This week’s show is devoted entirely to The Muppet Movie! We celebrate its release of June 22, 1971 just one week late. Joining me on the show is Muppet writer and historian Craig Shemin, and Craig’s comments and insights make this a special edition MuppetCast that you won’t want to miss.

Craig Shemin is also a member of the Jim Henson Legacy board. Check out their website at JimHensonLegacy.org to find out more information about this wonderful group of people.

The MuppetCast is sponsored by our friends at Bell, Book and Comic. Life should be more fun!

Questions/Comments can be emailed to me@muppetcast.com, or called in to the voicemail line at 614-364-4270. Register for free at the Muppet Central Forums and chat about the Muppets online with thousands of other fans!

Have a great week!

-Steve

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It’s time for some more rare Muppet audio! Thanks a listener submission, we have footage of Jim Henson on the Mike Douglas Show; one appearance in 1976 and one in 1977. At that point in history, Kermit the frog was already 20 years old!

The “Make Something Cool” contest has now hit the deadline for entry submissions. Get ready to see what everyone has been working on soon!

Congratulations to Bindi Irwin for winning the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Performer in a Children’s Series. Nominated for the award, along with Bindi, were John Tartaglia for Johnny and the Sprites, and Kevin Clash for his work as Elmo and Hoots the Owl.

Canada’s Telus World of Science centre is eagerly awaiting the opening of the new Sesame exhibit “Sesame Street Presents: The Body”.

Labyrinth fans will be delighted to see that Toy Vault is not producing plush replicas of the door knocker characters from the film, available for preorder now! They officially come out in July.

Check out this amazing video of Jim Henson circa 1982, in which he talks about essentially how HD-TV is just around the corner, and what he wanted to do with it!

Caroll Spinney is always a great Muppet person to discuss. Here’s a wonderful day-in-the-life article about him, and a great video, too!

The claymation skits of Ernie and Bert will soon be making appearances in Sesame Street season 39.

The Muppet News Flash has some great video of Cookie Monster appearing on the Colbert Report!

Sadly, Jim Henson’s boyhood friend Kermit Scott passed away recently at age 71. Scott is arguably the namesake of Kermit the Frog.

The Sacramento Youth Band is using the Muppet Show theme in their summer marching program!

Arianne (aka Muppetfan44) recently found this VERY early piece of video of the Muppets and Disney working together. This is from a 1989 Euro-Disney video!

Stay tuned next week, as we will be celebrating the Muppet Movie! This classic film was released in June 1979. Helping us to celebrate will be Muppet historian Craig Shemin, and possibly Muppet producer Martin Baker as well. It should be a really great show!

Questions/Comments can be emailed to me@muppetcast.com, or called in to the voicemail line (live on Thursday nights) at 614-364-4270. You can also chat about the Muppets and The MuppetCast on the Muppet Central Forums.

Have a great week!

-Steve

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Thanks to Kristin Shea for her recent donation to The MuppetCast. All donations go directly back into helping The MuppetCast.

Every Thursday night, the phone lines go live! Call the voicemail line Thursdays between 6pm and 11pm and we’ll talk. You can also use Skype to contact the voice line. My username is: stephenjlizard.

Due to the recent server move at MuppetCast.com, and the website and email going down sporadically as a result, the contest deadline has been moved back one week. June 22 is the new deadline for contest submissions! Send entries to contest@muppetcast.com.

There’s a wonderful conversation on worldscreen.com done by Anna Carugati with Sesame Workshop’s President and CEO, Gary E. Knell. Do NOT pass this up!

TVSquad.com has a great opinion piece about the new Muppet movie, and what Disney has been doing with the Muppets.

Some great news coming out this week about a new CD/DVD from Putumayo Kids, featuring songs and videos from Sesame Street productions around the world.

David Quesal recently posted a new video on YouTube featuring his newest character, an ape, playing the guitar. Something not to be passed up, good stuff as always David!

Listener Marcus W. is looking for either a better-quality graphic, or even where he can find the original version of this image. I have to admit some ignorance here, so let me know where this came from!

Michelle G sent the link for the Hallmark 2008 holiday ornament catalog. Look at page 62 for the Muppet ornament!

All links to news stories and listener contributions can be found at muppetcast.com.

