Let's do it for the Mayhem!

The Muppets have had a pretty rocky time of it since the loss of their genius-creator Jim Henson. They've had one triumph with The Muppet Christmas Carol, and a few successes: Muppets Treasure Island, Muppets from Space, and The Muppets. They have also had a lot of... other material. With the release of The Muppets Mayhem, I think they can add another triumph to the list.

The Muppets Mayhem is the most smile-inducing show I've seen in a long while, a feat it accomplishes through a combination of zaniness, one-liners, cameos, a family-friendly storyline, and really good music! It even has some understated humour in it (keep your eye on Zoot in the background). 

The basic story line is the attempt by a desperate music executive-want-to-be to get the Electric Mayhem (the famous Muppet band) to fulfil their 40+ year-old contract to produce an album. The Mayhem aren't against the idea, they just have a rather large attention-span problem. Each member of the band gets their own time in the limelight and brings their own style of humour to the forefront. One might wonder how they can stretch that plot out to 10 episodes, but it kept rolling right along quite well. 

Now, I admit, I'm too old and too unhip to have recognized about half the many cameos in the show, but the ones I did recognize were fantastic. 

Perhaps the biggest and best surprise of the show is just how good the music is. This is heard right from the start with the opening credits number, 'Rock On'.

Although my favourite tracks are probably 'On on Our Way' and 'Believe in Us'. 

They also do a lot of covers including 'True Colours', 'Bridge Over Troubled Waters', 'All You Need is Love', and John Hiatt's 'Have a Little Faith in Me' (which I was once lucky enough to see him preform live in a club outside of D.C.).

The album has been released, and actually had some critical and chart success, although it is only available in digital and vinyl (no CD for those of us stuck in the middle-era of music technology!). 

If you like your television gritty and serious, best keep moving, but if you want feel-good family fun... well, I love it.