The Great Muppet Survey - Scott Champion

Answers from Scott Champion

 

Who are your three favorite characters from The Muppet Show, Muppets Tonight, The Jim Henson Hour, the Muppet movies, etc. and why?
1. Kermit the Frog. Total cliché, but he's the best.
2. Fozzie Bear.  He never gives up. And I love bad jokes.
3. Gonzo.  He's weird. I get that.

Who are your three favorite characters from Sesame Street and why?
1. Cookie Monster. It's rare to see binge eaters on television.
2. Grover. He has the optimism of Fozzie and the obliviousness of Gonzo.
3. Bert. Anybody who follows their passions—no matter how dull—gets huge props.

Who are your three favorite characters from Fraggle Rock and why?
1. Boober. I am also a germaphobe.
2. Sprocket. I also was a tattle-tale snitch whom nobody believed.
3. Cotterpin. Fight the system!

What is your favorite television program starring any of Jim Henson's creations (e.g. The Muppet Show, Sesame Street, Fraggle Rock, Dinosaurs, etc.) and why?
The Muppet Show. It was YouTube before there was YouTube. It was my introduction to the American songbook. It was my introduction to showbiz and famous actors and musicians. (When I was nine I went to a Dizzy Gillespie concert just because he was a guest star on The Muppet Show.) It was goofy, touching, funny, and just about altogether wonderful. Where the heck is Season 4 on DVD?

What is your favorite Muppet movie and why?
TIE: The Great Muppet Caper and The Muppets

The Great Muppet Caper is gloriously silly. Everyone on screen is having fun, and so am I. The Muppets was hugely cathartic. I also worked at Warner Bros. when "Life's a Happy Song" was shot. It was AMAZING to see in person!

What is your favorite Muppet/Sesame/Fraggle song and why?
TIE: "Being Green" and "Me Party"

"Being Green" tells me that I don't have to fit in to be awesome. I include "Me Party" because it's my two year-old daughter's favorite song from The Muppets.

If you could have dinner with any living Muppet performer who would you choose and why?
Brian Henson. Do I need a why?

If you could tell Jim Henson one thing, what would it be?
Was Little Muppet Monsters really that bad?

If the President called you and asked to discuss Muppet projects, what would you tell him was the "Greatest Muppet Moment of All Time"?
A Muppet Family Christmas in its entirety.

What's the name of that song?
"Bring On the Churros"

If a judge ruled that Grover had to be your personal assistant for a month, what jobs would you have him do?
Run errands, make calls... I wouldn't treat him any differently just because he's a Muppet.

In your opinion, what is the worst Muppet production ever made?
TIE: Muppets From Space and The Muppets' Wizard of Oz

I despise Muppets From Space because it completely betrays everything Gonzo is. He THRIVED on being the only whatever in the universe. I thought for sure Gonzo would have at least gone to the whatever planet and then realized his home is with the Muppets. But no. He chickens out at the last minute. Awful, awful, awful. And The Muppets' Wizard of Oz is so bad, I never finished it.

Who is one celebrity you would love to see cameo in the next Muppet movie?
Tina Fey. Oh, hey!

If you could take a picture with any Muppet, who would you choose and how would you pose?
Sweetums. I'd dress up as Robin and sit on his shoulder.

What is your favorite piece of Muppet merchandise that you own? (Feel free to include a picture!)
My Pigs in Space lunchbox.

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, muppetmindset@gmail.com