DISNEY, IF YOU ARE READING THIS: GREENLIGHT THIS SHOW! NOW. Ahem, The Muppet Show returns with a special episode that perfectly matches the original series.
The Muppet Show is back! At least for a night, for now. The Muppet Show takes the first steps, I hope, in a new venture to return the famed variety show, now 50 years old, to the small screen. While so many of my smiles and laughs were the purest of nostalgia, and I admit it, the “episode” is just another great 30 minutes of Muppet TV: wild, hilarious, the best sort of chaos, with everything to be expected from the show.
Executive Producer Seth Rogen and the team, including director Alex Timbers, understand the magic and why it works. No re-invention, no modernization. It’s the Muppet Show just as it was from 1976 to 1981 across those 120 manic, hilarious episodes of madness and mayhem. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it (to quote Statler and Waldorf, still riffing from their box seats: “If it ain’t broke!… They are broke, that’s why they’re doing this”). Kermit tries to get the show moving and appease everyone. Scooter tries to figure out how to solve Kermit’s problems. Miss Piggie wants more spotlight. Fozzie lightens the mood. It’s the same song and dance, and it still works. Kermit might have a new voice; Matt Vogel has been Kermit since 2017; Frank Oz’s characters are now Eric Jacobson (and have been for 24 years), but Dave Goeltz returns for Gonzo after stepping away! But it’s just what we love and expect. That’s no dig against any other revisions or the multitude of films working the versatile set of characters into different worlds and situations (The Muppet Christmas Carol ties with Scrooged for my personal favorite of that story; I LOVE The Muppet Haunted Mansion), they all rock as well. But differently.
Joining the gang is special guest host Sabrina Carpenter. She’s able to slide into the crew as easily as the likes of Steve Martin, Alice Cooper, and Vincent Price. I know her more from culture than her music (I’m an old man! plus we all know music peaked when I was 18 in 2000… I kid, I do keep up on modern artists, just haven’t taken the time to seek her out). She has fantastic stage presence and finds just as much chemistry with Kermit and the gang as ever. Heck, maybe too much chemistry with Kermit, as the through story is of Miss Piggy’s possible upstagings. 
The episode has a solid selection of sketches and songs. I’ll not spoil them but vaguely mention: my favorite Muppet, the Great Gonzo, has his moments, Carpenter sings in a physical gag-filled bit, Miss Piggy has a Bremerton riff, Rizzo sings, and a Muppet Labs… and more! That’s a lot for thirty minutes. Akin to the best of the Henson era, The Muppet Show fills its time to the brim with the sketches, songs, and every sort of joke: physical humor, slapstick, word play, and character notes. There are a few fun celebrity cameos to boot! I applaud them for sticking with the original thirty-minute runtime. It would be too easy to over-extend. I begged for more and was taken aside when it came to the end. I wanted more! Just what they want. We beg for more. Disney, make it a full series!
The reboot pilot (we hope) of The Muppet Show proves it’s always time to play the music. We need to continue to light the lights. If this special takes off, it should lead to a new series. If this single episode is a proof of concept, it’s irrefutable proof indeed: as wonderfully chaotic and hilarious as ever for the Muppet. Watch it on Disney+ and make them make more!