Welcome back to part two of your “Two Things” about The Muppets Mayhem. We’ve learned a lot so far about what Muppet fans have liked and disliked, so let’s hear from even more fans!
Christine T.
Likes: Aside from the whole show….Loved the photos with Zoot at the end of the credits.
Dislikes: Not enough Davis Cactus. Fell in love immediately with Floyd’s hallucination and I feel like I need more Davis in my life.
Gerald Teeth Jr. (no relation, we assume)
Likes: Job Seeking w/ Animal and Ben Schwartz
Dislikes: The entirety of episode 4 (with the big exception of the king of comedy, Weird Al)
Jamie
Likes: The writing was some of the best in recent years. We’ve gotten Hallmark level Muppets so often that forgets that the Muppets aren’t just for kids, but this was the perfect balance. My entire family was able to enjoy it together (ages 3 to 40) and appreciate different things.
Dislikes: The way it was dropped all at once I feel like was a disservice to the show.
Tourmaline
Likes: The character progression and how they gave the mayhem backstories and even family members!
Dislikes: I loved the human characters but I think they took the spotlight a few too many times for a muppet show
Ally
Likes: Dr. Teeth’s origin story was something I never knew I needed and it was perfect!
Dislikes: I like the human characters but when it was too focused on them towards the end, it got kinda boring.
Andrew Crane
Likes: You felt the weight that these characters have been together for sure a long time. They have had a long, rich history with each other and the show expanded on that even further with some flashbacks!
Dislikes: It’s easy to say nothing. That being said, bigger plot points with “popular” trends that already are outdated. Hopefully if there is a season 2 they won’t fall into a few of those traps.
Bryan Snyder
Likes: The human actors could have been cringeworthy. But they proved to be worthy counterpoints to our felt-flocked friends.
Dislikes: Not enough Nightmare Band! But seriously, how amazing would it be if the Mayhem had to compete against the Riverbottom Nightmare Band in some kind of battle-of-the-bands scenario during Season Two?
James
Likes: New Muppet music
Dislikes: Covers
Al
Likes: Bill Barretta’s performance as Dr. Teeth
Dislikes: Some of the songs…
Jim
Likes: Floyd Pepper’s old music shop ‘Jerry’s Tunes’ named after Jerry Nelson his original performer
Dislikes: The shift on focusing the story on the humans rather than the Electric Mayhem in some episodes
Goretty Rocha
Likes: Everything
Dislikes: It’s sad sometimes!
Armadillo
Likes: I loved the surreal aspect to Zoot (especially Jimmy Shoe)! This was a really fun direction to take the character and Dave Goelz put so much love and thought into it. I’m eager to see what else they do with this in the future.
Dislikes: Needed even more Zoot 🙂
Mollie Dawson
Likes: Lips! He’s pretty much the best thing about this show so far since how he was in the 2015 ABC television series and if we actually get a season 2, he needs to have an episode that is shown from his perspective like how it was with Animal, Janice, Zoot and Dr. Teeth. Same with Floyd. And also as for his goal to save the world. I would lose my mind if Lips was declared a hero for saving the world from climate change by 2030, I can see it happening. If god can create this earth, then a yellow chubby afro trumpet god needs to save it. #Lipsisgod
Dislikes: While I don’t have any problems with the human characters as anyone else online has, I do think they’re a bit of a hit-or-miss. Nora and Moog are well executed main characters in this whole series especially when they’re hanging out with our heroes, but on one hand, while Moog is a pretty well established fan who becomes one with the mayhem, Nora pretty have barely has any signs to her that makes her as much of a protagonist compared to Dr. Teeth, and I’d think that she’s pretty much better off as just a costar of this show pretty much and not you know “Miss Piggy from The Muppets Take Manhattan” where they’re trying to showcase her as the other focus of something that we’re watching in which the main focus is of course the ones who are the bulk of our attention like how it was in the past with muppets like Kermit and Miss Piggy and all that stuff. And + Hannah and J.J make great side characters. But if there is one thing that I didn’t really like about the humans in this series is that their side story dragged on for 12 minutes compared to the Mayhem’s main story which only dragged for 11 minutes. So in case Bill, Adam and Jeff gives us a season 2 of Muppets Mayhem, they need to fix the minutes that both the main and side stories dragged on for…Have the Mayhem’s main story drag for 12 minutes instead of 11 and have the humans’s side story drag for 11 minutes instead of 12, that would keep us mellow and profitable.
