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Old 09-10-2014, 09:16 PM
 
Location: Southeastern Pennsylvania
1,044 posts, read 1,249,444 times
Reputation: 2519

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I didn't grow up with The Muppets. Although they were created when I was 9, apparently they weren't widely broadcast until 1969, when Sesame Street came to be. By then, I was already out of college.

So, having discovered that timeline, I'm amazed at how popular they are with people who aren't that much younger than I am. We don't have kids; is that part of it? Did all the middle-aged/approaching-senior adults who love Kermit & Miss Piggy develop that fondness because they watched them with their kids?

Lord knows, I have contributed plenty of dollars to the Muppet marketing machine in the form of books, toys, videos, and other paraphernalia given to nieces and nephews and children of friends over the years. I don't want to admit the lengths to which I went, one Christmas, to help a friend find Tickle Me Elmo for her youngest.

But I just never found a single Muppet character I thought was the least bit appealing. I never saw one of their comic strips that I thought was funny, or even mildly amusing. Needless to say, I've never seen a Muppet movie.

What got me started tonight was watching America's Got Talent. For whatever reason, the fill-in material in a results show has been filled in by Muppets. Who makes these decisions? Somebody who knows the AGT audience better than I do, obviously!

If you can help me understand the appeal of Muppets, I'd really appreciate it. Or just chime in with Yay Muppets or Nay Muppets -- but please include your age and whether your kids influenced this at all.
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Old 09-10-2014, 10:06 PM
 
10,029 posts, read 10,857,980 times
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I grew up with them on the Muppet Show and Sesame Street. They are cute and funny.
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Old 09-10-2014, 10:08 PM
 
Location: Pittsburgh
29,627 posts, read 34,098,587 times
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I hate to say it, but if you were out of college in 1969, the Muppets weren't for you. I grew up watching them, and they're silly enough for kids, but there's enough clever humor (that flies right over kids' heads) to appeal to adults. If you've really never seen Sesame Street or The Muppet Show or any of the movies (they're not from a "comic strip",) then you've missed out.
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Old 09-10-2014, 10:11 PM
 
Location: Rivendell
1,385 posts, read 2,446,389 times
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I am 53, no kids, and I LOVE the muppets! I am not sure if I can explain the appeal. The only time I watched Sesame Street was when I was in the vicinity of children watching it.
What really got me hooked was the Muppet Show on TV. It was so funny and entertaining, with great guest stars. The Muppet movies were also pretty good.
Part of what I like is each muppet has a distinct and interesting personality. Kermit is my favorite. I think I used to have a crush on him. I still have a small Kermit collection.
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Old 09-10-2014, 10:20 PM
 
Location: Not where I want to be
24,509 posts, read 24,091,391 times
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I watched the Muppets with my daughter when Sesame Street came on. I was learning Spanish along with her! Then when the Muppets had their own show, it was hilarious, so I watched.
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Old 09-10-2014, 10:35 PM
 
Location: in here, out there
3,062 posts, read 7,000,613 times
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Demonstration of uncanny valley

Representation Of Reality In Computer Media Essay


This essay describes how realistic caricatures can make people uneasy. Muppets are silly and make people laugh. That's the difference.
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Old 09-11-2014, 01:56 AM
 
Location: Cushing OK
14,539 posts, read 21,164,132 times
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I loved the Muppet Show. I have some on dvd. I didn't watch it as a kid and my son didn't watch sesame street.

But they despite looking different were such definied personalities, and it didn't matter they were dogs or pigs or frogs... you knew JUST who Miss Piggy was and even the ones who you didn't see much were well defined. And the humor was perfect but not for kids. They represented a lot of types and if you closed your eyes you saw a person.

There was also a wonderful show called Muppet babies. It was the muppets as babies at daycare. The adult was only seen from the knees down which is the world from a small child's point of view. Their adventures were wonderful and they saw all sorts of things as they played, then when it was over it was pillows and couches and chairs and so forth, but in a child's vivid imagination they could be anything. It was a beautiful look at the world from a little kids eyes. I watched it when my son was off doing other things.

The amount of creativity around the muppets was what set them apart and why they are still seen as icons of our culture.
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Old 09-11-2014, 02:11 AM
 
Location: Texas Hill Country
23,445 posts, read 13,678,468 times
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Well, to each their own.

I would watch the Muppets at hundred times over. I would NEVER watch America's Got Talent.

I suppose part of it is "timing". As a teen, the Muppet Show would come on Saturday nights at 1830, right before the line up. It was a nice way to greet the line up. That was our comedy then, either the Muppets or Hee-Haw. Further, of course, the comedy of then was of a different theme and I would say a better one, than what passes for comedy now.

We remember what it was like to be alive back then.
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Old 09-11-2014, 02:49 AM
 
Location: West of the Catalinas East of the Tortolitas
4,922 posts, read 8,532,068 times
Reputation: 8044
I watched Sesame Street with my daughters (b. 1973 and 1976) and just loved them. Then the movies came out and they were hilarious (I thought). My favorite though, is John Denver and The Muppets -- A Christmas Together. We recorded it on VHS from our VCR over a TV on antenna and my kids have the original soundtrack. I like Animal. He's my favorite. Or Grover. My daughter's favorite book was "The Monster at the End of this Book" She couldn't get enough of this story. The Muppet Show was like a Smother's Brothers with some subtle political humour but good clean fun. It was a show that adults and children could watch together and laugh with.

There's just something unique about them. Like others have said, each is a distinct personality. Oscar is a Grouch. Cookie Monster is a lovable, blue cookie addict. Big Bird is, well, an over-sized yellow bird who loves Snuffleupagus, Grover is an innocent, and then there's Bert and Ernie named after two characters from "It's a Wonderful Life', and Miss Piggy who loves Kermit the Frog who sings that it isn't easy being green. Bert "doin' the Pigeon" is hard to explain, but funny. They're smart, funny, savvy, cute and huggable. I adore them still.
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Old 09-11-2014, 08:03 AM
 
Location: Ashburn, VA
2,794 posts, read 2,918,181 times
Reputation: 4914
I enjoy Kermit the snitch....

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