Season 1, Episode 2: Hostile Makeover
Originally Aired: Tuesday September 29
Guest stars: Josh Groban, Jay Leno, Reza Aslan, Laurence Fisburne, Lea Thompson
Last week, the Muppets returned to Primetime TV with the pilot of their new show. As this season continues, we are going to keep tabs on the show and the rebirth of these beloved characters.
In episode two (Hostile Makeover) the main storyline revolves around Miss Piggy being upset about not having a date to the People’s Choice Awards, Kermit fixing that by setting her up with Josh Groban, and then Piggy forcing Josh’s ideas on the show, thus ruining it.
The side stories include Bob competing with the Muppet Newsman to sell cookies for his daughter (a problem eventually solved by selling to the band, who are now “legally” happy) and Fozzie going to a party at Jay Leno’s house, and taking a bit back with him.
One of my favorite parts of the first episode of “The Muppets” was the one liners exchange between characters. To me, these seemingly throwaway lines showed me that the creative team understood these characters and had the potential to effectively use them. In this regard, episode two delivers once again. Some favorites:
-Kermit: “Acoustic – they’re the Electric Mayhem!”
-Dr. Teeth: “Dead inside, we wrote it today.”
-Swedish Chef, as Miss Piggy gets a hot stone massage: “Somebody cooking the piggy”
-Really the whole conversation during the morning meeting about Groban’s influence on Piggy
-Not a line, but following the directive to throw everything at Keanu Reeves, Lew Zealand throws a boomerang fish at a picture of Keanu Reeves
I also really appreciate that they are using a wide array of Muppets in this show. One specifically nice Muppet feature in this episode was the larger role of Uncle Deadly as Miss Piggy’s wardrobe assistant. The obvious commitment to use many of the Muppets, even seeing Beauregard sweeping in the background in interview shots, allows more and more of the Muppets to be on screen, which makes me happy.
I also think this episode was a little stronger than the pilot, without some of the awkwardness of setting up the premise (although I do think they did okay on that). They were able to bring in a guest star, let a few Muppets shine, and keep being weird. While I do think the show has yet to live us to its full potential, it’s definitely worth a try and hopefully will continue to grow.
Check out clips and episodes of “The Muppets” here.
What did you think of Episode 2 – Hostile Makeover?