Emmy-dash
Likes: The puppets characters are unbelievably alive. Masterful puppetry as always.
Dislikes: I feel like JJ’s character wasn’t too fleshed out. What’s his deal? Who is he? Can we trust him? SHOULD we trust him? Huh???
Mark J Hansen
Likes: So funny! The jokes were that perfect Muppet blend of not being pitched down to little kids but not too adult
Dislikes: I loved the human cast but their storylines didn’t interest me as much, particularly the love triangle
Myles Hunt
Likes: Classic Muppet comedy, banter and empathetic compassion.
Dislikes: Not enough new characters introduced.
Kelly G
Likes: The chemistry between the band members
Dislikes: As much as I love Lilly Singh, I did not care for the love triangle human subplot
Abigail Maughan
Likes: This show made Janice the funniest female Muppet character of all time and I’m so proud of her. Her one-liners, quirkiness, and strong personality made her my favorite part of nearly every episode. I have so longed for a Muppet lady to just be an unabashed weirdo like so many of the guys get to be, and while Janice has shown that potential for decades, she finally got to thrive in it here. While also providing more heart than I ever expected! I had no idea how the band could carry a series on their own but I’m so pleased with the results, and Janice is the perfect microcosm of that.
Dislikes: I. Hate. Moog. From his “demo” to his romantic interest, he refused to express any of it to Norah with words like an adult, and instead got mad and pouty when she couldn’t read his mind. Whenever she had to crawl back to him and apologize, it made me furious. He learns nothing and gets to be right every time. He also betrayed his one “appealing” character trait of being the band’s #1 fan by making them fight with each other in the documentary episode just to sabotage JJ. I wish the human men on the show respected Norah as an actual person instead of trying to compete for her affection when she’s a grown ass woman who doesn’t owe either of them anything!
Timothy
Likes: Track 7: Eight Days a Week was an amazing, hilarious episode. Morgan Freeman dressed as Zoot probably made me laugh harder than anything I’ve seen all year.
Dislikes: Sometimes the show used dramatic beats that felt pulled from standard sitcom plots in ways that worked and felt heartfelt, but other times they fell really flat. The two examples that stick out in my mind are the episode about lying being bad (yawn) and the band breaking up in the last two episodes, which did not feel at all believable.
Caden
Likes: The music! Some of the other recent Muppets productions have been woefully devoid of music, so it’s great to have a show full of so many great covers, and so many great original songs. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve listened to “Mayhem!”
Dislikes: Nora was fine when she was acting as a straight man to the band. When she was on her own with no Muppets to bounce off of, I was incredibly bored and just wanted to get back to the actually interesting characters.
Colin
Likes: Getting to see character development on all the band members. For the first time ever, Lips actually got to be an actual character!
Dislikes: Too much focus on the humans. None of the actors did a bad job with the material, but I wish the plot had properly emphasized the Muppets themselves. There just weren’t enough Muppets in Muppets Mayhem.
Justin Tonglet
Likes: I loved the background story given to Dr. Teeth. It was nice to get a New Orleans connection to a character inspired by New Orleans musician Dr. John.
Dislikes: That a second season is not yet confirmed.
Trevor Whipple
Likes: The depth added to the Electric Mayhem members.
Dislikes: The same problem as the 2011 Muppets movie: the humans get a little too much screen time.
Matt
Likes: Quite simply the fact that we got to explore the Mayhem members way more than we could have ever dreamed.
Dislikes: The human subplot, I guess? It was sort of like background noise for me, really. Which I’m realizing is a testament to how uninteresting it was.
Samuel Laro
Likes: For the first time in a long time, there were plot points that SURPRISED me. How wonderful to be organically surprised at learning new believable things about these characters.
Dislikes: The season kind of came rushing to an end. A little too easy of a wrap up.
