The Crooner and the Chimp

The world of the Muppets is like opening a child's toy box.  Teddy bears mingle with Barbie dolls and action figures from various playsets.  None of the characters fit together, but for the child, this is their population of inanimate friends.  A kid can pick up a dinosaur, call it "Batman" and have it fight a giant stuffed rabbit and it still makes sense.  Species, gender, and race have no say in the relationships between a child's toys.

It is by this logic that Johnny Fiama and his bodyguard Sal Minella came to be best friends.

What a cuckoo combination.

Johnny Fiama, the jazz lounge singer who was an amalgamation of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Tony Bennett, was actually a Bill Barretta creation long before Muppets Tonight premiered.  Based on the personalities of his father and grandfather, Barretta formed the Fiama character alongside his brother Gene, who portrayed Frankie Fiama.  The two made a short mockumentary about the two crooners called The Last Swing in 1993.  The production quality is cheap and the comedy never reaches the heights of a Christopher Guest movie, but it's clear that Johnny was a fully realized character by the time they started filming.

Barretta as the human Johnny Fiama, alongside his brother.

Barretta, when given the opportunity to create new Muppets, pulled Fiama out of retirement and gave him a makeover.  Fiama was going to be famous once more!

Johnny Fiama, next to his original concept sketch.

So how does a monkey fit into this scenario?

The idea to pair the two arose from a pre-production retreat in which the cast had an opportunity to try out all the new puppets to find their voices/characters.  In the middle of the tomfoolery, Barretta began to sing with Johnny Fiama, but everyone remained distracted by their own characters.  So Henson picked up a random background chimpanzee puppet and yelled, "Would you all quiet down and listen to Johnny Fiama?!"

And the annoying confrontational ape was born.

The incongruity of the duo's appearance led to their charm and memorability.  Most Muppet pairs are designed to complement each other visually (Ernie and Bert, Andy and Randy, even Seymour and Pepe) and those that later became pairs (Kermit and Piggy, Bunsen and Beaker) at least appear to inhabit the same physical world.  But Johnny is a Muppety caricature that seemed to have walked right off of Sesame Street while Sal would have been more at home with the more realistic puppets of The Animal Show.  The idea of putting them together seems wrong, but as soon as they made their introduction, it was clear that they belonged together.

Johnny Fiama's was a complex creature.  His appearances hinted that he was at the end of his career, attempting to stay relevant, yet he always remained calm and collected about it.  Sal, on the other hand, would take on (and cause) most of his stress, imploring that others give Johnny the respect he deserves.

Two episodes of Muppets Tonight were devoted to the pair.  The first, "Episode 106: Tony Bennett" found Johnny at his weakest.  The man who always maintained a strong composure started to fall apart when his idol Tony Bennett appeared as the night's guest.  After blowing his chances to sing with him, Tony and Sal come up with a plan to lift Johnny's spirits and retry the duet.  The fact that his hero saw him as an equal was a great victory.

And it proved that he really could croon.

But the second episode had more importance behind the scenes of Muppets Tonight.  During the second season, the show was experimenting with dropping the headliner guest stars and sticking with smaller cameo roles.  The results were hit-or-miss, but the final episode produced "Episode 212: Johnny Fiama Leaves Home" managed to get the formula right.

It had been established that, like most Italian-Americans, Fiama deeply respected his family, especially his mother.  So much so that despite leading a successful singing career, he still lived at home with her. And she hated when other women tried to date her little Johnny.

You won't like her when she's angry.

Fed up with her constant interference, Johnny moves out and into the KMUP studio.  Once again, Sal attempts to rectify the situation, and eventually, the two reconcile.  Until Johnny Mathis moves in.

As long as a smooth singer named Johnny is living there, it's all the same in the end.

This episode departed the most from the usual Muppets Tonight format.  The sketches were still in place, but the main conflict moved out of the studio and focused on actually developing these characters' lives.  No longer did the show feel like a retread of old Muppet Show episodes.  It now had it's own voice.  And what a mellow voice it was.

Unfortunately, that was the last episode and the crew didn't get a chance to explore this new theme of deep characterizations.  Several of the new Muppet characters would survive and become firm members of the Muppet community, and fortunately Johnny and Sal were among them.

