Granted, he’s doing it out of interest for Up Late With Miss Piggy, which Groban is transforming into a boring, highbrow talk show that Piggy’s not cultured enough to host. And Kermit has himself to thank for his former love moving on to a new man. Turns out the People’s Choice Awards are coming up and she doesn’t have a date. Since Keanu Reeves is busy gaining weight for a movie and Jeff Goldblum is married, Josh Groban is the logical third choice in that Fibonacci sequence of approachable guys with black hair who moms love.
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Josh Groban – who’d previously appeared in Muppets Most Wanted – was the true nucleus here though, as the man who sought to softly control the Piggy and undermine Kermit.
Suddenly, the Muppets are working in a whole new office.
I actually really liked the appearances from real-life celebs. Unfortunately, he’s also become the Yoko Ono to Piggy’s John Lennon. They want her band to go acoustic and for Piggy to bring on authors. The changes are putting the audience literally to sleep, though, and turning Laurence Fishburne cruel in the ABC synergy cameo of the week as he openly insults Kermit while driving around the studio lot. All of these are impressive talents, but it takes a special show to use them all in such unique ways. Head here for more details. But the staff, so concerned with finding Piggy a date and then trying to save the show from the doldrums, isn’t paying much attention. As Piggy sings to Groban from atop his piano, sparks fly, and they end the performance with a passionate kiss. The show is bad and while Kermit might let Josh have his old girlfriend, he’ll be damned if Josh gets his show too.
The bumbling blue creature hasn’t gotten too many featured moments in the first two episodes of The Muppets, but at least this week he gets one runner that pays off. In the cold open, he teases Fozzie about junk emails, referencing one he ignored about his mother being stuck overseas-even though she’s on a cruise in South America. In another subplot, Fozzie got to hang out with Jay Leno but kept stealing things from him.
We’ll have to keep watching to see if “The Muppets” are able to stabilize their ratings next week. But nope, Fozzie gets kicked out of Leno’s mansion, dejected and wallowing in remorse. Though it should be said that Leno offering Fozzie an opening act spot at an upcoming gig, given how ham-fisted and corny Fozzie’s jokes are, did not go unnoticed.
It just so happens to be the dish Fozzie stole.
At first Groban is as much a godsend as his cherubic curls and cute little punim would suggest. The difference, however, is that in the past you could go fix a snack while the actor did their “serious” song – but on “The Muppets“, the guest stars are weaved so thoroughly into the plot that they’re inescapable.
But Bobo comes out of “Hostile Makeover” in better shape than just about anyone else.
Back on set, another bear, Bobo, is selling Girl Scout cookies on behalf of his daughter. Hopefully he doesn’t have to put any of that money toward any of the hourly catastrophes plaguing the show. But things usually calmed down by the time Zoot squonked his final saxophone note in the closing credits, if only because Kermit and the gang had managed to get through the show.
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Over the past week, the most common criticism leveled at The Muppets from both fans and critics alike has been a few variation on “Kermit’s kind of a dick”.
