The Muppets: 6 Highlights And 4 Lowlights From The Pilot

It's time to light the lights...again.

Muppets Denise
ABC

After being off the air for nearly 20 years, the Muppets are back on television! The gang's last show was Muppets Tonight, which was cancelled by ABC after only 10 episodes. Now, after a whole bunch of successful movies and a great 2011 reboot, the network is finally trying again with a more adult oriented, 30 Rock style series, The Muppets. 

Anticipation for this show has been extremely high because, well, they're the freaking Muppets. Millions of people have fond memories of growing up with them, and because of that, making a new show is tricky business. It has to honor the legacy of what's come before while doing something different, and from the get go, half the audience is already skeptical that it won't be as good as the Jim Henson era. So can it live up to the hype, and even more than that, can a Muppets TV show even still do well in modern times? 

So far, critical reaction to the series has been mixed, as some have complained it's a bit too adult and mean spirited, while others have said it's a solid start and a nice reimagining of the franchise. The first episode is something of a mixed bag, but overall, it definitely shows a lot of potential. 

Let's take a look at 6 highlights and 4 lowlights from the premiere of The Muppets.

10. Highlight: Up Late With Miss Piggy

Muppets Denise
ABC

Some hardcore Muppet fans are a bit annoyed that the new series isn't a variety show. Instead, the Muppets are now putting on a Jimmy Kimmel style talk show called Up Late With Miss Piggy, and this is actually one of the modern touches that's absolutely welcome.

From what we see, Up Late With Miss Piggy pretty much follows the format of every late night talk show on the air right now. Piggy comes out and gives a monologue in front of a curtain, she interviews celebrities, there's a musical guest, and presumably there will be some sketches in future episodes. Oh, and Fozzie is her right hand man, which is just absolutely perfect (even though he messes up his announcement right away). 

It should be fun to see more of Up Late as the series progresses, since part of the joy of The Muppet Show was seeing both the inner workings and the actual show itself. Hopefully they won't completely stick to the behind the scenes happenings, giving us glimpses into Up Late when appropriate. The variety show is a pretty outdated format, so having The Muppets revolve around a late night program makes a lot of sense. They're taking the spirit of The Muppet Show but giving it an update, and that's exactly what this reboot should be doing.

 
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Lover of horror movies, liker of other things. Your favorite Friday the 13th says a lot about you as a person, and mine is Part IV: The Final Chapter.