They reminded us the Muppets have souls and can form bonds beyond their wacky appearances.  In no other show would a brash chimpanzee and a retired lounge singer be considered as inseparable pals.   Remember, the Muppets are special.

Now here's Johnny and Sal, singing "Bohemian Rhapsody," like true friends should.

Jumbo Shrimp

Muppets Tonight introduced a large number of new characters, partly because two relatively new puppeteers were joining the core group.  Oz, Nelson, Golez, and Whitmire were all hold-overs from The Muppet Show and Kevin Clash established himself as a key player during The Jim Henson Hour but five people were not enough to sustain a show.  Brian Henson (who was mostly a director and producer that had minor puppeteering roles) and Bill Barretta (who had joined the company in 1991 and worked heavily on The Animal Show) were the fresh new duo.  And like their predecessors, they formed a bond that was evident through their characters' relationships.

Bill and Brian had two main puppet teams for the show, and today we'll look at Seymour the Elephant and some other minor character no one has heard about named Pepe the King Prawn.

They're two of a kind!

Yes, Pepe was probably the biggest star to breakout from Muppets Tonight.  He started having major roles in the movies and he became a pivotal member of the main group.  Seymour...was not so lucky.

The odd pairing stemmed from an original idea to have an elephant and mouse comedy team.  But since that animal pairing had become cliche, the mouse was turned into a prawn (with a Spanish accent based on Barretta's wife's aunt who ended every sentence with "okay?").  Despite the change in species, the duo's dream remained the same.  They wanted to become big vaudeville comedy stars.  But for now, they were stuck working as elevator operators.

(Side note: Muppet elephant operators were a common occurrence during the '90s for some strange reason.  Sesame Street had their own working in the Fuzzy Arms Hotel.  But unlike Seymour, this elephant had found his dream job.)

Anyway, Pepe and Seymour wanted to break free from that elevator.  They wanted to be moving up, without having to continually return back to the ground level.  They got their first big break in "Episode 107: Sandra Bullock" when a terrorist was threatening to blow up the television station if their ratings dropped beneath 50.  Scrambling to find an act, Gonzo puts the pachyderm and prawn team onstage.  What follows is comedy gold.

Intentionally corny jokes don't make for great television.  Explaining those jokes makes for even worse television.  Yet, Pepe's increasing rage, Seymour's innocent patience, and the slack-jawed audience awaiting the punchline makes the bit work.  Bad comedy had been mined time and time again with Fozzie Bear on The Muppet Show and in order to save the bit, Waldorf and Statler's heckling became the focus of those acts.  But there is a genuine quality to this version.  The audience isn't hostile or upset.  They are on the edge of their seats and just too slow to catch the joke.

This unfortunate move sets Pepe and Seymour's non-existant career several steps back.  They keep their catchy theme song, as they've realized it's the only part of their bit that works, but they can never move on from there.  They do eventually get out of the elevator and into the commissary as cooks.  In "Episode 202: Rick Moranis," Canada's sweetheart Rick Moranis convinces the duo to start their own cooking segment on the show.  And thus, "Hey What Smells So Good? It's Time to Cook with Seymour and Pepe" is born!

They couldn't really fit that all on their sign, though.

Once again, the team fails in their endeavors (as all good Muppets must) and once again, it is not entirely their fault.  Some shenanigans with a "shrink" ray from Muppet Labs get involved as a bread monster threatens to destroy the studio and we end up with a giant Pepe, taking up the entire stage.

See, Pepe was the one destined to be big all along.

 You're a star, kid!

Seymour was a very pleasant character, but Pepe had an edge.  Plus, with Barretta's improvisational abilities, he could have Pepe talk for hours about anything.  Seymour was only there to give Pepe someone to talk to.  Pepe took on many more traits, fancying himself as a Don-Juan-esque womanizer thanks to his unique Latin flavor (who would mispronounce everyone's names since he had become too cool to care).  Yes, he may have become a little overexposed, and many were worried that he would take a large role in The Muppets despite not being in the original cast, but fortunately he was given a cameo, which allowed him to remain present and funny without being overbearing.

