The Muppets Mayhem: This Time, It's All About the Music, Man!
By John Kirk
Rating: A
Amid TV shows that rely on gritty realism in their storytelling, it’s refreshing to watch one that not only captures an audience’s attention via nostalgia, fun and a cavalcade of cameos, but also entertains us musically.
It’s The Muppets Mayhem. Or, if you want to sing along, “This is what we call the Muppet Show 2.0.”
The story: it’s the return of The Electric Mayhem, the core musical group we all remember from Jim Henson’s The Muppet Show from the 70s and 80s. Featuring the musical talents of keyboardist Doctor Teeth (voiced by Bill Barretta), Floyd (Matt Vogel) on bass guitar, Janice (David Rudman), on lead guitar Zoot (Dave Goelz) on sax. And who can forget everyone’s favourite drummer, Animal (Eric Jacobson)? Added to the group is the mumbling Lips (Peter Linz) on trumpet.
Humans Lilly Singh and Tahj Mowry get down with the Mayhem.
When music executive, Nora (Lilly Singh), realizes that her record company – Wax Town Records - is still owed an entire album by this group, she sees a chance to make her mark in the music world. Despite the romantic attention of former workmate-turned-producer, J.J. (Anders Holm) - who has ambitions of buying the Wax Records company and catalog for his streaming music service - Nora manages to contact Electric Mayhem for one more go in the recording studio.
This is the narrative driver for the first season.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve missed The Muppets. Maybe it’s the innate kid who refuses to grow up, but there was something magical and comforting about these puppets who connected with audiences of all ages for fifty years.
I’ve spoken with and interviewed not only some of the creators who worked these characters, but also some of the performers who had to work alongside them. The puppeteers would sometimes lose themselves in their characters. The actors also forgot sometimes they were working with a puppet.
It’s a tribute to the work of the late Jim Henson but also a reminder how effective his puppets were. To this day, this still manage to entertain those kids who never grew up.
Then there are the cameos that pop up throughout the series. They are never announced in the opening credits. So, given that this is a recurring motif, the question at the beginning of each episode should be: who’s in this one?
Without giving any of them away, let me just say that in Episode 5 - when they eat some bad-trip-worthy marshmallows - the cameo appearance is hilariously appropriate!
But the cameos also make sense given the band’s illustrious backstory of legendary proportions. Janice managed to keep the Rolling Stones from breaking up, and Lips easily makes appointments with musical icons with the understanding that “no-one says no to Lips.” Everyone in the music industry knows Electric Mayhem, and with a cavalier attitude that speaks to this musical diva status, the band simply flows from one adventure to another – all to the chagrin of their high-strung, type-A “label lady” Nora, who needs this new album. Her reaction to the celebrity cameo drop-ins mirrors our own surprise.
The cameos ramp up in terms of surprise in the second half of the series. It’s an incredible array of talent that starts with a subtle burn, then ignites into a searing flame of comedy and musical talent beginning with the fifth episode. Not to say that the first half isn’t rich with celebrity pop-ins but latter part of the series really enriches it.
However, you can’t ignore the music. Not only does the Mayhem cover familiar and well-loved songs from different parts of pop musical history, but the original music that’s on this show needs to be recognized. (At times, the puppeteers join in song with the voice actors, giving the Mayhem a little extra musical richness).
The entire series just resonates wholesome fun that takes the nostalgic memories of The Muppet Show and places it into a context for a new decade. This is a show that can be enjoyed by any audience on any level.
For me, it’s the backstory. Maybe it’s the comic-guy in me, but I love origin stories, and there’s a lot of that in this series. We understand why Floyd Pepper’s nickname is “Sarge.” We learn why Dr. Teeth is called Dr. Teeth. And Janice has her own backstory that talks about her need to heal people through her New Age mysticism. I can’t get enough of learning about these characters, and the show taps into that need.
All in all, this is a series that starts off strong, and then finishes on such a high note that this should quickly become a much-loved fan-favourite homage. It honours the history that came before, it’s also a contemporary series that should appeal to a new generation. It’s successful on so many levels, and the wattage of the celebrities who become a part of it is a testament to the fun of being a part of it.
Hey, not dropping names. So, instead, I’ll just convey my sentiments in the words of Dr. Teeth: “I’ll save the revealment of the celebritizing for your own individual entertainification!”
It’s The Muppets and it’s fun. What else could it be?
The Muppets Mayhem. Produced and developed by Adam F. Goldberg, Bill Barretta and Jeff Yorkes. Stars Lilly Singh, Tahj Mowry, Bill Barretta, Dave Goelz, Matt Vogel, Peter Linz, Leslie Carrara-Rudolph, Saara Chaudry. Begins streaming on Disney+ Wednesday, May 10.