This is my top 10 picks for celebrity guest hosts I’d love to see on a theoretical new The Muppet Show.
In late November 2011; theaters across the world brought us The Muppets, the first big screen feature film starring Jim Henson’s wild assortment of weirdos in 12 years. Jason Segel, who pulls dual acting and writing duties along with a whole team of passionate talent, managed to capture the essence of the original The Muppet Show and movies while invigorating the franchise with a modern styling that was much needed.
While a new theatrical offering of this caliber is long away, a new The Muppet Show would be more than welcome in my book. Not only would it help grow the brand, but having a half hour show to showcase a wide array of skits, comedy and music would be a great artistic output for modern celebrities who want to do something light hearted or that their kids can see without resorting to being in Air Buddies: Trapped in an RV on Mars or something like that. Plus; looking at the original Muppet guest list, there aren’t all that many people kids would recognize and – in some unfortunate cases – are even still alive for that matter.
Please note, I’m going to exclude anyone who has already been on The Muppet Show/Muppets Tonight, had a role or cameo in any of the Muppet movies & TV specials, or made a guest appearance on Sesame Street.
10. Adele
Adele
This would be one of the classy acts filled with soul and intimacy. A duet of “Someone Like You” with Kermit accompanied by Rowlf on piano is the type of thing that would be perfect for her. On a slightly more serious side she could do a piece on body image issues. A song or rhyme about loving your body or just a skit with Miss Piggy about double standards women face could be sweet and humorous while not being too preachy, though that might be more beneficial on Sesame Street.
“Rolling in the Deep” would be great for visual gags and other happenings in the background while Adele takes center stage amidst the chaos.
9. Zach Braff and Donald Faison
Zach Braff and Donald Faison
JD & Trukleton! These two have the best of best friends chemistry together so of course they’d both host at the same time. I confess that I watch Scrubs mainly as an “I can’t find anything on TV but – oh look, Scrubs!” show and haven’t even seen the finale yet, but I can say that of the large chunk I’ve seen; it’s a live action cartoon dramedy that manages to pull off the Family Guy random gags with very few of the problems that Family Guy has.
One of the strongest driving forces is Donald Faison & Zach Braff’s bromance whose charm is rarely seen done as well in other buddy comedies. Any duet between these two for a finale is a no brainier.
Oh, and speaking of Family Guy …
8. Seth MacFarlane
Seth MacFarlane
Say what you want about his various animated works - he might even agree with you on a few points - but Seth McFarlane is a genuinely talented performer. He’d have fit right in on the original The Muppet Show performing some classic Vegas show tunes. Having him on the new show would be a good way to introduce the older 50s to 70s style acts to a new audience while still having a guest who appeals to a younger demographic.
Having “remember that time” jokes peppered throughout the episode could also be pretty fun as long as it’s with Muppety stuff. Hey; it’s not like they didn’t use black hip hop Fozzie from this gag as Fozzie’s evil Moopet doppelganger in “The Muppets”.
7. Robert Downey Jr.
Robert Downey Jr.
Like Sean Connery, Keanu Reeves and Nicolas Cage, he’s one of those actors who tends to play the same role over and over again; themselves. Still; Robert Downey Jr. has that kind of magic that makes the cheeky bastard so damn charming.
I feel he’d have a blast working with the Muppets and could have some great back and forth’s between Statler and Woldorf plus a super sexy romance scene with Miss Piggy. There’s no way she wouldn’t take a shot at him. I’m sure Bunsen & Beaker would have quite a few interesting upgrades for Tony Stark’s Iron Man armor as well.
6. The Mythbusters
The Mythbusters
While you could totally get away with just Adam & Jamie hosting; to exclude the equally knowledgeable and charismatic Torri, Kari and Grant would be a missed opportunity indeed. Having the Mythbusters doing several experiments and skits with Bunsen and Beaker and Crazy Harry would be a no brainer along with a performance of “The Elements” song. What would be way more clever is having Buster come alive thanks to a new Muppet head and take revenge for the years of abuse by trapping the gang in several Saw style myth influenced puzzles that they’d have to bust their way out of.
5. Weird Al Yankovic
"Weird Al" Yankovic
The reigning master of accordion comedy together with the Muppets is such a perfect match that it’s tragic that it hasn’t happened before. Anything would be game. Imagine the Muppets performing Al’s songs like “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and “Fuck You” were done in the new film. Also, imagine Mr. Yankovic doing a whole new parody song that’s either a Muppet regular like “Rainbow Connection” with new lyrics or some other song with a new coat of Muppet paint on it.
Just break out the squeeze box and toss a funny costume on him and he’s right at home.
4. Tina Fey
Tina Fey
Form 1997 til 2006, Saturday Night Live! was graced with Tina Fey’s comedic touch; first as writer, then head writer, along with staring in some very hilarious sketches and co-anchor on Weekend Update. Her continued success with other projects like 30 Rock means involving her in the production of the Muppets in some way would be a sure hit.
She’s a mother of a 2 little girls, so her doing something for them would be more than fine with me, be it a particular song or a favorite bedtime story. She also should be in at least one Muppet News Flash where she gets killed by something pun related. If you remember she already got eaten by a shark on Weekend Update so there’s precedence.
3. Gary Oldman
Gary Oldman
He’s one of the most versatile actors alive. He uses a different accent for almost every role. Just compare Zorg, Dracula and Jim Gordon; he’s a master who can easily disappear into a film. I had no idea that he was the Peacock Shen until the credits in Kung Fu Panda 2.
His cooperation with the Muppets would be greatly enjoyed by, not just the audience, but I bet also by the Muppet performers and Gary himself as well. I can’t say that there’s any particular skit or performance that he would need to do but I’d love to hear him sing something wacky & upbeat. Perhaps a Rizocrantz & Gonzostern Are Dead bit as an opening gag?
2. Stephen Colbert
Stephen Colbert
He has had previous experience with Muppets after having Cookie Monster on The Colbert Report a few times but he’s never done any serious Muppet production and that’s something we need rectified.
While both he and The Daily Show host Jon Stewart would be perfect for this kind of thing, the scales are tipped to Colbert’s side due to the fact that, before making it huge with the aforementioned fake news shows, he did quite a bit of character work on projects like Strangers with Candy and voice overs for SNL’s TV Funhouse cartoons and Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law.
A sketch with Kermit’s crew working for Phil Ken Sebben would be a comedy gold mine. Follow that up with him and Sam the Eagle on a Fox News like show and you’ve got a fan favorite episode in the bag.
1. Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp and Kermit
If you don’t believe that Depp is perfect for the Muppets then just take a look at all his characters.The possibilities of just the parody skits about his most famous roles alone are mind blowing. Imagine him dressed as Hunter S. Thompson singing “The Batty bat” or a Sweeney Todd bit that quickly turns into a take on Monty Python’s Lumberjack Song. Then, of course, there’s the big pirate number which could feature any of the songs form Muppet Treasure Island along with any of the still existing MTI puppets & props. If Tim Curry could also make a special appearance and reprise he role as Long John Silver for this it would be the greatest Pirate theater performance of all time.