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The Muppet Show first aired in September 1976. The variety show marked a major move up the ladder for Jim Henson’s misfit band of chaotic critters. They moved beyond the public access Sam and Friends, the appearances on late-night TV and commercials, and one-off specials like Sex and Violence. The Muppets stood on the precipice of becoming a mainstream pop culture phenomenon that continues even today. 

Arista Records

The show’s earworm of a theme song begins with the line “It’s time to play the music.” And for good reason. The irreverent comedy and lovable characters contribute to the charm and longevity of the Muppets. However, there’s something truly electric about the show’s musical numbers. And since we here at Nerdist love us some Muppet songs, we thought it might be time to praise the music. Here are our choices for the best musical numbers in the show:

5. The Muppet Country Trio – “To Morrow”

This Kingston Trio homage is one of the show’s more simply staged musical numbers. The twangy little music group has a special power over us though. That’s because the three band member puppets look like their puppeteers, Jim Henson, Frank Oz, and Jerry Nelson. While all their personalities, as well as their collaborators’, was all over the show, the trio serves up an extremely clever bit of reverse fourth-wall-breaking.

4. “Time In a Bottle”

As zany as the show could get, sometimes the things that stick with us the most are the extremely poignant numbers. Especially ones like this cover of Jim Croce’s “Time in a Bottle.” It depicts an aged scientist’s futile attempts to reclaim his youth. The song is a deep and moving look at accepting our own mortality, made all the more bittersweet given the tragic early deaths of both Jim Henson and Croce. 

3. “Mahna Mahna”

Do doo de-do-do.

2. “In The Navy”

The Village People expertly served up gay anthems as disco hits for the masses. That made seeing even the most conservative of grandmas thrusting their hands into the air in the shape of the YMCA on the dance floor at your cousin’s very straight wedding a common sight. Henson and company were no doubt extremely aware of the subversive nature of the group’s music. They served it up even further by taking “In The Navy” and making it work perfectly for their all-ages variety show.

1. Harry Belafonte – “Earth Song”

Jim Henson loved the power of puppetry far beyond the realm of the Muppets. Some of the best moments on The Muppet Show were when they would expand into puppets that weren’t their primary design style—like this number with Belafonte. It’s hard to find the long version of this song online these days, which is sad because the entire sequence is beautiful. Belafonte gently reassures Fozzie while he struggles with his creativity by telling him a story from African Folklore that inspired him. That leads into a performance with puppets that breaks out of the typical Muppet mold. It allowed Belafonte to share a cultural element that often wasn’t seen on television at the time. Or still today. The song was such a favorite of Henson’s that Belafonte sang it at his memorial service. 

Honorable Mention – “Just One Person”

This performance technically didn’t happen on The Muppet Show (although Bernadette Peters and the rest of the company performed another version of the song). This came from the ending of the tribute special released to honor the passing of Jim Henson. The special gave young fans a way to say goodbye to him and understand his loss. As a child at the time that it happened, it remains a defining memory for me. This song will never not make me cry as I remember sitting in front of my family’s TV hearing the Muppets sing it, as well as the performance at his televised memorial service.

As an adult, knowing that real people coping with the loss of someone who they truly loved is underneath the stage using the world Henson created to help others say goodbye makes it all the more powerful. 

Reactions to Muppets music can be personal. So we know that this list might not match up perfectly with your own. What are your picks?

Featured Image: Arista Records

Riley Silverman is a Nerdist contributing writer. She can be found on Twitter and Instagram. Her comedy album ‘Intimate Apparel’ is available digitally online.

The post Our 5 Favorite Musical Numbers from THE MUPPET SHOW appeared first on Nerdist.

If you’re a fan of the 80’s saccharine-filled sentimental comedy about a group of girl scouts called Troop Beverly Hills, you’ll be excited to hear there’s a sequel on the way.

According to Variety, director Oran Zegman will take on the project.

The Los Angeles-based Israeli director will mark her feature debut with the untitled sequel, set to release under Sony’s TriStar Pictures banner. “The Greatest Showman” producer Laurence Mark is on board to produce.

Troop Beverly Hills is perhaps Long’s most memorable movie turn, scoring laughs as a precious fish out of water who applies her Rodeo Drive street skills to the great outdoors. The original film has seen decades of repeat viewing, praised for its feminist themes and tightly embraced by the LGBTQ community.

The sequel’s screenplay is from Aeysha Carr, the showrunner of Woke who is currently writing Paramount’s reboot of Planes, Trains & Automobiles. Tamara Chestna is taking a pass at the script and will also produce. The original film was based on the life of Ava Fries, who served as producer and will return to the sequel as executive producer with Charles W. Fries. Nicole Brown and Shary Shirazi will oversee the project for Sony Pictures.

