Ryan and Joe (that's me!) are the super special guests on the latest episode of The MuppetCast! We had a hearty chat with Steve Swanson about all the news and goings-on in the world of Muppets.

Click here to give a listen to the podcast. I hope you don't get tired of our voices, because we sure don't.

The MuppetCast updates weekly, so keep an eye on the website for future episodes! If my math is right, that's like a thousand episodes a year!

Click here to sing along with a podcast on the ToughPigs forum!

Labels: fanaticism, internet, MuppetCast, ToughPigs

It's amazing that Steve Swanson has been recording the MuppetCast podcast every week for over two years. Nice work, Steve! And double-nice-work for having the good sense to invite ToughPigs' own Joe and Ryan onto your show again. Well played, old chum.

Click here to listen to the latest installment of the MuppetCast, where you can hear me and Ryan chat with Steve about the ToughPigs Outing, expensive dolls, comic books, and America's Got Talent. And as a special bonus, Steve also chats with Street Gang author Michael Davis, who has a bit of good news to share about the book's reissue. Though if you're just interested in listening to mine and Ryan's voices, then feel free to skip to the 33-minute mark. Don't worry, I won't let it go to my head.

And of course, Steve is still recording a podcast every single week, so keep an eye on his site for upcoming episodes.

Click here to talk out loud on the ToughPigs forum!

Labels: fanaticism, internet, MuppetCast, ToughPigs

It looks like the gods of weather might be looking kindly upon us this weekend, because Saturday, September 5 is looking to be sunny and warm! What a perfect day for a ToughPigs Outing! We should have one of those.

Details for the Outing on Governors Island can be found here. And just a reminder, since your ToughPigs site-runners are as broke as a joke, we can't afford to provide lunch for everyone. Hopefully a few kind souls will donate a snack or two (hint hint), but be prepared to brown bag a sandwich.

Speaking of bringing stuff, feel free to pack your bag with your favorite outdoorsy things, like frisbees, badminton rackets, kites, foosball tables, polar bears, the Oregon Trail... wait, what was I talking about? Oh yeah, bring stuff! For fun!

Drop me a line if you have any questions about the Outing, and we're looking forward to meeting all you Muppety folks!
Click here for some fun in the sun on the ToughPigs forum!

Labels: ToughPigs

Flashback to mid-July, and you might remember being horribly disappointed that we had a ToughPigs Outing scheduled in New York City (no, that's not the disappointing part) which was canceled due to the weather (yes, there's the rub). The kick in the pants was that we ended up having a beautiful, clear day, which convinced me to shake many a fist at our local weathermen for steering me wrong.

Thankfully, there is still lots of summer left, and we have finally narrowed down a weekend for our newly rescheduled ToughPigs Outing. Join us on Governors Island on Saturday, September 5th for fun in the sun (or in the shade of a tree), along with some exciting mingling with your fellow Muppet fans. We will be meeting at 10:30am in the lobby of the Governors Island ferry, which is located directly to the left of the Staten Island Ferry in the southern tip of Manhattan (near the 4/5, R/W, and 1 trains). Ferries leave every hour on the hour, so the bulk of us will be on the 11:00 boat. (If you're late, don't worry about it. Just meet us at the rendezvous whenever you can make it.) The ferry is free, and the ride is only about 5 minutes long. Just long enough to get a whiff of the East River.

Don't know what we look like? Keep an eye out for a small group of folks, some of whom will be wearing Muppet shirts. Still not sure? Try asking random strangers if they're a ToughPig and see what kind of reaction you get!

Once on the island, we'll head straight to the Parade Ground (#2 on the map below), which is a large empty field with four trees in the middle. We'll make the trees our home base for any latecomers.

Once we've settled, we'll eat some lunch (feel free to bring your own, or if you're feeling generous, bring something Muppety to share, like "Swedish Chef" meatballs, Munchos chips, or French Fried Frog's Legs), toss around the frisbee, fly some kites, play with puppets, and whatever else it is that people do in the outdoors. We encourage you to bring your own toys, puppets, cameras, or whatever else you can think of. To keep things relevant, we'll hold some Muppet trivia games, complete with prizes!

Sadly, Judy Collins will be unable to attend.

Even if you just want to stop by and say hi for a little and then ditch us, there's plenty to do on Governors Island. There's lot of pathways for exploring, bike rentals, kayaking, mini-golf, historical tours, and much more.

