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That Puppet Game Show
I watched the first two episodes of this today. I'd put it off because I was afraid it was going to be completely dreadful, and I didn't want to know a Henson show was completely dreadful.
Well, it's not completely dreadful. The puppeteering is good, the characters have interesting aspects, some of the games were quite fun, there were some nice comedy moments, and it's nice to see they still have that armadillo puppet. But it's not great, either.
The main problem I had was the backstage stuff. It didn't help that in the first one the backstage plot was that someone needed to be fired to save money, and turned on the reveal that every week, the boss makes another game show as a back up. Which, you know, you should probably save until "every week" actually means anything.
But the deeper problem is that, unlike The Muppet Show (from season 2, anyway) and Muppets Tonight, the backstage plot never quite seemed to connect with the on-stage one. (Heck, there were times the backstage plot didn't connect with itself; are the monkey and gerbil meant to be in the basement of the studio? They don't interact with any of the other characters, so it's impossible to tell.) The situation seems to be that, unlike a variety show, there shouldn't be any time when the guests are off-stage, which limits how involved they can be. (They try their best by engineering rounds where one competitor is off-screen, but that's just it; it's clearly been engineered for a single "guest backstage" skit.)
I daresay it'll get better once they get a handle on what works and what doesn't, just like The Muppet Show. I just hope they get the chance (Muppets Tonight didn't).
Well, it's not completely dreadful. The puppeteering is good, the characters have interesting aspects, some of the games were quite fun, there were some nice comedy moments, and it's nice to see they still have that armadillo puppet. But it's not great, either.
The main problem I had was the backstage stuff. It didn't help that in the first one the backstage plot was that someone needed to be fired to save money, and turned on the reveal that every week, the boss makes another game show as a back up. Which, you know, you should probably save until "every week" actually means anything.
But the deeper problem is that, unlike The Muppet Show (from season 2, anyway) and Muppets Tonight, the backstage plot never quite seemed to connect with the on-stage one. (Heck, there were times the backstage plot didn't connect with itself; are the monkey and gerbil meant to be in the basement of the studio? They don't interact with any of the other characters, so it's impossible to tell.) The situation seems to be that, unlike a variety show, there shouldn't be any time when the guests are off-stage, which limits how involved they can be. (They try their best by engineering rounds where one competitor is off-screen, but that's just it; it's clearly been engineered for a single "guest backstage" skit.)
I daresay it'll get better once they get a handle on what works and what doesn't, just like The Muppet Show. I just hope they get the chance (Muppets Tonight didn't).