The Muppets S1E7: Pigs in a Blackout – Mr. DAPs’ Review

Running a daily television show is a lot of work and it is beginning to take its toll on Kermit the Frog. This week, The Muppets returns to a somewhat familiar story that feels almost like a home coming.

Episode Description

Kermit is feeling the pressure at work and is forced to go to a private Yoga retreat where he runs into a stressed out Jason Bateman. Meanwhile, with Kermit out of the office, Scooter is left to run the show and things go from bad to worse.

Review

Kermit’s Breakdown and Recovery

This isn’t the first time that Kermit has had a breakdown. In fact, this happened all the way back in the original Muppet Show. However, that time Kermit passed his duties on to Fozzie Bear… you can only imagine how this turned out. This time as Kermit went off to his private retreat he passed the duties off to Scooter. We’ll return to that later though. Kermit goes off to a private retreat that is supposed to help him relax and get away. Unfortunately, Jason Bateman does the same and keeps asking Kermit for help… ruining said getaway. Finally Kermit finds his own way to relieve stress with the help of Rowlf… rebuilding the swamp in his backyard and singing Rainbow Connection. Although predictable, this was an enjoyable storyline. There were some humorous moments throughout and also some awkward ones… most notably the apparent competition that is beginning to develop between Denise and Miss Piggy. It will be interesting to see if that is returned to in the future. While I enjoyed the interaction between Kermit and Jason Bateman, the scene in Rowlf’s tavern between Kermit and Rowlf was easily my favorite.

Scooter the Producer

Scooter as a producer was a nice story, again fairly predictable. It also was enjoyable though. It ended up being just about what one would expect from Scooter. There is a massive problem which leads to Scooter being overwhelmed, supported by friends, and then reaching a solution. Really, it could have been any Muppet movie or presentation because that is a very common plot line. It did feel nice though having the Muppets be what the Muppets have been… and also be funny while doing it.

Sam Loves Janice?

The return of Sam’s efforts at wooing Janice came with mixed results this week. Sam continues to fall harder for Janice, this week he tries to make a connection using a mutual love of Hawaii. It’s kind of a weird coupling and I honestly have a hard time buying Sam falling for Janice. I just don’t know what I think of this storyline and am curious to see if it develops beyond the awkward crush that it is now.

Final Thoughts

This week’s episode really felt like old school Muppets. The storylines were classic and really could have been pulled from the old Muppet show. The humor also harkened back to the glory days. Was there anything super amazing or dramatic in this week’s episode? Well… not unless you call a massive cube of butter for the Swedish Chef amazing or dramatic. There was the heart though that I love about the Muppets. Kermit was much more the Kermit I know and love that I have hoping we would see appear in this show. It was also great to see Sweetums getting some more airtime. This wasn’t the most exciting episode but… it sure was fun. I’m glad to see the return of the old Muppets. I hope that this works for them, people love it, and we get more of it!