Questions/Comments can be emailed to me@muppetcast.com, or called in to the voicemail live at 614-364-4270. Also, check out the Muppet Central Forums this week, and chat with all of us crazy Muppet fans!

Have a great week!

-Steve

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The deadline for contest submissions for the “Make Something Cool Contest” is June 15. I can’t wait to see what you’ve come up with!

The MuppetCast Care Package project continues to develop as well. I’ll come up with a web page outlining who’s involved and what we have so far, so look for that to pop up soon on muppetcast.com.

Bob McGrath’s Birthday is June 13. You know, Bob from Sesame Street? Yeah, good ol’ Bob! Google Video has four wonderful videos in which Bob talks extensively about his life and career. Check them out here (one, two, three, four).

The Southeast Puppet Festival is coming up this week. Special guests include Kevin Clash and Heather Henson. Check out their official website for details.

For those little kids (and the kids in us grownups too) that just can’t get settled down at bedtime, Jim Henson’s Pajanimals are coming soon to Sprout!

Read a little bit about just how Fraggle Rock might have shaped your life and your outlook on life, in some ways you might not have even considered.

The Celebrity Cafe has a nice article about Sesame Place, the Sesame-themed park in Pennsylvania. They can even tell you how to get there!

Sesame Workshop’s outreach program “Here For You” has named The Children’s Hospital at Albany Medical Center in New York as one of its model hospitals. They’ve helped make it possible to place a full-time children’s behavioral health specialist at the hospital. Here For You helps children with serious illnesses understand and deal with their frustrations and fears surrounding their illness.

Listener Jonathan Melville sent a link to a wonderful new interview done with Jason Segel, regarding the new Muppet movie.

John Rick, host of the Disney Pincast, offers up some much-needed information surrounding the Rowlf Disney pin, recently seen in the Hidden Mickeys line. The pin was misspelled “Rolf”, and then this May was re-released with the correct spelling (”Rowlf”). The original pin can be seen here, and the revision is here (if you’re reading this on muppetcast.com and not on your iPod).

Questions/Comments can be sent to me@muppetcast.com, or called into the voicemail line at 614-364-4270. You can also stop in and say hello at the Muppet Central Forums! Yet another way to connect is to follow the MuppetCast Twitter Feed. Toss in the MySpace and Facebook pages, and how could you possibly miss out?

Have a great week!

-Steve

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I’m glad to welcome John Rick from the Disney Pincast onto the show, this week, as we discuss some of the collectible Muppet-themed Disney pins, and the phenomenon of pin trading in general.

The deadline for entries in the Make Something Cool for The MuppetCast Contest is June 15! Make sure to email your entries or have them postmarked by this date. Also email me if you need a mailing address to send it via regular postage.

The MuppetCast has begun collecting ideas for what might be included in a MuppetCast Care Package. This will be a collection of Disney and Muppet items, along with letters of support and items from our various hometowns for troops overseas. Right now, there is one package that we’re putting together, and it’s destined for a listener (and his fellow soldiers) stationed in South Korea. If this goes well, and if there’s interest, this might bloom into a wider-spanning project. Here is a direct link to the discussion on this topic at Muppet Central.

During our discussion of Muppet pins, it may help you to actually see the pins we’re talking about. You can do so by clicking on the links below (if you’re reading this on the website and not your iPod):
Bunsen and Beaker
Rizzo: Year of the Rat
Swedish Chef
Gonzo
Miss Piggy: Year of the Pig
NYC Thanksgiving Day 2004
Kermit’s 50th Anniv
Leap Day 2008
The Muppet Fountain
MV3D: Piece of History

John Rick also heads up the Central Jersey Disney Pin Traders club. Even if you’re not from New Jersey (like most of us), if you’re interested in Disney pins, you absolutely must check out their website!

Also happening this week:

Shoppers Drug Mart is in hot water with Sesame Workshop, after being caught selling cigarette lighters with unauthorized (of course) Sesame Street images.

Emmet Otter’s Jugband Christmas will soon be a musical! Wait, wasn’t it already a musical? Well yes, but soon it will be a hit Broadway show, thanks to Brian Henson and the folks at iTheatrics.

Take a look on the Muppet News Flash to get your up-to-the-minute Muppet news fix!

Gaston Morineau sent a link to a video he recently shot of Big Bird’s Beach Party, one of the Sesame Street shows now happening at Sea World San Diego.