Yakov Weinberger
Likes: loved the marshmallow episode
Dislikes: didnt like the whole cellphone problem. felt played out
isobel (littel my 92 on Instagram )
Likes: How we got more backstory and characterisation for the electric mayhem especially Teeth , Floyd , Animal an Janice really expanding on them as characters giving them depth understandings and truly making them more than just band members after the show their my favourite Muppets and for the ones who didn’t get back stories lips and zoot they still gave some really charming and funny moments
Dislikes: The humans I didn’t hate them I actually quite like Nora but I felt like they overtook some of the Muppet screen time which is the worst thing you can do in a Muppet show because it’s about the Muppets but other than that I hated the love triangle it was so dumb it could’ve literally been solved in a couple of episode buy them all talking to each other it just dragged on for too long and it was too petty and then made moog so unlike when before he was probably the most lovable out of all the humans if they made a second season I want them to very much reduce the screen time of the humans and put way more focus on the Muppets
Elizabeth
Likes: Getting to hear some backstory for The Electric Mayhem and giving them more of the spotlight! They’re typically used as background or side characters so it’s cool to see them more fleshed out.
Dislikes: Lilly Singh has a tendency to over-act and I think that a group as chaotic and fun as The Electric Mayhem would benefit from someone who is able to play more of a “straight man” or give a more naturalistic performance. They’re already so bright and loud that I think someone who could bring more calm would have provided better contrast and allowed everyone to shine more. I don’t have anything against her personally; I just don’t think it was the best fit for this show.
Brian
Likes: I LOVED the backstory of Floyd and Dr. Teeth! Loved the New Orleans nod to Dr. John, and the story arc with Dr. Teeth’s parents! The whole series was the perfect blend of humor and heart. I’m sure Jim Henson would be proud!
Dislikes: I was disappointed by the female lead character’s romantic story arc. She dumped her first boyfriend because he wasn’t an aggressive, successful corporate man. He became that for her, and she rejected him (ostensibly) in favor of a guy who resembles the way her boyfriend was before he changed to please her. A simple 45 second scene could’ve fixed this. Something like:
“I think I liked you better the way you were before. Could we go back to that?”
“No, now that I have this success and respect, I don’t think I can give it up. But why don’t you come with me and enjoy this success together?”
“No, I think I’ve learned that family is more important than fame, so I think I’ll stick with the band and see where it takes us -together.”
Overall though, an excellent production. The best thing the Muppets have done since Jim Henson passed.
Matthew Soberman
Likes: I liked how it expanded the backstories of characters we’ve loved for decades without compromising what we know about them.
Dislikes: Why do we constantly have to have the Muppets break up and get back together again? I’m just tired of the constant “comeback” mentality.
Lydia
Likes: The cadence was absolutely stellar – way to adapt to the rhythm of today’s TV without losing the muppet spark (TM)
Dislikes: I can’t stop thinking about what is the proper Muppet to Human ratio. I think it feels strange when only the main character muppets are muppets in an otherwise human world. But then again that’s the original Muppet Movie format isn’t it…
Max Baugman
Likes: And when I say I almost started crying when I saw Penny – for real, though, it’s nice to see new, kinda-important-to-the-plot muppets like the former and the Teeths. I think it’s unlikely that we’ll see them in future productions which is kinda sad, but here’s hoping it leads to more new guys.
Dislikes: The wild highs and lows in quality – I loved this show a bit too much before I even finished it, meaning that when it promptly flopped on the deck and died like a fish during the last three episodes or so I was really really disappointed. I’ve seen a lot of people be critical of this show while I’m much more apologetic towards it, even I think it was a bit of a nosedive in quality.
Allison
Likes: Track 7! The Beatles are my second nerd love next to the muppets so anything that brings them together add extra joy to my soul. And all the cameos in that episode. Kevin Smith! Morgan Freeman! Amazing! Chefs kiss!
Dislikes: I didn’t find JJ as likable as I thought I should. Maybe I fell for Moog to quickly but I knew Nora would never end up with him so I kinda felt ‘meh’ the whole time about him
Becky Watson
Likes: Dr Teeth was shirtless in the hot tub!???
Dislikes: Penny waxman gets Dr Teeth’s attention.????
Ken
Likes: They seem to have found the heart and soul of the characters that so isn’t modern Muppet projects have lacked.
Dislikes: Can’t think of a thing!