That is one spicy shrimp.

Love him or hate him, there is no denying that Pepe had a spark that Seymour just didn't have.  Show business is a cruel game.  It can put you on top of the world or throw you away when it no longer needs you.  Despite starting on the same foot, Pepe succeeded and Seymour failed.  And that's the way life goes.

 It's okay.  A Muppet elephant's natural habitat is in an elevator anyway.

This Show is Out of Control!

Where to begin with Muppets Tonight?

This show exists on a fine line between "too familiar" and "radically different to what had come before it."  There are so many new characters, sketches, and stylistic choices that to call it an extension of The Muppet Show feels wrong.  The show both fails and succeeds at what it's trying to do, and I just cannot wrap my head around it.

There are some terrible episodes and there are some great episodes.  Almost every single element of this show can be dissected and it will take me weeks to say everything I want to say.

So I have to pick one thing.  One thing that represents this show in a nutshell so that I can at least build a foundation from which you can understand where the rest of this show is coming from.

And here is that thing.

Even if you watched the show back during 1996, you probably only vaguely remember this character.  This fellow is Nigel (not to be confused with that other Nigel, although I'm sure this was an intentional allusion).  He was the stage director in the control room of the KMUP television station.

And he was bipolar.

He would switch from calm and collected to frantic and flailing at the drop of a hat (or a cow).  Usually, when something went wrong, he'd be the one yelling for people to fix it.  This happened often.  One of the biggest differences between Muppets Tonight and The Muppet Show was that the onstage portions were rarely seen in full in this new version.  Often the focus was backstage and the performing acts were secondary to everything else.  The only sketches that weren't interrupted were pre-recorded recurring affairs, similar to "Pigs in Space" or "Veterinarian's Hospital."

And every time we left the stage, Nigel would be in the background, subdued or about to kill somebody.

This picture is inaccurate.  Nigel should be a complete blur.

The theme song to Muppets Tonight was our first indication that things were going to be different.  Watch, and count how many Muppet Show Muppets appear.

This show was "guaranteed brand new," literally.  Nearly every puppet that paraded through that number was an original creation for the show.  So why does this still feel like a "Muppet" show?

Well, as we know, Jim Henson was preparing the next version of The Muppet Show, so it's not as if this were just a product capitalizing on his name.  In fact, it was his son Brian Henson who created and led the whole production of this show.  He was the main director and he wanted to ensure his father's legacy lived on.

Brian Henson and the main cast.  And Miss Piggy and Kermit, the supporting cast.

Henson oversaw the next wave of Muppets.  A series of new and old puppeteers would use new characters to explore different stories than the kind featured before.  We still had the theme of trying and failing to put on a show, it was just with a younger generation of characters.  Kermit and Piggy were the alumni, here to usher in the new class (in fact, 50% of their jokes had to do with their increasing ages).

And yet they were used in all the promotional material.

We shall cover the new characters later (as most of them became accepted members of the Muppet universe), but for now, it is important to remember that for any failings this show had, it at least tried to be it's own thing, even though it had to please the audience who wanted more of the classic Muppet bits.  Brian Henson was doing his best, and it was surely a stressful position to follow in his father's legendary footsteps.

Oh, and did I mention that Brian Henson played Nigel the director?

It all makes so much sense now!

Muppets Tonight was doomed from the start.  It had to recreate the original's aesthetic while also standing on its own merits.  The show did it's best when it committed to one path (either being wholly original or wholly referential), and it suffered when it tried to blend those two concepts.

This show was bipolar.  But that just makes it all the more interesting.

Muppet Treasure Island, Part 5: Buried Treasure

We last left Smollett dangling over his doom, lest Gunn reveal the true location of the treasure.  Gunn quickly tells Silver and, as her reward, she joins Smollett in his peril.

This is another fine mess you've gotten us in.

Smollett and Gunn make the best of a bad situation by singing the love song, "Love Led Us Here."  Even though they have spent years apart and are about to die, at least it will be together.

As they sing, we see the pirates celebrating over the mounds of treasure, as their love for money as led them here as well.  It's nice that everything turns out happily for everyone.

It's good to be the pirate king!

