Round Two: The Muppets

The Muppets: Season 1, Episode 2 “Hostile Makeover” (B+)

Well, I’m pleased to report that this show really does work, and its second episode is just as strong an indicator of its quality and entertainment factor. The three celebrity guest stars in this installment were all used to tremendous effect. Josh Groban was a fun match for Piggy, and watching Kermit try to jump up on him was funny. I like that Kermit, after celebrating the Code Green for a while, was able to concoct the perfect way to get rid of Josh by making it seem like his ego was even bigger than Piggy’s, something that she wouldn’t possibly allow. Fozzie getting invited to Jay Leno’s house was a dream come true, and apparently the fact that he felt the need to take a souvenir wasn’t all that crazy given that Leno did the same thing with a bowl from George Carlin’s house. Unfortunately, the bowl Fozzie took and then broke was the same one, resulting in the rescinding of that invitation to introduce Leno in Las Vegas. Kermit running into Laurence Fishburne, forever Morpheus to me but more currently a series regular on ABC’s “Black-ish,” while they were carting around the set was amusing, particularly because Fishburne was mocking him for just how boring his show was. I like the incorporation of Girl Scout Cookies and different animal instincts into the show, and the intonations of the many things that the Muppets say rarely fail to be very entertaining and significantly funnier than if a human had said them.