The Muppets

For those living on another planet or in a plastic bubble for the past 30 years, you would have never heard of the Muppets. Created by Jim Henson, these were nothing more then hand puppets but the puppeteers would have direction that lead the actual muppets to show real personality. The original Muppet Show in the 70s would have different star guests each week, all around a supposed variety show. Apparently the guest stars were queuing up to appear, just so that these foam miscreants could (and would) make fun of them. Unfortunately, as the meteoric rise of the muppets was created, their creator Jim Henson died suddenly from a heart attack in 1990. The rest of the crew were at a loss, but up stepped one of the original crew to take his place, and now the muppets are as popular as ever.

We all have favourite characters. Some would choose Kermit the frog, because he was always stable, the mainstay of the show, the linchpin of the organisation. Others would choose Miss Piggy, because she was the female of the group, and always so truly feminine (and if you've ever seen her with Michael Parkinson, flirty). The lesser characters like Fozzie Bear (the terrible stand up comedian), Gonzo (the weirdo) and Rolf (the piano player) would also be regular fall guys. Some pieces were written with pure comedy genius, such characters as the Swedish Chef ("Today we're going to make Chocolate Mousse. First we take the chocolate, then we take a moose..."), and who can forget Muppet labs with Dr. Bunsen and Beaker, his poor sidekick who was repeatedly blown up, burnt, electrocuted, shrunk and generally mistreated.

My personal favourite was a character in the band called Animal. Animal was the band's drummer, and although never confirmed, was a blatant parody of Keith Moon, the drummer in the Who. Animal was played and voiced by Franz Oz, and being of the "Rock 'n' Roll" generation had complete and utter disregard for management around him. This week's clip is a true example of him, playing the drums for Rita Moreno, as she sings "You give me Viva." How she keeps a straight face is beyond me, and you can see as she so clearly nearly cracks up on several occasions.



Enjoy.