Nick
Likes: The music and the comedy
Dislikes: No colour
February Schneck
Likes: Lips! He’s always been one of my favorite Muppets purely for the mystery and oddity of him, plus his amazing design. So when I heard he was gonna be a big part of the show I was super excited but nervous that he may not be likeable anymore without the mystery… but boy was I wrong! Lips has skyrocketed to being my favorite member of the band and 2nd favorite muppet overall and I can not wait to see more from him in the future. SAVE THE WORLD LIPS!
Dislikes: I have a feeling everyone is gonna talk about the unlikable human characters and the lack of muppet characters (though I’m sure someone will also bring up the color grading) so I’m gonna complain about something else which is the music. I know what you’re thinking “What the music was great!” And it totally was, but for a show about making an album I somehow feel like there should’ve been more? Maybe I’m greedy but I feel as though so many of the songs became more of the same sound that I’d heard in the last episode and I would’ve really liked to hear a mix of different sounds and styles from the Mayhem, but hey… we can save that for season 2!
Piper
Likes: The humor.
Dislikes: The cellphone/social media bit but it got better.
Leah Holley
Likes: Lips being featured and included more and more.
Dislikes: Nothing. I never hated anything except humans getting more attention than the band themselves.
Daniel Temons
Likes: The Electric Mayhem having their own show on DisneyPlus and terrific celebrity cameos as well as having one of the fans who appreciate the band for their incredible and rockin’ good music.
Dislikes: The story from episode 5 to 10 were a bit of hit or miss when it came to the main character trying to get the band to make the album and having a lot of self-doubt onto herself and the jokes went from good to meh to not so good.
James Nobes
Likes: I loved getting to see all of the classic Muppet Show clips that the Electric Mayhem and friends were looking back on. It made the show feel very classic.
Dislikes: I do wish that we could have seen Kermit at least once, seeing as Kermit was the Mayhem’s boss for years.
Jack Laughlin
Likes: One of my favorite things about the show were the flashbacks shown in the episode “Fortunate Son.” I found it really interesting to see exactly how the Electric Mayhem originated, as well as learning about Dr. Teeth’s family.
Dislikes: This may be more of a nitpick, but I suppose the show uses a little too much social media jokes sometimes.
Grace
Likes: The songs! Felt refreshing after Muppets Now and they were all certified bangers.
Dislikes: Lily Singh felt kind of awkward, I enjoyed her storyline but I really don’t like her style of comedy.
Michael Wermuth
Likes: The cameo appearances by Weird Al Yankovic and Susanna Hoffs.
Dislikes: They did so many versions of “Rockin’ Robin” but none of them appear on the soundtrack album.
Laura Curtis
Likes: Laugh out loud, nostalgic humour and adorable characters. Zoot’s shoe, Lips’s voice…
Dislikes: Penny’s eyes don’t move enough!
Kelly
Likes: This show captures that perfect balance of wacky Muppet tone that is enjoyable by all ages, not just aimed at younger viewers.
Dislikes: Too much of the focus went to human characters to move the plot. Muppet shows should focus primarily on the Muppet characters.
Rob
Likes: The biggest draw for me as a newcomer to the Muppets franchise was the fact that they hadn’t really done much with the Electric Mayhem. And after acquainting myself better several shows and movies later, I feel like I can confidently say in terms of characterization they really hit the mark with this show. They were written quite a bit differently than what you might typically expect, but at the same time it all feels so organic too. I really enjoy how the writers made an active effort to really humanize the band beyond their one-note selves, and it doesn’t stifle the Muppet-whimsicality that makes you so drawn to them in the first place (except when they usually have Nora pointing it out). They aren’t any less human than Kermit, Piggy, Fozzie, and Gonzo get to be, in this example I really appreciate the poignancy of the Bridge Over Troubled Water scene. In a way it felt like a natural maturity for Floyd’s character, as he previously never came off as someone who would enjoy having the spotlight put on him in such an emotionally vulnerable state. However, as they will continue to do in Mayhem, it’s done so earnestly you never get the feeling that it’s heavily dramatized, in it’s own way it feels as genuine as most other beloved Muppet movie songs are (like “I’m Going to Go Back There Someday” or “Pictures in My Head”). I hope in the event a second season is greenlit, they keep this balanced formula to the band’s characterization, and though I highlighted a scene that’s part of the “lore”, it’s not the absolute biggest draw of the show for me. The Mayhem are allowed to exist collectively and individually, for emotionally driven story arcs and goofs and gaffs, and I just want even more of that!