Oh wait, those are the bad guys.  And Miss Gunn's rope breaks!  But Smollett catches her before she plummets to her death.  Why this doesn't also break his rope, I don't know.  But it's funny!

Now there's a sight.

Fortunately, Hawkins has directed the ship over to the cliffs to save the two captives.  They all descend upon the island and the heroes and pirates clash for an epic final battle.  I really which this clip were one YouTube because it is fantastic.  Kermit and Sam the Eagle swordfight alongside each other as other Muppets find themselves in more comedic situations.  Perhaps you should just watch the movie, because the climax is worth it.

Once most of the pirates are taken care of, Hawkins stands up to Silver and, as a sign of respect, Silver turns his sword over to him.  The heroes take the treasure and lock up the pirates for the return voyage. However, Silver manages to break free from his cell and swipes some of the money and a lifeboat.  Hawkins spots him and prepares to turn him in, but Silver holds him at gunpoint.  He tells Hawkins that he truly admires him and cannot bring himself to shoot him, because he believes, in another life, they could have been valuable friends.  Hawkins lets him go, which is just as well, since the lifeboat was one of the faulty ones.  Everything is brought full circle!

The heroes sail off for more adventures, Silver winds up back on the island, and everyone lives happily ever after.

This was quite the surprise!  Having only seen this film once as a child, I was afraid my clouds of nostalgia would have distorted my perception of the film.  I remembered it being funny, but I didn't know if it would hold up at all.  Turns out I had nothing to fear.

This movie is often discussed in comparison with The Muppet Christmas Carol and to me, it is a clear improvement.  The Muppets become the focus of the film, despite playing secondary roles, and the original tale remains as untouched as a G-rated Disney version of the story can be.  Some people complain that these two movies are drastically different from the original three in that they feature humans in a Muppet world rather than Muppets in a human world.  And that is correct.  It is very different in that sense.  It doesn't make it bad.

In fact, almost every thing is very good.  Here are the five reasons you should watch this film and include it in your Muppet canon:

1) The relationship between Jim Hawkins and Long John Silver is actually complex.

These are our two main humans and our closest connection to the original source material.  While Jim can be a little bland at times and Tim Curry is not as over-the-top as some of his more iconic roles, there is a real heart to their friendship.  This is one of the most crucial aspects of the book.  While it bills itself as being a rollicking tale of pirates and adventures, it is actually about a boy finding a father figure who is unable to be the perfect role model he needs him to be.

Bloodshed, greed, and daddy issues.

Despite Silver's piracy and villainous behavior, he never really seems to be a bad guy.  Sure he nearly kills some of our heroes, but it's because they stand on the opposite side of the morality spectrum than he does.  He grew up as a pirate and it is the life he is used to.  He wants treasure, but he wants Jim to respect him more.  That's why he lets Jim go when things turn dangerous.  That's why he willingly surrenders to Jim when he has the upper hand.  And that's why he's heartbroken when Jim threatens to turn him into the authorities.  He knows that it's the "right" thing to do, but the fact that his new friend is considering sentencing him to death truly humbles the pirate.

As a kid, I glossed over their scenes, but now, I appreciate the movie for being bold enough to include them.

2) The classic Muppets are perfectly cast.

My biggest issue with The Muppet Christmas Carol was when the Muppets behaved more like themselves when it didn't make sense for the characters they were portraying (Waldorf and Statler especially bothered me, even though I know they are fan favorites).  Here, each one takes the character they are assigned and makes it their own.  Kermit is a Kermity Captain Smollett, but he still takes charge and makes serious decisions.  Fozzie's Trelawney is humorous and plays up the idea of a rich eccentric.  Piggy's Gunn is doing a lot better for herself than the disheveled Gunn from the story, but it services the plot just fine.  And Sam's Arrow...well, I'll get to that later.

The Muppet Christmas Carol had too many clashing elements, but here, the balance works to the story's favor.

3)  The new Muppet pirates are wonderful additions to the new Muppet world.

I don't think any other Muppet movie has added as many new speaking Muppet roles as this one did.  Yet, each new character fits right in with the world of the Muppets.  They are funny enough to hold their own scenes and they allow for some great musical numbers.  Seeing the boat filled to the brim with so many Muppets was great.

