Slashdot Mirror
Muppets Sold
Anonymous Coward writes, "Munich-based EM.TV and Merchandising AG has bought the Jim Henson Company for $680 million. They say that they won't mess with the Henson Co.'s "creative independence," thankfully. Now, if they'd just start running the old Muppet Shows again..."
Hello, Kermit the Frog here, I've just been bought!!!!!
No more "tickle me elmo", now it's "Tickle me merger"...
More demented ramblings from an Oregon geek.
If you can't figure out how to mail me, don't.
For linux tips: http://www.linuxtipsblog.com
So are EM.TV and Merchandising AG execs going to be appearing on The Muppet Show with excessively high karma?
Are they going to make movies that are better than the last one that came out? The last one had potential but went off on a tangent somewhere....
Who am I?
Why am here?
Where is the chocolate?
What is your Slash Rating?
"There's only one thing about this show I'd change."
"What's that?"
"The channel!"
"O-ho-ho-ho-ho!"
Man, I miss regular doses of Statler and Waldorf...
--
The Future: Some assembly required; batteries not included.
coming next week, the new jon katz article, "muppets - the tragedy of mergers"
personally, i can't wait.
-hemos.
I'm hemos., aka Jeff. Bates.. I help run this site, along with Rob. Malda.. I handle books, and generally posting storie
Check out the Odyssey Network (co-owned by Henson & Hallmark BTW)
Everyday at ~5 pm EST, they've old ones on.
In my area (Raleigh, NC), the Oddessy Network shows the original muppet show every night around 6 or 7 pm. That's Time Warner Basic cable that I see it through but I'm pretty sure the Oddessy is a national channel.
"HIIIIIIIIIIIIIII YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA"
-Ms. Piggy
What do you despise? By this are you truly known.
Didn't Jim Henderson die a year or so ago? If so, I'm pretty sure the "new" muppets would not have the same quality.
Heck, what I want to know is the impact this is going to have on "Farscape".
Not just re-running the Muppet Show, but giving it a decent time slot. i don't care WHAT channel it's on, but it can't be in the middle of the day or i can't watch it. grrr.
-l
Help cure AIDS, cancer, and more. Donate your unused computer time to worldcommunitygrid.org. Join Team Slashdot!
The old Muppets show, The Jim Henson Hour (I think that's what it's called) and the newer Muppets Tonight! is on the cable channel "Oddysey", check your local listings for it.
It used to be a religious channel, but got bought out by Hallmark and Henson productions and now shows uplifting movies, Muppets, Alf re-runs and other family friendly fare.
-Jesse K.
i wonder if he'll be turned into a german chef now? (Da und Da Schniztel Bork Bork Bork)
anywho....
disney really didnt understand what to do with that franchise... The muppets were adult entertainment that masqueraded as children entertainment...
Maybe the new groupl will be able to recapture the old magic...
Of course... Since Henson is dead, Kermit will never sound the same...
... hi bingo
The Muppet Show is shown several nights a week on the Odyssey cable network, which is jointly owned by Henson and Hallmark (Yes the card company). I know that AT&T Cable ( Formerly TCI) carries it around here.
$5 / month hosted VPS on linux = awesome!
At least it is not AOL-TimeWarner-EMI buying the Muppets. Don't know much about EM-TV, but it should be interesting to see what happens.
The Muppet Show is on every night on the Oddessey channel
I thought I saw a new show on the Disney channel - it had Amy Grant - I could be wrong?
"By acquiring The Jim Henson Company, we gain some of the most powerful and enduring kids' and family brands worldwide and get access to the world's biggest and most important media market," said Thomas Haffa, chief executive of EM.TV.
Meaning...new episodes of Sesame Street will contain post-production digital billboards painted onto buildings, the street, and Oscar's trash can. Access to a market is nothing to a media company if it isn't exploited.
Maybe I can now actually get myself a Muppet Puppet! When I'm at my desk sitting in a cube farm can get pretty boring and often I wish I had a Muppet Puppet or two to entertain myself with. *duck porographic flames* Unfortunately I've been unable to find any to purchase. Perhaps this will change that.
I wonder if anyone else have had such thoughts and managed to find any.
Personally, I'm a HUGE fan of the Muppets. In fact, my girlfriend just bought me a calendar with the Muppets in all these classic paintings and all. (Gonzo's mother instead of Whistler's Mother, etc.) It rocks.
Anyhoo, my question is, what happens to the Muppet's 3-D Adventure in MGM Studios at Walt Disney World? Do we think EM is going to ask Disney to close it? Personally, I think they should expand the Muppet section of MGM. Don't you think a log-flume ride themed after Muppet Treasure Island would rock?????
The Muppets is on every afternoon on Odyssey, at 4 pm. At least, it is here in NM. We just recently found this out. Harry Belafonte was on it just the other day. Awesome. =)
School's Out and Welcome to my Nightmare, what a shock to my 4th grade mind. It warped me for all time.
