Google such a concept. What I'd rather do is leave it up to you to do the hard work.

What we want is for you to sketch, design, Photoshop, or otherwise create a cover for Letters to Santa with an Eye-Catching Collectible O-Sleeve. Or, if that's too difficult, feel free to just design an alternate cover for the DVD. E-mail your submissions to me over the next week and I'll post the best of the best right here on ToughPigs.com!
Click here to discuss this article on the Eye-Catching Collectible ToughPigs forum!

You know what haikus are, right? Those poems with three lines consisting of five, seven, and five syllables, respectively? Over on the Tough Pigs forum, we recently had a thread (started by Tough Pigs' own Mo W) called "Muppet Haiku Time!" As the name implies, we filled the thread with haikus about every conceivable Muppet topic under the sun.

Tough Pigs regular David Beukema had so much fun getting in touch with his poetic side, he told us he bet he could come up with a haiku for every single episode of The Muppet Show. So that's exactly what he's going to do. David's going to write one hundred and twenty Muppet Show haikus, and I'll be posting them here, one season per week, until we're out of seasons. Now, what better place to start than with season one? Take it away, David Beukema!

EPISODE 103: JOEL GREY
Pachalafaka
Is the song you sing to meet
Turkish transvestites.

EPISODE 104: RUTH BUZZI
Buzzi and Sweetums
Are star-crossed lovers who fight.
How will the kids look?

EPISODE 105: RITA MORENO
Crazy Marvin Suggs
Bangs Muppaphones night and day.
I hope they’re insured.

EPISODE 106: JIM NABORS
Here we meet Scooter.
Please ignore his presence in
Three earlier shows.

EPISODE 107: FLORENCE HENDERSON
Galley Oh Hoop Hoop!
Kermit the Frog narrates some
Hot alien porn!

EPISODE 108: PAUL WILLIAMS
Send me to Pittsburgh,
Short travel agent. But got
Anything cheaper?

EPISODE 109: CHARLES AZNAVOUR
Gonzo wears a dress
The poor guy's got more issues
Than Reader's Digest

EPISODE 110: HARVEY KORMAN
Harvey does it all!
No one can accuse him of
Being chicken. Cluck!

EPISODE 111: LENA HORNE
R! I say R-A!
R-A-G! R-A-G-G!
Rag! George loves this act.

EPISODE 112: PETER USTINOV
The writing Hatrack
Is wed to a chair. Oh man!
Think of the splinters!

EPISODE 113: BRUCE FORSYTH
A burning question:
Who the hell is Bruce Forsyth?
Who cares? That duck rules!

EPISODE 114: SANDY DUNCAN
Downing whiskey shots
Dancing in bars with monsters.
A nice girl, indeed!

EPISODE 115: CANDICE BERGEN
Kermit tells Candice
Last week, Sweetums ate the guest.
Poor Sandy Duncan.

EPISODE 116: AVERY SCHREIBER
Honeydew invents
The Gorilla Detector.
Some bugs to work out…

EPISODE 117: BEN VEREEN
Ben says dynamite
And Crazy Harry pops up.
One airborne guest star.

EPISODE 118: PHYLLIS DILLER
Will someone please get
That Hugga Wugga dude some
Afrin nasal spray?

EPISODE 119: VINCENT PRICE
On the DVDs,
Thanks to Carole King’s demands,
Vincent’s got no friends.

EPISODE 120: VALERIE HARPER
Statler goes gaga
Over Valerie. Why not?
Rhoda was a fox!

EPISODE 121: TWIGGY
Uncle Deadly rocks.
Haunting the show and many
Poor Muppet fans’ dreams.

EPISODE 122: ETHEL MERMAN
Ethel versus Pig.
The all-time diva match-up.
Take some notes, Britney.

EPISODE 123: KAYE BALLARD
The band is on strike.
The frog’s gotta watch out for
Those puppet unions.

EPISODE 124: MUMMENSCHANZ
Mummenschanz are weird.
Let’s move on to normal guests,
Like Shields and Yarnell.

Big thanks to David for sharing his mad haiku skillz, and to Muppet Wiki for photo assistance! Come back a week from today for haikus about every episode of season two! Click here to comment on this article seventeen syllables at a time on the Tough Pigs forum!

ToughPigsRyan@yahoo.com

Labels: guest bloggers, poetry, The Muppet Show

Last week saw the release of Muppet Robin Hood #1, and this week -- Wednesday, June 3rd to be exact – will be the release date of The Muppet Show Comic Book #3. It’s a great time to be a Muppet fan who can read. If you’re a Muppet fan who can’t read, you should ask the guy at the comic book store to read the issue to you. He’ll do it. He’s a nice guy.

