Making The Muppets

Imaginary Worlds

Eric Molinsky

Arts, Science Fiction, Fiction, Society & Culture

4.8 • 2.1K Ratings

🗓️ 10 May 2023

⏱️ 35 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

When Jim Henson hired Bonnie Erickson to design Muppets in the early 1970s, Bonnie had no idea this experimental project they were working on – a prime time TV show with puppets – would evolve into the cultural phenomenon of The Muppet Show. I talked with Bonnie about how the crew tried several one-off specials where they figured out who the main characters would be, what they’d look like, and what they’d sound like. Bonnie explains how she came up with the designs for Miss Piggy, Statler and Waldorf, Zoot and others. And we talk about one of the biggest challenges in making The Muppets seem believable – where to place the pupils in their eyes. This episode is sponsored by ExpressVPN. Our ad partner is Multitude. If you’re interested in advertising on Imaginary Worlds, you can contact them here or email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to Imaginary Worlds, a show about how we create them and why we suspend
0:04.3	our disbelief.
0:05.3	I'm Eric Mulinsky.
0:07.3	Welcome to the Mayhem.
0:08.3	We're more than just a band, we're a family.
0:13.7	This week a new show called The Muppets Mayhem comes out on Disney+.
0:18.4	It's the first Muppet project in a while that I've been looking forward to.
0:22.7	This show is all about the Electric Mayhem band, which I have loved since I was a kid.
0:28.1	In fact, I watched the first episode of The Muppet Show when it debuted in 1976.
0:34.9	It's The Muppet Show with our very special guest, Darmus, Julian Froult.
0:41.4	I was very young, but I remember my father saying to me, there's this new show that I think
0:45.6	you're going to like.
0:47.1	And I sat there mesmerized for the next half hour.
0:50.9	And then over the years, I watched The Muppets become a cultural phenomenon in real time.
0:57.0	And I do remember that when I watched The Muppet Show for the first time, the characters
1:00.8	seemed fully formed, like they had been around for years.
1:05.3	But that wasn't really the case.
1:07.2	Except for Kermit.
1:08.7	Kermit first appeared on television in the 1950s.
1:11.8	Jim Henson was a teenager when he created his first puppet show for a local TV station.
1:17.4	It was called Sam and Friends.
1:19.4	Sam and Friends is brought to you by Asco.
	...

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