Last
week I did an article on Muppet productions which sucked. When it was
done I realized I had missed something which could have easily been a
seventh slot. So since I can't go back and re do that list, I will just
talk about this show here. I give you:
John Denver had a long association with The Muppets. He was on The Muppet Show, did a Christmas special and album with them, and then there was this show. I watched it as a kid....and hated it. Simply, it was boring. For years in fact I mixed this up with the Christmas show,
thinking they were one and the same. I always wondered why the
Christmas special had a campfire scene. It was my friend Les who
straightend me out a few years ago.
It
is on YouTube so I decided to give it another look, now thirty years
later. So is this special really as bad as I remember, or was I just
looking at it through very young eyes? Let's take a look.
Plot-John
Denver and The Muppets go camping in the Rocky Mountain Wilderness. And
that's it. Ok, I am being kind of hard on this. There are little
vignettes here and there with songs and stuff and even mini story bits.
Like the scene where John Denver snaps at Robin and has to apologize.
Miss Piggy's cameo (more on that in a bit). A cut scene with Rowlf I
will discuss in a bit. And the endless campfire scene (much more on that
in a bit). But basically that's what this special is, The Muppets
marveling at how beautiful it is out in the wilderness while they camp, hike, and fish.
Before
I discuss what I liked/hated there is one sequence I can't put in
either category. One of the scenes in this special is John Denver flying
a plane with Rowlf. He performs stunts in an attempt to help cure
Rowlf's hiccups. As you probably know Denver was an avid pilot, and as
you know that is what led to his untimely passing. This scene is not in
the DVD release of this show and I decided it would be in bad taste to bad mouth it.
What I Liked-
The Music-Duh. Let's be honest, that's really what this special is. An hour long music video
for the album. Yes, there was of course an album. It was even nominated
for a Grammy. Most of the songs are good and I have no complaints with
any of them. My favorte song was probably the one with Miss Piggy. I
also liked the first song that opened the special.
The
Scenery-No, I mean that. The Rocky Mountain wilderness looks absolutely
beautiful in this. I have been out there but it was a very long time
ago.
Miss.Piggy's
Cameo(s)-For some unexplained reason, Miss Piggy was unable to make
this camping trip. She is featured in two cameo flashbacks. One during
the great number "She's Coming Around the Mountain" and another as a
duet with John Denver. So, why wasn't Piggy included? Is this sexist?
You could argue that except Janice did make the trip. Well, to be fair
could you imagine Piggy camping in the wilderness? Besides in the
episode of The Muppet Show that featured John Denver, Piggy wasn't
exactly thrilled with the idea of camping. So I am not sure what the
reason was but at least she wasn't left out entirely.
Robin-Kermit's
nephew is often underused. Not here! First his attempts to help get
John Denver angry which hurts Robin's feelings, and then John apologizes
in a very nice scene, especially since it was John's fault he foolishly
gave Robin the assignment he botched. In the end he sings Robin a sweet
lullaby.
Statler and Waldorf-Yep, they're still here. They spend the special spying on the antics of the group and commenting
The
First Half-At the start It's really not that bad. We get some nice
Muppet moments and John Denver's songs are good. We see them hiking and
fishing. It's an enjoyable watch. That is until everyone sets up camp.
Then the characters sit around the fire and John Denver sings...for the
last half of the special or so. Yeah, more on that in the next section
Finally,
I really can't find any fault with John Denver here. His songs for the
most part are really good and he really seems to be enjoying himself in
this. It's still sad his life had to be cut so short. But now let's look
at the other stuff, the stuff that didn't work for me.
What I Hated:
Fozzie-Clearly
meant to be the comic relief, he seems really dumb here. He is scared
of a bear, scared of a snake, angers some wasps, and lights his paws on
fire. I get they needed some jokes but it's teh same gag and it gets
old. They should have given each of these to a different character
rather than making Fozzie look like the designated idiot. How come the
others know what they're doing so well?
Some
Music Numbers-Yeah, I said I liked the music but some of them were
lousy. One in the start had a group of country bumpkins singing some
weird tune which really made no sense. And to be fair, some of John
Denver's stuff can be kind of boring.
Jaws
Spoof-One of the bits I just don't get. The set up is that Rowlf is
sitting in an inner tube minding his own business, when Gonzo snorkles
behind him and punctures the tube. I guess you could say Gonzo was
playing a silly trick on Rowlf, but the scene is weird. The image of
Rowlf sitting in the inner tube while reading a book is adorable.
The
Campfire Scene-So let's talk about it. You know, I am starting to
understand why movies that involve camping and/or hiking usually also
involve a serial killer or some other kind of monster. Man this is
boring. It takes up almost the last half of the show! I have done a few
campfires in my time, and they were nice. But watching people (er,
Muppets) enjoy a campfire is another story. Maybe the problem is simply
that The Muppets are not known for being quiet and reflective. Just look
at any episode of The Muppet Show. Therefore, unlike the rest of the
special, they do nothing to liven this up! Yes I know, it's a campfire
it's not supposed to be lively. John Denevr does tell a ghost story, I
guess that counts for something. And some of the songs are nice. It's
just way to long.
The Giant Man Eating Chicken-Not even going to try to explain this one. I agree with Waldorf and Statler, the bit sucked
Time Frame-This all takes place in one day. Why? Why not put the campfire scene more in the middle and show
the Muppets doing some other stuff the next day, even going home. Heck,
I woild have settled for a tag at the end before teh credits! Then we
can end on a huge, uplifting number. Wht not? I want to know what
happened on the rest of the trip! Instead the special ends on the same
night, on a sad song, and that's that. Maybe they just ran out of ideas
because that's sure what it feels like, the special running out of gas.
Final Thoughts-Well, turns out I didn't have another show
for that list last week after all. This wasn't bad at all. Yeah it was
slow at times, but The Muppets are here in full glory and who can
possibly resist them? And there is something cool about seeing them out
of teh studio in a natural environment. There is honest attempts at some
laughs and even some warm moments. John Denver is always great, if you
like him there's no reason you wont hav e aproblem with him in this. I
guess the one downside is that this is not very memorable. But that
doesn't make it bad. Either on DVD or YouTube, I absolutely say it's
worth a watch. Not as good as The Muppet Family Christmas (which I am so
reviewing this year!!!) but not the worst either. What ever happened to
specials like this?
So what did you guys think, was this special a hit....or a miss?
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