If you're in the New York area and are thinking about coming, drop by the ToughPigs forum or send me an e-mail. I'll send out an e-mail reminder as it gets a little closer to the 5th, and I'll keep you informed in case there are any weather issues. General questions (and answers) will be posted on the forum.

If the unthinkable happens and bad weather is headed our way for Saturday the 5th, we will reschedule the Outing for Sunday the 6th. Again, I'll let you all know if we need to pull out that Plan B via e-mail and the ToughPigs forum.

And feel free to invite your non-fanatic friends too! The more the merrier! But if they start spreading those nasty "Vegetable Monster" rumors, we're voting them off the island.

This event should be a blast! I'm looking forward to meeting a lot of our readers, and I hope you're not sorely disillusioned after meeting the faces behind ToughPigs.
Click here to chat about this upcoming event on the ToughPigs forum!

Labels: ToughPigs

Due to crummy weather, the ToughPigs Outing scheduled for Sunday, July 26, at Governors Island has been canceled. Unfortunately the threat of thunderstorms (and the lack of an indoor venue) is keeping us from having our fun.

Thankfully the summer is far from over, so you'll bet your bippy that we'll try this nonsense again next month. Keep an eye on this space for details on the inevitable ToughPigs Outing 2.0!

Though if you're still hankering to meet some of your fellow Muppet fanatics this week, a bunch of us will be at the Muppet Movie and Muppets 201 screenings at BAM on Tuesday, July 28. Click here for details.
Click here to stay dry on the ToughPigs forum!

Labels: ToughPigs

Back in the early years, when ToughPigs was still but a babe, Muppet fans were known to gather together in the spirit of brotherhood and fanaticism to discuss things of a Muppety nature whilst (and at the same time) enjoying the niceties that the outdoors has to offer. It's been a while since we've visited that tradition, so grab a frisbee, brownbag your lunch, and let's go island-hopping!

The first ToughPigs Outing of 2009 will be held in New York City on Sunday, July 26 on Governors Island. The Governors Island Ferry is directly to the left of the Staten Island Ferry (which you can reach via the 1, 4, 5, R, and W trains) and leaves Manhattan every hour on the hour (so plan on arriving early so you won't have to wait for the next ride). The ferry is free and only five minutes long.

We'll plan on being on the 11:00am ferry, so we'll meet either in the waiting room or on the boat around 10:30 (if you don't know what we look like, just look for a few blokes wearing Muppet t-shirts). Once on the island, we'll head straight to the Parade Ground, which is a large empty field with a few trees in the middle. We'll make the trees our home base for any latecomers.

Once we've settled, we'll eat some lunch (feel free to bring your own, or if you're feeling generous, bring something Muppety to share, like "Swedish Chef" meatballs, Munchos chips, or French Fried Frog's Legs), toss around the frisbee, fly some kites, play with puppets, and whatever else it is that people do in the outdoors. We encourage you to bring your own toys, puppets, cameras, or whatever else you can think of. To keep things relevant, we'll hold some Muppet trivia games, complete with prizes!

And what ToughPigs Outing would be complete without a visit from a Muppet Show guest star? Judy Collins will be joining us... kinda. She'll be performing a free concert on Gov's Island, and I'm sure once she finds out that we're all there, she'll put down her guitar and toss the frisbee around with us for a while. Judy's concert starts at 2:30 at Colonel's Row.

Even if you just want to stop by and say hi for a little and then ditch us, there's plenty to do on Governors Island. There's lot of pathways for exploring, bike rentals, kayaking, mini-golf, historical tours, and much more.

If you're in the New York area and are thinking about coming, drop by the ToughPigs forum or send me an e-mail. I'll send out an e-mail reminder as it gets a little closer to the 26th, and I'll keep you informed in case there are any weather issues. General questions (and answers) will be posted on the forum.

This event should be a blast! I'm looking forward to meeting a lot of our readers, and I hope you're not sorely disillusioned after meeting the faces behind ToughPigs.
Click here to chat about this upcoming event on the ToughPigs forum!

Labels: ToughPigs

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

Hey, did you happen to check this website at some point on April 1st? If you did, maybe you noticed something odd... Tough Pigs has always been committed to honest criticism, but for April Fool's Day we were even more negative than usual. Click here to check it out. And special thanks to Tough Pigs' resident compu-wizard Scott Hanson for helping us with the compu-wizardry!

Labels: ToughPigs

A lot of web-surfers who stumble upon this website do so via a search on Google or some other search engine. With the magic of Google Analytics, we can keep track of how our visitors find us, including the search terms that led them to the site.


