Muppets Never Say Die

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I bleed felt. No, I don’t have some crazy incurable disease. I just absolutely, positively love the Muppets.

It’s an obsession, I know.

So does my wife.

Growing up, I was glued to my TV set at 7:30 pm every week to watch Steve Martin, Mark Hamill and even Vincent Price hang out with my fuzzy best friends. The Muppet Show was the funniest, most entertaining TV show on the air, and yes, it still holds up today.

Over the years, I always stuck with the Muppets, even when I wasn’t really enjoying a lot of their movies and specials. They tried a revamp with Muppets Tonight. It was far more adult and I enjoyed it, but it didn’t have the same spirit as the original.

Jason Segel brought things back a bit with The Muppets movie, followed by a sequel that just didn’t quite capture the same spark as the first film. And that, sadly was the end of another Muppets resurgence. Though I did really dig the reality series The Muppets Mayhem starring the Electric Mayhem.

Of course there were action figures over the years, and even Muppets Legos. That certainly kept my fandom fed.

My wife, ever the trooper, kept the Muppet magic alive by making me Muppets-themed cakes for my birthday.

There was Rolf.

And Beaker.

The Swedish Chef.

And my favorite, Fozzie Bear.

Fozzie Bear from the Muppets in cake form — The greatest Fozzie Bear Birthday Cake ever!

She even made me a Kermit cake when I earned my MBA a few years back.

And then a funny (pun very much intended) thing happened. All of a sudden word spread that Seth Rogen was doing a modern day The Muppet Show special starting Sabrina Carpenter.

Suddenly, I had hope again.

Could this return of The Muppet Show be exactly what I was waiting for?

Would this be the innocent, adorable and hysterical hug that the world needs right now?

In a word: Yes!

This week, I sat on the coach with my wife and oldest son Jason, ready to watch The Muppets.

Was I nervous this would be a big bust? A little.

But the early reviews were positive so I had high hopes. I took a deep breath and hit play.

As the music played and the lights lit, something amazing happened.

Suddenly I was a kid again, sitting on the floor of our living room, watching one of my favorite shows on TV.

The Muppet Show theme blared from my TV, now a huge thin 4k Samsung instead of a 20″ Sylvania that must have weighed 900 pounds and stretched a good foot or two in depth.

To say I got goosebumps would be an understatement. And my wife will 100% be rolling her eyes as she reads this, but I literally felt the hair on my arms stand up in salute of my long-lost friends.

I’m not going to give an in-depth review of the episode. There are plenty of those online already.

Instead, I’ll tell you that I absolutely loved it.

Was it the greatest Muppets episode ever? No. Not by a long shot.

Did it make me laugh out loud multiple times? You bet!

The best review I can give is to quote my wife’s reaction after I finished watching: “You’ve had that huge grin on your face for the past 30 minutes. You can stop now.”