This past year, a new Muppet show debuted on ABC, titled "The Muppets," in which the familiar characters were placed in a "mockumentary-style" setting and given backstories, relationship drama and some new faces. A few weeks before the new show premiered, it struck controversy because of its seemingly "adult themes" that some felt were inappropriate for children, an audience often associated with "The Muppets."
On September 18, four days before the new show premiered, an article was posted online by an organization called "One Million Moms" about their concern for the adult humor featured on the new show. To quote the article, they claim the new show “is not what Jim Henson imagine and created. The new show is aimed at a mature, modern audience and addresses subjects not suitable for family viewing.” The article goes on to discuss the show addresses mature topics such as sex, drugs and promiscuity, while also mentioning an MSNBC interview in which Miss Piggy referred to herself as a pro-choice feminist, immediately leading them to add abortion as another issue raised by the new take on these characters.
I know this story is controversial and possibly sensitive to some. I felt that because I am someone who is confident in my beliefs and my appreciation for the work of Jim Henson that I could break down this situation without coming across as being disrespectful or insensitive.
First things first, I need to take us back in time to explore the history of "The Muppets" and adult humor. Jim Henson never wanted to become known as a children’s entertainer. If anything, his greatest interests were his experimental films with a wide range of topics. It wasn’t until "Sesame Street" that he really began to dip his toe into the world of children’s television. However, despite the success of that show, he didn’t feel accomplished. He wanted to create a television show that could be aimed towards adults and children.
In his original pitch, Henson was quoted as saying, "Small children will love the cute and cuddly characters. Young people will love the fresh and innovative comedy. College kids and intellectual eggheads will love the underlying symbolism of everything. Freaky, long-haired, cynical hippies will love our freaky, long-haired, cynical Muppets because that is what show business is all about.” Henson was given the rights to create two pilots for ABC of what would later become "The Muppet Show."
The first pilot, “The Muppets Valentine Show” aired on January 30, 1974, on ABC, introducing several future background Muppet characters, here in the forefront, while also moving characters like Kermit the Frog and Rowlf the Dog towards an audience aimed at both adults and children. This special also helped form the core group of performers for the Muppets heading towards a proposed first season of the show. A second pilot was produced, although this special was not as sweet and family friendly as the first one.
As a tongue-in-cheek to his defiance and not wanting to become known as a children’s entertainer, Henson named the second pilot “The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence,” a variety special that looked to parody the rise of sex and violence on television at that time. It marked the debut of several Muppet characters such as The Swedish Chef, Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem, Sam the Eagle and Statler & Waldorf. An early version of Miss Piggy also makes a small appearance during a movie parody scene. Another interesting fact about both specials is that neither features Kermit the Frog as the host, a decision Henson made as he wanted to give others the chance to establish their own characters while also freeing himself to be able to do other projects. While the title itself may raise eyebrows, it was meant to just be a humorous hook. The show was looking to poke fun at sex and violence on television. Sketches such as “The Seven Deadly Sins Pageant” were made with jokes suitable for adults, while kids would be entertained by the colorful Muppets without really catching on to the commentaries highlighted in the skits.
Fast forward to "The Muppet Show," which still stayed true to its promise of appealing to adults and children. Overall, the show itself is great for the whole family to watch. From Raquel Welch dressing in a bikini calling Fozzie Bear “sexsational” to Alice Cooper trying to get Miss Piggy to sell her soul to the devil, the show always featured adult themes while presenting them in ways kids wouldn’t have a clue, instead distracted by these funny, colorful characters who would most likely next break out into a musical number or a comedy sketch. I could be picky and go through the seasons to point out “naughty bits” or anything somewhat inappropriate, but I don’t want to have to do that. It’s a family show looking to aim to please both adults and children, exactly what the new show is looking to do as well.
I think what’s funny about this whole debate over a “new adult Muppet Show” is that the Muppets have always been most successful when their demographics reached more than just one specific audience. "The Muppets" isn’t trying to desperately get an audience by using adult humor and themes such as Fozzie dating a human or the breakup of Kermit and Piggy, it’s just trying to broaden its audience. I personally feel if any parent is questioning whether or not the show is appropriate for their children should consider how many other things their children are exposed to in today’s world that are far worse than puppet characters going through a breakup.
What really got me was what I found occurred only a few hours before the new show premiered on ABC. Franklin Graham, a noted minister and the son of evangelist Billy Graham, both who I personally have grown up admiring, took to Facebook asking for people to contact ABC and have the new Muppet show removed from television. He goes on to discuss the show covers topics from sex to drugs to interspecies relationships and ends his post by saying, “The Bible says, ‘Woe to those who call evil good and good evil.’ That goes for Kermit the Frog as well!”
In my personal opinion, this is just taking the whole situation way too far. I said it earlier and I’ll say it again. There are far worse things kids are exposed to than all of this. The Muppets are all about good nature and fun and in no way are trying to promote anything evil or anything children are not already exposed to. Pretty much any sitcom or drama on major television networks focuses primarily on sex or drugs. I do agree there or many things to be careful about not letting children be exposed to too quickly. But "The Muppets" is all in good fun.
I guess I just want to wrap this all up by just saying again this is all my personal opinion. Your opinion may be different and I respect that. I respect Franklin Graham’s opinion and while I don’t agree with where he went with the story, I still respect him as a Man of God. I would say I respect "One Million Moms," however, I then did my research and saw it was the same organization who wanted Ellen DeGeneres fired from JC Penney commercials for being a homosexual. Personally, it seems like they just are always looking for a moment in the spotlight and a moment to rile people up over an unnecessary controversy.
So do us all a favor, let your kids watch "The Muppets." Even better, watch it with them and discuss. If you find something on the show you personally find inappropriate for them, then talk to them about it. I’m not saying you need to rush into the “birds and the bees” talk if Miss Piggy talks about wanting to get it on with Josh Groban or Liam Hemsworth, but I am saying just be involved in watching the show with your kids. It all comes down to communication and knowing what your child will understand and what will go over their head while their distracted watching Fozzie Bear tell jokes or Pepe and Rizzo dressing up in funny costumes.
The premiere episode was wonderful and I can already say it is a great family show for network television. It's a shame the show was canceled so soon, but I have faith in Disney and the Muppets that they'll deliver something new and exciting in the near future. Regardless, if this show didn't work out as planned, it still got people talking about the Muppets again and about who their audience is and should be. And isn’t it just nice to have the Muppets back on television?