Many of these searches are phrased in the form of a question, which makes sense, because as Sesame Street has taught us, asking questions is a good way of finding things out. In an effort to be as helpful as possible, I've decided to answer some of the recent search engine questions that have led people here.

Now let's see what folks want to know...


Q: Which year did the Two-headed Monster first appear on Sesame Street?
A: 1978. See how helpful I am?


Q: Season of the muppet show mahna manha which disc episode
A: Season one, disc one, the Juliet Prowse episode. Now that's some useful information. You're welcome!


Q: What else did the cast of A Fish Called Wanda star in?
A: 1997's Fierce Creatures. See there? I answered that one and it wasn't even about Muppets!

Q: Whatever happened to the first Gordon from Sesame Street?
A: His name was Matt Robinson, and he went on to write for The Cosby Show. Boy, I'm full of helpfulness today.


Q: Does anyone have a wallpaper of the Muppets character Beaker?
A: Um... probably. Yeah, probably somebody does.

Q: When will The Muppet Show 4th season be available?
A: Not soon enough, I tell ya!

Q: What are the names of the cast from Sesame Street?
A: Well, let's see... there's Bob. He's played by a guy named Bob. There are some other people too.

Q: What is Miss Piggy's surname in the TV show the Muppets?
A: "Mummenschanz."

Q: Who is the hottest female Muppet?
A: Miss Mousey, definitely. Everyone wants to make out with her.

Q: Did Jim Henson ever go to jail?
A: Sure he did! Don't you remember that time he stole Air Force One and used it to rob banks in 14 major world cities, illegally copying videotapes all the while? It was in all the papers.

Q: Who sings on the commercial with the really tall guy looking for a car over the internet?
A: Michael Jackson.

Q: Who was Jerry's relative on Tom and Jerry that sang and played guitar?
A: Michael Jackson.

Q: Who would you like to see as a celebrity guest star on Sesame Street?
A: Anyone but Michael Jackson.

Q: How tall is Howie Mandel?
A: Five feet, seven inches in high heels. And he always wears high heels.

Q: Why weren't Captain and Tennille on The Muppet Show?
A: As a matter of fact, the Captain and Tennille were on The Muppet Show, but it was using their aliases "Shields" and "Yarnell."

Q: Is political science an art or science?
A: Yes.

Q: Which show did Miley Cyrus first star in?
A: Miley Cyrus first rose to fame playing the role of Darrin Stephens on the hit CBS comedy Bewitched.

Q: How do pigs benefit man?
A: By going to space!

Q: Is a ball named googly giggler?
A: Oh, it most certainly is.

Q: Won't somebody think of the children?
A: Yep.

Q: What Muppet are you?
A: I'm actually not a Muppet. I'm a human being. Thanks for asking, though.

Q: i want to work with muppets
A: Me too!

Q: What animal are Fraggles?
A: Gobo and Wembley are schnauzers, Boober and Red are cockatoos, and Mokey is a snuffleupagus.

Q: Did Dylan Sprout and Miley Cyrus ever go together?
A: Actually, it's a funny story. Dylan Sprouse did ask out Miley Cyrus, and they dated for quite some time, but it wasn't until the fifth month of their relationship that she realized she wasn't dating Cole.

Q: forever friends. who is kermit.s fictional friend
A: The Great Gatsby.

Q: Why do all muppets seem to be left-handed?
A: The answer is simple: They seem to be left-handed because they ARE left-handed.

Q: who seen bert ernie serie stopmotion
A: Me!

Q: Is Dylan or Cole Sprouts older and by how many more minutes or seconds?
A: Cole is older by two inches. Both Sprouse brothers celebrate their 45th birthday next July.

Q: What is the difference between a gobo and a cookie?
A: Gobo and Cookie Monster are both Muppets. There is no difference.

Q: What does Abby Cadabby offer to viewers?
A: A giant vat of pudding. Are you interested?

Q: Does the regular TMX Elmo have secret sequences?
A: Yeah, and they're REALLY cool. Oh boy, are they cool. Awesome, really.

Q: How can I get a pass to see the Sprouse brothers on "Live, the Suite Life on Deck"?
A: You can't. The truth is, you will never meet the Sprouse brothers. You will never touch or talk to the Sprouse brothers. The Sprouse brothers will never even know you exist. So you might as well stop dreaming now.



And there you have it. I feel like I've done some real good here. You can all thank me later.



