What I’m Watching: The Muppets

The Muppets: Season 1, Episode 6 “The Ex-Factor” (B+)

It’s nice to have an episode where Miss Piggy isn’t at war with a nemesis or trying to take someone down. In fact, she was one of the more reasonable players in the hour, to a degree. I was pleased to see that she had no drama with Kristin Chenoweth and that the two of them eagerly sang a duet together rather than compete for top billing. I think it’s important to recognize that the guest stars on this show are rarely going to have amazing roles, and that they exist instead to remind viewers that stopping by this show and its universe of characters is a fun treat. Chenoweth didn’t do much singing since she’s not supposed to steal the spotlight, and instead she got stuck on a long road trip to nowhere and ended up being left stranded in the desert with nothing but a bag of funyuns. Kermit thinking that he didn’t have to get Denise a gift for her birthday since she said she didn’t want anything was ill-advised, and he really should have taken Scooter’s suggestion and just made Denise something nice from Color Me Mine, a destination which was ruined for Scooter when everyone else started showing up. Enlisting Miss Piggy’s help did result in a knockout of a gift, but she got her revenge by giving her something that would always remind Kermit of her rather than Denise. Billing Kermit for the meal she purchased after an exhausting day of shopping, complete with caviar, was a humorous additional penalty for his silly thinking.