Show #54 – April 20, 2008

The MuppetCast

Welcome back to The MuppetCast! This week we take a look at a Jim Henson masterpiece, The Dark Crystal.

The MuppetCast is sponsored by our friends at Bell, Book and Comic. Coming soon to a comic and gaming retailer near you, it’s Free Comic Book Day!

As you may know, the “Make Something Cool” contest is still ongoing! The only guideline for the contest is this: Make something cool for the show. It can be anything! Sing a song, record a segment, design a T-shirt, do a little dance, make a little lovely intro, whatever strikes your fancy. You have plenty of time, but get started soon if you haven’t already! Contest submissions should be sent to [e-mail].

Lisa Henson talks in an interview about what it’s like being a movie producer, and about the recent success of Unstable Fables: 3 Pigs and a Baby. Caroll Spinney helped a local library celebrate National Library Week last week, and talked about how Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch have developed over the years.

Our friend and listener Kevin Williams (Fozzie Bear on the MC forums) was in the news recently, as Kevin was Cartoonist in Residence at the Charles M. Schultz Museum in Santa Rosa, CA.

Jason Segel talks briefly about his love for the Muppets, and what it was like touring the Henson studios (and not seeing any Muppets). A nice little look into the mind of one of the people behind the upcoming Muppet movie. In a related article, here’s one person’s Muppet rankings.

Plaza Sesamo recently celebrated 35 years on the air in Mexico! Congratulations! Their newest season can be seen starting this week on Televisia, and starting in June on Discovery Kids Latin America. In the U.S., the Muppet News Flash tells us that Sesame Street’s 39th season will be shot in HD!

Why is TV so great? One writer thinks the Muppets had a lot to do with it. I tend to agree with him, don’t you?

Heather Henson will be in Providence, RI this week at a free puppetry festival! Times and dates are in this article from the Herald News.

Check out our friends Ryan R. and Joe H. at Tough Pigs, and read about the many favorite Muppet possessions submitted by readers. You’ll be taken back and remember so many great Muppet toys you had as a kid and somehow lost. Then you’ll kick yourself. And then you’ll have a bruise. Now that wasn’t smart, was it?

Listener Daniel L. (Danny L for short) found a great little viral marketing website called I Hate Sarah Marshall, designed to promote the upcoming movie starring Jason Segel. There’s a hidden Muppet link, can you find it?

Corey O. really likes the Greyboy Allstars. And who wouldn’t, they have a new all-puppet music video! Great music and good puppets too.

Seth from Kansas recently got to speak on NPR a bit, check it out on their website. And no, that’s not a picture of Seth.

This week’s featured segment is a review of the Henson classic movie “The Dark Crystal“. It really is a marvelous film, with amazing visuals and character design. Along with parts of the movie and my own commentary are portions of the making-of special “The World of The Dark Crystal“. Jim Henson, Frank Oz, and artist and conceptual designer Brian Froud, among others, will tell you how they made movie right alongside actual movie clips. I think it all came together well.

Questions/Comments can be emailed to [e-mail], or phoned in at 614-364-4270. Find me online at the Muppet Central Forums, where my username is “stephenjlizard”. Let’s talk!

Have a great week!

-Steve

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