Thanks Jim!!!
feed the hungry for free, visit: http://www.thehungersite.com
y'know, they _did_ try to ressurect the muppet "show" in a way about four, five years ago.. i can't remember the name, but i watched a couple episodes (the show was tragically put on at the same time as either the x-files or sliders, i forget which. Either way it was a very difficult choice as to which to watch, and i only chose the new muppets a couple times..) it had some really clever bits in it.. the first episode basically came down to the muppets in some kind of meeting, looking over the ABC fall scedule, and then suddenly realizing the time slot that begins in three minutes didn't have anything in it. and then basically trying to throw together a letterman-style talk show in four minutes. It really did feel a lot like the old-school muppet show, but wasn't as wasn't nearly as consistent. It was kind of hit-or-miss, and about half of the material was kind of dull, but when it hit it was really funny. The stock Mrs. Piggy/Kermit characters weren't technically part of the show being produced itself, but they kept wandering in and out backstage and interfering with things, seeming like a bunch of old people who think they know everything. which was kind of funny to watch. I can't really remember it well enough to pass judgement on it though, really..
The show really wasn't very developed enough though. They were just going out and experimenting, trying to see if they could hit anything that worked. You could tell they were trying really hard, but they didn't always pull the show off the way it should have been. And ABC didn't give them a chance to experiment until they got it right; they pulled the show after about a half a season, and it never got developed to the point where it fufilled its potential. I dunno. There was some kind of rumor floating around that a second season was made but only shown in Hawaii or something wierd like that, but i never found out what was going on with that..
It would be nice if they could somehow recapture the spirit that made everything Jim Henson did so wonderful-- the kind of creative, almost-edgy, almost-dangerous feel to everything he did that what he was doing had never been done before. Whatever else you may have to say about the Muppet Show or early Sesame Street or any of his movies, the fact is you were never quite sure what was about to happen.
As opposed to, say, Muppets in Space, where you could tell _exactly_ what was going to happen, and nothing was unpredictable. That was just sad. Muppet Treasure Island/Christmas Carol was more or less ok, as if the people working on it were violently trying to honor Jim's memory with something wierd, but Muppets In Space felt more like they were burying Jim.. the whole movie just seemed hollow, empty, on autopilot. LIke the soul and the mind of the Muppets were dead but the body was still moving. The hamster was gone but the wheel was still spinning.
i want to see them go back to unpredictability.. i'd like to see something truly different from the muppet franchise again. I'd like to see something as mold-breaking as Labyrinth or Dark Crystal was come out of JH Productions again.. i doubt i ever will.
Really they ought to hire the people who did Sifl and Olly.. -_- That was probably the coolest, most funny thing i've ever seen on a television. And they definately have Jim's wierdness down.. -_-
"cindy crawford's taking off her robe..!!!" <---if you can identify where this came from, give yourself a cookie.
-mcc-baka
Five to one, baby, one in five.. no one here gets out alive, now
Irritable, left-wing and possibly humorous bumper stickers and t-shirts
The website to check time and all:
http://www.odysseychannel.com/
Damn, I'm impressed by the littlest things...
:)
Ya, that's what SHE said
Screw you guys, I'm going home.
Where would you take the muppets if you had control?
Muppets Theater 3000
Waldorf and Statler(?sp) do a MST2K/3K approach to modern entertainment shows.
Es ist nicht einfach, zu sein grün.
I'm pretty sure this site is official, but check out muppets.com. Does anyone know what the Swedish chef is actually saying?!
FOOL!! do NOT take the muppets lightly!! we will destroy you!! :D this is VERY important to some of us; the Muppets take on religion-like importance for some of us. It's even as important to some of us as, say, linux. Perhaps ordinarily you could get away with slightly uninformed posts, but not this time!! THIS TIME YOU'VE GONE TOO FAR!! 4N1M4L \V1LL 0\VN J00 817C|-|!! PH33R!!! AAAUUUUUEGH
What do you mean "relaxed"?? Why were you expecting this to be relaxed? Weren't you paying attention a couple months ago during the "who's your favorite muppet" poll? that's the most heated, impassioned discussion i've seen on slashdot yet. : D There are _strong_ feelings around here on this subject; you best watch yo' step, homeboy
-mcc
"my belly button blew up!"
Irritable, left-wing and possibly humorous bumper stickers and t-shirts
Cap City/ABC (read: DISNEY, plus almost every single newspaper in the US, even your little local town-based rag is most likely owned by them...) already has the US rights, it's right there in the article:
The Jim Henson Co. also has production agreements with the American cable company Odyssey Channel, Capital Cities/ABC and Sony's Columbia Tristar Home Video in the home video arena.
I remember the big hoopla when Disney optioned them, and ran a "Muppets in Epcot: Epcot Becomes Almost Interesting" special.
This company has a major investment in Odyssey, which unfrotunately isn't on my cable network. I do, however, get Disney, and "Muppets Tonight" is a really good, high-quality, true-to-the-original show.