Rafi Levavy pointed out a great new CD from Tony-nominated actress and singer Kerry Butler: Faith, Trust, and Pixie Dust.

Our buddy Dwayne keeps fans in touch with Jim Lewis on the Ask Jim Lewis Thread over at Muppet Central. Read what Jim has to say to Muppet fans. Fascinating reading!

Thank you for taking the time to listen to the show, and for your continued support of The MuppetCast. It feels wonderful to know that there are so many people who were touched by what Jim Henson created, and that our world is indeed a little better for it.

Questions/Comments can be emailed to me@muppetcast.com, or called into the voicemail line at 614-364-4270. Also, stop in and say hello at the Muppet Central Forums! And don’t forget to check out Muppet Central Radio. Jam to some Muppet tunes!

Have a great week!

-Steve

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Our focus this week is the outreach program created by Sesame Workshop entitled Talk, Listen, Connect. Along with hearing Muppet audio from the video series, I also talk with Dr. Jeanette Betancourt, Vice President of Outreach and Educational Practices for Sesame Workshop.

Talk, Listen, Connect is a video program created for military families to assist children in expressing their feelings and understanding how to cope with situations where a parent in the military is deployed and has to leave home for a while. It now also helps children understand what’s going on when a parent comes home and things are “different”, either in the child’s life or when their parent returns injured in some way. The videos feature both the Sesame Street Muppets and real families talking about these situations.

The MuppetCast is proudly sponsored by our friends at Bell, Book and Comic, located online at BellBComic.com. Life should be more fun!

Movie maker Steve Barth makes an appearance on the podcast to discuss his newest project, a documentary on the subject of the Disney online fan community. And I’m opening the floodgates to include Muppet fans too, so check out his website, and let’s represent the Muppets in this exciting new project!

In the news this week:

New Balance shoes will soon be sporting the Muppets from Sesame Street in a new line of shoes.

If you’re flying anywhere with the whole family this summer, you may be able to take advantage of Skeye Inflight Entertainment’s Sesame videos for the kids.

Sonia Manzano (aka Maria) recently spoke at Northwestern Technological Institute about the “grown-up” messages found in Sesame Street, and about how the political and entertainment landscape has changed over her years on the show.

Fran Brill sent in some answers to listener questions, listen to her comments remembering some events in her extraordinary career!

On the Muppet web:

Listener Brendan Sauer sent a link to this website; create your own Muppet binary images!

Click on the “Center for Puppetry Arts” page on MuppetCast.com this week to see the summer schedule of events at the Center. Amazing people making appearances; I wish I could go! Also check out the Center’s main page at puppet.org.

Gary Friedman is gearing up to teach a course on Puppetry for Television. Check out his webiste for more details.

Matt Sernett sent me the audio from the soundsheet for the Muppet Show Fan Club. Amazing audio, and check out what all you received as a member!

Seth in Kansas found a link to a great Labyrinth poster, and Ben Adler found even more Muppet movie posters (but these are Photoshopped)!

Questions/Comments can be emailed to me@muppetcast.com, or called in to the voicemail line at 614-364-4270. Donations are also always accepted, and can be made at will by clicking the orange “Donate” button on the homepage at MuppetCast.com.

All photos mentioned in the show can be found on The MuppetCast Flickr Page. Almost all online Muppet conversations pertaining to this show can be found on the Muppet Central Forums. Stop in and say hi!

Have a great week, and Frog Bless America!

-Steve

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This tribute, and in fact The MuppetCast itself, truly would not be as good without your help. Special thanks go to Arthur Novell and all of our friends at the Jim Henson Legacy for their continued help.

The MuppetCast continues to be proudly sponsored by Bell, Book and Comic. Life should be more fun!

Question/Comments can be emailed to me@muppetcast.com, or called in to the voicemail line at 614-364-4270. Feel free to discuss this and all past episodes of The MuppetCast at the Muppet Central Forums.

It’s a good life, enjoy it.

-Steve

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The MuppetCast is sponsored by our friends at Bell, Book and Comic. Life should be more fun!

If you’re in the Louisiana area, make sure to check out Jim Henson’s Fantastic World, at the Louisiana Art & Science Museum, while you still can. The next tour stop for this exhibit will be the Smithsonian International Gallery, starting July 12.