Last year Viola Davis starred in the film Troop Zero, a modern-day take and quite reminiscent of Troop Beverly Hills. The film also starred McKenna Grace, Jim Gaffigan, Mike Epps, Charlie Shotwell, and Allison Janney. BGN interviewed one of the film’s starlets, Milan Ray, who played the character Hell-No.

Looking forward to what the sequel may bring.

The post ‘Troop Beverly Hills’ Has Been Given a Decades-Long Sequel appeared first on Black Girl Nerds.

Source: Go Fund Me/Rev. Marcia Westbrook / Go Fund Me/Rev. Marcia Westbrook

If you need evidence in the discrepancies in the way law enforcement treat White people and the way they treat Black people, you need look no further than the mug shot of Jason Michael Mesich. The fact that he was arrested alive, is truly a wonder given what he did on the night of August 31 in Bloomington, Minnesota.

Mesich, 48, killed his wife and then shot two of his Black neighbors, one 29-year-old woman and a 12-year-old girl.

According to WCCO TV, a Minnesota CBS affiliate, officers were called to Mesich’s home around 11pm on Sunday after reports of several gunshots being fired and possible victims.

When they arrived, more gunshots were still being fired within the home.

Officers entered the detached garage where the found the body of 47-year-old Angela Mesich. She had been shot several times in the neck and upper torso.

In the home, they found Jason Mesich in the basement. He continued firing the gun, screaming and throwing things. He eventually surrendered but it’s estimated he fired 40 rounds during the standoff with police.

Eventually, officers learned that in the midst of this violent outburst, Mesich not only killed his wife, he’d shot his next door neighbors, his two sisters.

The victims’ aunt identified them as 12-year-old Makayla and 29-year-old Canisha.

Makayla was shot in the head and as of Tuesday was in critical condition. Her family claims she is heavily sedated. Canisha was shot several times in the legs and hip. She is in serious condition and unable to see her daughter, Winter, in the hospital due to COVID-19 restrictions.

The mother of the sisters said that the family was packing a moving truck at the time of the attack. She claims Mesich came out of nowhere and opened fire on the family. The aunt of the two sisters claimed that Makayla, the 12-year-old acted as a shield for her 1-year-old niece.

Most of the family was already in the moving truck and transported Canisha and Makayla to the hospital.

When questioned, Mesich told investigators he doesn’t remember much from the incident. He did say that he and his wife had been having an argument in the garage about their lack of sex.

He said he “probably” went into the home and got a gun. He said when he returned to the garage, his wife tried to hit him. So he punched her. He claims she told him to shoot her. He “assumed he did so, and assumed he emptied the gun to make sure she was dead.”

When he was asked about the sisters, Mesich was more concrete about those details. He said they were not “good neighbors” and that he “hated all children.”

He is currently in the Hennepin County Jail, where he has been charged with three 2nd-degree murder charges. If convicted, he could face up to 80 years in prison.

In order to cover the costs of medical bills and living expenses, a Go Fund Me has been launched for the two sisters.

Rev. Marcia Westbrook, who organized the fundraiser provided an update on Makayla’s medical condition.

Westbrook shared that as of September 1, “Makayla is “progressing as expected” according to the doctors. She is still in critical condition, she is not in a coma but highly sedated. Her hands and feet have been responding to touch – she is able to raise her feet, but her hands aren’t responding as well as her feet are. The doctors are trying to figure out what could be causing her hands to not respond as much as her feet, they think this could have to do with the medication and will try to see what they can adjust. But she was able to squeeze Mildred’s hand. But all is looking PROMISING so far. She will need a blood transfusion which they say is normal for head injury. She has opened her eyes a few times. Her gunshot wound was behind her ear, and a piece of her skull will stay off for 1-3 months while her head trauma heals. Her body temperature is being kept very cold to help her head heal properly (Makayla has always disliked being very cold, so we’re being sure to cover her in lots of blankets). She had to have her head completely shaved now, and will start a feeding tube in the next day or two to help give her nutrients.”

She reports that Canisha is in stable condition after being shot three times, once in her right ankle, once in her left hip and her leg. Her hip and ankle were shattered and broken during the shooting and they don’t know how long she will be recovering in the hospital. She has since been transferred to a different floor, so she can start physical therapy.

By Désirée Guzzetta

Spoiler level: This review is based on viewing the entire season, but contains only mild spoilers

The first season of “The Boys,” Amazon Prime Video’s adaptation of the Garth Ennis/Darick Robertson comic book series, introduced us to a world of supes controlled by a huge corporation, Vought International, and a group of CIA black ops members—informally known as The Boys—dedicated to keeping the supes in check and maybe, occasionally, killing a few here and there. The characters were all sketched out well enough to give the narrative sufficient thrust to propel it forward, but there seemed to be more to learn about each of them—well, at least the ones who survived.