Click here to thank me on the Tough Pigs forum!

ToughPigsRyan@yahoo.com

Labels: internet, ToughPigs

Special thanks to everyone out there in internetland for your great response to the article posted earlier this week about my experience on the Muppet set. But apparently, hard as we tried, we weren't able to keep the story to one medium. Sure, print may be dead, but radio is the wave of the future!

Check out the latest edition of the MuppetCast to hear my loverly voice rant about, well, pretty much everything I wrote about in this article. Hey, you never know, I may have accidentally mentioned something about that line of Muppet-themed Q-tips they've got planned. Whoops!

Click here to listen to the MuppetCast!

And click here to discuss my accent on the ToughPigs forum!

Labels: fanaticism, internet, MuppetCast, ToughPigs

Once again, Ryan and I (I'm Joe, nice to meetcha) have been interviewed on The MuppetCast, a weekly podcast hosted by Steve Swanson.

This week we all discussed the new Fraggle Rock DVDs and what we think about the release of the full-series set and the non-release of season 4.

Click here to listen to the podcast, and click here to go back in time and listen to our first interview with Steve, way back in February. And of course, go to MuppetCast.com every week for more podcasty goodness.

Click here to discuss this article on the ToughPigs forum (audio version not available in some areas)!

Labels: fanaticism, internet, MuppetCast, ToughPigs

To celebrate the national holiday of people acting like asses, we at ToughPigs.com pulled a fast one on all of you readers. In case you missed it, this website was replaced for 24 hours with a Topo Gigio fansite.

To our knowledge, no such fansites exist. But in our research on Topo, we found that he's actually pretty awesome. Do yourself a favor and watch a few clips of him on YouTube. Some are in Italian, but that shouldn't matter. He speaks the international language of adorableness.

Five articles adorned ToughPigs.com, written by myself, Ryan Roe, and Michal Richardson. Special thanks to Scott for handling the technobabble (and double special thanks to Scott for handling the technobabble of this website for the past year and a half! Scott's a superhero!).

Click here to see what life was like for a Muppet fansite on April 1, 2008.
Click here to talk Topo on the ToughPigs forum!

Labels: internet, ToughPigs

Have you ever wondered what Ryan and Joe's voices sound like? If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, then you're in luck! ToughPigs' own Senior Contributors were interviewed by Steve Swanson last week, and now we're featured on his latest podcast!

Tune in and you'll hear what Joe really thinks of Mr. Magorium, Ryan's obscure Muppet impressions, and who Pepe the King Prawn is romantically linked to.

If you're an impatient fellow, the ToughPigs interview starts about 34 minutes into the podcast (UPDATE: the MP3 version starts at 34 minutes, but it starts at 47 minutes when you play it directly through the MuppetCast website.. no idea why that is), but I recommend listening to the whole dang thing. Steve puts a lot of effort into the show every week, and the quality speaks for itself.

Click here to listen to the podcast, and go to MuppetCast.com every week for podcasty goodness.

Labels: fanaticism, internet, MuppetCast, ToughPigs

So I don't know if you've noticed, but Tough Pigs hasn't been updated in a year. There are many good reasons for this, none of them convincing.

Partly, it's because I got a grown-up job, which doesn't allow me a spare couple of hours during the day to write amusing reviews of Muppet specials.

But mostly it's because this year we started Muppet Wiki. I don't know if you've looked at the wiki recently, but it's really extraordinary -- huge and detailed and beautiful and insane. (If you haven't checked it out much, then "Today on Muppet Wiki" gives you a good overview of how we've been spending our time.)

And the thing about working on the wiki is that it's not just me writing stuff; it's a whole bunch of people all working together. That experience has been so exciting that, frankly, it made working on Tough Pigs seem really lonely. Creating a website is pretty much a one-man operation -- it's just you and the computer, staring at each other. Now that I know what it's like to work on a site with other people, it's hard to go back to the old do-it-yourself model.

Therefore: Welcome to the new and improved Tough Pigs! I've got a whole bunch of my friends together, Muppet Movie campfire style, and we've set up the site so that we can all post amusing reviews of Muppet specials. Now, don't worry -- my friends are all bright, witty and stunningly attractive, so you'll hardly notice the difference at all. Plus, all the previous content from the site is still here, so you'll still get to see all my bad formatting and lapses in judgement.

So enjoy the new Tough Pigs! And as always, if you don't like it, feel free to start your own damn site.

Labels: ToughPigs