Sid the Science Kid is set to debut September 1 on PBS Kids. Along with the TV series, there will be great STSK online resources for both parents and kids.

Looks like Charles Grodin might make an appearance in the new Muppet movie. That is, if he can work it into his already-busy movie schedule.

Heather Henson’s Handmade Puppet Dreams festival will be in Providence Friday, May 16. Check with the Providence Children’s Museum for details.

According to the Muppet News Flash, not only is another Play With Me Sesame DVD due out soon, but Koch records also is set to re-release two more Sesame CDs!

Listener Andrew sent a link to this interview with Jeff Marx, featuring some early work from a Muppet musical which, sadly, never made it to the stage.

Muppet Rawk! Matt S. sent the link to this site, which shows various hard rock and metal albums, re-done in Muppet style. Awesome to look at; I’d love to see what they come up with this year!

Bryan Ripper, co-host of the All About The Mouse Disney Podcast, sent a link to pictures of a new set piece outside of MuppetVision 3D, in Walt Disney World! Perfect Muppet-y look to it, and really impressive to see, considering the age of the attraction! (Rumor has it that they might be building more Muppet Mobile Labs too!)

George G reminds us that Sesame Street: Dinosaurs is now playing in select KidToon theaters near someone who lives near a theater somewhere. Don’t miss it!

Questions/Comments can be sent via email to me@muppetcast.com, or call the voice mail line at 614-364-4270. Also, stop in and say hello at the Muppet Central Forums. We don’t bite! Well, one guy bites. But not hard. More of a nibble.

Happy Mother’s Day. Have a great week!

-Steve

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The MuppetCast is sponsored by our friends at Bell, Book and Comic, located in Dayton, OH. Betsey (co-owner) talks briefly with us about the wonderful chaos that was Free Comic Book Day, held on May 3. Life should be more fun!

Our series covering the Jim Henson Hour begins this week with a look at the first two episodes. Along with a little in-depth discussion of the TV shows themselves, we take a look and listen to plenty of songs and segments from the two episodes.

Other topics of discussion:

Is May 9 the date of Kermit’s birthday? You be the judge.

For those of you in or near Connecticut, check out Scooter at the new display titled “Puppets Through the Lens“. The display is located at the University of Connecticut.

Seaworld’s Sesame Street Bay of Play is closer to opening! A few new details came out this week.

If you always wanted to visit Walt Disney Imagineering, the Jim Henson Studios, and the Walt Disney studios all within a six-day period, then maybe you want to check out this experience from Adventures by Disney.

Add David Beckham to the list of celebrities appearing on Sesame Street for the new season. Goal!

The BBC will be hosting a series of tributes to the late, brilliant writer Anthony Minghella. The BBC actually hosts plenty of searchable content and interviews from Mr. Minghella.

Remember the album Ol’ Brown Ears is Back? Read a little more about it here.

Kevin Clash and John Tartaglia (Avenue Q, Johnny and the Sprites) have both been nominated for the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Performer in a Children’s Series. Good luck to both of them!

Sesame Workshop now has their second phase of the Talk, Listen, Conect program available at the main website. New videos for children and parents on how to deal with a difficult subject.

Check out our friends at Tough Pigs and the Muppet News Flash for all kinds up Muppet-y goodness! Also, check out listener Karl Birrane’s new blog.

One more thing, check out Ed Dolista at the IndyCast this week! New movie’s almost out!

Questions/Comments can be sent to me@muppetcast.com, or called in to the voicemail line at 614-364-4270. Also, check us out at the Muppet Central Forums.

Have a great week!

-Steve

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The MuppetCast is sponsored by our friends at Bell, Book and Comic. Life should be more fun!

In this week’s review of the Tale of the Buny Picnic, we’ll talk briefly about some of the people who helped produce and perform in this special, but mostly we’ll focus on the story and the music. I think you’ll really like it.

Visiting the studio live this week are Joe Vecciarelli and James Songster, better known as the guys from Bunnies in Peril! James and Joe were a BIG fan favorite last year when they came on to talk about their experiences performing live all over the country, as well as “what it’s like” to do what they do working at Walt Disney World. This time we talk a little Muppets, a little Disney, and about what goes into performing the way they do. All you aspiring performance-type people, pay close attention! Joe (aka “Joe the Talking Mute”) is an avid web-surfer, as you’ll hear, and he has plenty of cool stuff to point us to, including:
A downloadable do-it-yourself paper model of the SS Swinetrek
Cirque du Monde (also their outreach programs)
It’s Unbelievable Magic
Bunnies in Peril
Joe’s Clown Page
The Unbelievable Magic YouTube Videos
The Ashville Viking Festival

James and Joe will also be appearing soon on episode #5 of Conjurers, Carnies and Collectors, which is another podcast to check out!