Yeah it would be great if everyone wanted to put the Muppet Show back on TV. The old one anyway, I know they had set on ABC for a while that ran a newer more "elite" version. Muppet Show version 2.0 of course it was only in an alpha stage and was canceled, right?
why are there so many
gripes about slashdot
and why are they always snide?
slashdot is funny
and sometimes just punny
but slashdot has nothing to hide.
trolling and flaming are part of the treasure,
though they're just moderated down.
someday we'll find it
the slashdot connection
andover, va linux, and me.....
-- http://www.cerastes.org
All the stuff you and I remember was LSD inspired. It's pretty obvious if you catch a re-run. These days it's all crack inspired. When you're competing with the Power Rangers, you gotta do the crack...
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
Wrong. They WERE sold. From the press release issued by The Jim Henson Company: " have signed a definitive agreement under which EM.TV will acquire 100% of Henson in a cash-and-stock transaction notionally valued at $680 million." Sure sounds like "sold" to me.
Complete press release is here.
Anyone know whether the muppets are available on DVD?
Jumpstart the tartan drive.
Hi! This Rob Malda and I want you guys to know that this is really me!!1 WERD!!!! Anyway I just made this account to have an excuse to increase moderation by vast amounts. (really) And I just want to say Christina Aguilera is one fine woman and with my millions I can have her!!!
$5 / month hosted VPS on linux = awesome!
you're partially right... there is no use in building a large file with all possible permutations. But one that just prohibits such obvious ones as CmdrTaco and Hemos or Hemos., emmett, jamie, would be nice. The rest is easy to spot and therefore not a nuisance... A name is all we have here. Our words should do the talking, but some names I associate with intelligent talk, whereas others I don't. (Now Jeff, don't start assuming that you're in the intelligent group :-) But I can see your point here for sure.. and in the end it's the Slashdot guys their name. If they are not bugged then why should I be? Just watch out when something has a name on it and only judge the post
this was posted really late in the evening here
Use Adsense for Charity
...and a hearty welcome to Kermit and the Gang!! The Muppets will do fine on the Oktoberfest, i bet! I watched them when I was a child and I still love em today! Its nice to see that german firms start buying something valuable! (n.o.m. Chrysler;-)
I'll say it again.
How is this News for Nerds, or Stuff that Matters.
The first problem was they tried to introduce Clifford as a leader - while he was a fine muppet as a background character, he was just way too bland to be intresting or even care about much (unlike Kermit who was very edgy and could just explode at any moment!).
The other problem was just what you said, it felt like they were trying a bunch of stuff to see what would work - often they had Saturday Night Live syndrome, where a sketch would go on WAY after it stopped being funny (and would have been really funny if they had just stopped).
A few good things did come out of it though - I really liked Sal the monkey, and the King Prawn (who also provided the few funny moments in Muppets From Space). As another poster said, the Garth Brooks episode was really great, as were a few others.
I also hated Muppets From Space, I felt the same way about it you do - plus they had almost no musical numbers in it at all. If you had the misfortune to have the DVD, you could see the single worst commentary track ever produced - it was Gonzo, the rat, and some other human guy I forget in MST3K format (shadowed characters at the bottom of the screen). That sounds like a good idea but they simply could not think of anything interesting or funny to say AT ALL. It was so painful to watch and listen to, I had to turn it off after a few minutes. They should bury every copy of that movie in the same desert landfill they used to unload all the old ET carts.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
It's interesting that you bring up running the old muppet shows again. There is a channel called Odyssey co-owned by Hallmark and the Hensen family. It specializes in 'family' entertainment and has such shows as The Muppet Show and Alf. It also has some of the 1980's and 1970's family type films. Not my favorite channel by far, but it does have alf. That is one thing that I haven't seen in a while. thoughts?
From the horses mouth
-J. Marvin
You can still see the muppets at 6:30 on the oddessy channel in the northeast. My wife and I watch them when we are home. Brings back memories of when life was simple.
Microsoft aggravates my tourettes syndrome.
I beg to differ. You sound like you were born in the 80's am I correct?
Microsoft aggravates my tourettes syndrome.
I believe Garth Brooks hosted SNL two times. He was a riot.
Jack Valenti and the MPAA are to technology as the Boston strangler is to the woman home alone
...either molded into the shape of, or printed with the image of, an IntProp resource, and sold to the masses as a novelty (thereby making the "products" landfill). As opposed to a product that has some intrinsic value over substitute products, other than an image.
The muppet is called Gareth and I don't think anyone would want to buy him.
--
Make use of your spare CPU time!
Marky is a muppet.
--
Make use of your spare CPU time!
They sold out long ago to Disney man!
Anyone know anyone selling the muppet puppets? ..although that
Not the original ones of course
would be really cool, but replicas? Like a chef
puppet or fozzie? I found a place that sells
kermit but I can't find any of the other characters:( It would be neat to have a couple
puppets in the office to keep the day lively.
Mike