The second season, which begins with the release of three episodes on September 4, 2020 and one per week thereafter, gives more heft to the personalities on display, diving deeper into the backstories of the main groupings and raising the emotional stakes higher. By investing into the character arcs, the show makes every emotional beat over the course of the eight episodes hit that much harder.

Last season ended with the Boys separated, and with the supes in a bit of their own disarray thanks to Homelander’s (Antony Starr) plan to create supervillains that the U.S. government could not ignore, thus guaranteeing he and his cohorts in superhero group The Seven would be part of the military. As usual with Homelander, he did not think the plan all the way through, and in the new season, it has backfired.

Additionally, some of the characters know superheroes aren’t born—they’re made thanks to Vought’s experimental drug, Compound-V. While some, especially Annie January/Starlight (Erin Moriarty), are thrown for a loop by this news, others such as A-Train (Jessie T. Usher) accept their reality because of how life has turned out for them: money, fame, and adulation.

With all that as a backdrop, showrunner Eric Kripke and his writer’s room have barreled full-steam ahead—like the boat through the whale in the season trailer—into trenchant social commentary, tackling, in no particular order: cults, Donald Trump, white supremacy and racism, social media influencers, girl power, and LGBTQ issues, and diving further into the murky waters of corporatism. And that’s not to mention identity crises, general superhero tropes, daddy and mommy issues/generational trauma, dealing with one’s past, and other heady topics. It’s a helluva full stew the gang has cooked up for a mere eight episodes, but it’s damn satisfying.

With The Deep (Chace Crawford) still exiled in Sandusky, Ohio, The Seven need a new supe to take his place. Enter Stormfront (the always-excellent Aya Cash), a brash social media influencer who shoots plasma bolts from her fingertips and targeted barbs from her lips. She nails everyone with her cutting wit, and while some, especially Annie and Queen Maeve (Dominique McElligot), see her as a breath of fresh air, Homelander sees her as yet another threat to his position. She upends his sense of masculinity and control with her forthright attitude. Watching Starr and Cash as Homelander and Stormfront circle around each other in their power dance is both exhilarating and frightening.

The new season also sees Stan Edgar (Giancarlo Esposito), head of Vought, step out of the shadows more. Edgar’s got backbone to spare, standing up to a threatening Homelander as he reveals the petulant supe knows less than nothing about where Vought’s priorities truly lie. It’s an electrifying scene as Edgar hammers every one of Homelander’s insecurities in a calm, assured manner. If he’s afraid of Homelander’s vast power-set, he doesn’t show it—not a scintilla of fear ever crosses his brow.

Meanwhile, the Boys—Mother’s Milk (Laz Alonso), Frenchie (Tomar Capon), Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara), and Hughie (Jack Quaid)—are hiding out literally underground because they are wanted for several crimes they didn’t commit (and maybe some they did). Their leader, Butcher (Karl Urban), is missing, having been blindsided in the first season finale when Homelander revealed that not only was Butcher’s assumed-dead wife, Becca (Shantel VanSanten), very much alive, but that she was also raising Homelander’s son, Ryan (Cameron Crovetti), who himself is exhibiting superpowers.

While the outward stakes are high, the inward stakes are more devastating, even if they are the source of humor. For example, The Deep has been sucked into a Scientology-like cult, The Church of The Collective, headed by Alistair Adana (Goran Višnjić), the kind of guy who thinks he oozes charm but is really giving off slimy vibes if you look past his handsome façade. The Church promises to get The Deep back into The Seven by preying on his own mass of insecurities with hilarious results.

Everyone continues to give great performances, particularly Urban as the conflicted Butcher,

whose beloved wife is protecting a hated supe, even though it’s her child. Quaid and Moriarty’s chemistry shimmers with tenderness, as does Capon and Fukuhara’s as Frenchie struggles with the choices Kimiko makes and his inability to communicate with her. Also joining the cast is Claudia Doumit as Victoria Neuman, a neophyte congressperson dedicated to taking down Vought.

The biggest trick season two of “The Boys” pulls off is bringing together a lot of disparate threads by the season finale in a very satisfying way. Pretty much every setup in the first few episodes has a payoff while leaving room for stories to continue into the already-announced third season.

“The Boys” is still vulgar, gory, and outrageous, but it’s also sweet, heartfelt, and meaningful. Yes, it skewers a lot of what’s happening in the world in a brazen way, but that’s a good thing. By shining a bright light on social ills, art illuminates that which we sometimes would rather not see or deal with and shoves it in our faces like so many whale guts. By taking the route it does, the art of “The Boys” is both a social good and blood(il)y diabolical.

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