Kermit recreates scenes from "The Muppet Movie," and Scooter saves the show.
Call it a cheap shot, but when The Muppets pays homage to the 1979 classic, The Muppet Movie, it’s going to be a good episode. Maybe it's because I’m just a sap for nostalgia even if the movie was before I was born.
“Pig's in a Blackout” could have gotten annoying quite quickly with the crews' tedious problems, but it didn’t. Kermit was his sentimental self, and it was good to have the frog from the swamp back in the picture instead of the Hollywood producer we've been seeing.
via giphy.com
Kermit is outside next to his private parking spot talking about how he likes his job and how he came from humble beginnings. Sweetums comes in on a speeding golf cart with an enormous block of butter next to him screaming, “There’s butter on the brakes.” He crashes into the set.
The crew starts giving Kermit the play-by-play of the countless problems in addition to the butter incident. The show’s guest Patrick Dempsey got a poison ivy rash and canceled so they’re filling the segment with Swedish Chef carving a butter sculpture of Miss Piggy’s head.
The writers switch out Dempsey’s role in the sketch with the butter. Animal is playing the drums in the background as a nuisance. Kermit asks Chip the IT guy to mop the butter up. Again, Chip needs to not be a Muppet anymore.
Uncle Deadly says Piggy’s winter wardrobe arrived and needs her approval, but she is stuck in the elevator that is halfway between floors. Piggy starts screaming because everyone is only able to stare at her legs. Deadly shouts up to Piggy that he’ll bring her leggings but says there are no amount of leggings that can fix those legs — hope is what she needs now.
Bobo tries to fix the elevator by using his knowledge of helicopters when he was in the service. The elevator crashes, and now people can only stare at Piggy’s forehead. Fozzie falls down the shaft, and I am happy to say that is the only time we see him this episode.
All of that happens within five minutes, and Kermit faints. When he wakes up Denise comes running to his side as Janice puts a healing crystal on Kermit’s forehead.
Sam the Eagle tries to make another stupid attempt to get with Janice by talking about Hawaii, a common place they've both visited.
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Piggy then rushes in at the same time as Denise, and they both say Kermit needs a spa weekend. Kermit at first refuses but then caves in to the idea.
Kermit announces to the crew about his personal day. Zoot chimes in that he does “look a little green.” Kermit puts Scooter in charge and gives Yolanda’s assistance to him, as well. She makes the remark that she loves being passed around any “rando” he puts in charge.
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Scooter gives Big Mean Carl his mom’s credit card to treat everyone to coffee and decides he is going to change the thermostat. There is protective tape from Kermit, and Scooter removes it to turn the air conditioning up. The ceiling collapses, and a pipe sprays high-pressured cold air in Beaker’s face.
The condensation from the broken air conditioning ruins Piggy’s winter clothes. She’s hysterical. The butter for Swedish Chef’s sculpture melted on the floor, and Big Mean Carl slips on the butter and spills the hot coffees on Beaker’s frozen face.
Gonzo complains in a confessional how Kermit put the guy who gets rattled the most in a high pressure job. Scooter makes an acceptance speech and doesn’t want to let down Kermit.
The lights explode, and Bobo says it’s because the burst of air conditioning triggered a power surge in the electrical system. Janice is dancing as if she’s a fire goddess, and again Sam makes another poor attempt to win her over. She’s too clueless and also vegan.
Scooter starts screaming that he broke Kermit’s show and starts running around.
Kermit is at that weird spa place Denise and Piggy suggested and is with a bunch of people staring at a blueberry and “appreciating it.” Jason Bateman randomly shows up saying his wife forced him to come because he’s directing Wicked at his kid’s school, and it’s stressing him out.
He complains in a very stressed out way about all the children asking him what their character wants. “You're a flying monkey just shut up and sing,” he says.
via giphy.com
Bateman starts asking him for favors and if he has got a costume guy who will work for free. He spent all of the budget and can’t use any of his own. He also wants a lighting guy but can’t pay the guy with money, but instead can pay Glinda's mom, who recently got divorced. Cougars on the prowl. They got in trouble for talking by the spa lady.
Later at the spa, Bateman interrupts Kermit’s "energy hands" workshop to say the costume guy isn’t giving him a deal, and they’re not allowed to have phones or pizza at the spa. Bateman guilts Kermit to use his cell phone, but gets caught by the spa lady and is kicked out. Bateman threw him under the bus because his wife would kill him if he got kicked out.
Gonzo feels sorry for Scooter and wants to help him.
Scooter wants to flee the set, and Gonzo tries to help him. It was basically a show-must-go-on pep talk.
They came up with the solution to run the cameras off the golf cart battery. The TV set was surrounded by candles as Piggy urged them to shut off their lights to conserve energy.
Because, according to Piggy, lights cause squinting, which causes wrinkles, which are fine on a man, but makes women banished from society.
They even found a band that doesn't need to plug in. The a cappella group Pentatonix got a 40-second appearance. Statler and Waldorf start bee-bopping and making their own bass sounds.
We cut to a sad Kermit in a bar, and Rowlf is playing the piano trying to cheer him up about being kicked out of the crazy zen dojo. The reference to the 1970 movie The Muppet Movie is great. I’d be asking too much to see Steve Martin as the waiter.
Kermit says he wishes he was more like the selfish people he encounters (calling you out, Jason Bateman). Rowlf then says Kermit wouldn’t be him, and that it took Rowlf years to accept he’s part corgi — he blames that on why he can't dance.
Kermit asks for his secret on being easygoing. Yes Rowlf, tell me how to be the bar-piano-playing you. Rowlf says he runs a hot bath, runs around his house and chews on an old shoe. Same Rowlf. Same.
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Kermit returns to work and takes the chaos with ease. He notes the stress will never stop, and he loves what he does. Kermit ripped out his backyard pool and recreated the swamp he called home before Hollywood. At the end of the day, he plays the banjo on a log and sings “Rainbow Connection” on repeat.
It was the song that started it all with Kermit's excursion to Hollywood to make it big and to see it come full circle was neat.
Muppet MVP: Rowlf for being easygoing and carefree after all these years.
Rating: 3.5/5
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