Also, the sets were stylized, yet still magical.  This felt like a very Disney movie, moreso than any of the previous films, but I mean that in terms of quality.  Through clever effects, the Muppet world actually felt grand!  With all the new characters, it made it seem as if there are many more Muppets out there waiting to be discovered.

4) Hans Zimmer did the music.

Hans Zimmer did the music.

5)  Sam the Eagle has a surprisingly large role.

Frank Oz's go-to Muppet characters are Fozzie and Miss Piggy.  He spends so much time with these two that the others fall by the way side.  But here, he actually has more screentime than the other two.  Actually, Oz is playing three of the four important Muppet characters in the story (Gonzo and Rizzo have less to do here than in Christmas Carol which is a shame).

But it's great that one of my favorite Muppets finally gets his day in the sun.  Sure, he suffers from his usual delusions of grandeur, but he still comes out as a hero at the end.

What a crew!

I once met a Muppet fan who claimed that her favorite movie was Muppet Treasure Island.  I thought it was blasphemy to say such a thing and deny Henson's greatness.  But, the Jim Henson Company is so much more than Jim.  It is filled with great writers, puppeteers, and creators.  His son, Brian, directed this film and I must say, it is near perfect.  While I probably wouldn't put it above The Muppet Movie or The Great Muppet Caper, it is a very close third.  And, it is one that I'd be willing to watch again and again.

A real treasure.

Starving Artist

Every giant Muppet monster primarily exists to eat the smaller puppets.  But the first monster to do this was not very big.  In fact, he was barely a complete head.  All that was really needed for the effect was a mouth, and a mouth is just what Yorick had.

Nom nom nom.

Like his Shakespearean namesake, Yorick was once a source of immense humor.  In Hamlet, the protagonist laments that all that remains of the beloved jester from his youth is a bare skull.  The man who could once use his body to display great physical comedy now is reduced to a few bones, incapable of life and indistinguishable from the earth.

And he doesn't smell too keen, either.

But Henson realized that sometimes a head is all you need.  One shouldn't let severe disabilities like a lack of limbs/life prevent them from achieving their dreams.  And so, he had Yorick join the cast of his first television production Sam and Friends.  Being only a head, he was best for talking and eating.  And when Henson could not settle on an adequate voice, eating was his main function in a sketch.

His iconic skit involved a young Kermit lip-synching to "I've Grown Accustomed to Your Face" to what he assumes is a friend.  But hidden beneath the surface was the gluttonous Yorick.

As usual, Kermit was in drag.

(Although I was unable to find one of the original performances, Jim's son Brian recently performed the sketch using and different frog and an updated Yorick.  Other than that, the sketch is virtually unchanged.)

Surprisingly (unsurprisingly?), Yorick was voted to be the most popular member of the cast, beating out Kermit and the lead star Sam.  Once again, Henson showed that there was elegance in simplicity.  There was no reason to explain who this creature was or why he ate everything.  He just did and it was funny.

That being said, there was one routine that was just made for the blue skull.  One that provided a look into his psyche and showed us that he is just like us.  Using a Ken Nordine spoken word jazz-track, Yorick shared his inner-musings with us.  This usually silent creature now had a voice, creating something even scarier than a beast with an appetite for flesh.  This was a monster with a brain.  A rationalizing, intelligent mind who planned his meals carefully.  Like Hannibal Lecter, he knew what he was doing was frowned upon, yet hunger can be a powerful urge.  I challenge you to watch the following and not start to feel a little peckish yourself.

We can all relate to the basic bodily functions.  It creates an instant connection to the characters on screen.  Those who struggle against all odds to get a drink of water or gasp a breath of fresh air or fight for someone they love or, in this case, eat SOMETHING, those are the ones we sympathize with.

Alas, poor Yorick.  He manages to exist beyond death, continuing to share his gift of humor to the world.  But he is devoid of the pleasure that a simple meal once used to bring him.  Without a tongue, he cannot taste.  Without a stomach, he cannot digest.  Without a body, he can never be full.  And so he continues to eat. 

And eat.

And eat.

Because he can never be satisfied.