The Muppets Season Premiere Review: Meh

After decades being away from primetime, “The Muppets” are back on it. This time, they got rid of their signature Vaudeville style of the original show and go for a more contemporary style that so far is pretty underwhelming.

The show’s about the gang running Miss Piggy’s late night show “Up Late with Miss Piggy” with Kermit as, what else, the producer. Of course, this is a backdrop to the real show which is mockumentary style. The show focuses on behind the scenes things such as Fozzy’s girlfriend and Kermit and Miss Piggy’s breakup.

The show itself may be a departure of the classic “Muppet Show,” but this seems more befitting for them in these modern times. The problem is the way the show goes about it does not feel like you’re watching anything “Muppet” related. “The Muppets” feel more at home in all out craziness with songs thrown into the mix and lots of chickens. It’s not a terrible change, but one that doesn’t seem right.

The two main plots introduced in the show, Fozzie and his girlfriend and Kermit and Miss Piggy’s breakup, aren’t all that interesting. Fozzie dating a human isn’t that crazy an idea, “The Muppets” have done it plenty of times, it’s just the whole girlfriend’s parents not liking him seems weak. Fozzie even brings them to the show with obvious results. Kermit and Miss Piggy’s breakup seemed like a great plot idea, but the first episode makes it seem weak. Even the reason Miss Piggy thinks they broke up is pretty lame, even for “The Muppets.”

A new addition to the cast is Kermit’s new girlfriend Denise. So far she is the weakest Muppet ever created. She’s boring and the first episode didn’t have her do anything. She was just there throughout the entire episode just to take up space.

The humor was the best part of the show. The charm and laugh out loud comedy “The Muppets” are known was here in full swing. Even the joke Gonzo made about hating interview shows and then saying he loved them was pretty clever. The best humor came from one of the main reasons to watch “The Muppets”: Statler and Waldorf, the guys who are “the internet before the internet existed.” Their wisecracks on everything “The Muppets” do make anyone laugh uncontrollably. They made the show and every other thing “Muppets” related.

“The Muppets” is an okay new primetime show to feature Jim Henson’s greatest creations. The plots are mediocre at best, but the humor was there. The show may improve over time, but of curse the real reason to watch this is because it’s “The Muppets” so you know that they will have some awesome gags somewhere in there.