The Muppets are coming back to TV! Again! Huzzah!
Following creation of Kermit the Frog back in the 1950s, Jim Henson quite ingeniously assembled one of the entertainment world's most beloved mob of crackpots. After making various TV appearances throughout the 1960s (on late night talk shows and commercials, mostly), Jimmy Dean gave Rowlf the Dog The Muppets’ very first regular TV spot, appearing as the actor/musician's sidekick on The Jimmy Dean Show.
After designing characters seen on Sesame Street, Henson decided it was time for his creations to star in their own TV series. The Muppet Show made its bow in 1976, introducing the likes of Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear and Animal. Popularity was widespread and abundant; The Muppets had hit the big time.
Disney expressed interest in the characters throughout the late ‘80s, though Henson’s tragic death in 1990 brought negotiations to a temporary close. After co-producing a number of feature films, The Mouse finally acquired rights in 2004, and to the delight of many (this writer included), the new Muppets TV show is set to debut on ABC later this month.
But The Muppets and Disney’s pre-existing collaborations were not restricted to the silver screen; Jim Henson's Muppet Babies, distributed by Walt Disney Television, hit CBS airwaves back in 1984, and the animated hijinks run rampant right up until 1991's close.
Portraying childhood versions of The Muppets living in a nursery, the characters were supervised by a faceless human known only as Nanny.
OK, Nanny might have possessed a face, but it was never seen during the show’s entire run.
(Disclaimer: Young Me was totally convinced Nanny's head was a gaping chasm of bleak nothingness. In related news, I suspect my parents blended melatonin supplements with my bedtime cup of cocoa.)
Each episode of the cartoon series saw the babies’ imaginary fun and games turn into “real” adventures, taking place everywhere from the farthest reaches of space to the deepest, darkest jungle. Clips from movies like Star Wars, Indiana Jones and Ghostbusters featured within, and a jolly musical number typically accompanied outlandish misadventure. (Always with a happy ending/life lesson learned, of course.)
Muppet Babies offered no shortage of guest appearances—the 1989 episode “Comic Capers” saw Baby Rowlf and Skeeter enter a Spider-Man newspaper strip, only to find themselves face-to-face with the Commander-in-Chief of Cameos himself, Mr. Stan Lee. Whose head ends up mummified in spider webbing.
Moving swiftly on...
“The Next Generation” episode aired in 1990, serving as a comprehensive ode to all things sci-fi. The babies imagine themselves in an ultramodern world that manages to parody The Jetsons, Star Wars, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, AND (of course) Star Trek.
Marvel Comics produced a monthly book to further chronicle the babies’ exploits, with 26 issues published between 1985 and 1989.
So, put simply, if you’ve never experienced the abundantly imaginative/surprisingly smart Muppet Babies, there’s no shortage of content to be enjoyed.
Interestingly enough, the idea of presenting The Muppets as children first appeared in The Muppets Take Manhattan, a theatrical feature released two months prior to Muppet Babies TV debut. Taking place during a dream sequence, Miss Piggy imagined what might’ve happened if she and Kermit the Frog grew up together.
Which leads me into the Tech Times’ own Brian Heater’s “fan theory” concerning the entire Muppet Babies series: Is each episode merely a subconscious manifestation of Miss Piggy’s slumber?
Fan theories linger around pretty much every popular TV show/movie ever made. I’m sure plenty of speculation surrounds less accomplished (otherwise known as rubbish) properties, too.
IDEA:
It's time for me to explore some of the more curious-sounding fan hypotheses… Like, say, claims that Ferris Bueller doesn’t exist.
Word on the grapevine suggests The Big Lebowski is haunted, too.
Internet: Please don’t ever stop being so bloody mental.
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