We also take a quick look at a band whose name has a Muppet tie-in: the South Austin Jug Band. Part of the name came from band member James Hyland’s Muppet fan-dom. Awesome music, and we get to hear James talk about the band and their new album.

Has children’s TV gotten worse over the years? Decide for yourself.

New Muppet Star Wars figures will be out soon. Star Wars.com has the inside scoop on the history between SW and the Muppets!

Farscape fans will be delighted to know that Boom! Studios is planning new issues of a Farscape comic book.

Got a spare $32 million? The Muppet Mansion is up for sale.

Based loosely on South Africa’s Takalani Sesame, Tanzania is getting their own Sesame Street very soon.

Do young children really understand what they’re watching? Some studies suggest they may not. This article also sheds some light on the subject.

Puppet Up! Uncencored now has their summer performance schedule posted. Check out the Avalon Hollywood and Henson.com!

And of course, make sure to check out The Muppet News Flash and Tough Pigs this week, two of the best Muppet blogs on the net!

Listener Nikki Sweigart sent in a link to an Oscar mini messenger bag, as well as the Kermit canvas bag at Target.

Lots of links to click, so get busy! If you have anything you’d like to email James and/or Joe, send it to me and I’ll gladly pass it on.

Questions/Comments can be emailed to me@muppetcast.com, or phoned in at 614-364-4270. Voice mails are always welcome.

Have a great week!

-Steve

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The MuppetCast is sponsored by our friends at Bell, Book and Comic. Coming soon to a comic and gaming retailer near you, it’s Free Comic Book Day!

As you may know, the “Make Something Cool” contest is still ongoing! The only guideline for the contest is this: Make something cool for the show. It can be anything! Sing a song, record a segment, design a T-shirt, do a little dance, make a little lovely intro, whatever strikes your fancy. You have plenty of time, but get started soon if you haven’t already! Contest submissions should be sent to contest@muppetcast.com.

Lisa Henson talks in an interview about what it’s like being a movie producer, and about the recent success of Unstable Fables: 3 Pigs and a Baby. Caroll Spinney helped a local library celebrate National Library Week last week, and talked about how Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch have developed over the years.

Our friend and listener Kevin Williams (Fozzie Bear on the MC forums) was in the news recently, as Kevin was Cartoonist in Residence at the Charles M. Schultz Museum in Santa Rosa, CA.

Jason Segel talks briefly about his love for the Muppets, and what it was like touring the Henson studios (and not seeing any Muppets). A nice little look into the mind of one of the people behind the upcoming Muppet movie. In a related article, here’s one person’s Muppet rankings.

Plaza Sesamo recently celebrated 35 years on the air in Mexico! Congratulations! Their newest season can be seen starting this week on Televisia, and starting in June on Discovery Kids Latin America. In the U.S., the Muppet News Flash tells us that Sesame Street’s 39th season will be shot in HD!

Why is TV so great? One writer thinks the Muppets had a lot to do with it. I tend to agree with him, don’t you?

Heather Henson will be in Providence, RI this week at a free puppetry festival! Times and dates are in this article from the Herald News.

Check out our friends Ryan R. and Joe H. at Tough Pigs, and read about the many favorite Muppet possessions submitted by readers. You’ll be taken back and remember so many great Muppet toys you had as a kid and somehow lost. Then you’ll kick yourself. And then you’ll have a bruise. Now that wasn’t smart, was it?

Listener Daniel L. (Danny L for short) found a great little viral marketing website called I Hate Sarah Marshall, designed to promote the upcoming movie starring Jason Segel. There’s a hidden Muppet link, can you find it?

Corey O. really likes the Greyboy Allstars. And who wouldn’t, they have a new all-puppet music video! Great music and good puppets too.

Seth from Kansas recently got to speak on NPR a bit, check it out on their website. And no, that’s not a picture of Seth.