Dislikes: At the risk of sounding repetitive, I’m going to abstain from talking directly about the human characters, however they do contribute to an issue I take with the show:
it’s inconsistency in tone. In short, there’s a large amount of emotional scenes where it doesn’t hit nearly as hard as it thinks it did, or a joke or line simply doesn’t land, and these speed bumps just do not work at all. I feel bad for singling out Nora as she’s certainly not the only guilty party here, but she’s definitely responsible for a lot of those moments. It doesn’t do her or the episodes any favors as it slightly diminishes the immersion and thus, investment in wanting to continue. The day the world moves past “well THAT just happened”-speak is the day I can die in peace. It’s especially felt in the latter episodes which really deserved to have an actual conflict/buildup that didn’t hinge on “Electric Mayhem Get IPhone”, dispersing the band as pathetically as the tension does. It’s shame because I really enjoy the actual Hollywood Bowl concert, I just wish what led up to it had a modicum of what made that fun. That being said though, I chalked it up mostly to first season jitters as not everything will be amazing on the first go, and all things considered, they still did a great job producing a lovely show.
Christina
Likes: I liked Animal’s moments
Dislikes: I didn’t like how human focused it was, and Lips being a mumble person, and it felt like it’s gonna be very dated in a few years
Stephanie
Likes: Inside Jokes from The Muppet Show
Dislikes: Statler and Waldorf heckling them
Shawn Beach
Likes: I had been wary of it, but I absolutely loved getting to know the band more through their backstories, and allowing Lips to be a character!
Dislikes: This change has been happening over time, but Zoot and Animal’s playing has become too smooth for my taste. I need more random saxophone honking from Zoot and I need Animal to be drumming more like Keith Moon again. I need more musical MAYHEM from the Mayhem.
Zach Woliner
Likes: The Muppets! There was so much genuine fun, Muppetty chaos and silliness and it really served the characters well.
(But also, specifically Dave continuing to crush (as always) everything with Zoot.)
Dislikes: The humans! Not keen on the show being centered around a human character, all “Oh, man! What am I ever going to do to manage these CRAZY Muppets???”. I also could not care less about their interpersonal relationships.
Any Muppet-free scene (which, let’s face it, there really shouldn’t be in a Muppet production) completely sucked the air out of the show for me, bringing the action to a screeching halt.
Gabby
Likes: Floyd and Teeth’s backstory together; especially loved seeing the moment that they came up with “Can You Picture That?” It was kind of poetic!
Dislikes: Penny. Despite being an extraordinary puppet design and performed very well, she wasn’t all that funny or likable to me.
Sandy M.
Likes: Dr. Teeth’s parents!
Dislikes: Animal did not smash a spider Nile drum set.
Patrick Manway
Likes: The great looking puppets.
Dislikes: The lack of Muppets outside the band. There should have been more of them.
Vicki
Likes: I loved the freshness that I feel came out of utilizing Muppets we haven’t seen as much. As much as I love some of the more well known Muppets, they can be overused and their existing backstories have been told repeatedly. Muppets Mayhem felt fresh and fun and I’m telling everyone how great it is!!
Dislikes: Too many humans. Disney fails to understand the Muppets are the stars and what are bringing me to show. A few humans and cameos would have been great, but just like Star Wars and the Porgs, they overdid it.
Alex
Likes: Penny Waxman – “Its daiquiri o’clock!”
Dislikes: Not enough muppets!
Will Carroll
Likes: Lips being a more defined character
Dislikes: Nora effectively being the main character over the band.
Erica
Likes: The comedic chaos that The Muppets (Especially The Electric Mayhem) are known for is present
Dislikes: The origin stories didn’t make sense to me. Animal is a hippie drummer, not a monster, Dr. Teeth mentioned on The Johnny Carson Show that he got his name due to his golden tooth made by golden records, Floyd’s full name is a tribute to The Beatles album, and according to their original character design, they are tributes to some of the greatest musicians of 1960s / early 1970s rock music history.
And there you have it! Big thanks to everyone who sent in their thoughts.
Click here to be the only person to hate Moog on the Tough Pigs forum!
By Shane Keating
