The Muppet Show Has My Vote - Bring it Back

Believe it or not, despite my love for older movies, I really am not a big nostalgia person. If I watch reruns of a television show from my childhood, it's not because of fond memories, but because I think it is better than anything else currently on TV. And as part of that, I have more than my share of skepticism when networks or streaming services attempt to reboot and modernize one of those shows.

The Muppet Show, however, was an exception. I was intrigued enough to watch it last night and impressed enough to say it needs to come back.

My understanding is last night's episode of Seth Rogan's reboot was essentially a pilot episode meant to judge viewer interest before making a decision about bring the series back. My personal opinion is that mission was accomplished.

The problem with most reboots is they rely a bit too heavily on the nostalgia I was referencing. Night Court was a great example of this, bringing back characters from the original series to buoy a new generation of cast members but ultimately reminding people the original was considerably better. While The Muppet Show is technically falling back on nostalgia too, it was done in a way that just worked. As I heard some others describe it, it didn't feel like a reboot, it felt like the show was just picking up where it left off in the 1980s.

This first episode also did a great job appealing to a wide range of ages. It still felt like a kids' show but there were subtle adult references. The classic Muppets I grew up with were back, including my favorite, Rowlf, but the special guest star was Sabrina Carpenter, a singer my teenager is a fan of (and, after this show, I'm more of a fan of too. More on that in a bit).

I wouldn't describe the episode as perfect. The Pigs in Wigs skit, for example, wasn't one of my favorites. However, there were plenty of memorable moments, this included Carpenter's performance of her hit Manchild to open the show, Rizzo the Rat's cover of the Weeknd's Blinding Lights, the death and resurrection of audience member Maya Rudolph and the Carpenter/Kermit the Frog duet of Islands in the Stream that became a Carpenter/Miss Piggy duet and made me appreciate what my daughter sees in the 26-year-old star. 

And of course, let's not forget the non-stop backstage drama, this time caused by Scooter overbooking the show, that provided a nice transition between skits and set up the "impromptu" finale. It was a feel-good ending that only made me want to see more.

Disney, please bring the show back.