This week’s featured segment is a review of the Henson classic movie “The Dark Crystal“. It really is a marvelous film, with amazing visuals and character design. Along with parts of the movie and my own commentary are portions of the making-of special “The World of The Dark Crystal“. Jim Henson, Frank Oz, and artist and conceptual designer Brian Froud, among others, will tell you how they made movie right alongside actual movie clips. I think it all came together well.

Questions/Comments can be emailed to me@muppetcast.com, or phoned in at 614-364-4270. Find me online at the Muppet Central Forums, where my username is “stephenjlizard”. Let’s talk!

Have a great week!

-Steve

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The MuppetCast is brought to you by the number 5, the number 3, and Bell, Book and Comic. Life should be more fun!

Fran Brill is our special guest this week, and I can’t thank her enough for making time to talk on the show. You’ll even hear during the course of our interview, she is a very busy person! She was an absolute delight though, and I’ll be sending her more listener questions via email in the future.

Also this week is a movie review of Sesame Street’s Follow That Bird. This one ranks high on the list of favorites for me, and I think for a lot of people. So enjoy this review, and even watch it again on your own this week. 1980’s Sesame movie Muppet-y goodness; it never disappoints!

Jim Henson’s Fantastic World is now open for visitors at the Louisiana Art & Science Museum. The Smithsonian has also now released a special series of podcasts talking all about the things you’ll see and do at the exhibit. Really cool stuff, make sure to listen in!

Sesame Workshop is getting ready to launch the second phase of their Talk, Listen, Connect program. View the original TLC material, as well as When Parents Are Deployed.

Thanks to KidToons, you may be able to see Sesame Street: Dinosaurs up on the big screen! Check the KidToons Theater Listing page to find the closest affiliate theater near you. You can now also pre-order the new DVD Count On Sports, due out in July.

Kid K’nex Sesame figures are also now available to pre-order from Amazon.

Yahoo! Kids recently added a new game to their Games page, called Red Hot Skrumpy Drummer. Check out the new game, as well as all the regular Skrumps video content.

Sam Plenty seems to be catching on really well among Henson fans! The third installment is now online at SamPlenty.com.

New in iTunes from the JHC are the third seasons of Fraggle Rock and Farscape! Use the links to go right to their show pages in the iTunes Music Store.

Listener Amanda U. sent a link to the Kermit canvas bag from Target. Check it out! She also sent a link to this awesome video clip from The Daily Show from February 2001.

Questions/Comments can be emailed to me@muppetcast.com, or phoned in to the voice mail line at 614-364-4270. Also, find me in the Muppet Central Forums, my username is “stephenjlizard”.

Have a great week!

-Steve

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Lots of listener voicemails and emails this week.

Jim Henson’s Fantastic World, the traveling exhibition put together by the Jim Henson Legacy and Simthsonian SITES, is now open for viewing at the Louisiana Art & Science Museum. Just a few articles talking about what you’ll find at the exhibit can be found at 2-The Advocate, Tiger Weekly, and the LSU Reville.

As reported in Trading Markets and Variety, entertainment company Lionsgate has acquired the distribution rights to the HIT portfolio of shows. This includes, among other Henson titles, our beloved Fraggle Rock.

The Courant, sadly, no longer has the story about David Rudman on their site. Sorry, but do make sure to check out his new hit show on the Disney Channel, Bunnytown!

Lovable, furry old Grover sat down in an interview with Steven Austin over at the Clarion Ledger. Funny stuff!

The Courier-Journal tells us how the Electric Company is coming back in a big way in January on PBS, with some comments from Gary Knell.

Kimya Dawson, a singer-songwriter whose music was recently featured in the hit movie Juno, is going to be writing some new songs on Sesame Street. Just as soon as someone tells her how to get there.

Sesame Tree has now officially debuted on BBC2! To help celebrate, the Newsletter has a great article about principal puppeteer Paul Currie.

Listener Chris S. sent three YouTube links. The first two links are to the pilot reel of the Jim Henson Hour (first link, second link). The third link is to the Inner-Tube pilot.

Steve Finney sent in some great links this week. First, a link to SkinIt, where you can create custom skins to your electronic devices. How about a Muppet iPod? Next, DrJays, StylinOnline, and 80sTees. Here’s the discount link that Steve sent too.

Steve also sent links to the A&E special on Sesame Street, and of course the Sesame Support Us webpage where you can donate and recieve a Big Bird feather!