Issue #3 is once again written and drawn by Roger Langridge, who previously told us a Kermit story and a Fozzie story and now gives us an issue focusing on Gonzo… although it’s interesting to note that Gonzo’s not really the protagonist, but rather the source of conflict in the story. Well, I thought it was interesting, anyway. Maybe you think it’s incredibly boring.

Langridge’s designs for the Muppet characters have not been embraced by all fans, and his Gonzo in particular drew some criticism for being off-model. I think it’s recognizable enough, but if you hated the way Gonzo looked in the first two issues, you might want to avoid this one, because he’s all over it.

But I’m getting ahead of myself, so let’s start at the beginning. Issue #1 began with the Muppet Newsman, and Issue #2 kicked off with a Statler and Waldorf bit. The new issue starts with everyone’s favorite permanently squinting old guy, Pops the doorman, as he greets a newcomer to the Muppet Theater.


This works really well because Pops’s original role on The Muppet Show was to open every episode of season five by greeting the guest star at the door. Not only is it funny, it feels right. I’m going to make a prediction right now and say that a future issue of this comic will start with Scooter knocking on a guest star’s door as he did in seasons two through four.

But that guy’s not the guest star, he’s Osbert J. Smedley, an insurance agent visiting the theater for some risk assessment. This seems exactly like a backstage plot from the TV show. Smedley reminds me of Dave Goelz's Inspector LaBrea character from the Dizzy Gillespie episode, and as I read the issue and played the usual "Which performer would this be?" game, that's the voice I was hearing.

For medical purposes, Smedley needs to know identify the species of every Muppet Theater employee. (It’s a very specialized policy.) There’s just one problem: Nobody’s sure what Gonzo is.


Wait a minute! Didn’t Muppets From Space establish that Gonzo is an alien? Well, it did, but come on -- Who likes or cares about Muppets From Space? I’m actually really glad the Muppet people let Langridge do this… Honestly, the Muppets don’t have continuity. Sometimes they begin a production as strangers to each other, sometimes they all live together in a boarding house, sometimes they all live in a hallway. Nothing is set in stone.

And anyway, I hated the revelation that Gonzo was from another planet. So I’m totally in favor of applying some Wite-Out to that and saying Gonzo’s heritage is still a mystery. In this story, it’s up to Scooter to figure it out, and it won’t be easy. This is almost as much a Scooter story as it is a Gonzo story, and it’s nice to see the guy get so much screen time.

That’s the backstage plot. As before, there are lots of fun onstage acts sprinkled throughout the issue as well. There’s a chicken musical number, there’s a Pigs in Space sketch. There’s also a brand-new segment starring Gonzo, called “Gumshoe McGurk, Private Eye!” It’s a neat idea, but it doesn’t quite take off. A Muppet spoof of detective story clichés is a setup full of potential, but as it plays out it’s just not that funny. There’s really nothing here that’s even specific to Gonzo’s character – you could pretty much plug any other Muppet into this bit and it wouldn’t make much difference.


On the other hand, a Gonzo bit called “Twinkle Twinkle Little Rat” feels a lot like something from the first few seasons of The Muppet Show. It’s nuts. And hey, it has Rizzo! Rizzo was barely a character in the final season of the TV show, but in this issue he plays a pretty substantial role, with his real personality and everything, and it works quite well.


I’m going to go ahead and make the bold statement that The Muppet Show Comic Book #3 is better than #2 was. The jokes are funny, the familiar Muppet characters are plentiful, and the Gonzo story has a satisfying resolution. Also, it’s still fun to spot the British turns of phrase that pop up in Langridge’s dialogue. Scooter even says “No offence” at one point, spelling it with a “C” just like that.

There’s not one number in particular that makes innovative use of the comic book layout this time around (like “The Ubiquitous Quilp” in #1 and the car song in #2), but Langridge continues to take advantage of the medium by letting the Muppets do things they can’t do on TV. For example, we almost never get to see the Gonzo puppet do a full-body tap dance.


Speaking of Gonzo, it's nice to see him doing silly daredevil acts again. That's the guy he was created to be, but with the last few Muppet productions taking place way outside the variety show format, he hasn't gotten to act so much like himself. Here he gets to be the Great Gonzo again.

And here once again we have a lovely new episode of The Muppet Show, all between two staples and available for less than the cost of a venti mocha latte. Next month is the Miss Piggy issue… Here’s hoping it’s up to Piggy’s own lofty standards.


Click here to shoot yourself out a cannon while talking about this comic on the Tough Pigs forum!

Labels: comics/magazines, merchandise, review, The Muppet Show