Bryan Ripper and Jonathan “The Voice” Dichter are my very special guests this week, as they play the role of the interviewers, and I play the role of interviewee! Listen in, you might learn something! Bryan and Jonathan will be celebrating their one-year anniversary next week at their website, All About The Mouse.com. Bryan debuted his show one week after I started The MuppetCast, so hearing our two shows grow and develop over the past year has been a lot of fun. I’ll be appearing on their show next week to interview them for their anniversary. Hope to see you there!

Take a look at the new photos added to The MuppetCast Flickr Page. New pictures were sent in by listeners Kyle Wilkinson and Ben Witter, and they rock! And the pictures are good, too.

The CD sets of MuppetCast episodes are coming along. The first set is done, and other sets should be completed either this week or next week.

And yes, I know I always say this, but more MuppetCast Unplugged songs are coming. I lost some recordings thanks to my laptop, and have to re-record some things.

The MuppetCast is brought to you this week by the letter C, the number 52, and Bell, Book and Comic. Life should be more fun!

Questions/Comments can be sent via email to me@muppetcast.com, or phoned in to the voicemail line at 614-364-4270. I’d love to hear from you.

Have a great week!

-Steve

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The MuppetCast continues to be brought to you by Bell, Book and Comic. Life should be more fun!

This week, since so many listeners are talking about going to WDW these days, I figured we’d all sit back and enjoy MuppetVision 3D! This source audio is as close as you can get to the attraction without actually being there (and it’s just been sitting on my hard drive collecting dust), so enjoy!

Remember, next week The MuppetCast turns ONE YEAR OLD! Can you believe it? Leave a voicemail or an email for the this next week and you’ll hear it on the show!

Questions/comments can as always be emailed to me@muppetcast.com, or left via voicemail at 614-364-4270.

Have a great week!

-Steve

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The MuppetCast is sponsored by Bell, Book and Comic. Life should be more fun!

There’s a lot going on in the life of the Muppets this week!

Sesame Tree in Northern Ireland continues their preparation for their upcoming debut in early April. The press release can be found here.

Matt T. has some info about the Star Wars Muppet figures, which are on the way. See pictures here, here, and here.

Kevin W. sent links to two YouTube videos starring Kermit the Frog and Muley the Mule! See them here and here.

Here’s a great link from Roger L. for some uncommon Sesame Street T-shirts.

George G. from October Toys sent in links to 3 outstanding Palisades sales! See them here, here, and here.

Sadly, Anthony Minghella passed away this week. Jack Read wrote an amazing and beautiful tribute for the show. Here are some links to news stories about Minghella:
Ain’t It Cool News (Not Kid Friendly)
A Scene from Truly, Madly, Deeply
Breitbart
Variety
The Huffington Post
Film.com

More news about the new Muppet movie:
Magical Mountain.net
MTV Movies Blog
Netcot.com

Marcel Moran has a great opinion piece concerning Cookie Monster on TheCrimson.com.

Read more about the newest Sesame Street character, Leela.

John Tartaglia better not tell a lie! He was recently cast as Pinocchio in the new musical, Shrek. More info about the Seattle opening is found at The Seattle Times, and at 5th Avenue.org.

This episode features a review of the newly released Unstable Fables: 3 Pigs and a Baby. I hope you enjoy it!

I also finally get to take some time and talk in more detail about my recent trip to Walt Disney World! My wife Ashley helps me describe some experiences that many guests might not be familiar with. Lotsa fun!

Questions/Comments can be sent via email to me@muppetcast.com. Or even better, call the voice line at 614-364-4270 and have your voicemail played on the show! Of course, you can always find me over at the Muppet Central Forums as well, where their mission is to unite all Muppet fans worldwide.

Have a great week!

-Steve

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The MuppetCast is brought to you in part by our friends at Bell, Book and Comic. Life should be more fun!

Lots of links and listener contributions this week, which is always good. Take a look at The MuppetCast Flickr Page to see some new photos of the Jim Henson Museum, located in Leland, Mississippi. Also a new photo of Muppet Merch abroad.

Here’s the link that Jon Melville talked about in his email that can take you to even more overseas (depending where you live) Muppet merch.

Check out some behind-the-scenes goings on at Sesame Street!

There are lots and lots of links to the news story that, yes indeed, a new Muppet m